Chapter 78 "Little Daughter-in-law" (Part 2)

  "Xiao Ru." Lin Xiaoyu's voice sounded beside Li Jingru.

  Good heavens, what is he shouting about? Is it possible that he was reminded of something by that old lady's words? What does he want to say to himself? Li Jingru felt her heart beating erratically, like a tangled ball of twine. Just now, the same Li Jingru who had haggled with the vendor with lightning speed and accuracy, leaving those shrewd vendors in awe, seemed to have turned into a child who couldn't answer questions in front of his teacher, filled with tension and unease, yet also a little expectant...

  "What's wrong?" Li Jingru stopped in her tracks and turned to ask Lin Xiaoyu, although she had tried her best to calm herself down, but she still felt that she didn't dare to look directly at Lin Xiaoyu's eyes that made her heart beat faster.

  "Have you bought all your groceries? Why are you walking this way, this is the office of market management, there's nothing to buy here." Lin Xiaoyu found it a bit strange that Li Jingru would bring herself over here.

  Li Jingru only realized she had walked the wrong way after Lin Xiaoyu reminded her, and Li Jingru, who was just confused by the big mom's words, could only cover up: "I want to come here and take a look around, see what's here... I haven't been this way before..." Li Jingru casually found an excuse, then lowered her head to count whether she had bought all the vegetables she wanted to buy to cover up her embarrassment at the moment. At the same time, Li Jingru's heart also rose with a sense of loss, secretly resenting Lin Xiaoyu for not understanding her intentions.

  Actually, Lin Xiaoyu also felt a bit disconcerted after hearing the big mom's words. He couldn't help but think that if this beautiful and capable Li Jingru became his wife in the future, what kind of scene would it be? However, as soon as this thought emerged in Lin Xiaoyu's mind, he immediately waved it away. Lin Xiaoyu felt that he and Li Jingru were like family members, like siblings, and if romantic love happened between them, it would be like desecrating their true feelings. Lin Xiaoyu really didn't dare to think about this idea any further.

  "All the dishes have been bought. Let's go back." Li Jingru took advantage of the gap in counting the dishes to calm down her slightly lost mood.

  "Wait, I'll take you somewhere." Lin Xiaoyu held the bag in her left hand and freed up her right hand to pull Li Jingru's left hand, which wasn't holding a basket, slowly dragging her through the crowded market.

  Lin Xiaoyu held Li Jingru's slightly warm and moist hand as they walked through the vegetable market, feeling a sense of familiarity like when she was a child holding her mother's hand. However, Li Jingru's smooth and soft hands, which seemed to have no bones, still made Lin Xiaoyu feel a bit unusual, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

  Lin Xiaoyu's nonchalance didn't represent Li Jingru's feelings. Li Jingru felt like a small deer was jumping wildly in her heart as Lin Xiaoyu's broad palm grasped her small hand, and she felt like the surrounding crowd was staring at her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. However, the warmth from Lin Xiaoyu's thick palm made Li Jingru unwilling to let go of his big hand that was pulling her along. Li Jingru thought that no matter where Lin Xiaoyu pulled her, as long as he kept holding her small hand like this, she would feel at home anywhere, because in the moment he grasped her hand, happiness had already enveloped her...

  Lin Xiaoyu pulled Li Jingru's small hand, and the two young people were already a bright scenery in the vegetable market. Now they still held hands, letting many people cast admiring glances at these two exceptionally good-looking young boys and girls. Lin Xiaoyu walked through the vegetable market according to his somewhat vague childhood memories, came to the back door of the vegetable market, and found that it had changed from what he saw when he was a child. There were no small shops surrounding this place like now, but there were still many stalls selling various goods on both sides of the street. Lin Xiaoyu finally saw the stall he was looking for.

  The rice cake stall was still set up on that small tricycle, and Lin Xiaoyu still remembered the appearance of the two rice cake-selling couples. They were still wearing two blue scarves with white stripes around their necks, selling rice cakes by the car, only these two couples had already entered old age from middle age, and white hair was scattered all over their heads. However, the fragrance emanating from those rice cakes was still so familiar.

  Lin Xiaoyu used a bamboo skewer to pick up a piece of rice cake and put it to Li Jingru's mouth. Li Jingru looked at Lin Xiaoyu with a hint of red on her face, then took a small bite of the rice cake into her mouth. Li Jingru had eaten this kind of rice cake before, and she still clearly remembered that the first time she had it was also given by Lin Xiaoyu. She didn't expect that after many years, she would be eating this rice cake again, fed to her personally by Lin Xiaoyu. Li Jingru felt that the sweetness in her heart was a hundred times sweeter than the sweet and soft fragrant rice cake in her mouth.

  Lin Xiaoyu watched Li Jingru elegantly eating the rice cake and smiled slightly, also picking up a piece to put in her mouth. The taste of this rice cake hasn't changed, but the price has. Lin Xiaoyu remembered that in the past, one yuan could buy six such rice cakes, while now one yuan can only buy four. There are more varieties of rice cakes sold here, and Lin Xiaoyu bought a few pieces to try each one. She still thinks the oldest kind of rice cake tastes the best, not sure if it's because she misses her childhood or something else...

  Lin Xiaoyu sat in the dining room of Li Jingru's house, and that little silly dog Beibei was squatting on the chair where Lin Xiaoyu was sitting, staring straight at the tennis ball in Lin Xiaoyu's hand with her small eyes. At this time, Beibei could no longer be called a puppy, Beibei had grown from being smaller than a basketball to being as strong as a small hunting dog, and Beibei was no longer the little puppy that still drank milk from a bottle.

  Lin Xiaoyu threw the tennis ball in her hand towards the living room, and Beibei immediately got up from the ground, turned around and chased after the tennis ball. Before long, the tennis ball was picked up by Beibei and returned to Lin Xiaoyu's hands.

  Lin Xiaoyu's gaze involuntarily fell on Li Jingru, who was busy in the kitchen cooking. Wearing a light yellow cotton nightgown, with a green apron wrapped around her waist and slippers on her feet, Li Jingru was bustling about in the kitchen like a housewife, her ponytail now untied, her loose hair making her look even more charming, the aura emanating from her entire being causing Lin Xiaoyu's gaze to uncontrollably drift towards this childhood playmate of his.

  "Good boy, this little wife of yours is really something, you're so lucky to have her! A clever and beautiful girl like her is hard to find even with a lantern. You'd better take good care of her." The old lady's words echoed in Lin Xiaoyu's ears again, making him feel like he was already thinking of himself as a husband waiting at home for dinner, while Li Jingru was the wife cooking for him in the kitchen. This warm feeling made Lin Xiaoyu feel very at ease. No! Can't think like that! Lin Xiaoyu suddenly snapped out of it, realizing how terrible his thoughts were. How could he imagine little Jingru, who had grown up with him like a sibling, as his wife? Lin Xiaoyu felt like slapping himself for having such an absurd thought. But often when people try not to think about something, those things will keep popping into their minds. Lin Xiaoyu was in that state now, unable to control his gaze from drifting towards the kitchen, always wanting to catch a glimpse of that beautiful figure busily cooking...

  "The delicious food is here." Li Jingru, wearing an apron like a little wife, brought out one dish after another of the finished dishes to the dinner table. The entire dining hall was suddenly filled with the fragrance of the food. Lin Xiaoyu, being an outgoing person, immediately put aside his worries caused by Li Jingru and faced the mouth-watering dishes in front of him. Without hesitation, Lin Xiaoyu picked up his chopsticks and hastily scooped up the food into his mouth.

  There is a guy whose gluttony surpasses Lin Xiaoyu's, and that is the little greedy dog Beibei. However, Li Jingru has plenty of ways to deal with this little guy, and after filling Beibei's small rice bowl with food, Li Jingru is certain that this little dog will no longer disturb her own world with Lin Xiaoyu.

  Li Jingru sat at the dinner table with a bowl in her hands, and every time she took a small bite of food, she would look at Lin Xiaoyu sitting across from her, eating voraciously. Li Jingru knew what Lin Xiaoyu liked to eat, so she had specially bought some dishes that Lin Xiaoyu usually loved. When Li Jingru was cooking for Lin Xiaoyu, she felt like she was a wife making a sumptuous lunch for her husband, and every time she thought about this, Li Jingru's face would become hot and flushed.

  The braised pork belly was fragrant and overflowing with flavor, the stir-fried vegetable and beef heart was oily and shiny, the cucumber salad was crispy and refreshing, and the black-bone chicken soup was rich and savory. These few dishes filled Lin Xiaoyu's stomach to the brim, and she couldn't help but lick her lips in satisfaction. Li Jingru smiled and handed Lin Xiaoyu a napkin to wipe away the oil on the corner of his mouth. Sometimes, Li Jingru thought that Lin Xiaoyu was like a child who would never grow up, always needing someone to take care of him this way and that. But Li Jingru enjoyed taking care of Lin Xiaoyu in these moments.

  "Xiao Yu, are you full?" Li Jingru asked with a smile. Sitting at the dinner table, Li Jingru propped her hands on the table, resting her small chin on the back of her crossed palms, blinking her beautiful eyes as she looked at Lin Xiaoyu across from her. At this moment, Li Jingru was less serious than usual and had a few more playful and lovely touches.

  "Full, full! Little Yu, your cooking skills are really getting better and better. The dishes you make are even more delicious than my mother's." Lin Xiaoyu was not flattering Li Jingru, but Li Jingru's dishes were indeed extremely delicious.

  "Hehe, as long as you're full. Xiaoyu, now that you've eaten your fill, shouldn't you be getting some work done?" Li Jing's smile at this moment carried a hint of playfulness, an expression that only Lin Xiaoyu had ever seen.