After teasing Auntie (not really) and filling her with emotional value, Xu Qingfan quickly finished breakfast.
Disturbed by Xia Xiaoxiao last night, he guessed he didn't fall asleep until almost four in the morning, and now it was not even ten in the morning. Having put away the dishes, Xu Qingfan decided to go upstairs for some more sleep.
After washing her hands, Xia Xiaoxiao placed the bottle of lubricant on her forehead, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling lost in thought.
Fearful of being ridiculed by Xu Qingfan, she had locked both the living room and her bedroom door, but it seemed she worried too much. Half an hour had passed, and Xu Qingfan showed no signs of approaching her, he hadn't even sent her a single QQ message.
Xia Xiaoxiao's eyebrows gradually furrowed into a frown, and she thought, just because I ran away, why haven't you, Xu Qingfan, contacted me for so long?
"Did he go out?" Xia Xiaoxiao muttered to herself, suddenly feeling anxious.
"How can he just do that!"
No longer caring about being awkward, Xia Xiaoxiao tossed the lubricant onto the bedside table and went to check on the place next door, putting on her shoes.
[The morning time is reserved for me, you're not allowed to go out!]
Xia Xiaoxiao walked in a hurry, her slippers making crisp sounds on the tiled floor.
"What's up with Xiao Xiao?" Lin Jing poked her head out of the kitchen, sensing the smell of simmering donkey-hide gelatin.
"Ah... Mom, I'm going to see what Xu Qingfan is up to." Having a guilty conscience, she unavoidably felt uneasy in front of Lin Jing.
Lin Jing smiled and pursed her lips: "I've stewed some donkey-hide gelatin, remember to come back and drink it later, and prepare a bowl for your Aunt Yao."
"Got it, Mom." Xia Xiaoxiao regained her composure, nodded, and left the house after opening the door.
Watching her own daughter leave, Lin Jing cradled her cheek in thought.
[Xiao Xiao was acting so strangely when she came back just now... Could it be that...]
Her gaze shifted to the slightly ajar door of Xia Xiaoxiao's room, her eyes widening.
Considering her daughter's request to sleep over next door last night and the surprise she showed this morning upon seeing her, Lin Jing thought it was indeed a possibility.
[Those two kids... Could they have already... tasted the forbidden fruit?]
Lin Jing suddenly felt dizzy, leaning on the nearby wooden door for a while before her vision cleared again.
This is probably the mindset of every parent raising a daughter, experiencing a surge of blood pressure after realizing their carefully nurtured cabbage has been nibbled by a pig.
"Don't scare yourself, it might just be nothing..." Lin Jing gently patted her chest and exhaled, harboring a thought:
[Thank goodness it's Xiao Fan.]
[If it's Xiao Fan, aside from the age not being quite right, there's really nothing else... just worried they might not know to take precautions.]
Lin Jing's concerns mounted, if the two kids had really been intimate, she as a mother could come to terms with it, but was afraid of an accidental pregnancy, which would be real trouble!
Lin Jing had always respected her daughter's privacy, but today, she was determined to be the 'bad mom' for once.
She stared at her daughter's open bedroom door and made up her mind.
"Mom is doing this for your own good." Lin Jing entered Xia Xiaoxiao's room, uttering the phrase all parents claim.
She knew her daughter always had the habit of keeping a diary, and perhaps she could find some clues in Xiao Xiao's diary.
But clearly, Lin Jing was overthinking it. Xia Xiaoxiao's diary not only was locked with a password, but much of its content was encrypted.
There's a saying, who writes a diary if they're serious?
Even though she was in her own home, Lin Jing felt like a thief as she locked the door from inside and sneakily approached the dressing table, opening the drawer where Xia Xiaoxiao usually kept her diary.
Many things were haphazardly stored inside, including crystal balls, small bells, and even dried-up flower specimens.
If Xu Qingfan was present, he might recognize that these were all gifts he had given the girl from childhood to adulthood, some casual and some for her birthday, but all treasured by Xia Xiaoxiao in this place.
Lin Jing didn't mess with the other items, instead, she simply took out the latest diary. She backed away and sat on the edge of the bed.
"The password... should be related to Xiao Fan."
With only four digits needed for the code, the first thing Lin Jing thought of was Xu Qingfan's birthday. She typed in '0629', but the locked diary remained unresponsive.
Recalling the small notes she usually confiscated, Lin Jing changed the code to '9260'.
This time, the diary opened easily.
A look of joy crossed Lin Jing's face, but she quickly grew tense again.
Today Xu Qingfan accompanied me to visit Grandpa and Grandma and that person. Six years had passed, and a lot had changed.
If I have to live like that woman for marriage, I'd rather stay single.
We didn't have dinner, Xu Qingfan brought me home, back to our own home!"
Lin Jing's heart clenched; she had never expected her daughter to think this way. However, her face's worried expression was soon overtaken by joy.
Xu Qingfan annoyed me again today, he said he'd take me to eat fish because I love to pick bones!"
Xu Qingfan annoyed me again, he claimed to have finished the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but he didn't find me in it!"
Xu Qingfan is such a dog! I ran out of toilet paper and asked him to pass me some, he handed me sandpaper!"
"Pfft! Hahaha..." Originally meant to be searching for clues, Lin Jing ended up holding her daughter's diary like a collection of jokes and started reading with laughter.