316. First Impressions
1/4
The air in the room was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of sautéed garlic sauce. Ning Chu was lounging on the living room sofa, her gaze continually drifting toward the kitchen. Through the transparent sliding door, she could clearly see the uncle busily preparing seafood and frying up some steaks.
Her belly grumbled in protest, grumbling away from the delicious smells wafting through the air.
In the kitchen, her mother was bustling around, setting the lunch she had prepared earlier on the table, helping to wash seafood, and smashing garlic. A youthful joy gleamed in her eyes, cheeks rosy as if kissed by spring, and even her steps seemed a bit lighter.
“Mom~ I’m starving!”
Black Bean was nagging nearby, occasionally accepting her offerings. Her tone was as gentle as a soothing stream: “You eat first; the seafood and steaks will take a little longer.”
“I want steak~”
“I also made braised pork for you~”
It was clear her mother was in a good mood; even her intonation had a slight uplifting lilt.
Ning Chu had never seen her mother act this way before. Sniffing the delightful aroma, she swallowed hard and turned to her brother, Ning Yuan, who was sitting silently on the other side: “Bro, don’t you think the uncle and Mom are pretty compatible? What do you think?”
“Hmm, seems okay.”
She leaned back on the sofa, muttering, “You’ve never noticed, have you?”
“I’ve been in university for the past few years; how could I notice? What about you—not noticed?”
“Me…?” Ning Chu could only awkwardly look away, “It must be Mom hiding it well! She’s purposely keeping it from us!”
Since her mother’s d*ath in middle school, everything she had experienced was unrelated to this parallel world. She didn’t remember those three to five years in between, but luckily her personality was similar enough to avoid any slip-ups.
As for what happened to the original “Ning Chu”?
Maybe she had transmigrated to the world Ning Chu inhabited, or perhaps merged souls with her, or maybe the grass on her grave was three feet high… who knows?
Ning Chu didn’t have any desire to investigate such matters. She wasn’t a main character, nor did she have any ambitions; she was merely a small-town citizen hoping for a happy life with her family.
What caused the transmigration, the nature of the parallel world, what connection Little Emperor Wen’s role and plot had to her…
Delving into those things wouldn’t turn her back into a man or bring her back to her previous world. She had no interest at all.
Even if she could go back, she wouldn’t want to.
What she feared more was that everything before her was just a dream that could fade away at any moment.
“Dinner’s ready!” her mother called out. “Ning Chu! Ning Yuan! Come eat!”
“Coming, coming!”
Her jumbled thoughts scattered as she immediately stood up, racing toward the dining table, greeted by her mother’s gentle smile.
Looking at the table full of dishes, she exclaimed, “Yesterday when I came back, it wasn’t this lavish!”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Today, your brother and the uncle are here, so of course, I had to make more.”
“Black Bean! Each of you gets a steak, don’t drool over your sister’s!”
“Oh~”
Ning Chu sat at the dining table, cutting her steak in half and transferring a piece onto Black Bean’s plate.
“Sis, you’re so good to me~”
“So greedy.” Her mother lovingly ruffled Black Bean’s head.
“Kids are like that, growing and all~” Ning Chu didn’t mind and beamed at the busy uncle in the kitchen. “Is the seafood not ready yet?”
“It just needs to be plated before it can go into the steamer.”
Unlike the imposing impression he left earlier, the uncle was now bustling about in the kitchen, a smile at the corners of his eyes, looking like a devoted homemaker.
The atmosphere felt considerably better than before, and she felt a little more at ease.
At least he looked easy to get along with.
Ning Chu glanced at her brother sitting to the side. Ning Yuan was quietly eating, occasionally glancing at the uncle but showing no signs of disdain or acceptance.
“The seafood will take a bit longer to steam; let’s eat first.”
The uncle walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of boiled shrimp, and sat down next to their mother. He looked up at the siblings, smiled, and nodded before chatting with her mother: “I got these steaks from Sam’s through a contact. Heard they’re pretty good, so I brought some for you to try.”
“If you like them, I can get more to send over for the kids to have for breakfast.”
Black Bean perked up, quickly raising his head to agree: “Yes! For breakfast!”
“Such an expensive thing for breakfast?” Their mother shot him a disgruntled look and muttered, “Do you have money to burn?”
The uncle chuckled awkwardly, took a few bites, and habitually pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.
“Go smoke in the hallway, or the place will reek of smoke.”
He obediently stood up to head to the hallway for a smoke.
Looks a bit like he’s under wife control? At least he’s not overly masculine.
Ning Chu watched his departing back. So far, she had a decent opinion of the uncle. He seemed to spoil her mother, wasn’t bothered by being put in his place, and although he had a serious demeanor, he became approachable once he smiled.
And that physique! He definitely wouldn’t be the kind to run away when things get tough!
Thank goodness he wasn’t the greasy, lewd type found in those novels. Otherwise, no matter how nice he was to her mother, his first impression wouldn’t be great.
“Mom, you used to scold Brother when he smoked~” Ning Chu rested her chin on her hand, teasingly asked, “So why do you let the uncle smoke?”
“Your brother is still so young! What’s he doing smoking?”
“I’m already in my twenties.” Ning Yuan grumbled, “Why do you always make me sound like a kid?”
“Mom’s elbow is turning outward~”
Her mother shot Ning Chu a disgruntled look with her chopsticks, giving her a light knock on the head: “Can’t you keep your mouth shut at the table? Can’t you learn to be more like Ning Xin? Just eat, don’t talk!”
Black Bean was so focused on eating, cheeks stuffed, it was impossible for him to speak.
Ning Chu couldn’t stay quiet for even half a minute and blurted out, “Mom~ The uncle really seems nice to you.”
“He what job exactly?” Ning Yuan followed up with a question.
“He’s a small contractor.”
Ning Chu didn’t have a specific concept of what a contractor was; she had never dealt with it before, only knowing that they often made the news for not paying their workers.
She mumbled softly, “Sounds pretty average.”
“Better than your boyfriend!” Her mother shot her a glare.
Now that made Ning Chu fume: “Wen Yang just started college! How is that even comparable? He might be a big boss by the time he hits forty!”
“Right, right, big boss!”
Fuming, she shot her mother a glare, while her mother dropped a piece of rib into her bowl: “Eat! Leave the adult matters alone!”
Ning Yuan sighed faintly, seeing his sister defend Wen Yang, feeling an inexplicable sense of fatherly sadness.
It was as if the flowers and plants they raised were being trampled by outsiders, which tugged at his heartstrings.
But when it came to their mother and the uncle, he was quite pleased, just like Ning Chu. He was happy to see her find a compatible partner.
——————
A long-overdue update~
The number of readers has dwindled, and the pressure for updates has lessened; I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad.
