Chapter 31

Su Wan raised a brow while shuffling mahjong tiles. “Of course. Pretty, right?”
“Oh wow, gorgeous!”
“Miaomiao, say hello to Auntie Chen,” Xi Siyan said with a smile.
“Hello, Auntie Chen,” Jing Miao repeated obediently.
Another aunt, Mrs. Wang, sighed in envy. “Did the Xi family absorb all the spirit of heaven and earth? How can both your sons be this handsome?”
Su Wan beamed. “Our Miaomiao is also a top student in Huada’s Mathematics Department.”
“Auntie Wang,” Xi Siyan prompted.
“Hello, Auntie Wang,” Jing Miao followed.
Mrs. Gan joined in, half-joking, half-envious: “Where did you dig him up? Recommend me a source. I’m tired of looking at my own son every day—I want to adopt a pretty daughter.”
Gan Zisen: “…”
“Auntie Gan.”
“Hello, Auntie Gan.”
Su Wan played a nine-dot tile and said smugly, “You should ask our Siyan. He found this wife himself. Right, Siyan?”
Xi Siyan smiled. “Mm.”
The others turned to stone.
As soon as that line dropped, the younger crowd nearby exploded:
“Whoa! Is this Brother Xi’s child bride?”
Su Wan snapped back, “What child bride? We’re marrying him properly and officially!”
“Did you even send betrothal gifts for this ‘official marriage’?” Xi Siyan teased her.
Su Wan gave him a sharp look. “You’ll find out once your matter is done.”
Xi Siyan froze. A bad premonition rose in his chest.
The young people accepted things quickly and got wildly curious, circling around “little sister-in-law.” The elders found it surreal, but seeing Xi family parents not only accepting it, but clearly happy, they were forced to swallow this earth-shaking secret.
Or rather—this “secret” was no secret to the Xi family at all.
Su Wan kept showing off:
our Miaomiao is the family beauty benchmark,
our younger son is so obedient,
our Miaomiao can even attend university independently…
Mrs. Wang finally cut in, “Stop. Isn’t going to university by oneself normal?”
That only made Su Wan prouder. “You don’t know how close Siyan and Miaomiao are. Miaomiao being able to attend school on his own is a huge deal, okay?”
Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Gan, Mrs. Chen: “We do not understand.”
Wang Song, gaming with the high-schoolers, couldn’t help interrupting:
“Mom, you don’t get it!”
“How do I not get it?” Mrs. Wang refused to lose. “If Su Wan can be this open-minded, why can’t I? Isn’t it just treating them like a normal married couple?”
Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen thought the same.
Wang Song clicked his tongue. “Anyway, I feel exactly like Auntie Su. I also think Jing Miao being able to go to college alone is insanely impressive.”
It had nothing to do with his IQ. With the way Xi Siyan had spoiled him, even seeing Jing Miao eat a meal on his own felt like an achievement.
The younger kids caught on quickly. After hovering around Xi Siyan and Jing Miao for a bit, they understood everything, then jumped in to tease the elders:
“Hehe, we think it’s impressive too.”
“Auntie, stop playing mahjong. Watching Brother Xi date is way more interesting.”
“Yeah yeah, stop eating ice cream. Ice cream isn’t as sweet as little sister-in-law.”
Mrs. Wang frowned. “What nonsense are these little monkeys saying?”
Su Wan got even more smug. “Ever since watching my son date, I even started disliking Xi Yucheng. That dead-straight man.”
Innocent collateral damage, “dead-straight man” Xi Yucheng protested, “Brag about your son if you want, don’t do area-of-effect attacks.”
By New Year’s Eve dinner, the elders finally understood exactly what those afternoon comments meant.
Chen Tianruo still found it hard to watch Xi Siyan feeding Jing Miao at the table. It wasn’t only because Xi Siyan had been her crush for over ten years—this looked even more exaggerated than last time.
Jing Miao got hooked on gaming after the younger ones pulled him in during the day. He wouldn’t put the tablet down. If Xi Siyan tried to take it, Jing Miao’s eyes immediately welled up.
Those kids, already strangely attached to him, copied him: if little sister-in-law didn’t eat properly and kept gaming, they stopped eating too.
Jing Miao sat beside Xi Siyan, and the other three sat in a neat row beside him.
Adults said helplessly, “Leave them. If they don’t eat now, they’ll come begging when they’re hungry.”
Auntie Jiang looked worried. “Miaomiao’s stomach…”
Xi Siyan waved it off. “It’s okay, Auntie.”
So nobody forced the three kids.
Jing Miao played while opening his mouth for Xi Siyan to feed him.
Bite after bite, Xi Siyan watched him game and coaxed him to eat:
“Good baby, one more bite… want crab leg meat?… here, sip some coconut milk, slowly… want fish congee, baby?… enemy on that side, Miaomiao, shoot… open your mouth…”
Mrs. Wang: “...I suddenly dislike my husband.”
Mr. Wang replied, “You have hands, feet, and a mouth. You can’t eat on your own?”
“How is that the same as being coaxed by you?” Mrs. Wang was shocked. “Does Xi Siyan really serve his wife like this? Isn’t this too much? You all don’t stop him?”
Xi Yucheng smiled. “Today Miaomiao’s gaming addiction kicked in, so he refused to eat properly. Usually he eats by himself.”
Gan Zisen added, “Mm, usually it’s more like Siyan preparing food and placing it in his bowl.”
Xi Yucheng gave an awkward smile. “Mm… more or less.”
Everyone: “...”
Mrs. Chen stared in disbelief. “Why is he only eating the dishes in front of him? All the dishes are good. Move the others over so the child can taste.”
Su Wan rejected that instantly. “Those few dishes were made by Siyan and Sister Jiang themselves. Miaomiao only eats food cooked by our house auntie or Xi Siyan.”
Mrs. Gan deadpanned, “What are you raising in your house, a panda?”
Su Wan sighed theatrically. “His health is fragile. Siyan spoiled him into this. It’s fine. He’s willing.”
After one game ended, Jing Miao’s gaming high finally faded. He realized he was full too, while Xi Siyan was still peeling crab leg meat to mix with rice for him.
“Gege, I can’t eat anymore.”