Dinner was already ready.
The mont Ruan Lan entered the door, her stomach couldn't help but rumble.
It slled so good. This was the taste of ho! Compared to the als she had eaten in the school cafeteria these past few days... what even was that stuff? It was either so sweet it made her teeth ache, so bland she'd frown, or so spicy it made her question her life choices. Especially when the cafeteria lady served the food, her hand would shake uncontrollably, and Ruan Lan would have to watch as pieces of at fell away...
"Auntie, hurry and wash your hands for dinner," Xu Yiyi said adorably.
"Yiyi's back!" Ruan Lan's eyes shone brightly. "Let your auntie give you a big kiss first. I've missed you to death these past few days."
She had definitely missed her. The days Xu Yiyi spent in the Immortal Domain had made even gaming feel boring. Besides her daily grumbling about Xu Lai, she had invested all her remaining ti into the Formation Chessboard.
So, Ruan Lan didn't give her niece a chance to refuse and went straight in for a big smooch on the cheek.
Then she glanced sowhat guiltily toward Xu Lai. When she saw that he didn't seem to harbor any unusual expression, she sighed with relief.
Looks like what my sister said was true. The bastard brother-in-law doesn't know that I already know he's Venerable Qingfeng.
Ruan Lan's beautiful eyes glared at Xu Lai. "Hmph, scumbag!"
"?"
A large question mark appeared in Xu Lai's mind.
When I ca back to Earth from the Immortal Domain, my sister-in-law would flee at the very sight of . Now she returns ho after wandering around for so many days and calls a scumbag. She must not be hungry.
Xu Lai said nonchalantly, "Yiyi, your aunt isn't hungry. Take the extra bowl and chopsticks back to the kitchen."
"I'm eating, I'm eating, I'm eating!"
Ruan Lan panicked and pounced on her seat like a starving tiger, protectively guarding the tableware on the table.
She said fiercely, "I'll bite anyone who dares touch my bowl and chopsticks! ROAR!"
"..."
Xu Yiyi silently retracted her small, outstretched hand and looked at Xu Lai. "Daddy," she said weakly, "Auntie bites. I'm scared."
"Don't be afraid. Daddy will get you a rabies shot later."
"You, Xu! I'm not sure if I'm human, but you're a real dog!" Ruan Lan said nacingly, her words laced with a deeper aning.
"That's enough."
Ruan Tang said calmly, "No talking at the table. Let's eat."
The head of the family had spoken, so Ruan Lan didn't dare say another word. She stuck her tongue out at Xu Lai, washed her hands, and began to wolf down her food.
「After dinner.」
Ruan Lan patted her bulging stomach through her clothes, a look of satisfaction on her face that hadn't been there for a long ti. It was just too delicious!
PAT.
PAT.
PAT.
Xu Yiyi joined in, patting her own tummy a few tis.
She said innocently, "It's even bigger than Mommy's tummy. Is Auntie Lan pregnant too?"
PFFT!
Ruan Lan spat out a mouthful of milk tea. "Your aunt is still single!" she exclaid in exasperation. "How could I possibly be pregnant? Besides, I'm a staunch believer in never getting married!"
After saying this, Ruan Lan felt a pang of regret for the milk tea she had just spat out.
She had shalessly begged her sister to get her brother-in-law to make it. Every single pearl lted in her mouth, and the rich, milky fragrance lingered on her tongue. It was ten thousand tis better than the stuff from those popular bubble tea chains. But she... she had wasted a huge mouthful. Simply unforgivable!
"But Yiyi heard that you don't need a partner to have a baby nowadays," Xu Yiyi said, blinking her big eyes. "Auntie, do you want to have a little brother or sister for too?"
"Spill it. What are you really after?"
"Nothing! I just want to et Auntie Lan's cute and smart baby sooner."
"Heh, as if we don't know each other inside and out," Ruan Lan said, giving her a sideways glance. "Xu Yiyi, just be straight with . I won't get mad."
"..."
Xu Yiyi looked left and right at her father and mother, then leaned close to her aunt's ear and whispered, "I read in a book that after you beco a mom, they get bigger."
After speaking, the little girl's gaze lingered for a mont on the rather flat landscape before her.
HISS.
Ruan Lan sucked in a sharp breath.
A miscalculation. I can't believe I never realized this before. Doesn't that an I could reach my sister's size after getting married and having kids? No, that's not right. Ruan Tang seed to be about the sa size before she had children as she is now. And ... after all these years, I'm still exactly the sa. No progress, but at least there's been no regression.
"Tell more," Ruan Lan said, her interest piqued. She hugged her niece, her eyes gleaming.
Xu Yiyi opened her little mouth to say sothing but suddenly stopped and started blinking furiously.
"Blinking makes them bigger?" Ruan Lan began to imitate her niece, blinking rapidly.
"N-No, that's not it, Auntie!" Xu Yiyi said, flustered, as she tried desperately to signal her.
"Let's not beat around the bush. Just spit it out!" Ruan Lan urged, growing impatient herself.
THUMP!
A fist the size of a sandbag landed rcilessly on Ruan Lan's head. She clutched her head and began rolling around on the sofa. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! I'm dying..."
"What were you planning to do, holding my daughter and trying to lead her astray?" Xu Lai said with a sidelong glance, ignoring Ruan Lan's theatrics.
"You, Xu!" Ruan Lan bit her lower lip hard. "This punch is going to cost you three late-night als, or this isn't over!"
"I'll give you five. Now get up," Xu Lai said.
"Brother-in-law, you're the best!" Ruan Lan was ecstatic. She wiped away non-existent drool and glanced mysteriously behind her.
After confirming her sister wasn't eavesdropping, she blushed and recounted what Yiyi had just told her.
Xu Lai was stunned. He gave his daughter a strange look. "What book did you read that in?"
"The Postnatal Care of Sows..."
"???"
Ruan Lan's pretty face instantly turned from red to white, then green, and finally black. She gritted her teeth and spat out, word by word, "Xu! Yi! Yi!"
"Daddy, save !"
Xu Yiyi scrambled toward Xu Lai, but Ruan Lan grabbed her and rained down a flurry of rciless spats on her bottom.
"Waaah, Auntie, stop spanking my butt! Yiyi knows she was wrong!"
"Daddy, save ! Mommy, save ..."
"..."
The cries for help and rcy continued until ten o'clock at night, followed by the sound of choked sobs. It wasn't that Ruan Lan's spanking hurt. On the contrary, Ruan Lan had barely hit her niece a few tis, and each ti she had held back, using very little force.
The reason Xu Yiyi had lost control and burst into tears was that Ruan Lan had gone online and bought her a ton of textbooks and workbooks.
Yes.
A full ton...
The bookstore owner, afraid his large custor would change her mind, drove a small truck loaded with the goods to Haitang Court under the cover of darkness. The forty-year-old woman wore a grin that nearly split her face.
Ruan Lan smiled as well. "My dear niece, your auntie will tutor you for six hours every day."
"Don't worry, there's no rush. We'll set a small goal: finish all of these within a year."
BANG!
Xu Yiyi suddenly stopped crying and fell backward, stiff as a board, as if she had fainted.
Ruan Lan instinctively ran over, only to realize her niece was faking it. She didn't press the issue, simply stating leisurely, "Tutoring starts now. Every minute of study you skip today will be added on double tomorrow."
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