Although Chu Munan’s unusual reaction wasn’t very obvious, Song Qiao still noticed it directly.
With a slight raise of her eyebrows, she looked at him intently, yet spoke with a playful tone, "That pot of unidentified substance, don’t tell me you made it all by yourself?"
Hearing Song Qiao’s sarcastic tone, Chu Munan’s face immediately darkened, and he retorted directly, "What do you mean by ’unidentified substance’? That’s clearly porridge..."
"Whose porridge looks like this?" Song Qiao glared at him, almost gritting her teeth as she spoke, "If you give it to me to eat, are you trying to kill me?"
Chu Munan was suddenly very displeased, his expression turning even more gloomy, "It’s just porridge, how could it possibly kill you?"
Song Qiao gave him a once-over, then turned around and walked into the kitchen to turn off the heat. She wrapped a towel around the sides of the clay pot and carried it out, placing it directly on the dining table, "Fine, you drink it then."
When the lid was opened, it revealed a pot of hodgepodge, not just a simple pot of porridge. The reason Song Qiao called it an unidentified substance was because it had just about every color of vegetable, fruit, and meat in it.
For this reason, Song Qiao expressed that it was the first time she’d seen someone put so many ’ingredients’ in a pot of porridge.
This was clearly some kind of culinary abomination.
Chu Munan initially didn’t understand what was going on, so he walked over to take a look inside the pot, and his face immediately darkened. However, he didn’t say anything to Song Qiao but stood in the living room, gritting his teeth, and shouted, "Chu Mubei, get out here right now."
Song Qiao looked at the man who suddenly shouted a name with some anger, a bit dazed, not quite sure what was going on.
It wasn’t until she heard a sudden ’thud’ in her ear, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, that she quickly turned around alertly, looking into the kitchen.
Chu Munan reacted quickly, walking briskly towards the kitchen, and then a few seconds later, he came out holding a child...
A child?
Song Qiao’s eyes widened as she looked at the little boy, who appeared to be about three or four years old, being held by Chu Munan. In her mind, a thousand thoughts rushed by.
Damn, can someone tell her why this man could pull a little kid out of the kitchen?
The little boy was being held by the back collar by Chu Munan. Because of his small size, his feet were not touching the ground, and he was struggling to get down, but he couldn’t break free, pursing his lips with a very unhappy look.
Looking at the little boy who somewhat resembled Chu Munan, and recalling that Chu Munan seemed to have called a name ’Chu Mubei’ earlier, Song Qiao shivered and directly asked the tall and upright man a question, "Chu Munan, is this... your son?"
The man’s face darkened, yet he stared at Song Qiao and countered, "Do I look like someone who’s old enough to have such a big son?"
And how does the little guy look like they have a father-son resemblance with him?
Song Qiao gave Chu Munan a once-over, finally nodding seriously and spitting out, "Yes!"
Chu Munan, "..." His face darkened, and he directly let go of the kid in his hand, speaking with some anger, "Chu Mubei, why are you here? Who the hell sent you here?"
The man’s face held a bit of a gloomy shadow, and the veins on his forehead throbbed visibly, like he was trying hard to suppress a huge anger.
Seeing Chu Munan like this, Song Qiao couldn’t help but feel a little afraid, taking a few cautious steps back and looking at the calm little guy in front of her, she couldn’t help but want to give him a thumbs up.
In contrast to Song Qiao’s fear, Chu Mubei wasn’t too afraid. After being let go, he calmly patted his clothes, even adjusted his clothes that were wrinkled from being held up earlier, and looked at Chu Munan with big eyes, giving a cheeky smile, "I had the bodyguard bring me here. Brother, you can’t be like this, coming to An City to play and not taking me with you. I’ll complain to Daddy about you..."
Brother...
This word directly jumped into Song Qiao’s ears, like a bolt of thunder suddenly exploding.
She looked at Chu Munan, then at Chu Mubei, their ages being completely like a father and son. Chu Munan appeared to be at least thirty years old, right?
How could he possibly... have such a young brother?
"Who the hell told you I’m here to have fun?"
"Daddy told me you’re here to have fun, isn’t that right?"
"That’s your daddy fooling you, idiot!"
"But he’s your daddy too, isn’t he?"
Chu Munan, "..." Can I freaking strangle this little kid?
Song Qiao stood there, looking at the pair in front of her who seemed somewhat alike... uh, brothers, utterly speechless, and she couldn’t interject anything.
Chu Mubei seemed disinclined to continue arguing with his brother. He turned his head, his gaze falling on Song Qiao, looked her over, and then, like a little gentleman, walked up to Song Qiao and extended his small hand with a smile, "Hello, my name is Chu Mubei, I’m Chu Munan’s brother. What’s your name?"
"How old are you?"
"What do you do?"
"Where do you live?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
The little guy looked at Song Qiao with an incredibly innocent smile, but he asked several questions in a row.
Song Qiao "..." Are you here to check household registration?
Before Song Qiao could answer, Chu Munan had already stepped forward and picked up the little guy, warning through gritted teeth, "Chu Mubei, do you believe I’ll throw you out right now?"
Though lifted up with his feet not touching the ground, Chu Mubei didn’t show a hint of panic, clearly accustomed to being picked up like this.
The little guy unhurriedly looked up at Chu Munan with a slight smile and spoke innocently, "Brother, I’m trying to find you a girlfriend so you can stop being single. Acting so fierce will scare her away. Do you plan to be single forever?"
He paused and, before Chu Munan could speak, continued in a mature manner with meaningful words, "That won’t do. Dad always wanted to hold a grandchild. If you won’t get a wife to have a baby for him to play with, why would he have me? So, you need to quickly marry a wife and have a baby for Dad to play with, or else he’ll probably have another little brother."
Song Qiao stood there motionlessly, instantly feeling a whirlwind from the little guy’s words.
Whose child is this anyway? How could he be such a character?
But isn’t he adorable?
Chu Munan’s face darkened even more and without thinking, he picked up the little guy and walked him straight to the door, throwing him out of the villa before slamming the door shut.
Song Qiao watched cautiously, not stepping in to stop it. She only asked as Chu Munan came back inside, "Is he really your brother?" Not your son?
The man stopped, his face no longer dark but remaining indifferent, and instead of answering, he asked, "What do you want to say?"
Song Qiao, "... I didn’t want to say anything, I was just curious."
From Chu Munan’s back, she didn’t know that when she was held hostage by this man, she had wondered countless times who he was and why he was involved with Zuo Yuqing.
Later, when she returned to the Chu Family to recover, she looked up information about him. Although "Chu Munan" was searchable online, the descriptions weren’t very detailed, comprising only a few news articles introducing his noble background and public identity.
She only knew he was the eldest young master of the Chu Family, the current president of the Chu Group, and someone influential both abroad and at home, but nothing else.
She hadn’t expected he also had this younger brother.
Moreover, his younger brother seemed quite special.
The man glanced at the inedible porridge on the table with furrowed brows and finally said, "Start cooking again, that kid put something in the food."
"Will you cook for me?" Song Qiao instinctively asked this question.
Chu Munan, "...You’re overthinking." Then he turned and walked straight to the second floor, clearly having no intention to manage Song Qiao.
Song Qiao, "..." I was just asking, okay? She regretted it immediately after asking.
Left with no choice, Song Qiao ventured into the kitchen herself. Fortunately, the fridge was well-stocked, allowing her to prepare a meal of four dishes and a soup.
She never skimps on food, as she’s a bit of a picky eater unless circumstances force her otherwise.
Also, she’s a bit of a foodie.
For foodies, nothing matters except the food.
Though she doesn’t fully embrace the essence of being a foodie.
But when she finished cooking and brought out the four dishes and a soup, she saw Chu Mubei drooling over them at the dining table.
Holding the soup, she walked over, put it down, and looked at the little guy with a slight smile, "Do you want some?"
The little guy showed no embarrassment or fear upon seeing Song Qiao, nodding honestly, "Will you let me have some?"
"If I say no, what will you do?"
"Nothing much." The little guy showed no significant reaction to Song Qiao’s response, resting his little hands on his chin as he spoke, "I’ll just sit here and watch you eat, unless you have the heart to starve me."
"..."
...
Inside Lu Jingchen and Song Qiao’s villa, the man’s expression remained as gloomy as before. However, besides Xi Mohan and Ning Wan, everyone else had already left.
Assistant Xue hurriedly entered from outside and said to Lu Jingchen, "President, we’ve located Madam’s whereabouts."