I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

Bai Xiaoqi glanced at the kitchen, then at Wu Yulan, hesitated for a moment, and finally called out, "Auntie."

"what's up?"

"The food is burnt."

"What?"

Wu Yulan was startled and subconsciously sniffed. A faint smell of burning wafted from the kitchen. Only then did she realize what was happening and quickly ran to the kitchen.

"Old Chen, Old Chen, what are you doing? Hurry up and bring me that wine. Never mind, we can't use the ribs. Go downstairs and buy a bottle of cooking wine."

Chapter 49 She Has No Parents

Wu Yulan was busy cooking in the kitchen, while Chen Jianwen, wearing a coat, went downstairs to buy cooking wine.

Chen Shuo sat on the sofa and picked up a tangerine from the coffee table. Winter is the sweetest time for tangerines, and they are also one of the essential New Year's goods. Every time he buys them, he buys a whole box, but they definitely won't survive until New Year's Eve.

He handed the peeled orange to Bai Xiaoqi, then glanced at the kitchen and couldn't help but whisper, "You have a keen sense of smell, why didn't you say the food was burnt sooner?"

"Didn't you tell me not to start a conversation?" Bai Xiaoqi stuffed the orange into her mouth, her words mumbled, but her expression was absolutely self-righteous.

"......"

"Okay, it's my fault. Anyway, we won't be able to have ribs today. Let me tell you, my mom's ribs are so delicious, you know?"

"I don't know, I haven't eaten any." Bai Xiaoqi swallowed the orange in her mouth, glanced at the orange on the coffee table, wanted to reach for it but felt it was inappropriate, so she simply looked at Chen Shuo with a longing look, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"..."

Looking at her, Chen Shuo's heart skipped a beat, and he felt like he was about to be melted by her cuteness. "Don't look at me like that, I'll peel it for you."

The kitchen was filled with the sizzling sound of stir-frying, and the aroma wafted out. The living room seemed to quiet down as the two of them peeled vegetables and ate them, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

The silence was broken when Chen Jianwen entered the room. He glanced at the two people on the sofa, said nothing, and took the cooking wine into the kitchen.

"Why did you take so long? Did you buy pork ribs?"

"You didn't say you wanted to buy it."

"I didn't tell you to buy some, and you still don't know... When I said the ribs were sold out, you should have known..."

Wu Yulan stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence. Chen Jianwen pulled out a plastic bag from somewhere, shook it a couple of times, and the ribs inside were faintly visible.

Seeing his wife stunned, Chen Jianwen chuckled, "How could I not buy it? I know you well enough to know what you're going to say the moment you lift your butt."

As he spoke, he cheerfully placed the plastic bag containing the ribs on the cutting board: "I want them braised."

"No, eat your fart!"

"........"

Chen Jianwen was kicked out of the kitchen. As soon as he came out, he met Chen Shuo's gaze. He composed himself and said, "What are you looking at? Your mother said that the ribs are not braised today, but sweet and sour."

"Where did the spare ribs come from? Aren't they all burnt?"

"I just bought it."

Chen Jianwen answered casually, his first instinct was to go into the study, but then he felt it was inappropriate, so he hesitated and sat down on the sofa, keeping a distance from the two of them.

I stretched out my arm to reach the large teacup on the coffee table, but couldn't reach it.

I coughed lightly, no response. I coughed again, still no response.

Chen Shuo was busy peeling oranges when he heard several dry coughs. He looked up and asked, "Dad, is your throat sore?"

"Please get me the teacup."

"Oh."

Chen Shuo handed him the teacup. Chen Jianwen took it, took two sips, glanced at the two of them, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed his mouth again.

When their children are dating, parents will definitely have a lot of questions to ask. At the very least, they will ask about the other person's job, where they are from, and what their parents do.

But Chen Jianwen felt unsure how to start the conversation and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

The girl's mouth never stopped; she kept eating oranges, and she did it all very naturally.

Compared to her, Chen Jianwen felt like he was the guest.

Thinking back carefully, when I took Wu Yulan to meet my parents, she seemed to sit properly and only ate a couple of bites of what I gave her.

As for meeting his father-in-law, that's even more embarrassing; he barely dared to look up and make eye contact with her family.

Chen Jianwen held his teacup and drank for a while with a serious expression. Feeling that he was sitting there a bit superfluous, he said, "You two sit down. I have something to do, so I'll go take care of it."

After saying that, he got up and went back to his study.

Seeing the old man enter the room, Chen Shuo whispered, "My dad is nervous."

"Nervous?" Bai Xiaoqi was taken aback, then thought for a moment and said, "He had a stern and fierce face, but didn't seem nervous at all."

“He’s not being fierce, he’s just serious, but don’t be fooled by his seriousness, it’s all an act. He’s actually more nervous than anyone else.”

Chen Shuo peeled the last orange on the coffee table, handed it to her, and said with a smile, "You think everyone is like you?"

"I'm a little nervous too."

Where are you nervous?

"look."

Bai Xiaoqi stuffed an orange into her mouth, chewing as she pointed to her bulging cheeks. Chen Shuo looked at her in confusion for a while before understanding what she meant, and then couldn't help but chuckle.

When Chen Jianwen was there, her mouth was constantly moving, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed like she was a little restrained. The movement of her cheeks wasn't as pronounced as it is now; it was a smaller, more subtle gurgling sound.

"Wash your hands, get ready to eat." Wu Yulan brought the dishes out of the kitchen, and noticing that only two people were sitting in the living room, she couldn't help but ask, "Where's your dad?"

"He went back to his study. He said he had something to do."

"Then you two go wash your hands first, and I'll go call him."

"Oh." Chen Shuo shoveled the mountain of orange peels on the coffee table into the trash can before taking Bai Xiaoqi to wash her hands.

As Bai Xiaoqi walked, she couldn't help but look around the house with an inquisitive gaze. It was several times larger than her small one-bedroom apartment, and it was also beautifully decorated.

There's also a small dining room specifically for eating, and the restrooms are huge too.

"My mom might start asking you questions during dinner, so be prepared." After washing his hands, Chen Shuo whispered these words to her, led her to the table, and then went to serve rice to the family.

Bai Xiaoqi didn't seem to hear anything; her eyes were fixed on the dishes on the table, looking at each one as she went, her little nose twitching incessantly.

smell good.

“Chen Shuo said you’re from the South and like sweet food. I haven’t cooked much of this before, so I don’t know if these dishes will suit your taste.” Wu Yulan also took off her apron and came over, carrying a pot of soup.

"Yes, I'm from the South."

"Where in the South are you from? Auntie, your speech is very standard, I don't hear any Southern accent at all."

“Mom, although she’s from the South, she grew up in the North,” Chen Shuosheng said forcefully as he came over with the food.

"Oh, so you came with your parents...."

"She has no parents."

"......"

The air suddenly became heavy. Chen Jianwen choked and glanced at Chen Shuo. Last time, when this brat said that the girl was an orphan, he didn't believe it, but this time it seemed to be true.

"Come on, eat quickly, the food's getting cold," Wu Yulan called out, breaking the silence.

"Here, try this. My mom makes really delicious ribs. This sweet and sour ribs is specially made for you."

Chen Shuo started serving her food, and Wu Yulan also helped to ladle out soup, placing a bowl of pork bone soup in front of her. "Auntie heard that people in the South like to drink soup. This soup has been simmering for quite a long time, all afternoon. Try it."

"Thank you auntie."

Bai Xiaoqi thanked them, but when she looked at the bone broth in front of her and then at Wu Yulan's enthusiastic face, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

This passion doesn't belong to me; I'm just an imposter.

Chapter Fifty: Truly an Orphan

The meal passed uneventfully, with little conversation taking place. Chen Jianwen ate in silence, but his eyes kept glancing in their direction.

Something feels off. Is this really an orphan?

"Eat more, make yourself at home." Wu Yulan smiled, finding it increasingly amusing to see Bai Xiaoqi's good appetite.

I had imagined my son bringing his girlfriend home, but when the moment actually arrived, it felt quite strange.

The main thing is that this girl is really unexpected; the word "graceful and poised" seems to be tailor-made for her.

She didn't know anything about politeness, and there was absolutely no sense of restraint. On the contrary, it gave people the illusion that she was having dinner at their own home.

Moreover, when they looked up and met my gaze during the meal, they didn't nervously look away, but instead looked at me openly and even smiled at me.

There were even times when I felt a little embarrassed about myself.

"Eat slowly, don't choke." Chen Shuo felt that this girl was too uninhibited. "You should at least be a little more reserved, or at least pretend to be."

It's like I'm visiting your house to meet your mother-in-law.

After the meal, Chen Shuo helped clean up the dishes and took them to the kitchen, preparing to give her a few more instructions to answer the questions that followed.

But as soon as he entered the living room, Chen Jianwen called him back. He looked at Bai Xiaoqi on the sofa, then at Chen Shuo, coughed lightly, and beckoned, "Cough, come with me for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

"what's up?"

"You can come."

After saying that, Chen Jianwen turned and went into the study.

Chen Shuo hesitated for a moment, then followed him inside, closing the door behind him.

"Is she really an orphan?" Chen Jianwen asked impatiently as soon as Chen Shuo entered the room.

"Yeah, what else? I told you last time."

"Last time..."

Chen Jianwen hesitated, his lips moving for a while before he finally said, "How would I know you were telling the truth?"

He paused for a moment, then asked, "So what are you planning to do?"