"Ms. Zhou, could you please prepare lunch?"
Hearing this, Ms. Zhou flatly refused.
"Sir, could we wait until Madam wakes up before making lunch? Madam doesn't like to smell cooking fumes when she wakes up."
In fact, there was no such rule that Qin Hongying couldn't stand the smell of cooking fumes. Ms. Zhou just made it up because she didn't want to cook twice.
When Lu Chuanbai heard it was Qin Hongying's rule, he didn't insist anymore. He took out his phone and planned to order takeout.
"Let's just have takeout. No need to cook."
Xu Qingqing was too hungry to speak. She nodded in agreement and sat on the sofa peeling fruits for the two kids.
This was even worse than staying in a hotel, where they could order food whenever they were hungry.
Fortunately, there were quite a few restaurants on the island. It took about half an hour before a delivery guy took the order and brought the food over.
By then, Xu Qingqing and the two kids were already starving.
Qin Hongying woke up early. Wearing a light satin pajamas, she walked downstairs. Seeing Xu Qingqing and the two kids lying limp on the sofa, she frowned with concern.
"What's going on? Why do you all look so listless?"
She had just held a purification ceremony for Xu Qingqing and the two kids in the morning. They should be full of energy.
In the kitchen, Lu Chuanbai cut the mangoes into small pieces, put them on a fruit plate and brought it out. He told Qin Hongying the truth.
"They're hungry. They're waiting for the takeout."
Ms. Zhou, who was cleaning the kitchen, pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.
Hearing this, Qin Hongying pulled up the collar of her pajamas. Her tone was a bit unhappy.
"Why order takeout? The food outside isn't clean. Just ask Ms. Zhou to cook for you."
As she said this, Qin Hongying looked at Xu Qingqing lying on the sofa without proper posture with great disdain. Her tone was full of sarcasm.
"If worse comes to worst, there's still instant noodles in the kitchen. Can't you even cook a bowl of noodles!"
She was so lazy that even cutting fruits had to be done by Lu Chuanbai. Qin Hongying wondered if Lu Chuanbai had married a wife or an ancestor.
Angrily, Qin Hongying tucked her long curly hair behind her ears, walked downstairs and sat on the single sofa. She averted her eyes from Xu Qingqing. Out of sight, out of mind.
Xu Qingqing pretended not to hear Qin Hongying's insinuation. She picked up a pillow and covered her face, keeping silent.
In the kitchen, Ms. Zhou heard her name mentioned and couldn't help pausing her movements.
Lu Chuanbai wasn't stupid. He could tell that Qin Hongying was looking down on Xu Qingqing. He felt a bit unhappy.
He cherished his own wife so much. How could others look down on her?
If it were someone else, Lu Chuanbai would have taken Xu Qingqing away without any hesitation. But he still remembered Qin Hongying's kindness to him when he was young, so he had to endure it.
Lu Chuanbai explained for Xu Qingqing with a gentle smile.
"Ms. Zhou was worried that there wouldn't be enough food when you woke up, so she wanted to wait for you to wake up before cooking."
"But I was really hungry, so I ordered takeout."
Qin Hongying just woke up and felt a bit cold. She grabbed the shawl on the armrest of the sofa and covered herself with it. Then she glanced at Ms. Zhou in the kitchen.
"There are so many vegetables in the kitchen. Why wait for me to wake up? It doesn't matter who eats them."
Hearing this, Ms. Zhou walked out of the kitchen respectfully with a rag in her hand and lied to explain.
"Madam, there aren't many ingredients in the fridge. We still need to make a health - preserving soup for you."
Just when the atmosphere was getting more and more tense, fortunately, the delivery guy rang the doorbell.
Lu Chuanbai ordered crayfish and seafood risotto for Xu Qingqing and the two kids. He got up to pick up the food and put it on the kitchen table. Then he called Xu Qingqing and the two kids to have dinner.
"Qingqing, Yiyi, An'an, get up and have dinner."
Lu Chuanbai opened all the plastic bags with the food in them and politely invited Qin Hongying to join them.
"Auntie, come and have dinner with us. It'll be more lively with more people."
Qin Hongying wrinkled her nose when she smelled the spicy crayfish. She covered her nostrils with her hand in disgust.
"I won't. There are so many seasonings, and I don't know if the crayfish is fresh."
Xu Qingqing, who was lying on the sofa next to her pretending to be dead, heard that it was time to eat. She quickly picked up the pillow on her face and happily rushed to the kitchen.
Lu Chuanbai knew Qin Hongying's habits. He didn't force her to eat if she didn't want to. He calmly put on gloves and peeled the crayfish for Xu Qingqing and the two kids.
"Are you hungry?"
The first crayfish meat Lu Chuanbai peeled was fed into Xu Qingqing's mouth. Xu Qingqing chewed the crayfish meat happily and rubbed her stomach, whispering and acting coquettishly to Lu Chuanbai.
"I'm starving!"
"Eat more."
Lu Chuanbai peeled another crayfish and put it on Xu Qingqing's rice. Then it was the two kids' turn.
Since the kitchen was connected to the living room, Qin Hongying sitting in the living room could clearly see Lu Chuanbai peeling crayfish and feeding Xu Qingqing.
She disliked Xu Qingqing even more, thinking that Xu Qingqing was so childish.
It was usually women who peeled crayfish for men. Lu Chuanbai worked hard outside to support the family, but this woman just enjoyed it all!
Qin Hongying had taken care of Lu Chuanbai for so many years and regarded him as her own child. She wasn't used to seeing the child she had raised taking care of others.
But she forgot that Lu Chuanbai was already married and had his own family. He was the husband and the father of this family, and it was natural for him to take care of Xu Qingqing and the two kids.
Qin Hongying felt uncomfortable seeing this. She waved to Ms. Zhou and asked her to prepare her nutritious meal.
She even followed Ms. Zhou into the kitchen to help. She walked back and forth around the dining table, muttering about all the disadvantages of eating crayfish.
"I really don't know what's so good about these small crayfish. They're just made to torture those who peel them."
Xu Qingqing naturally knew that Qin Hongying was insinuating about her. She rolled her eyes speechlessly and deliberately spoke in a sweet and greasy voice to annoy Qin Hongying.
"Husband, peel a few more for me."
Xu Qingqing's affected voice made herself feel so disgusted that she got goosebumps all over.
Especially the word "husband". Before, Lu Chuanbai had asked her to call him husband, but Xu Qingqing just couldn't say it. Today, when she finally said it, it felt like there was a fishbone stuck in her throat.
Hearing the word "husband", Lu Chuanbai first stiffened, then his peeling action paused. Then he felt extremely comfortable, his heart raced, his eyebrows danced with joy, and he smiled.
"Okay."
It seemed that he should thank Auntie Qin Hongying. If it weren't for her, he might never have heard Xu Qingqing call him husband in his life.
Seeing Xu Qingqing becoming even more excessive, Qin Hongying was so angry that she turned around and walked into the kitchen, patting her chest to calm down.
This little girl was really too much!
Flirting with Lu Chuanbai in broad daylight!
Didn't she have any shame!
While patting her chest, Qin Hongying gestured at Ms. Zhou who was adjusting the heat.
She pointed at Xu Qingqing at the next table and gritted her teeth to express her dissatisfaction.
Seeing Qin Hongying so angry with Xu Qingqing, Ms. Zhou thought that Qin Hongying definitely wouldn't tolerate Xu Qingqing's family staying here for long. She felt a bit happy and advised Qin Hongying to be more open - minded.
"Madam, don't be angry. Young people these days are all about being open - minded. Just let them be."