Chapter 9

While shopping at the supermarket, Kim Cho-wan pushed a small cart behind Lee Sung-eun.

The boy is carefully selecting ingredients.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, they have known each other for a long time, but they don't have much time to spend alone like this.

Jin Chuwan spends most of her time with Lily.

Perhaps because of the betrayal she had experienced, Lily hardly made any friends afterward, but she shared most of her secrets with Kim Cho-wan.

As a listener, Jin Chuwan was fairly competent. She wouldn't tell others, nor would she laugh at Lily, and sometimes she would even give Lily some advice.

This combination of one big and one small might seem strange to others, but it's perfectly natural for Jin Chuwan and Lily.

First of all, Kim Cho-wan doesn't see herself as a kid, while Lily often doesn't see herself as an adult.

And so, day after day, these years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The little brat who used to be so wary of her has grown up, and he seems even more mature than Jin Chuwan now.

Do you want some durian?

Lee Sung-eun stood in the fruit section and glanced back at Kim Cho-wan.

Kim Cho-wan knew that Lee Sung-eun liked to eat this, so she nodded.

She wasn't particularly interested in durian, but she didn't dislike it either.

"But do you really want to buy this much?"

Kim Cho-wan looked down at the cart, but Lee Sung-eun calmly replied.

There are only two.

They had only intended to buy some eggs, but on the way back, both of them were carrying large bags. Even though the heavier items were mostly with Lee Sung-eun, Kim Cho-wan was still so exhausted that she collapsed onto the sofa when they got back to Sung-eun's house.

Oh, and she also needs to make fried rice for her handsome nephew.

Kim Cho-wan struggled to get up from the sofa, but when she got to the kitchen, she saw Lee Sung-eun tying an apron.

"I didn't expect... you're quite a homebody?"

This side of Li Xing'en was quite rare. Jin Chuwan followed him into the kitchen with her hands behind her back. Watching the boy skillfully wash and cook rice, she felt as if she had opened the door to a new world.

After all, most of the time, Li Xingen looked like a pampered young nobleman who never lifted a finger.

Lee Sung-eun looked at Kim Cho-wan, who was staring at him with the curiosity of a puppy, and slowly curled the corners of his lips.

"What, you don't believe me?"

Jin Chuwan shook her head. Xing En had been an outstanding and sensible child since she was little, so she had no reason not to believe her.

"I just think my nephew is really amazing. The girl who marries you will be so lucky."

She is good-looking, from a good family, speaks eloquently, has excellent manners, is talented, and has a good temperament. She can also cook.

It's absolutely perfect.

However, in many cases, such a perfect character can only be the second male lead in romance novels.

Perhaps it feels unreal, so there's no way to truly fall in love?

Thinking this, Jin Chuwan looked at Li Xingen with a hint of pity in her eyes.

"Xing En, you really need to be careful when you're dating in the future—"

After all, the author who wrote Lily's story really loves to create misunderstandings and entanglements. What if one day that author suddenly decides to arrange a tragic love story for Li Xing'en as well?

She might really feel sorry for him.

"First of all, you can't always keep your worries to yourself. You need to learn to be straightforward, you know?"

"Girls are generally very passive. Don't just be nice to her but also express everything, otherwise she won't understand!"

Jin Chuwan patiently and earnestly taught the boy before her, drawing upon her two lifetimes of reading experience.

"Also, if you've done everything right, but the other person is still indecisive, then you should decisively give up on her—"

"No matter how much you like her, give her up. The world is big, and you will definitely meet someone better than her!"

The thought of Li Xing'en being tormented by love in the future was unbearable for Jin Chuwan.

Perhaps because they have known each other for many years, it is only natural to feel biased.

Kim Cho-wan was genuinely worried about her nephew's future, but Lee Sung-eun seemed indifferent, focusing on chopping vegetables.

"Anyway, if it's any relationship problem, you can ask me. I can give you some advice—"

After Jin Chuwan finished speaking, the boy finally stopped moving.

"Like you and my mom?"

Jin Chuwan was stunned for a moment. In her memory, when she and Lily chatted in private, they would always avoid Li Xingen, but she still nodded.

"Hmm... kind of like Lily and I are."

"I'll remember that."

The boy appeared calm, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his emotions.

Kim Chu-wan also noticed it.

Does this guy think dating is childish?

She didn't want to either, but this was, after all, the world of online novels, and who knew what kind of melodramatic things might happen.

"You must listen to your aunt."

Jin Chuwan didn't want to get involved in such matters, but the memory of Lily from back then was still too vivid for her.

This time, Li Xing'en stopped chopping vegetables, stared at Jin Chuwan in front of him, and then nodded solemnly.

"I will."

"I will listen to my aunt, and I will always listen to my aunt."

Perhaps it was because Li Xing'en seemed too sincere that Jin Chuwan became uncomfortable. Just as she was about to say something to change the subject, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.

Jin Chuwan opened her phone, saw that it was Jiang Chen, and then turned and left the kitchen.

"Hello?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "Where are you now?"

Jin Chuwan glanced at Li Xing'en in the kitchen and replied, "I ran into a friend after being discharged from the hospital, and I'm at his house right now. I'll probably be back a little later."

"What time will you be back? I'll have Uncle Jiang pick you up."

She was currently in Jiangnan, and it would be too much trouble for Uncle Jiang to come, so Jin Chuwan quickly declined.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I can go back by myself."

There was silence on the other end of the phone again, so Jin Chuwan thought for a moment and then added.

"If it gets too late, I'll call you again...?"

Jiang Chen on the phone seemed to sigh, but it was so faint that Jin Chuwan couldn't hear it clearly.

"...You can call me anytime."

Jin Chuwan vaguely heard the hospital calling numbers coming from the other end of the phone. She paused, looked at her phone, and then nervously spoke into the phone.

"I understand. And Jiang Chen, you don't need to worry about me. I'm not sick anymore."

Hearing Jin Chuwan's earnest answer, Jiang Chen's expression relaxed slightly.

"good."

The boy hung up the phone and then dialed another number.

It was almost 8 p.m. when Cheng Ya saw the note on her phone, her face full of confusion.

"Hello?"

Why would the top student in the entire school suddenly contact her?

"I'd like to ask, do you know if Jin Chuwan has any other close friends besides you who are good enough to visit her home?"

Cheng Ya was stunned; it was the first time she had ever heard such a long sentence from Jiang Chen.

However, if we're talking about Wanwan's friends...

"It seems there's a girl named Lily; I sometimes overhear them making phone calls."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a faint "thank you" was replied.

This time, Cheng Ya was the one who was uneasy. "What do you mean by asking this all of a sudden? Did something happen to Wanwan?"

"She's fine."

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, he hung up the phone, turned around and went back to the car, and then gave instructions to the driver.

"go home."

The driver nodded and then turned the car around.

Cheng Ya, on the other end of the phone, rolled her eyes at her phone.

"What kind of person is he? He suddenly calls, hangs up before the other person can finish speaking! No wonder Wanwan doesn't like him—"