But at this moment, looking at this girl who was about the same age as her daughter, and seeing her equally thin and haggard face, her heart ached too.
An Nuannuan looked at the gentle-toned aunt in front of her, and she was suddenly reminded of her own mother.
Perhaps mothers around the world were , always gentle when facing their children.
"Thank you, Aunt... we're okay now, it's just that Musen has a bit of a fever and is still resting. I came out to prepare some hot water for him because he will be thirsty when he wakes up."
"Oh is that so... It's also almost time for lunch, so why don't you all rest a little longer? I'll prepare lunch for you!"
Liu Rushuang rolled up her sleeves, the children were all sick, very weak. They needed rest, and since they had come, she ought to take good care of them.
Bai Xin nodded as well, although she didn't cook, she could still help out a bit.
An Nuannuan did not refuse the kind offer.
Yao Mingyue expressed her doubt.
Bai Xin also looked at her best friend, maintaining a skeptical attitude.
Liu Rushuang gave her a glance: "Anyway, I'm better than you."
After all, she was a housewife. Although her culinary skills weren't comparable to Musen's mother, she could still handle some basic dishes.
Never underestimate a housewife.
Liu Rushuang pulled Bai Xin toward the kitchen.
Yao Mingyue and An Nuannuan exchanged glances.
Yao Mingyue, slightly embarrassed, touched the tip of her nose: "My mom, she's just , don't mind it. Her cooking is probably not that great. We might as well notify the hotel too, and have them deliver some food later."
An Nuannuan gently shook her head, looking towards the direction Liu Rushuang had left. Her large eyes twinkled slightly: "Actually, I really envy you, she's a good mother."
Yao Mingyue's gaze also turned towards the kitchen.
Her eyes filled with a child's dependency on her mother. Over the years, her mom had sacrificed too much for her. In fact, for Yao Mingyue, Liu Rushuang could give up everything.
"Yes, she's my good mom..."
Yao Mingyue's smile brightened, her heart warmed.
The moms, along with Aunt Bai, were busy bustling around but seemed quite clueless about what they were actually doing.
"Some housewife you are, you said you could cook, but you don't even blanch the meat!"
"Who says I don't blanch? This is called preheating... And you too, I asked you to shred the potatoes and what's this? They are thicker than chopsticks!"
An Nuannuan quietly withdrew her gaze: "Maybe we should just call the hotel..."
Yao Mingyue and she shared a glance, both unable to hold back their laughter.
At that moment, it truly felt like they were "one family."
Finally, under the diligent efforts of Chef Liu, everyone finally got to enjoy a grand meal delivered from the hotel.
Liu Rushuang could only stir-fry some eggs with tomatoes, and some simple dishes that were fine for usual days.
But considering the kids were sick and needed nutrition, she ended up secretly calling the hotel to prepare and serve the food.
"Wow, Mom, I haven't seen you in a few days, and your cooking skills have massively improved, even better than my godmother!"
Yao Mingyue pretended not to know, purposefully flattering as she eyed the feast spread across the table.
"Alright, alright, you cheeky girl, give your mom some face."
Liu Rushuang could easily read her daughter's little expressions and reached out to poke her.
Zhu Yulan and Zhao Lianmai also got up, and upon seeing Liu Rushuang and Bai Xin, they felt a bit constrained.
"Hello there, don't be so reserved. You two have been through a lot these past few days, come, come, hurry up and eat something good to nourish yourselves."
Liu Rushuang pulled Zhu Yulan and Zhao Lianmai to sit down, even personally ladling hot soup for them.
Zhu Yulan looked at Liu Rushuang, then sneakily glanced at Yao Mingyue. If it weren't for their striking resemblance and beauty, she would've doubted whether they were really mother and daughter.
Their personalities were just too different.
Zhu Yulan sneakily observed the subtle sway as Liu Rushuang bent over to serve them soup—
Perhaps, Yao Mingyue might still break more boundaries in the future.
Zhu Yulan suddenly felt an even greater pressure.
"Nuannuan, where are you going?"
Just as Liu Rushuang had served An Nuannuan a bowl of hot soup, Nuannuan was ready to leave the dining table with her bowl.
"Musen should be waking up soon, I'll go feed him a bit first, he must be hungry too."
An Nuannuan carried her bowl and was about to leave, but was gently stopped by Liu Rushuang.
"You need to eat first, look at how haggard you are."
Liu Rushuang, with a heart full of sympathy, pinched An Nuannuan's cheek, then turned her gaze to Bai Xin: "Xiao Bai, you go take care of your dear student first."
Bai Xin knew, but seeing the tired faces of the girls, she wouldn't fuss about it.
"Okay, I'll go feed him some food, you guys eat well."
Bai Xin picked up the hot soup and headed to the room.
Bai Xin saw Xu Musen lying on the bed.
Bai Xin tiptoed over, sat by the bed, and looked at Xu Musen's slightly flushed face.
"Little guy, so you get sick too."
This was the first time Bai Xin saw him so weak. She remembered the first time she met him.
He had been like an energetic monkey, bouncing around nonstop every day.
Today, too, he was honestly lying on the bed.