She didn’t know how to respond to Wen Nian’s sour words. If it had been before, she probably would have dived into his arms, acted coy, and charmed him...
Now, she could only awkwardly change the subject,
"You didn’t even tell me you were coming over... and you scared Commander Lu."
"Are you sure it wasn’t Commander Lu who got scared by me?"
Wen Nian’s eyes darkened, and Song Lili wished she could bite off her own tongue. Her words were just adding fuel to the fire.
"I’ve been in Xilin for two days, and you haven’t thought to see me."
Wen Nian was blanching vegetables, glancing at Song Lili.
"You are here for work, and besides, with so many guards around you, it’s not easy for me to just come see you..."
"Is it difficult to find me, or do you not want to find me?"
"My phone was confiscated, you know that. Commander Lu is here, let’s not talk about these things, okay? Let’s eat, let’s eat!"
Song Lili felt that Lu Ziqing’s gaze was practically drilling through her and Wen Nian.
"May I boldly ask, what exactly is the relationship between you two?"
Even if Lu Ziqing didn’t want to admit it, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, he still had to confront the intimacy and ambiguity that exceeded that of mere friends, shaking over the dining table.
They spoke in unison, then looked up at each other.
What could Lu Ziqing say?
Now he just felt extremely frustrated...
Tang Xiaocao was really well-behaved and obedient, sitting in the child’s seat and eating from his own bowl, truly silent, only occasionally turning his head to look at the TV in the living room where a cartoon was still playing.
Song Lili patted his head,
"If you want to watch, just take your bowl over there and eat. I’ll get you some more vegetables."
"We shouldn’t watch TV during meals."
Wen Nian stated flatly.
Tang Xiaocao pursed his lips, looking a bit lost; he turned to Song Lili...
"It’s okay, go ahead."
"Children should be well-educated from a young age, otherwise they’ll grow up without manners."
"Don’t bring your Wen Family’s rules over to me, okay? What’s wrong with eating while watching TV? Didn’t I used to like eating from my bowl in front of the TV to catch the cartoons?"
Song Lili suddenly became displeased, as many unpleasant memories flashed through her mind.
Wen Nian watched her steadily,
"What are you getting upset about?"
"I’m just looking out for him."
"I know how to teach him, and I will. You don’t need to worry about it."
Song Lili passed the bowl to Tang Xiaocao, "Go ahead."
But Tang Xiaocao, holding the bowl, didn’t walk towards the TV, but silently sat eating in his seat.
Wen Nian picked up some meat with the serving chopsticks and placed it in Tang Xiaocao’s bowl, smiling, "You’re more promising than your sister."
Song Lili furrowed her brows, glaring at Wen Nian, "What did you say?"
Wen Nian shrugged, "Nothing."
Of course, she knew discipline was important... but she also wanted Tang Xiaocao to have a bit of freedom in his life.
Their conversation, as if no one else were present, made Lu Ziqing feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, feeling like a glaring light bulb next to this "family of three."
What should have been a lively hot pot meal, due to Wen Nian’s sudden visit, felt a bit weird atmospherically.
Song Lili left the table early, seeing that Wen Nian and Lu Ziqing didn’t seem to have finished yet.
She led Tang Xiaocao to watch TV in the living room.
"Your Excellency and Lili... are really just childhood friends?"
Lu Ziqing, cooking the meat, asked quietly.
Wen Nian put the remaining vegetables into the pot, turning his head to look at Lu Ziqing,
"Isn’t ’childhood friends’ enough to dispel your thoughts about Xiao Li?"