**644. Travel Plans**
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When Chen Jing returned home, he discovered that there were guests today.
Wu Guodong was lounging casually on the sofa, playing with a girl who looked about one year old, while Liu Xuefei was peeling apples with a fruit kn*fe, gazing at the father-daughter duo with a soft expression.
They had been married for three years, and Liu Xuefei had given birth to a daughter two years ago. Now Wu Guodong had come to the provincial city for work, while Liu Xuefei stayed in their county home to take care of their child and also worked part-time as a makeup artist at a photography studio.
The provincial city and county city were just over an hour apart. Now in his thirties, Wu Guodong had successfully transitioned from being a programmer to management, and his overtime work wasn’t too crazy anymore. He drove back and forth between the two cities every day.
“Auntie!” Little Chen Jing squealed as soon as he saw the guests in the house, eagerly dropping his backpack and darting towards Liu Xuefei.
Technically, little Chen Jing should be calling Liu Xuefei “great-aunt” or “grand-aunt,” but since Liu Xuefei was only two years older than Lin Nan, such terms felt way too elderish, so they settled for “Auntie” instead.
Similarly, Wu Guodong in his early thirties wasn’t keen on being referred to as “great-grandpa” at such a young age.
“Hey, Chen Jing! Did you have fun at school today?” Liu Xuefei put down her fruit kn*fe and gently pinched Chen Jing’s cheek.
“Yeah!” Chen Jing replied enthusiastically.
Lin Nan slowly hung her light jacket and shoulder bag on the shoe cabinet. She bent down to put away Chen Yao’s shoes before complaining to Liu Xuefei, “Xuefei! This kid got into a fight with someone again today.”
“Call me Auntie!” Liu Xuefei straightened up proudly, puffing out her chest.
“Let’s focus on our own issues, alright?” Lin Nan linked arms with Chen Yao and sat on one side of the sofa. “You two actually found time to come and play?”
“Mainly, we’ve been married for three years now, and Guodong was busy with work. Now that he’s got more free time, we still have to take care of the kids…” Liu Xuefei leaned in with a cheerful smile and grabbed Lin Nan’s arm. “So during the National Day holiday, can you help me look after the kids? I’m planning to travel abroad with Guodong.”
Lin Nan’s smile gradually faded.
Chen Yao’s expression became increasingly frantic.
“Pretty please?” Liu Xuefei pleaded, wrapping her arms around Lin Nan. “My little girl just weaned, and Guodong and I have been discussing this for ages. We’re just waiting for National Day!”
Wu Guodong chimed in quickly, “This National Day, we’ll go have fun, and next long holiday, you can take care of Chen Jing at our place while we go out!”
“That… sounds okay…” Lin Nan’s face didn’t look too cheerful.
After painstakingly raising Chen Jing to kindergarten age, just as she could finally breathe a bit, now they were dropping a one-year-old kid on her lap to take care of!
Chen Jing was thrilled, scampering over to Wu Guodong and carefully reaching out to touch his little cousin, while three parrots perched on his shoulders, curiously poking their heads to observe the new arrival.
Though his cousin was barely over a year old.
The generations seemed so tangled up, but Lin Nan had no intention of figuring it all out.
Cola had put on quite a bit of weight, spending all day at home eating and sleeping. Lin Nan followed a yoga video every day, but Cola had no intention of moving at all.
“Then I’ll cook dinner today!” Liu Xuefei declared, rushing to repay Lin Nan and her family with a meal, quickly rising and dragging Wu Guodong toward the kitchen. “You help me!”
Her exuberant manner seemed to forget the child in Wu Guodong’s arms. Lin Nan hurriedly stepped in to take the baby, collapsing onto the sofa.
Mmp!
Holding the one-year-old girl, Lin Nan gently squeezed her chubby face and then remarked to Chen Yao, “I think girls are a little cuter.”
Chen Yao looked a bit flustered still, hastily nodding, “Right right, girls are great! Should we have another one?”
“Get lost,” Lin Nan shot him a glare. As she played with Chen Jing and the little girl, her tone turned melodramatic while asking Chen Yao, “So when are we going to travel?”
Finally, the conversation turned to the very topic that made Chen Yao uneasy.
Other couples usually took a trip to nearby cities or went on honeymoons after getting married, but he and Lin Nan hadn’t gone anywhere together since they tied the knot.
After all, he was busy with work, and by the time he had some free time, Lin Nan had been pregnant just three months into their marriage. It was only recently that Chen Jing had started kindergarten, allowing Lin Nan to have a bit more breathing room.
In other words, from the time of marriage until now—or even from dating—Chen Yao had never taken Lin Nan on a trip.
It wasn’t so bad until now, but seeing Liu Xuefei’s family about to head out while they had merely sat at home… He cautiously peeked at Lin Nan’s calm expression as she entertained the little girl, and a strong urge to survive rose within him.
Chen Yao turned to Chen Jing, plotting to get his son involved.
Smiling, he asked, “Chen Jing~ you’re a big boy now, aren’t you?”
“Yup! I’m a big boy!” Chen Jing replied with wide-eyed innocence.
“When the New Year comes, you’ll have to live independently, understand?”
“Ah?” Chen Jing blinked in confusion.
“By then, you’ll be on winter break, but I’ll still be working, and your mom won’t be free either. So you’ll go stay at grandpa’s house or grandma’s house for half a month, okay?”
Chen Jing blinked his big eyes, still dressed up in his Conan outfit, looking particularly adorable.
“You’re going to have fun with mom? I want to go too!”
“Not your business!” Chen Yao shot him a glare. “During New Year, you go to grandpa’s house and behave. Grandpa hasn’t seen you in ages!”
So much for talking sense, now he’s trying to shove himself into the conversation!
Chen Jing sulked off to the side. Chen Yao turned his gaze back to Lin Nan, beaming like a puppy. “How about we go out during the New Year?”
“Where to?”
Lin Nan still wore that gentle smile—it sent shivers down one’s spine. Chen Jing slowly realized that his mom’s smile was off, recalling the last infamous tea table incident, and he immediately sensed a looming crisis.
He suddenly raised his hand, shouting, “Mom! Anywhere is fine! I want to go to grandma’s house!”
“Good boy, so obedient.” Lin Nan ruffled Chen Jing’s head. “During National Day, your little cousin will be playing at home, so go upstairs and tidy up your toys for her to play with.”
“Okay!” Chen Jing quickly grabbed his backpack and dashed upstairs.
Lin Nan, feeling slightly bewildered, muttered to herself, “I don’t even yell at him, so why does he seem so scared of me? Meanwhile, dear husband, you hit him a few times and he’s all buddy-buddy with you like best bros.”
Perhaps that’s what survival instinct does, huh?
Chen Yao silently complained in his heart, scooting his b*tt closer to Lin Nan, wearing a sycophantic grin. “Darling, didn’t you want to go to Japan for sashimi? How about we take a trip during the New Year? I’ll have half a month off—we can go for a whole week!”
“Sashimi can have parasites; that’s bad,” Lin Nan shook her head.
As she got older, she had to start caring for her health.
Especially since Chen Yao’s face had started showing wrinkles. He was too lazy to do anything about it, leaving Lin Nan to apply skincare products on him every night to prevent him from looking too old.
“What about going to Australia? You always wanted to have a big parrot, right? We can’t keep one here, so let’s go to Australia to pet one! I’ve heard they’re not afraid of people and you can see them all over the parks.”
Finally, Lin Nan’s smile transformed into one that was more cute rather than gentle, which made Chen Yao relax a little.
“How about the north? I’ve never seen snow.” Lin Nan’s eyes crinkled in delight. “We haven’t even played in the domestic snow, why go abroad? What a bummer—I wish the timing was better. It would be great to catch the finals of the S tournament or TI.”
After gaming for so long, she had never been to a live match despite occasionally watching LOL or Dota competitions.
“Sounds good! Next year, I’ll take leave, and wherever the S tournament or TI is held, we’re going!”
Just then, Wu Guodong entered with a plate of freshly stir-fried vegetables, turning to call out to Lin Nan and Chen Yao, “Wash your hands; dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
His feelings toward Lin Nan were complex since he had watched her grow from niece to full-blown niece-in-law.
Liu Xuefei also set the steaming sweet potato porridge on the table. These sweet potatoes were grown by Lin Nan’s grandfather, and they had received quite a few, so Liu Xuefei’s family had plenty as well.
She shot Lin Nan a slightly envious look. Although she was also pretty after putting on makeup, seeing Lin Nan’s seemingly unchanged beauty since graduation ignited a tinge of jealousy within her.
Hence, she cheerfully teased, “Niece, take good care of your little cousin during the National Day holiday, okay?”
After having a great chat with Chen Yao, Lin Nan’s face darkened as she shot Liu Xuefei a glare.
This brat could only use generation gaps to bully people! Although her grandfather didn’t really care about generational titles, hearing them just rubbed her the wrong way.
