Xiang Xiaoyuan looked up and saw a middle-aged woman in a washed-out white jacket walking over. She was holding a tattered checkered umbrella and looked rather disheveled. She was tightly holding a white foam box.
However, the smile on her face was very kind.
Xu Xiyao’s hand was still on the door. When he saw the middle-aged woman, he quickly got into the rain. “Mom, why aren’t you home yet? It’s raining so hard.”
Xu Xiyao’s mother’s face was still wet from the rain. She smiled and explained, “The pastries aren’t sold out yet. I just wanted to wait a little longer to try my luck.” After she finished speaking, she glanced at the expensive car parked by the roadside. She hesitated for a moment and asked, “Ah Yao, this is…?”
Xu Xiyao held the umbrella and moved it a little closer to his mother. His shoulder was instantly wet from the rain. “This is the boss of the convenience store, Boss Xiang. This is my mother.”
Xiang Xiaoyuan greeted her with a smile. “Hello, Aunty.”
She thought of something and looked at Xu Xiyao. “You got off here to look for your mother, right? The rain is too heavy. Get in the car. I’ll send you back.”
Before Xu Xiyao could refuse, his mother waved her hand, she smiled sincerely. “No need, no need. Our house is only a few steps away, and the road inside is narrow. It’s not easy to get out after entering. Miss Xiang, I heard from Ah Yao that you usually take care of him very well. I’ve always wanted to thank you.”
After she finished speaking, she opened the foam box that was tightly protected. She hurriedly took out a few plastic bags from inside and handed them to Xiang Xiaoyuan. “I don’t know how to thank you either. These are some pastries that I made. If you don’t mind, try it.”
The plastic bags looked cheap. Because they were soaked in the rain, they looked even worse.
Xu Xiyao was about to stop her when he saw Xiang Xiaoyuan unbuckle her seatbelt, lean over and take the plastic bags. She opened one with a smile and took a bite, as she chewed, she asked, “Wow, it smells so good. There’s so much stuffing inside. What’s inside?”
Her eyes curved into crescents. It looked like she really liked eating it.
Mother Xu smiled even more kindly. “I made my own peanut and black sesame paste.”
“The taste is super good.” Xiang Xiaoyuan gave her a thumbs up. “I like them. Thank you, Aunty.”
The two of them chatted for a while. Xiang Xiaoyuan really thought that Mother Xu’s cooking skills were not bad and wanted to learn something from her. Unfortunately, they could not park here for a long time, so she said goodbye regretfully.
Looking at Xiang Xiaoyuan driving the car into the rain, Mother Xu hugged the foam box and sighed, “Ah Yao, your boss is so young.”
She had her own convenience store at such a young age. How amazing.
Xu Xiyao did not say anything. He looked at the direction in which the car drove without retracting his gaze for a long time.
“And she’s quite a nice person.” Mother Xu was still sighing.
Xu Xiyao retracted his gaze, grunted, and helped Mother Xu home. The umbrella was too small to accommodate two people. He shifted the position of the umbrella towards his mother’s side. Rain fell on his face and slid down his eyelashes.
When Lu Wanggui returned, he only saw Lu bei.
Lu Bei was sitting on the sofa and eating the fried chicken that Xiang Xiaoyuan ordered. The fried chicken was crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Lu Bei could eat two portions by himself. As he ate with relish, he stared at the television. The basketball game was on. On his left hand was the sparkling water that was bought by Xiang Xiaoyuan.
Lu Wanggui went upstairs and then downstairs as if it was normal to do so. He pretended to ask casually, “Are you the only one at home?”
The game was in an exciting state. Lu Bei stared at it intently and replied, “Yes, the rain is too heavy outside. She went to send Xu Xiyao home.”
“Oh.”
Lu Wanggui got his answer, then turned around and went upstairs to the study.
By the time Xiang Xiaoyuan came back, Lu Bei had finished eating the fried chicken and went upstairs to play games. She took a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and went upstairs as well. She didn’t expect to run into Lu Wanggui, who had just come out of the study.
The two of them stood on the steps, one up and one down. They were quite close to each other, so Xiang Xiaoyuan could smell a faint smoke. She paused and sniffed closer.
When Lu Wanggui saw her wrinkled nose, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “What’s wrong? Do I smell weird?”
“Yeah, it smells like tobacco.” Xiang Xiaoyuan nodded. “Have you been smoking?”
She was a little surprised because she had never seen Lu Wanggui smoke, nor had she smelled tobacco on him. This was her first time.
Lu Wanggui said helplessly, “You have an acute sense of smell.”