Proud senior schoolgirl was tender and sweet, we fell in love

She began to feel that she was not at fault.

Why should she? She'd taken care of the old lady for most of her life, looking after their whole family for so long.

Was it all her fault in the end?

The biggest mistake she made was that she had always been compromising!

Her emotional changes could not escape the old lady's eyes.

In her heart, she felt both disappointed and guilty.

Over the years, she had always thought she was quite good to both of her daughters-in-law.

And, in fact, she knew she was biased in favor of her eldest son's family.

The eldest had started working early to support his younger brother, although part of the reason was that the eldest was not academically inclined.

The youngest was different, like his father, he had good grades.

But as a mother, she always felt guilty, her child should be in school studying, not working to help her.

Later, when her eldest son got married, she was wholeheartedly good to his wife too.

Not to mention how her heart ached when she later found out they were having difficulty having children.

She was biased toward them deep down to her bones.

But in the end, what did she get? Complaints.

The old lady was uncertain whether she felt disappointed or if she thought her own life was quite a failure.

But she had always been biased, she couldn't continue to be biased all her life.

The old lady withdrew her gaze from Huang Lan and Xie Qingfeng.

Her eldest son had always been good, to her and to his younger brother.

But the one who would spend a lifetime with him was his own wife.

The children had grown up, it was time to let them live their own lives.

The old lady said softly, "I, I've heard that retirement homes these days are quite nice. I'll go, you find me a good one, and the retirement home expenses, food, drink, and necessities, you two brothers can split them.

That way, it'll be fair to everyone."

Huang Lan was about to argue, incidentally mentioning that if it was too good, costing over ten thousand, they couldn't afford it in their family.

But before she could speak, she was interrupted by her brother Xie Qingxiao, "Mom, we definitely can't let you go to a retirement home, your two kids are still here, how could that be possible?"

Yang Lan also frowned at the side, her face full of disapproval.

Outside, Xie Xiao and Luo Yanran stood at the door for a while, not hearing anything further.

Xie Xiao continued to lead Luo Yanran away.

Luo Yanran kept looking back worriedly.

But she also knew that she couldn't see through to what was happening inside now.

Yet, she could tell that Xie Xiao was not happy.

Xie Xiao turned and asked, "What shall we have for dinner?"

Luo Yanran blinked, "Up to you, I'm fine with anything."

Eventually, they found themselves at the snack street next to their high school.

It was still that noodle shop.

But at this time, the students had gone back to evening self-study, and the shop was not crowded.

Unexpectedly, the shop owner seemed to recognize them, looking over several times. Xie Xiao said with a bit of amusement, "If you keep staring, I'll start charging for copyright infringement."

The owner laughed, "I just thought you two looked familiar. Are you students from around here?"

"Right, but we graduated about four years ago," Xie Xiao laughed and nodded, "Your shop had just opened when we were in our final year of high school."

"Ah, I thought you looked familiar, haha. I'll bring you two side dishes in a bit~" the owner said cheerfully.
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True to his word, two side dishes accompanied the noodles when they were served.

Luo Yanran and Xie Xiao thanked the owner.

The owner chuckled and said, "Don't be polite," and then left.

After taking a bite, Luo Yanran sighed, "Ah, it's still the same taste. Noodles from outside just don't compare with this place. I feel like I have a filter."

Then she laughed at herself.

Xie Xiao looked at her with a smile, "Like it? I like this place too. I used to think you weren't too fond of it."

"Like it? Why else would I have come here so many times with you?"

"Could it be that it's not because you wanted to be with me?" Xie Xiao raised an eyebrow with a retort.

Luo Yanran nodded earnestly, "Actually, that does seem to be the case!"

They looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

After that, they quietly ate their noodles.

Xie Xiao was thinking about how it seemed like everything was going wrong today.

For example, the "dream" earlier, and then the encounter with Grandma didn't go smoothly either.

He wanted to sigh, perhaps he should start consulting the almanac before doing anything, just like Qi Yan.

He said it was his family's tradition.

Businessman's superstition.

Xie Xiao hadn't been much of a believer before, but now he felt he might as well start believing a bit.

Luo Yanran was still eating quickly. She usually didn't have a big appetite, but today she had eaten quite a bit.

After she finished, she propped her cheeks in her hands and watched Xie Xiao eat.

Xie Xiao felt quite hungry today and ended up finishing almost all of what Luo Yanran had left over.

After watching his sequence of actions, she said with a smile, "Actually, I used to see some young couples finish each other's leftovers and thought it was kind of gross, but after being in a relationship myself, It doesn't seem to bother me anymore."

She pondered for a second, "I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite."

Xie Xiao laughed at her comment, "You say that, but you've never eaten anything I've left behind, right? Isn't it always me eating what you leave?"

Luo Yanran thought hard about it and realized that seemed to be true.

Still, she countered, "But it's not like I've never tasted your saliva..."

As she spoke, she felt something was off.

Xie Xiao looked at her with an ambiguous expression.

Then Luo Yanran's face turned red and she said softly, "Hey, why are you being a hooligan?"

Xie Xiao: ??? I didn't say anything; haven't you been the one talking all the time? Are you sure it's not you being a hooligan?

But he decided not to argue when he saw Luo Yanran looking so self-righteous.

In his mind, he could still see their initial awkwardness, when Luo Yanran preferred to take everything upon herself.

Sometimes she would reflect on herself even when it was Xie Xiao's fault, that version of her was so cautious it was heart-wrenching.

Now, watching the little temper he had indulged in her bring out, Xie Xiao felt very pleased.

Luo Yanran thought he would argue back, but when he didn't and just quietly gazed at her,

she felt somewhat embarrassed. After making eye contact for a few seconds, she was the first to look away and muttered under her breath, "Why aren't you arguing back?"

Xie Xiao said with a laugh, "Not arguing back? Maybe I really am being indecent in my thoughts?"

With that, he completely bewildered Luo Yanran.

She looked at Xie Xiao, sitting opposite her, and slowly started to blush.

In the end, Xie Xiao managed to make her blush and her heart flutter with just a single sentence.

After finishing their meal, they hesitated at the door for a second, exchanged glances, and then heard the school bell ringing not far away.

Xie Xiao whispered as he took her hand, "Come on, want to relive our high school days?"

In Luo Yanran's eyes, a sparkling delight emerged, "Sure."

They snuck into the school against the current of students leaving for home.

But they didn't expect to be spotted by the security guard, "Hey, wait a minute, are those two parents?"