Seeing her daughter's action, Liu Sitian was immediately displeased and said angrily, "It's Lin's first time visiting our home, how can we let her eat fried rice? Come, Lin, try the tripe stew I made, it's definitely delicious."
"Liu Sitian, are you sure it's delicious?" Qin Si Xuan questioned Liu Sitian's words with great skepticism.
"Oh dear! What's with your tone? I worked hard all afternoon to make this, how can it not be good!" Liu Sitian widened her eyes, showing her motherly authority.
"You worked hard and you're sure it's good? What logic is that? Lin Fan, you should just eat the fried rice instead, that's my mom's specialty." Qin Si Xuan hurriedly said.
"Oh dear! What's your point? If it weren't for you, would I have spent all afternoon cooking when I usually don't even lift a finger? I'm usually taking afternoon beauty naps!" Liu Sitian raised her voice, clearly upset.
"Liu Sitian, why are you yelling at me? Are you sure the food you made is even edible?" Qin Si Xuan was also displeased.
Lin Fan, caught between this extraordinary mother and daughter, felt deeply awkward and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Sixuan, Auntie worked hard all afternoon, we should at least give it a try."
"See! Lin's words are much better than yours, girl. I even doubt if you're my biological child!" Liu Sitian rolled her eyes at Qin Si Xuan, not in a good mood.
"Hmph! Who said I'm your biological child!" Qin Si Xuan also rolled her eyes at Liu Sitian.
Hearing this, Liu Sitian got anxious, her eyes turning red, and said, "What do you mean, girl? I raised you with lots of effort, do you know how expensive imported formula is? Do you know how much diapers cost? Raising you is like a never-ending phone bill! Is it easy being a mother?"
Hearing this, Qin Si Xuan fell silent.
Qin Si Xuan understood her mother very well; actually, her mother came from the countryside and was introduced by one of her father's rural relatives.
In that era of poverty twenty years ago, most places had the tradition of marrying early. Liu Sitian married Qin Si Xuan's father at eighteen and had Qin Si Xuan at nineteen, never enjoying the best period of womanhood, so now Liu Sitian pays extra attention to her appearance to make up for lost time.
Seeing that the mother and daughter had calmed down, Lin Fan, concerned about the impact on the atmosphere, smiled and said, "Um... Auntie, I'll try your dish then."
As he spoke, Lin Fan picked up a piece of tripe and put it in his mouth, but soon... Lin Fan regretted it!
This was no dish; it was like pouring a bag of salt into his mouth. If Lin Fan hadn't worried about hurting Liu Sitian's pride, he would have spit it out immediately. He forced the tripe down, feeling as if a knife scraped his throat; it was pure agony!
"Lin, how is my cooking?" Liu Sitian asked Lin Fan with a hopeful look.
"Not bad! The taste is amazing!" Lin Fan pretended to enjoy it, appearing filled with aftertaste.
"See! Lin said it's good, and yet you dare to doubt your mother's cooking skills!" Liu Sitian crossed her arms and provocatively raised her head at Qin Si Xuan.
Qin Si Xuan was full of doubt, suspecting herself because she knew her mother's cooking very well and thought to herself, "It's impossible." She quickly grabbed some tripe and put it in her mouth, but soon, Qing Si Xuan's expression twisted like a wrinkled bun.
Ptooey~
Qin Si Xuan spat out the tripe, waving her small hand in front of her cherry lips, saying, "Liu Sitian, are you trying to kill me with salt?"
"Is it really that salty?"
Liu Sitian, puzzled, also tried a piece of the tripe herself, and as expected, she spat it out as well.
"Lin, this dish... Oh, I remember, I was in a hurry to the bathroom and accidentally put too much salt in. Yes, that must be it. Here, try some other dishes." Liu Sitian explained sheepishly.
"It's alright, Lin Fan, you should eat the fried rice." Qin Si Xuan hurriedly pushed the fried rice in front of Lin Fan.
"Alright, eating more rice is healthy!"
Liu Sitian, concerned that the other dishes might taste bad too, reluctantly agreed for Lin Fan to have the fried rice, adding, "But just eating rice is boring. My husband has a bottle of excellent red wine we've kept, let's have some of that."
As she spoke, Liu Sitian turned to the kitchen and soon returned with a fine bottle of red wine, pouring a glass for each of them.
Lin Fan sniffed the wine aroma and immediately recognized it, smiling, "A premium Zhang Yu Cabernet, aged at least twenty years!"
"Exactly, this is a top-grade Zhang Yu Cabernet, given to us at our wedding, older than Sixuan here! Wow... Didn't expect Lin to know so much about wine as well, truly knowledgeable!" Liu Sitian laughed proudly.
"Just a little." Lin Fan chuckled modestly.
In his years wandering the world, he had tasted all kinds of wine. Those years, he was like a wine maniac, always accompanied by wine, naturally becoming very knowledgeable!
"Come on! Let's toast to Lin's first visit to our home." Liu Sitian exclaimed.
"I toast to you, Auntie," Lin Fan smiled gently.
A crisp clinking sound resounded.
After clinking glasses, the three drank in one go.
Liu Sitian, also a wine lover, saw Lin Fan could hold his liquor, suggesting they drink a bit more. After two bottles each, it was Liu Sitian who couldn't handle it, babbling nonsense before falling asleep on the table.
With no other option, Qin Si Xuan helped bring Liu Sitian back to her room, then, along with Lin Fan, tidied up the table. Only then did she send Lin Fan off.
"Lin Fan, I'm sorry about tonight's incident..."
Qin Si Xuan nervously entwined her slender fingers, like a schoolgirl stepping out into the world, looking down, afraid to meet Lin Fan's gaze, worried he might hold a grudge for what happened tonight.
Seeing Qin Si Xuan's guilty expression, Lin Fan laughed, "Silly girl, what are you thinking? Do I look petty to you?"
"No, you're not." Qin Si Xuan shook her head to look at Lin Fan, her beautiful eyes filled with infatuation, like a young girl gazing at her idol, her face beaming with a sweet smile.
Qin Si Xuan looked breathtakingly beautiful under the night sky, like a fairy descending to the mortal world, unsullied and utterly graceful. The sky, dotted with twinkling stars and a bright crescent moon, could not outshine her beauty.
She's like a firefly in the night, no matter where she goes, she will always outshine them all, beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful!