Back home, Ruan Ruan first put the rice on the stove, then began to pour the mushrooms she had picked onto the washboard, washing off the dirt as she went. She then divided them into different baskets for easy drying.

After washing about a third of the mushrooms, seeing that it was almost time, she took some of the washed mushrooms and started chopping vegetables, preparing to make a mushroom soup. These fresh mushrooms were delicious even without any other seasonings.

When Huo Haocheng returned, he saw Ruan Ruan taking a sip of the mushroom soup. He thought his gluttonous wife was really cute. Usually, she seemed uninterested in anything, so he thought she really didn't like anything. He never expected her to be such a little foodie.

"How is it? Is it good?" Huo Haocheng asked after she finished drinking. He was afraid that if he suddenly spoke, he might startle her and she might choke.

"It's so delicious, you should try some too!" Ruan Ruan was savoring the delicious soup when she heard Huo Haocheng's voice behind her. She immediately wanted him to taste how delicious the mushrooms she had painstakingly picked were. As she spoke, she scooped up a little bit with her small spoon and held it to his lips, gesturing for him to try it.

Huo Haocheng glanced at Ruan Ruan's smug little eyes, then bent down and drank the little bit of soup from her hand.

"How is it? How is it? Isn't it fresh? Let me tell you, I went all the way to find these matsutake mushrooms, hahaha, today was a very fruitful day!" Ruan Ruan was so happy that she got carried away and accidentally let slip that what she thought was just a simple mushroom-picking trip with her aunt and uncle was not actually that.

"Wait, wait a minute. You just said you ran a long way?" Huo Haocheng understood what she meant. He didn't care about cooking other dishes anymore. He grabbed the person who was about to run away, looked down into her eyes.

"Why are you running? Huh!"

"No, I didn't run away. The pot's almost dry, so I need to cook the other dishes. Yes, I'm going to cook now. Hurry up and take this mushroom soup out, don't get in my way." At first, Ruan Ruan felt a little guilty for letting something slip, but gradually, she realized she was doing something, and that she wasn't doing anything wrong. After some mental preparation, she confidently started ordering him around. Her main principle was that as long as she didn't admit it, she wasn't wrong.

So much so that even during lunch, Huo Haocheng couldn't find a chance to ask her about what happened that morning.

"Can't you even look at the food? Is there something on my face? You keep staring, keep staring!" Ruan Ruan was getting really uncomfortable with Huo Haocheng's stare. If he had just asked directly, she could have easily made up an excuse. Besides, Ruan Ruan didn't think what happened this morning was a big deal. But he just wouldn't ask, just wouldn't ask. He was just staring at her, which was really annoying.

“Sigh, I won’t ask how far you walked to pick mushrooms this morning, but you must remember this in the future. We are all very worried about you. If something happens to you under our noses, do you think we will be very sad? Especially your aunt who was with you today, will she feel very guilty? Will your uncle resent your aunt from now on?”

"Won't your grandparents and parents in Shenyang, and your grandparents, parents, and maternal grandparents in Beijing, along with your brothers and sisters, think that I didn't take good care of you, leaving you stranded on the mountain in the pouring rain? Won't they feel that you were perfectly fine at home, but something happened after you came here with me? Do you think they'll come and take you back? And then, will I never see you again?"

Huo Haocheng held Ruan Ruan's hand and spoke to her gently, explaining the reasons behind her words.

Ruan Ruan was stung by his gentle words. Since when had Huo Haocheng started using such methods against her? "Waaah, stop it! I won't do it again. Today was just an accident. I wasn't paying attention while picking mushrooms and wandered a little far. Besides, Xiao Ming found me quickly. I grew up in the mountains; how could I get lost there? Waaah, you just like to bully me!"

Huo Haocheng was quite startled by Ruan Ruan's sudden crying and immediately hugged her to comfort her, "Why are you crying? I didn't blame you, and you seem to be in a good mood today, so your aunt probably didn't want to scold you, right? So be good, we won't cry anymore."

"It's all your fault! You said it yourself. Because I was being willful, my uncle and aunt have a falling out. My grandparents, parents, and everyone else are coming to take me back home, and we'll never see each other again! Waaaaah, I don't want to!"

"I...when did I say such a thing?" Huo Haocheng felt wronged. How could he have said such a thing!

"It's exactly what you said. You just rattled off a whole bunch of stuff, and that's what you meant." At this point, Ruan Ruan wasn't going to reason with him. You want to reason with me? Well, I won't. Let's see who comes out on top.

"I... did I mean that?" Huo Haocheng was completely defeated at this moment. The person in his arms was really someone he couldn't talk to or hit. Where did he learn to be so unreasonable? If he told him, he would definitely beat him to death.

“It’s you!” Ruan Ruan looked up at him, sobbing, tears still clinging to her reddened cheeks, making her look pitiful.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have said those things to scare you. I was wrong, I'll change, okay? Okay, let's not cry anymore. If you cry, I'll start crying too." Huo Haocheng gently kissed away the tears from her eyes and cheeks, admitting his mistake. It was all so strange; he was the one reasoning with her, how did it turn into him apologizing? It's so inexplicable!

"Then you can't say things like that to me anymore. I know I was wrong about some things, but you can't exaggerate them to reason with me. That's not right of you. I know I was wrong, and I won't do it again."

Hearing Huo Haocheng admit his mistake, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she automatically acknowledged her error, made her request, cried a couple of times, and then achieved her goal. Ruan Ruan commented that it makes sense for heroines in romance novels to cry in front of the male lead. This solved the problem immediately; otherwise, Huo Haocheng would have kept nagging.

"Okay, I understand. I'll definitely change next time. Let's eat now, okay? The food won't taste good if it gets cold." Huo Haocheng felt that he shouldn't be the one to reason with the little girl like this in the future. He couldn't bring himself to be harsh with the person in front of him. If there was a next time, he would call his mothers. If that didn't work, he would see when he had time and bring his grandmother over to visit.

At this moment, Ruan Ruan was unaware of Huo Haocheng's inner thoughts. If she had, she would have attacked him.

"Okay, then hurry up and eat." With that, Ruan Ruan sat back down on her stool and buried her head in her food. At this moment, she also felt that she had been a little embarrassed by crying earlier. The more she felt good crying earlier, the more embarrassed she was now.

Seeing her like this, Huo Haocheng put some food in her bowl without saying anything. Experience told her that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make, so she should just eat obediently.