Qin Jian nodded, sat down, and pushed a bowl of Yangchun noodles towards An Hao before handing her the chopsticks.
"You’re having Yangchun noodles too? What a coincidence, Old Ning and I especially love to support the Yangchun noodles here," Zhang Yun’s facial expressions became animated.
Seeing that she was still waiting for her noodles and looking at the crowd gathered around the window, Qin Jian pushed his own bowl of Yangchun noodles towards Zhang Yun, "You eat first!"
"Oh, no, no! How could I accept this?" Zhang Yun quickly waved her hands to refuse, "Old Ning will be here soon."
As she spoke, Ning Yibin came over with two bowls of noodles. When he sat down and saw Qin Jian, he was also taken aback, "Engineer Qin!"
When Qin Jian saw that the provincial senior official had arrived, he quickly stood up to greet him, but Ning Yibin stopped him, "Sit, sit, sit! We’re outside, not at work, let’s all relax a bit!"
"Leader, you came to eat noodles too?" Qin Jian asked casually.
"My home is nearby. You... she should be your aunt," Ning Yibin said, pointing at Zhang Yun, "She likes Yangchun noodles, so we come here often. I’ve become familiar with the chefs here, look, others are still queuing, but I’ve already got my noodles. What about you? What brings you here?"
"I’m here to dine with my fiancée."
"Fiancée!!" Zhang Yun was a little surprised when she heard this, and looked at An Hao sitting next to Qin Jian, "Is this young... young lady the one?"
"Yes!" Qin Jian’s mouth twitched slightly, his expression nuanced.
"She... she just started her freshman year at college, didn’t she?" Zhang Yun felt that An Hao was too young.
"Yes," Qin Jian answered.
Zhang Yun laughed incredulously, "How many years apart are you?"
"Twelve years!" An Hao interjected with a smile, "Age doesn’t matter, what’s important is that we love each other!"
"That’s true," Zhang Yun nodded, looking at Ning Yibin beside her, "He’s seven years older than me, and after all these years, we still love each other dearly!"
An Hao said enviously, "You can tell you’re very much in love! Have you been married for thirty years?"
"We just celebrated our thirtieth anniversary this year!" Zhang Yun said, nibbling on a chopstick-full of noodles, "I’m fifty now. I married Old Ning when I was eighteen, and had our child when I was twenty!"
"So your child is about the same age as Qin Jian! You must have grandchildren by now, right?" While eating her noodles, An Hao chatted with Zhang Yun, feeling very close to this elderly woman.
Zhang Yun was in the middle of sipping her soup when she heard An Hao’s words, and her spoonful paused, her eyes suddenly filling with tears.
Seeing her suddenly tear up, An Hao was startled, and she looked at Qin Jian, whispering, "Did I say something wrong?"
Qin Jian wasn’t sure why Zhang Yun had suddenly burst into tears either.
"It’s alright, it’s alright!" Ning Yibin took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe Zhang Yun’s tears and said with a bitter smile, "She was reminded of our son. He passed away a few years ago, died of a heart condition!"
Upon hearing "heart condition," An Hao’s own heart sank, "That disease also took my mother’s life! I hate this disease!"
Seeing that An Hao was also upset, Qin Jian quietly held her hand under the table, "You’re studying medicine now, you’ll have more opportunities to deal with heart patients in the future. Study hard and strive to save more lives!"
Watching Zhang Yun unable to stop her tears, Qin Jian understood just how much her son meant to her, "Aunt, I’m very sorry! An Hao has brought up a painful memory, she didn’t mean to, I apologize on her behalf."