Chapter 83p1
Sweet and sour pork ribs, five-spice vegetarian chicken, stir-fried shrimp with scallions and ginger, fried meatballs…
Cheng Tingyan looked down at the dishes in her small bowl, her hand holding the chopsticks felt heavy, she couldn’t lift them.
Unease, discomfort, the urge to escape, her spirit started to drift away from her body, cold…
The surrounding noise faded, no one noticed the gradual freezing of this small, quiet corner.
“Yan Yan, here you go.”
A soft, childish voice pierced through the barrier of silence, a warm, chubby paw gently touched her cold, numb arm.
Cheng Tingyan loosened her grip on the chopsticks, they landed on the chopstick rest with a soft click.
The bubble that had enveloped her, trying to escape with her closed-off soul, burst, the surrounding sounds and smells returned, Cheng Tingyan let out a slow breath.
“Are you done using it? Just keep it, you might need it later? You bought a whole pack for me, I still have many left.” Cheng Tingyan said softly, looking at the blue hair tie dangling from the chubby white finger.
“I’m done, I don’t need it anymore. Let’s put them together, I can use them when I braid your hair.” Wei Maomao placed the hair tie in Cheng Tingyan’s hand, but her finger, touching Cheng Tingyan’s palm, didn’t immediately leave, instead, she squeezed it gently. “Yan Yan, you’re eating, why are your hands so cold?”
As she spoke, Wei Maomao looked at the dishes on the table.
Earlier at the market, after the babies’ earnings were ranked and they dispersed to buy lunch, Cheng Rongrong came to ask Cheng Tingyan, since they were both buying food to eat with Cheng Feiying, should they shop together and split the cost, or should they buy separately and eat together later?
Was that even a question… Wei Maomao felt that even shopping together with like-minded, close friends could be troublesome, let alone with Cheng Rongrong. A child who was already troublesome, and now holding an even more troublesome hundred yuan.
If they bought too much or too expensive things, it would be linked to that hundred yuan, and if they bought cheap things, Cheng Feiying might even complain about spending so little after earning over two hundred yuan…
Cheng Tingyan had over two hundred yuan, could she not even handle one lunch? Why bother getting involved with Cheng Rongrong?
In the end, Cheng Tingyan chose the latter option.
And Cheng Rongrong even acted embarrassed, saying a bunch of things like she also felt it was better to buy separately, after all, she didn’t earn as much as Cheng Tingyan, buying together would drag her down…
It made Wei Maomao so angry. Seriously, whether they chose A or B, Cheng Rongrong always had something to say, how could she be so good at manipulating words at such a young age, it made her feel like she had lived in vain all those years in her previous life.
Anger aside, Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan had a good time shopping together at the market. When they were anonymous online friends in her previous life, they had even talked about going shopping together after meeting. She never expected that they didn’t get to go shopping in her previous life, and in this life, they were starting with a village market.
The over two hundred yuan Cheng Tingyan had was definitely more than enough for buying food, Su Li, who was with them, also said that they could save the money or buy other things, they didn’t have to spend it all.
That was true, but the implication of Cheng Rongrong’s words before they separated was that by buying separately, she didn’t want to burden Cheng Tingyan, who had more money, and make her spend uncomfortably. The one with more money should spend more, this logic was… illogical, but very common.
Wei Maomao didn’t bother correcting Cheng Rongrong’s thinking. It was just over two hundred yuan, they could spend it all, it was just two hundred yuan.
They wouldn’t waste food, so they would go for higher quality.
Sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried shrimp with scallions and ginger, fried meatballs, some sliced braised beef, half a beggar’s chicken, some cold dishes, and some vegetables to stir-fry and make soup, perfect.
If they bought too little, Cheng Feiying might complain, but if they bought this much, even if he said it was too expensive, they could still use the excuse of filial piety.
Wei Maomao was just trying to avoid making mistakes, not seeking praise, and Cheng Tingyan just let her do whatever she wanted. Now, the dishes on the Cheng family’s half of the table were all arranged by Wei Maomao.
Earlier, when the dads were brought over, Wei Maomao stayed with Cheng Tingyan for a bit longer, confirming that although Cheng Feiying’s mood wasn’t very good for some reason, he didn’t seem to have any particular objections to the food on the table, then she left. Just now, when Wei Maomao came to get the hair tie, she didn’t examine the dishes carefully. But now, taking a closer look, Wei Maomao noticed something was wrong.
On Cheng Tingyan’s side of the table, there were only a few pieces of sweet and sour pork ribs left, the fried meatballs were missing a layer, only two slices of braised beef remained, half of the beggar’s chicken was gone, the stir-fried shrimp was completely finished, and even the vegetables seemed to have been eaten quite a bit.
But on Cheng Rongrong’s side of the table…
Wei Maomao looked at the salt-baked duck, five-spice chicken leg, roasted dried tofu, and the almost full plates of vegetables on Cheng Rongrong’s side, which were almost untouched compared to when they were first served… Then she looked at the pile of rib bones and shrimp shells next to Cheng Feiying’s plates…
This?
Could it be that Cheng Rongrong didn’t know what Cheng Feiying liked to eat?
Perhaps because Wei Maomao’s gaze on the table was too intense, Cheng Tingyan lowered her voice slightly and asked, “Maomao, do you want some?”
“I…” Before Wei Maomao could say she was already full, Cheng Feiying interrupted her.
“Maomao, come and have some with us, we have plenty of food today.” Cheng Feiying said loudly.
Just as Wei Maomao was wondering if he was being polite or showing off, Cheng Feiying put a piece of beggar’s chicken in Cheng Tingyan’s bowl and said, “Come on, Maomao, try this beggar’s chicken, it’s very tender, easy for children to chew.”
Wei Maomao: ???
“These meatballs are also good, Maomao, want some?” Cheng Feiying said, putting a spoonful of meatballs in Cheng Tingyan’s bowl.
Wei Maomao: “… “
Maybe her eyesight was failing, how come she felt Cheng Feiying’s enthusiasm seemed so genuine and sincere…
Speaking of which, Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan’s bowl, which was already half full, then remembered that when she arrived, Cheng Tingyan seemed to be sitting properly, not eating.
“Yan Yan, did your dad… give you food earlier?” Wei Maomao leaned closer to Cheng Tingyan and whispered in her ear.
Cheng Tingyan nodded slightly.
Wei Maomao was speechless, she seemed to have found the reason why Yan Yan’s hands were so cold earlier.
It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be that Cheng Feiying had discovered Cheng Tingyan’s cleanliness obsession and was deliberately giving her food to make her uncomfortable, right? From mushrooms to cleanliness, was he trying to annoy her?
But…
Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Feiying, he was constantly stuffing food into his mouth, and it was all from Cheng Tingyan’s side of the table… With such gusto, he didn’t seem to have the time to deliberately give Yan Yan food to make her uncomfortable.
She couldn’t figure it out for now, but she still had to do what she had to do.
Wei Maomao, who was initially just a bit exhausted from her dramatic performance and subconsciously wanted to stay by Cheng Tingyan’s side for a while to recharge, now decided to pull over a stool and sit next to her.
And so Cheng Tingyan watched as the chubby white paws reached over and took her small bowl away.
Wei Maomao buried her head in the bowl, picked up the top meatball with her mouth, and started eating.
Su Li, nudged by Liu Ming, promptly brought over a spoon for Wei Maomao.
“Mao…” Cheng Tingyan was stunned, because of the warm, chubby hand that secretly held hers under the table, her words stopped at the first syllable.
The discomfort, the urge to distance herself, the inability to accept closeness, touch, especially sharing food and drinks, Cheng Tingyan had never told anyone about these feelings. She wondered if she was sick, it was clearly discomfort in her heart, why was her body reacting so strongly… Sometimes, she even forced herself to try and accept it. But the greater the backlash, the greater her frustration.
Cheng Tingyan looked at the little chubby bunny next to her, munching on the meatballs, she didn’t understand… She had never told her anything, but why… did she suddenly feel like she might have been discovered?
The viewers in the live broadcast room also didn’t understand, but what they didn’t understand was how the one who had just tugged at their heartstrings and made them cry could, within minutes, make their stomachs growl and their mouths water.
“Hehehe, this pack of tissues was truly worth it, my tears haven’t even dried yet, and now I need them to wipe my drool. CEO Mao, forget about starting a company, just go into acting, the entertainment industry needs you!”
“CEO Mao is munching on those meatballs so happily, hahaha, do you still remember the half-eaten chicken leg and your old father waiting for you by the Daming Lake?”
“The chicken leg can wait, the old father can wait, but the poor Yan Yan with her cleanliness obsession can’t wait. Didn’t you see Yan Yan’s live stream? Cheng Feiying must have taken the wrong medicine today, he usually ignores Yan Yan completely, but today, his eyes are only on Yan Yan, he even gave her food several times. Yan Yan, picking up her chopsticks, putting them down, picking them up, putting them down, she was struggling for a long time before Maomao came.”
“Yan Yan’s cleanliness obsession, it truly depends on the person. She even moved away the french fries Cheng Rongrong touched with her bare hands yesterday. Today, for the food Cheng Feiying gave her, she seemed to be struggling and trying her best, but she truly couldn’t eat it. But when she was drinking mush with Maomao, she seemed fine.”
“It’s normal, cleanliness obsessions are a bit strange. It’s not about being clean, it’s about what they perceive as clean. Like some people with cleanliness obsessions, their homes might not be spotless, but you have to dust yourself off and disinfect yourself before entering. Because in their minds, no matter how dirty their homes are, they’re still clean, and no matter how clean the outside world is, it’s still dirty. It’s all about perception.”
“Understood, so drinking a bowl of fishy mush with CEO Mao is happiness, but eating food touched by Cheng Rongrong and Cheng Feiying is uncomfortable and unhappy.”
“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, the person above, it’s ‘perception,’ not ‘happiness.’ Well, it’s basically the same.”
“Our CEO Mao is truly considerate, she took the whole bowl without hesitation. Tiny chubby, the great firefighter, putting out one fire after another, this lunch, with fires everywhere, wouldn’t be the same without CEO Mao!”
“Hahaha, it’s not like there are fires everywhere. At least CEO Shen’s family is quite normal, the father and son are chatting happily about CEO Mao’s tanghulu stall at the market. I think this is one of their most engaging conversations these past few days. Maybe it’s the businessman genes… Talking about business energizes them both. The Wen family is also okay, ever since Wen Xiang suddenly became mute for some reason, their family has been much more harmonious!”
“Sobbing softly, help… Putting aside Wen Xiang’s parenting skills, I’m a fan of his singing, he can’t just become mute!”
“Speaking of, is Cheng Feiying acting a bit strange today? No, he was quite normal this morning, but after sitting down for lunch, something feels off. Am I imagining things? Why do I feel like he’s ignoring Cheng Rongrong when she talks to him, but suddenly being nice to Yan Yan, not only did he praise her several times, he even gave her food.”
“The person above isn’t imagining things! Cheng Feiying is definitely acting strange. Based on his behavior in the past few days, for a situation like today, where both daughters prepared half a table of food each, even if he initially said he would praise both of them, he would definitely favor Cheng Rongrong in the end. But today, not only did he not favor Cheng Rongrong, he even ignored her. Have you noticed, he hasn’t even touched the food Cheng Rongrong bought. Not a single bite! He’s only eating from Yan Yan’s side!”
“I knew it! I was watching CEO Mao’s live stream, I was too focused on Yueyue, and when I came back, I noticed how quickly the food on Yan Yan’s side was disappearing. It turns out Cheng Feiying has been eating only from her side! Why? Is this side more delicious? Did Cheng Rongrong buy something Cheng Feiying doesn’t like today?”
“I don’t think so, not to mention anything else, the chicken leg, doesn’t Cheng Feiying usually devour it? Today, he hasn’t even touched it. Forget about the food, you can tell from how he doesn’t even bother talking to Cheng Rongrong, it’s definitely not the food itself.”
“Then what is it? The hundred yuan? No, I saw that after they sat down, Cheng Rongrong only mentioned that her vegetables were sold out first, before she even mentioned the hundred yuan, Cheng Feiying’s attitude was already off. Didn’t their father-daughter interaction seem fine before the babies went to the market this morning? Could it be that Cheng Feiying stared at the fish tank for too long and became stupid? Or did he find the activity Cheng Rongrong arranged for him unsatisfactory and got angry? Then why didn’t he just say it…”
“You guys don’t understand, some older men with a bit of status are like this. They don’t directly express their dissatisfaction, they show it through their actions, making you figure it out yourself. Like Cheng Feiying now, praising one and criticizing the other!”
“??? Playing favorites in front of a three-and-a-half-year-old and a six-year-old, making the children guess his unhappiness? Seriously… How much water must have gotten into his brain for him to do this, the water in the fish tank this morning wasn’t enough!”
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