Weekend, Xu Mo appeared as scheduled, carrying quite a few gifts in his hands. Every time he came over, he always brought gifts and never showed up empty-handed.

My mom said, “You’re too kind,” while grinning from ear to ear.

Soon these gifts would be shared in the family group chat, becoming mom's bragging rights.

“Xu Mo, you sit for a while, the dishes will be ready soon.”

Mom had the look of a mother-in-law pleased with her prospective son-in-law, happily bustling around in the kitchen.

Xu Mo keenly offered to help, but my mom promptly pushed him down onto the sofa and handed him a bowl of ginseng chicken soup for him to drink first.

I raised my eyes in surprise to look at mom, pointing to myself.

Mom shot me a glance: “You usually have enough supplements.”

Me: "..."

Dad was working overtime at the factory and had notified us in advance he wouldn’t be home for dinner.

Mom and I sat down first, and Xu Mo brought the last dish to the table before we started eating.

My mom, like she was someone else's benevolent mom, continuously picked dishes for Xu Mo: "Look at you, you’ve lost so much weight in a few days. Your mom will say I didn’t take good care of you."

When I video call him, both of our parents like to join in the fun. After a few casual meetings, they discovered they had identical views on children’s education, thus growing closer and eventually exchanging contacts, becoming friends.

“Ahem...”

I intentionally squeezed my voice, my eyes almost poking into my bowl, but my mom pretended not to notice, only looking at Xu Mo.

Xu Mo glanced at me, then at my mom, chuckled, and placed a big chicken leg into my bowl with his chopsticks.

At this, I quieted down.

“Click—”

The sound of a key turning the lock came.

“Laobai, you came back just in time...”

My mom's words fell as she turned and looked towards the entrance, her smile freezing.

I looked back and saw... Zhou Moyu.

She wore heavy makeup and carried a small, familiar bag.

Isn’t that the bag I bought for mom?

She casually tossed the bag onto the entrance cabinet and flung her shoes, one to each side.

“Godmother, get me a glass of water, I’m so...”

Before finishing, she looked up and noticed the three pairs of eyes on her.

Her gaze swept over my mom and me before finally landing on Xu Mo.

She stared at him without blinking.

I felt uncomfortable, coughed lightly, and blocked her line of sight.

“Zhou Moyu, why are you back? Didn’t you say you were going back to your hometown?”

“Don’t mention it.” Zhou Moyu didn’t answer but naturally sat beside Xu Mo, then casually ordered my mom around.

“Godmother, get me a bowl and chopsticks, I haven’t eaten and I’m starving.”

Mom didn’t say anything, stood up, and silently headed to the kitchen.

I was slightly angry.

“Zhou Moyu, you’re an adult, can’t you get your own bowl and chopsticks?”

“I’m just too tired, okay?”

She clearly didn’t think she was in the wrong, turning to Xu Mo, “Hey handsome, who are you? You look great, do you have a girlfriend?”

Even Xu Mo, who had seen many big occasions, was stunned by her question and looked helplessly at me.

My face was visibly indifferent.

“He’s my boyfriend. Do you need something from me?”

Zhou Moyu playfully stuck out her tongue, half-jokingly teasing me.

“Oh sister, you already have so many nice things, let me have your boyfriend, okay?”

I coldly stared at her without saying a word.

Seeing I wasn’t responding, she pouted in self-pity.

“Sister is boring; she can’t take a joke at all.”

She even blinked flirtatiously at Xu Mo.

“I was just joking. Brother won’t mind, right?”

Xu Mo waved his hand.

I felt as if I had swallowed a fly, extremely uncomfortable.

Under the table, Xu Mo tugged my hand, warming me up, slightly easing my irritation.

Mom brought the bowl and chopsticks over, and Zhou Moyu, unbothered, picked two of the four large chicken legs into her bowl, then started munching on one.

We all watched her behavior.

She probably noticed we stopped, but she wasn’t embarrassed at all.

“Eat, don’t stop, don’t just watch me eat,” she said, adding, “Although I’m charming, you shouldn’t just stare at me, I feel shy.”

She must think she’s being cute.

Mom also showed an awkward look, glancing at Xu Mo, “It’s okay, there’s one more chicken leg, you can have it.”

“No need, Auntie, I’m full. Let Jia Jia eat it.”

While we were talking, Zhou Moyu had finished two chicken legs, with the bones still clinging to a lot of meat on the table.

“Not eating? I’ll eat it then.”

We were still talking when she suddenly spoke, directly picking up the last chicken leg into her bowl even though she still had one left.

One whole plate of four chicken legs, all taken by her.

Mom’s face turned quite ugly, but with Xu Mo present, she couldn’t flare up, silently pouring another bowl of chicken soup for him.

“Godmother, what soup smells so good? I want some too!”

She raised her hand in a cutesy way, high enough for everyone to notice.

“Xiaoyu, if you want some, go to the kitchen yourself. We’re discussing something serious here.”

It was the first time Mom had rebutted Zhou Moyu’s request; I secretly gave her a thumbs up.

This was a good sign.

Zhou Moyu smacked her lips, lowered her head: “Oh, then I’ll just have the chicken leg. The soup doesn’t smell that great anyway.”

Mom took a deep breath, turned her head away from her, and continued chatting with Xu Mo.

“Xiao Xu, I heard from Jia Jia that you won an award again? You’re amazing, and don’t you also have a side job online?”

Mom beamed with satisfaction, “A productive and hardworking young man like you is rare to find these days, truly wonderful.”

“Auntie, you’re flattering me. If you keep this up, I’ll get conceited.”

Xu Mo joked, gently patting my head.

“Uncle and Auntie raised Jia Jia so well, I need to work harder to maintain her standard of living. It’s still not enough. Jia Jia is a princess, she can’t suffer with me.”

Mom was touched by his words, her eyes seemingly brimming with tears, continuously patting his shoulder.

“So wonderful, so wonderful. With you taking care of Jia Jia, I have nothing to worry about.”

I interrupted.

“Mom, he hasn’t proposed yet. You make it sound like I’m marrying him already.”

I glanced at him proudly, “Whether you can marry me depends on your effort.”

He clasped his hands together in a praying gesture: “Please rest assured, Princess, I will double my efforts.”

We smiled at each other, the atmosphere was warm and cozy.

Except...

“Sister, men’s words are lies, be careful not to be fooled.”

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Mom tried to smooth things over: “Xiaoyu must be joking.”

I shot her a glance, not wanting to say more, just gripping Xu Mo’s hand.

He returned the grasp, giving a knowing smile.