barbecue

Xu Feifei lowered her head and nodded hesitantly. Although she hadn't seen the document, the words "paternity test" were definitely related to her background.

I already knew what the outcome would be, it was just that the verdict hadn't been announced yet, and now the time has come.

Gao Lan sighed almost imperceptibly, "If I had known you would see this, I wouldn't have put it in my bag, so you wouldn't have seen it."

Xu Feifei looked up in surprise. Something seemed off. Was this the right way to start?

"Feifei, I only recently learned that Xier is my daughter."

Sure enough, she thought the plot would take a different turn, but it turned out she was overthinking it.

Xu Feifei lowered her head heavily and said in a weak voice, "I understand."

"There are very few people with the same blood type as your father. When I gave birth, the hospital tested my child's blood type and it was the same as your father's. So when I found out that your blood type was incompatible with your father's, I had some doubts."

For some reason, Xu Feifei felt as if a huge weight was hanging over her heart when she heard these words, and her chest felt unusually heavy and suffocating.

Tears welled up in her eyes instantly, and her breathing became labored.

She knew this ending all along and had already accepted the fact. Even the bonds of family weren't very deep, so why was she still so sad?

Xu Feifei stubbornly raised her head, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace, and cautiously asked, holding back her anger, "Mom, so I'm not your biological daughter? Are you abandoning me?"

Gao Lan was startled and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, how could Mommy not want you! I meant to explain why Mommy did that paternity test, not because I don't want you."

Tears instantly streamed down Xu Feifei's face as she hugged her and cried out, "I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

Gao Lan's eyes also reddened, and her voice choked as she said, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could your mother not want you? Whether you are my biological child or not, I will still want you. The reason I'm telling you this in private is to reassure you that as long as you continue to recognize your father and me as your mother and father, we will always be your mother and father."

Xu Feifei buried herself in her arms and cried and cried, until she finally let out a muffled "hmm".

Gao Lan gently stroked the hair on Feifei's forehead and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, saying, "Feifei, whether you choose me and your father or want to find your biological parents, I will accept it. But I will always be by your side and support you from behind."

"Mom, you and Dad will always be my mom and dad. That will never change, and I will always stay by your side."

The heavy weight in my heart finally lifted, and I felt much lighter in an instant.

The two first laid out the key issue, focusing on resolving it to eliminate any potential problems. Once this was discussed openly, all subsequent issues were readily resolved.

Although Xu Feifei's nose was still red, her smile gradually brightened. The more they talked, the better she felt, and things continued to develop in a positive direction.

Emerging from the room, their relationship deepened. Xu Feifei could still cling to her arm and act coquettishly, calling her "Mom" sweetly, just like before.

Although the novel is an old one, the plot doesn't go in a particularly melodramatic direction.

Xu Feifei knew that the conversation was very successful and helped her let go of a lot of things, but she often wondered if she had done something wrong.

This conversation should have been initiated by the original owner of this body, to help her resolve her inner conflict, when she returned to her room and felt distressed about this matter for the nth time.

Su Huan comforted her, "Don't think too much about it. You said you cried your eyes out at first, so it's very likely that the original owner was influencing your emotions. The original owner could probably sense your conversation with her mother."

"I hope so."

Su Huan asked curiously, "Did your mother mention Lin Xier? Does Lin Xier know about this?"

Xu Feifei shook her head and said, "She doesn't know yet. My mom said she'll tell Lin Xier at a suitable time, but she hasn't told me when. Maybe it'll be after my dad recovers."

Su Huan waved her hand dismissively, saying, "There's no need to worry too much about this. We'll probably recognize it after we leave."

Xu Feifei subconsciously looked towards Lin Yuan. He had been silent during their discussion of the plot because it was part of the story for her and Su Huan, but for him it was something that was actually happening.

Lin Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, "None of that matters. School starts tomorrow. Have you prepared your things for the start of school?"

Xu Feifei and Su Huan looked at him in shock and exclaimed in unison, "What? School starts?!"

The two had spent their summer vacation in a mess and had long forgotten about going back to school. When the topic came up again, they both felt that going back to school was unrealistic.

Su Huan said anxiously, "Oh no, oh no, I haven't done my summer homework."

Xu Feifei was about to reply when she suddenly remembered something and said thankfully, "Luckily, Lin Yuan forced me to do my homework before, and I finished all of it."

Lin Yuan looked at her with gentle eyes and smiled.

Su Huan glared resentfully at the two of them. She felt like she'd been locked up for as long as summer vacation. Summer vacation hadn't ended at all; she still had homework to do. What a terrible victim!

"I don't know who it was that caused me to miss my homework."

Xu Feifei nudged Lin Yuan and pushed him out without hesitation, saying, "I'm talking to you. Think about how to make amends."

"I'm sorry, it was my oversight. I should have brought you your summer homework. It was my mistake."

Su Huan's temper flared up instantly. Wasn't finishing her summer homework the thing she needed most right now? She wanted to argue, but when she saw his dark eyes, she instantly fell silent, daring not to speak her anger.

Although things have gone well with Lin Yuan these past few days, his character is fundamentally a cunning and yandere type. Even if he hasn't gone to the extreme of that, it's always better to be safe than sorry!

While Lin Yuan wasn't paying attention, Su Huan secretly tugged at Xu Feifei's sleeve and whispered, "As compensation, you'll help me with my homework tonight."

Xu Feifei stared at her with wide eyes, her gaze seeming to ask, "Are you sure?"

Su Huan glared back, nodded firmly, her eyes conveying certainty, absolute certainty, and complete certainty.

Xu Feifei resignedly closed her eyes and nodded.

Lin Yuan frowned slightly, not quite understanding, as he observed their subtle actions. He asked, "What are you two whispering about?"

There's a saying that everything has its counter, and Su Huan pushed Xu Feifei out to explain without hesitation.

Xu Feifei shook her head and said, "No, I was just thinking about what things I need to pack for the start of school tonight."

This summer vacation isn't too long, but it's not too short either. This last-minute announcement left me with no idea what to bring home besides my homework. Tonight, I have to work with Su Huan to create a miracle with a pen; I don't know if we'll have enough time.

"No need to prepare, I've already prepared everything for you."

"Wow, Lin Yuan, you're so great!"

Upon hearing that the two others were ready again and she was the only one missing, Su Huan hurriedly interjected, "What about mine? Am I included?"

Lin Yuan glanced at her indifferently without saying anything, and after making Su Huan anxious for a while, he said, "Everything is ready. You don't need to rush your homework. I've already spoken to the school about your situation. You don't need to hand in any homework or take any make-up exams."

Su Huan's mood instantly improved after learning that she didn't have to hand in her homework; her smile almost stretched to the back of her head.

She wanted to step forward and grab Lin Yuan's hand to thank him properly, but Lin Yuan took a step back to keep his distance. Su Huan didn't mind and said with a smile, "Hehe, you're so nice. What did you say to the school? But why do I have to retake the exam?"

"He didn't say anything. As for why you need to retake the exam, it's because you didn't take the final exam."

Su thought about it for a moment, and realized that Lin Yuan had indeed kidnapped her just before finals. Uh... is it too late to take back what I just said?

Xu Feifei felt that continuing the discussion wouldn't lead to anything, so she changed the subject, saying, "Okay, let's not dwell on this. School starts tomorrow, how about we have a nice meal tonight?"

Su Huan's eyes lit up immediately at the mention of food, but because of Lin Yuan, she pretended to be reluctant and said, "Okay, but I'm not paying for this meal!"

Xu Feifei noticed her awkwardness, patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder, and looked at him with a smile, saying, "Tonight, Young Master Lin will pay for everything. We just need to eat!"

Lin Yuan met her gaze and smiled indulgently, "Okay."

After a heated discussion, Xu Feifei and Su Huandi decided to have a barbecue tonight.

Before going, Xu Feifei went to sit with her father for a while, told her mother about the start of school the next day, and then slipped away.

The three of them chose a corner spot with a fan. Xu Feifei looked at the crowd not far ahead, eating skewers, drinking beer, and chatting noisily.

This scene is common in the real world, but it's relatively rare in City A in the novel. Looking at this lively scene, Su Huan couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect the famous City A to have food stalls! How come I never noticed it before?"

Xu Feifei looked down at the menu on her phone and said, "Isn't this normal? You forgot that the female protagonists in novels are all ordinary people. It's normal for them to have a food stall. Maybe the female protagonist even works part-time here."

Su thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement and said, "That makes sense. What do you want to eat?"

Xu Feifei looked at the items added to her shopping cart and read them out one by one: "Crayfish, roasted chicken wings, roasted snowflake beef cubes, pork belly, chives and enoki mushrooms, and a bottle of herbal tea to cool down."

After saying that, she leaned closer to Lin Yuan to look at his phone and asked, "Lin Yuan, what are you ordering?"

This was Lin Yuan's first time eating barbecue at a street food stall. He didn't really like the noisy atmosphere, but he didn't mind eating with Xu Feifei.

Lin Yuan handed her his phone. "Feifei, can you order for me? It's my first time eating here, and I don't know what to order."

Xu Feifei took the phone and looked at the dazzling menu, feeling a bit troubled. Ordering for herself was easy, but ordering for the other person was a bit more difficult.

After looking at it for a while, he turned to ask, "Su Huan, what would you like to order?"

Su Huan was watching the chef grilling skewers in the distance, the smoke from the burning charcoal shooting straight into the sky, and the aroma of cumin from the barbecue hitting her very soul.

Seeing that she hadn't responded for a long time, Xu Feifei waved her hand in front of her eyes and said, "What are you looking at so intently? What did you order?"

Su Huan smacked her lips, looked away, and said, "We ordered grilled oysters, grilled squid, grilled lamb leg, grilled chicken skin, grilled corn, and a dozen draft beers."

Xu Feifei frowned and said, "Draft beer? I've never had it before. Is it good?"

Su Huan enthusiastically recommended it to her, saying, "It's delicious, and it's an absolute perfect match for barbecue!"

Xu Feifei counted the dishes she and Su Huan had ordered and realized they seemed to have ordered a lot, so they decided to eat first and order more if they needed more. When all the dishes were served, the skewers were packed tightly onto the table, leaving no space at all.

Two hours later, the empty plates on the table were stacked up, the grill skewers were piled up all over the table, and the beer bottles were also scattered haphazardly.

Su Huan, drunk, shoved a beer bottle in front of Xu Feifei, his face beaming, and mumbled, "Hehe, Feifei, get up and drink."

Xu Feifei slapped her hand away, curled up in the chair, her cheeks flushed and her eyes tightly closed, and rubbed against the back of the chair, looking like a drunkard.

"No...no, I can't drink anymore."

Lin Yuan looked at the two of them with a headache. They clearly couldn't hold their liquor, but they insisted on drinking, and the more he tried to stop them, the more enthusiastic they became. Especially Su Huan, who not only drank by herself, but also dragged Xu Feifei to drink with her.

When he returned after paying the bill, he saw Su Huan slam her hand on the table and stand up unsteadily, "Fei...Feifei, when are you going to confess to Lin Yuan?"