Returning to Parents' Seventeen
Chapter 61 Ningning Asks Me to Go Out

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Ningning Asks Me to Go Out

Hearing You Shuzhen’s exclamation, Xu Chuning was amused and frustrated, "Mom, what are you thinking about?"

If she and Shen Sinian were dating, wouldn’t that be incest?

That’s impossible.

You Shuzhen looked at her calm expression, not very sure, "No?"

Xu Chuning: "No."

She felt a bit helpless, "Shen Sinian and I, as I’ve told you before, it’s not what you think. We are more than classmates; we are friends, very good friends."

You Shuzhen gave an "Oh", still feeling a bit aggrieved, "I thought from what you just said..."

You Shuzhen didn’t finish her sentence, but Xu Chuning understood, "There’s nothing like that."

You Shuzhen nodded, "Alright."

Xu Chuning: "Let’s not talk about this, please have a seat."

You Shuzhen nodded.

The mother and daughter sat in the store while Shen Sinian and Shen Yubai were cleaning up in the back, including washing dishes.

Hearing the noises from the back, You Shuzhen craned her neck to see, clearly worried.

Seeing this, Xu Chuning was amused and frustrated again, "Mom, if you don’t trust Shen Sinian, you should trust Shen Yubai, right?"

"You mean Xiao Shen wouldn’t do these things either?" You Shuzhen doubted.

Xu Chuning: "..."

She had to admit, her mom had a good reason to worry.

"I’ll sit here; you go supervise."

Without waiting for You Shuzhen to respond, Xu Chuning got up and walked to the back.

Seeing her coming, Shen Yubai raised his eyes, "Not reassured?"

Xu Chuning lowered her eyelashes casually, "Yeah."

Shen Yubai: "..."

He didn’t expect her to be so frank about it.

After a few seconds of standoff, Shen Yubai slightly tugged at the corner of his lips, "Then you supervise properly."

Xu Chuning: "You continue."

Listening to their conversation, Shen Sinian, who was seriously washing dishes on the side, felt something was off. Wasn’t he the one washing dishes? If his mom wanted to supervise, shouldn’t she be supervising him? What did it have to do with his dad?

However, Shen Sinian only dared to murmur these thoughts in his mind, not daring to voice them.

Shen Yubai and Shen Sinian were still reliable in their work; they didn’t break any dishes in the store nor miss a single chopstick that needed washing.

After cleaning up, the rain outside had lessened.

The drizzle continued, and past mealtime, it was even less likely for any customers to show up.

The four of them were just sitting idle, and Shen Sinian rolled his eyes, suggesting, "How about we play some Fight the Landlord?"

Xu Chuning glanced at him.

Shen Sinian touched his nose, "Or something else is fine too."

Shen Yubai: "Let’s play Gomoku."

Xu Chuning turned her head to look at him.

Shen Yubai: "Want to play?"

Xu Chuning: "We don’t have Gomoku in the store."

"I’ll go buy it," Shen Yubai stood up, "There’s a shop nearby."

Xu Chuning thought about it, "Then I’ll trouble you."

She wasn’t formal with Shen Yubai.

Shen Yubai hummed and took an umbrella to the shop.

Later that afternoon, the four cramped into the store, studying Gomoku.

At first, it was Xu Chuning and Shen Yubai playing.

After a while, she found it uninteresting, as Shen Yubai always won. So, she decided to continue her homework, suggesting Shen Sinian to play with You Shuzhen for a while.

Shen Yubai sat across her desk, glanced at the homework she had flipped out, "Does your class have this much homework?"

Xu Chuning paused, "It’s alright."

Shen Yubai looked steadily for a while but didn’t ask further.

After a few seconds of silence, he looked at Xu Chuning’s handwriting, his brow twitched, "Your handwriting..."

Xu Chuning raised her gaze, "What?"

Her eyes were clear and bright, her black and white pupils staring at Shen Yubai, making it a bit hard for him to tell the truth.

"Do you want to practice your handwriting?" Shen Yubai asked tactfully.

Xu Chuning: "...I have practiced."

Actually, she also wanted nice handwriting, but she lacked willpower when it came to practicing handwriting. Strangely, Xu Chuning was quite determined and persistent in other things, but when it came to handwriting, she always forgot.

Shen Yubai: "Useless?"

Xu Chuning: "Not very effective."

Shen Yubai was silent, "What kind of calligraphy practice book did you buy?"

"Usual ones from the bookstore." Xu Chuning replied.

Shen Yubai casually: "I see."

Xu Chuning hummed, continuing her homework.

Shen Yubai narrowed his eyes and watched her for a moment more, then didn’t disturb her further.

Time seemed to fly by on Saturday afternoon.

In the blink of an eye, it was evening.

For dinner, Shen Sinian and Shen Yubai still ate at the shop. After eating, they helped each other to close the shop and then each went home.

Xu Chuning and You Shuzhen rarely got home as early as seven to rest; after washing up, You Shuzhen sat on a stiff sofa, flipping through a food cookbook she once found at a street stall, genuinely interested in cooking.

Xu Chuning glanced over unintentionally, remembering what Shen Yubai had said in the afternoon and the way Shen Sinian looked at her.

After pondering for a while, Xu Chuning took out her phone and sent a QQ message to Shen Sinian: [What are you doing?]

Shen Sinian was playing games in Shen Yubai’s study when he saw Xu Chuning’s message. He quickly quit the game and earnestly replied to her: [I’m at Shen Yubai’s place, playing on the computer.]

Xu Chuning: [Oh, wanna go out for breakfast tomorrow?]

Shen Sinian paused, guessing Xu Chuning wanted to talk to him, and quickly agreed: [Nine o’clock?]

He really didn’t want to get up too early.

Xu Chuning: [Okay, want to eat at the small shop, or go somewhere else?]

Shen Sinian: [I’m fine with either.]

Xu Chuning: [Let’s start at the small shop.]

If it doesn’t rain tomorrow morning, there won’t be few customers at the shop; she would need to help.

Shen Sinian: [Alright.]

Mother and son had their plan set; Xu Chuning then logged out of QQ. She picked up a book to read for a while, but suddenly heard You Shuzhen calling her, "Ningning."

Xu Chuning: "What?"

You Shuzhen, holding the book, asked with shining eyes, "Do you want to eat stewed dishes?"

Xu Chuning: "Stewed dishes?"

"Yes." You Shuzhen handed her the book, "This book has the recipes for stewed dishes. If you want, mom will try making it tomorrow."

You Shuzhen had eaten it elsewhere before but had never made it herself.

Xu Chuning looked down and smiled, "I want to eat it."

You Shuzhen: "Then mom will make it for you tomorrow."

Xu Chuning: "Okay."

Mother and daughter relaxed for a moment before going to bed.

The next morning, You Shuzhen went to the market early to buy the ingredients needed for the stewed dishes.

She was busy with breakfast and didn’t get a chance to prepare it.

As the breakfast crowd thinned, You Shuzhen set about studying how to make the stewed dishes.

Xu Chuning, seeing her focus, did not disturb her. When she saw Shen Sinian outside the shop, she told You Shuzhen, "Mom, I’m going out with Shen Sinian to buy some stuff, please watch the shop."

You Shuzhen responded, "Don’t worry."

Xu Chuning walked out of the small shop, looking at the young man in a white T-shirt and casual pants, and couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

Shen Sinian, puzzled, "Ningning, why are you looking at me like that?"

Xu Chuning plainly stated, "My son is really handsome."

"..."

Hearing this, Shen Sinian proudly said, "Right, I think so too."

Xu Chuning, amused, gave him a look, "Don’t be so narcissistic."

"It’s called being honest," Shen Sinian chuckled.

After chatting briefly, Shen Sinian asked, "Where are we going now?"

Xu Chuning: "Taking you to another store for breakfast."

Shen Sinian exclaimed, "Grandma knows, won’t she be mad?"

"No, she won’t."

The two walked towards the street. On the way, Shen Sinian received a message from Shen Yubai asking if he was having breakfast.

Shen Sinian: [I’m not at home.]

Shen Yubai: [?]

Shen Sinian: [Forgot to tell you last night, Ningning asked me out.]

Shen Yubai: "..."