NOVPUBHuhai.
The meeting between the two families went smoothly.
An Nuannuan's grandparents are worldly people and naturally wouldn't act out any melodramatic "evil in-laws" scenes.
Father Xu and Mother Xu also conducted themselves very well, as they were there to discuss their son's marriage proposal, so giving a good impression was a must.
Furthermore, they had met before, so the atmosphere of their communication was quite harmonious.
Of course, if there was anyone with a somewhat grim expression, it was An Shanhai.
This father wore a smile and was very attentive in hosting, but you could still sense his occasional distractions and sighs.
However, Father Xu and Mother Xu could understand that; after all, it's their daughter getting married, and any parent would feel a bit melancholic at that.
Xu Musen and An Nuannuan brought the dishes to the kitchen as if on familiar terrain.
One reason was to give the parents space to chat.
And secondly...
In the kitchen, right after Xu Musen set down the items and turned around, that sweetly fragrant girl threw herself into his arms!
An Nuannuan seemed to want to squeeze into Xu Musen's embrace as she sniffed vigorously with her pert little nose as if she was greedily breathing in his scent.
"Xu Musen, I've missed you so much..."
Although in reality, they hadn't been apart for too long, An Nuannuan had been anxiously counting every minute and second until today.
Xu Musen embraced her tightly, gently stroking her soft cheek, feeling the familiar touch.
"How much did you miss me?"
Xu Musen asked indulgently with a smile, always unable to resist teasing her when he saw her like this.
An Nuannuan slightly pouted her lips, her long eyelashes quivering, and almost in an aggrieved tone, earnestly began to explain with her fingers: "When you're not here, I don't feel like drinking milk tea, I don't feel like eating hotpot, and I don't even feel like drawing…"
Xu Musen couldn't help but laugh: "Sounds like you've lost a lot, should I compensate you?"
It didn't sound like a grand oath or sweet promises at all.
But to An Nuannuan, drawing, drinking milk tea, and eating hot pot were her whole daily routine.
An Nuannuan lifted her gaze, looking at Xu Musen's cheeks, her counting fingers now gathered together: "No, by drinking one less cup of milk tea, skipping one hot pot meal, and not drawing one picture, I can use all this saved time to think about you even more. So by that logic…I'm actually gaining, hehe~"
The girl's childish yet sincere words struck a chord in Xu Musen's heart.
Xu Musen gently pinched her cheek, indeed feeling it was slightly thinner than a couple of weeks ago, but those bright, watery eyes were still so clear, making one feel drawn into them from just one glance.
This girl was just like that, not like other girls who would act coquettishly or say honeyed words.
But there were always those one or two sentences, so earnest they could touch the deepest parts of one's heart.
"So do you still want compensation?" Xu Musen looked at her.
"Yes!"
An Nuannuan nodded quickly this time: "And with interest!"
Xu Musen felt his heart melting, he held An Nuannuan's soft cheek and leaned down to give a light kiss: "Does this count as interest?"
"I'm like a high-interest loan here, that's not nearly enough…"
An Nuannuan lightly pursed her moist rosy lips, her gorgeous face blushing slightly. She was never the reserved kind like other girls.
If she liked you, she wanted to kiss you.
"You've learned to be naughty now, even daring to charge high interest. What happened to my simple little angel-like Nuannuan?" Xu Musen couldn't help but laugh, these words really didn't sound like something the old An Nuannuan would say.
An Nuannuan humphed softly, reaching out her hands to lightly hold Xu Musen's cheeks, her clear eyes now twinkling with a bright and even somewhat sly glint: "Didn't you used to like fishing with your dark-skinned friend?"
"You're talking about He Qiang?" Xu Musen smiled and nodded: "What does that have to do with fishing?"
"It does!"
An Nuannuan batted her large eyes.
"After you catch the fish, do you feed them?"
"???"
Xu Musen was stunned, looking at An Nuannuan's seriously mischievous and proud expression.
It seemed to say, we're engaged now anyway, there's no turning back for you!
Wait, isn't that story usually used to describe irresponsible jerks who abandon others after getting what they want?
How did it turn out that he's become the fish being caught here?
And, not sure if it's just his imagination, but looking at the slyness in An Nuannuan's eyes reminded him of Yao Mingyue from his previous life, revealing her cunning success in sickness and in health?
"Nuannuan, you... don't have a basement or something at home, right?"
Xu Musen, once bitten, twice shy, felt that Nuannuan was becoming more and more like Mingyue.
He truly feared that one day he would wake up and find himself tied up by An Nuannuan, spending his remaining days in a dark, sunless basement.
"We don't have one of those."
An Nuannuan shook her head, and just as Xu Musen breathed a sigh of relief, she brightened up, saying: "But my grandfather does have a mansion connected to an underground air-raid shelter; he said you can hide there for years with no issue, even the 'little devils' wouldn't find it~"
An Nuannuan gestured the size of the air-raid shelter, displaying an innocuous smile at Xu Musen.
Xu Musen swallowed, holding An Nuannuan's shoulders, and earnestly said: "Nuannuan, it's a new society now, let's stay away from things like air-raid shelters in the future, okay? We shouldn't do anything illegal or against public order."
