Chapter 1
On the way home from school, students gathered with their friends, holding snacks and drinks in their hands.
There was only one girl, who was carrying her own schoolbag. When her friend next to her handed her some snacks, she glanced at them and shook her head.
"Sister An, you are really a good baby in the eyes of your parents. You don't eat any snacks."
Another girl, who had her school uniform tied around her waist, argued on behalf of the quiet girl: "That's why Sister An is so thin, unlike the two of us."
Du Jiajia: "I'm not fat, I'm just slightly plump." Then she walked in front of Gu Yuan and gestured her body from top to bottom.
Gu Yuan pushed her away and said, "I feel like a mountain has appeared in front of me."
Lin An watched them bickering, not helping either side, and remained silent.
After a while, she said, "Do you two know where to get some delicious food?"
"My mother isn't coming home this afternoon, and I don't know where to eat."
Du Jiajia took Lin An's hand and said, "Sister Mo, let's go to Gu Yuan's house for dinner. Her mother cooks delicious food."
“This isn’t good.”
Du Jiajia shook her head: "No, her mother has a very good temper. I have eaten at her house many times."
Lin An turned around, looked at Gu Yuan and asked, "Is it okay?"
Gu Yuan nodded and said with a smile: "Sure."
"My mother cooks delicious food and she also likes a lively home."
Du Jiajia: "If I were her mother's child, I don't know how much more weight I would have gained. And her mother is a gentle person."
"Unlike my mom, who not only cooks bad meals but also curses at people all the time."
Lin An: "I remember your house is not far from here. Don't let your mother catch you saying bad things about her."
Coincidentally, just as Lin An finished speaking, Du Jiajia's mother turned from another road and they met each other.
"Du Jiajia, you went to someone else's house to eat for free again." Du Jiajia's mother pulled her and said, "Come with me. We have left some food at home."
Du Jiajia was dragged and swayed, but she still struggled and waved at Lin An and Gu Yuan.
After her figure disappeared around the corner, Lin An and Gu Yuan were still standing there in a daze, their eyes meeting in the air.
After a moment of silence, Lin An said, "Can I still go to your house for dinner?"
Gu Yuan: “Okay.”
The two turned around and continued walking on the road, turning into an old residential area with brick-red buildings. The tallest building in the community had five floors, and Gu Yuan's house was on the fourth floor.
Gu Yuan opened the door and her mother's familiar voice immediately floated out from inside the house: "Is Yuanyuan back?"
"It's me, Mom." She answered
Gu Yuan said this, stealing a glance at Lin Mo, who looked calm and said, "Yuanyuan is your nickname?"
Gu Yuan said embarrassedly: "That's what my family calls me. You should just call me by my full name."
Lin An nodded, "Okay, but there's nothing to be embarrassed about. I have a nickname too."
Gu Yuan pulled Lin An's wrist and walked inside, asking curiously, "What's your nickname?"
Lin Mo staggered half a step, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "Cha Cha!"
Gu Yuan pushed the person to sit on the fabric sofa, and curled up his legs to sit on the armrest. "Your nickname is very good. Does your mother hope that you will become a judge or a policeman in the future?"
"She probably wants me to be both."
"How is this possible? You can't be both."
Before Gu Yuan could say anything else, Gu Nian poked his head out from the kitchen: "Yuanyuan, who are you talking to?"
"Mom, it's my classmate."
Gu Nian walked a few steps into the living room. When she saw Lin An, she paused for a moment, then said calmly, "Mom made sweet and sour pork. You and your classmates should wait a moment."
Lin An looked straight at Gu Nian, who was wearing a long skirt and an apron. "It's okay, Auntie. I'm just here for a free meal. I can wait."
Lin An's last sentence seemed to have a specific meaning.
Gu Nian looked at her, and the two of them stared at each other. Gu Yuan didn't notice the contest and walked towards his mother: "Pot fried pork, thank you, mom, I really love you the most."
Gu Nian was brought back to her senses by her daughter and tapped her forehead: "You've been saying it for a few days now. If I don't do it for you, I'll be annoyed to death."
Gu Yuan hugged his mother's waist: "You are the best."
"You have classmates here, so keep it to yourself."
Lin An smiled: "It's okay, I've never seen such a good mother-daughter relationship."
Gu Yuan let go embarrassedly. She almost forgot what she was doing just now. She was obsessed with the sweet and sour pork. In front of Lin An...ahhhh
"Sister An, I'm not usually like this."
Lin An: "It's okay, I won't tell anyone, you don't have to be embarrassed."
What she was worried about was that she would leave a bad impression in her mind, but judging from Lin An's tone, she probably didn't take it to heart. Lin An was always indifferent to everything.
Gu Nian went back to cook, and once the kitchen door was closed, no sound could be heard.
The two of them sat in the living room, Gu Yuan was eating potato chips, and Lin An was staring at the kitchen.
Gu Yuan poked her with his hand: "Are you hungry?"
"No, I want to help."
Gu Yuan shook his head: "No, my mother doesn't like other people in the kitchen. It's hard for her to move around when there are other people in the kitchen."
"I tried to help her once, but she thought I was troublesome and kicked me out."
Lin An caught a glimpse of the steam rising from the kitchen and stood up, saying, "I can cook, so it's not too much trouble for me to help. You take a break first, and I'll go help you."
Gu Yuan got up from the sofa: "Then I'll go with you."
Lin An held her back and said, "I'm going to help, but you're going to make things worse."
"You can't go there either."
"If I don't do something, I won't be able to eat your meal later."
Gu Yuan sighed: "Okay then."
The kitchen door was opened and closed. Lin An looked at the man's back, walked to the chopping board and continued cutting vegetables.
After a while, Lin An said, "Senior, the things are cut."
Gu Nian paused, staring at the bubbling oil in the pot: "The food has been cut, just leave it there."
Lin An didn't leave. He stood there and watched her stir-frying and cooking. The hum of the range hood mixed with the sound of hot oil.
After half an hour, she opened the door and walked out.
When Gu Yuan saw her come out, he immediately smiled and handed her some fruit: "Sister Mo, come and eat some fruit. I just washed it."
Lin An walked forward and took the fruit from her hand: "Thank you."
After dinner, Gu Yuan sent Lin An to the door, watched her leave, and then turned back home.
Pushing open the door, she glanced towards the living room as usual and saw her mother sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the table, as if her soul had been taken away.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Nian looked at Gu Yuan at the door and asked, "Why didn't I tell you about this classmate before? When did she transfer here?"
"Sister An transferred in during the second half of her freshman year. I told you about that time when there was a top student in our class. She was incredibly pretty, and you praised her back then, telling me to learn from her."
Gu Nian frowned, "Why have I never seen her before?"
Gu Yuan casually placed the key in the entrance hall and said nonchalantly, "Her house is far away, so it's normal that we don't run into each other."
Gu Nian asked, "Are you very close to her?"
"Well, I think we get along quite well." Gu Yuan bent down to change his shoes, and the corners of his lips rose unconsciously.
Gu Yuan walked over and sat down on the sofa next to his mother, his eyes filled with confusion: "Mom, why are you asking this?"
Gu Nian reached out and took her daughter's hand, gently squeezing it. A reassuring smile appeared on the corner of her lips. "Nothing. I just suddenly wanted to know more about your friend. Just asking."
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