Sister Xiang returned the next morning. Bao Ni had just bought breakfast and suddenly wanted to eat fried dough sticks and tofu pudding.

"Oh, Sister Xiang, why are you up so early?"

"I brought these auspicious buns from home because I was worried you wouldn't make it to work on time."

Sister Xiang is in high spirits when she's having a good time, and she looks a little different.

"No need for all that trouble. I suddenly had a craving for fried dough sticks and tofu pudding today. Gu Ye also cooked porridge, and I bought some steamed buns too."

Bonnie didn't expect Sister Xiang to come back so early; she thought she wouldn't be back until noon at the earliest.

"Everything's fine at home now, everything went smoothly. If I hadn't had a little to drink yesterday and my little girl hadn't been worried about me coming back, I would have come back last night. I brought some steamed buns from home, you can try them, this is how we make them back home."

Sister Xiang and Bao Ni went into the house together. Sanqi had also finished washing up and was helping to set the table with bowls and chopsticks.

"Aunt Xiang, why are you up so early?"

"Come back early if there's nothing else. I brought you some auspicious buns."

Bao Ni and Sister Xiang set the food on the table together: a large lunchbox filled with tofu pudding, fried dough sticks, meat buns, and auspicious steamed buns. Sister Xiang's pickled vegetables and Gu Ye's porridge made breakfast, making it a surprisingly lavish meal.

"Sister Xiang, let's eat together. It's so early, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"I haven't eaten yet, I was afraid I'd be late, so I caught the first bus."

Sister Xiang was also hungry, so she sat down to eat breakfast with them.

After finishing their meals, they all rushed off to work or school.

"Sister Xiang, I've found the dried sea cucumbers and abalone. You take a break and soak them when you have time. Tomorrow is your day off; the kids are all back, so we need to make something nice to nourish them."

"Okay, I got it. I'll think about it and make some other delicious food that's suitable for this season."

Sister Xiang also misses her children. After spending so much time together, it's quite disorienting that they're not home all of a sudden.

On Saturday night, Gu Xuanyi and Liu Jiu entered the house together.

"You two came back together, did you plan to?"

"Mu Nanfang and I went to pick up Liu Jiu together, and the three of us came back together."

Xuan Yi gave San Qi a meaningful look. They both understood each other perfectly well, though they didn't say it outright.

"I'm sorry to trouble Nanfang. I'll invite him over for dinner tomorrow. I haven't seen him in a while. Aunt Xiang is making sea cucumber and abalone tomorrow."

Bonnie felt that she had troubled Mu Nanfang a lot before, explaining problems to Liu Jiu and the others, and often accompanying Liu Jiu to exercise. It was not easy for him.

"Okay, I saw him tonight and asked him if he had time."

"Of course there's time."

Gu Xuanyi blurted out a comment, which drew a glare from Sanqi and a puzzled look from Baoni.

"What I mean is that Brother Nanfang likes to eat seafood. Even if he doesn't have time, he has to make time for it. Everyone knows that Aunt Xiang's braised sea cucumber with scallions is the best."

Gu Xuanyi quickly tried to cover it up, otherwise he would have to die to atone for his sins and face the wrath of many.

His second uncle and aunt, Liu Jiu, Mu Nanfang, and even his eldest brother's family came from far south.

"I see!"

Bonnie was startled, feeling that Xuan Yi's words had a hidden meaning, but her Liu Jiu didn't react, so she was both worried and relieved.

Mu Nanfang, this kid is good. If she really develops some kind of chemistry with Liu Jiu in the future, that would be great. They know each other well, they both live in this compound, and the kid herself is also very outstanding.

Bonnie had already started thinking about it, but looking at her daughter Liu Jiu, it seemed like she didn't have that awareness and didn't seem to have developed any special feelings for boys.

"Mom, what are you thinking about?"

Liu Jiu noticed her mother glancing at her for a while, then unconsciously smiling. What was wrong? Did she miss her father?

"I wasn't thinking about anything, I just suddenly remembered things from the past."

Bonnie changed the subject, saying her daughter was still young and there was no rush.

After finishing her meal, Liu Jiu looked at San Qi and Gu Xuanyi and thought to herself that they both seemed to have gained weight.

"Let's go to the training ground. I want to see if you two have regressed recently, and whether you've been sticking to your training."

"Sis, doing strenuous exercise right after a meal will make you feel uncomfortable. Let's do it another day?"

Sanqi gave Gu Xuanyi a wink, signaling him to speak up quickly. Didn't they know whether they had actually trained or not?

"Yes, Liu Jiu, I ate so much today, I feel like the food is all over my throat."

Gu Xuanyi even tugged at his belly and let out a burp, indicating that he had eaten quite a bit.

“You two can’t keep running until the fifteenth. If you don’t go tonight, you’ll have to go tomorrow morning.”

Liu Jiu could tell that the two of them had completely let loose.

"Then let's do it tomorrow morning, I really ate too much."

Sanqi and Xuanyi nodded in unison, almost bursting into burps together.

"Okay, then tomorrow morning. Don't be late."

Liu Jiu ran out after saying that; she had made an appointment with Mu Nanfang.

"You two, you might escape tonight, but you won't escape tomorrow!"

"Mom, there are so many people watching at the training ground at night, it's so embarrassing. There are fewer people in the morning, and they're all adults, so we don't have to worry about appearances, you know?"

Sanqi is usually good at studying and foreign languages; she's the kind of child everyone admires. Her peers and those around her age all think Gu Xuanming is amazing, and Sanqi doesn't want them to see her being bullied by her older sister.

"Exactly, especially me. I got scolded by my sister, and I became famous in the compound after that."

Gu Xuanyi agreed, as there were fewer people in the morning, and they wanted to save face for themselves.

Bonnie shook her head and ignored them. She was just fooling herself; why hadn't she done something earlier? This was the price of laziness.

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