LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 603. Family Feast
In just a short while, my daughter was already chasing her little aunt around the living room, the home filled with their noisy chatter, making Ning Chu’s ears hurt.
She thought her daughter was usually quite rambunctious at home, likely because she learned it from Hei Dou.
How she wished for a quiet, obedient little cotton-padded jacket instead of the heartless black cotton that Wen Shu Jun was!
“Sis~ Are we having a big dinner tonight?”
Smelling the aroma of meat wafting from the kitchen, Hei Dou opened the door and poked her head in, twitching her nose to ask.
Ning Chu turned her head to see her daughter peeking in like a little greedy cat, both little heads looking up at her with sparkling eyes.
“Big dinner~”
She elongated her tone, fishing out a piece of reddish-braised pork from the pot with a spatula. “Braised pork, want to try some?”
“Can we eat now?!”
“Let it cook a little longer, it’ll taste better, right?”
She took a small bowl, scooped out two pieces of braised pork, and handed it to Hei Dou, looking disgusted. “You’re all grown up, yet you’re still acting like a starving child, as if you’ve never eaten meat before.”
“Maybe I was hungry as a kid?”
Hei Dou happily accepted the bowl and ran off with the little one again.
Ning Chu shook her head helplessly, her smile gentle and warm as she continued to bustle about in her little kitchen, the years passing like clockwork.
Sometimes she wondered if she had been a man, she wouldn’t be confined at home from pregnancy and childbirth, her life reduced to just cooking, cleaning, and endless chores. Maybe she’d find a beautiful, virtuous wife and become the pillar of a family, raising a chubby baby…
After being at home for too long, she often found herself overthinking strange things.
“Wife.”
Wen Yang’s call snapped Ning Chu out of her daze. She looked up to see him standing at the kitchen door, a proud grin stretching nearly to his ears.
“What’s up?”
“I closed a big deal!” Wen Yang excitedly walked into the kitchen, wrapped his arms around Ning Chu’s slim waist, and lifted her up. “Aren’t I awesome?!”
“Eh!”
Her feet leaving the ground made Ning Chu a bit flustered; she waved the spatula in her hand, instinctively closing her eyes.
“You have no idea how hard it was to deal with that client. I revised it over and over but finally got it sorted out! Now all that’s left is waiting for the final payment!”
Wen Yang was over the moon, spinning around with his wife before finally putting her down. “That client was a real jerk… If he weren’t wealthy, I wouldn’t have bothered putting up with him.”
Once released, Ning Chu felt a bit dizzy and steadied herself.
Although she didn’t quite catch all of Wen Yang’s workplace grumbling, seeing his beaming face made her smile back and she teased, hands clasped to her chest, her eyes sparkling with admiration, “Husband, you’re amazing~”
“Isn’t that right?” Wen Yang stood tall, puffing his chest out with pride.
But the next moment, Ning Chu’s face darkened, “Could you not be so childish?!”
She raised the spatula as if to smack Wen Yang’s head. “This is the kitchen, okay! I’m still cooking!”
Wen Yang jumped back in surprise, hurriedly escaping the kitchen.
“Childish!”
After chasing Wen Yang out of the kitchen, Ning Chu quickly lifted the pot lid to peek, relieved to find nothing burnt.
“What if I accidentally flipped the pot?!” She glanced at Wen Yang standing at the doorway. “You’re an adult but still act like a child.”
It has to be said, men really are like big kids, which sometimes made Ning Chu question if she had given birth to two kids — one big, one small, a boy and a girl.
Though she wasn’t that much better herself… Either she pretended to be pitiful and pouted at Wen Yang, or the two of them acted like fools together.
“How about we just go out to eat instead?”
“I’ve already cooked half of it, alright?” Ning Chu rolled her eyes at Wen Yang. “Mom should be here soon.”
With Hei Dou coming back, what was supposed to be an ordinary dinner turned into a family gathering.
Upon hearing that, Wen Yang immediately put away his silly grin, straightened his clothes, becoming the image of a mature and steady father and husband.
He wouldn’t dare be too careless in front of his mother-in-law.
“I’ll help.”
“Oh, so now you’re willing to help just because Mom’s coming? Put on the apron; it’ll be a pain to get oil stains out.”
Moments later, there was a knock at the door.
Hei Dou, who had been playing house with her niece, perked her head up, tail high, scampering to open the door.
“Mom! Dad is here too~”
“Grandma!”
The little one stretched out her arms and wobbled over, her mother squatting down with a smile, hugging her granddaughter tightly. “Oh! Little Shu Jun is so pretty~”
Uncle, on the other hand, was stern-faced, nodding slightly at Hei Dou, but a hint of a smile flickered in his eyes.
Unlike Ning Chu, Hei Dou directly treated Uncle like her father; when she first transformed into a cat girl, she had no real concept of parents and sweetly called Ning Chu “Mom.”
As Mom carried the child inside, she immediately noticed the leftover burgers and fried chicken on the coffee table. “Ning Xin, you should eat less junk food.”
“That’s what my sister wanted!” Hei Dou immediately deflected and then sweetly pleaded, “Mom~ Can I sleep over at my sister’s tonight? I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“Do you think your sister will want to?”
“Of course she will!”
Mom looked skeptical of Hei Dou’s words. Having one child already disrupted their couple’s life; adding Hei Dou into the mix, her succubus daughter might end up hungry again tonight.
“How’s the job hunt going?” Mom asked, sitting down with her granddaughter. “You’re already interning; you should stabilize with a job soon.”
“My brother-in-law already promised me a job at his company! He said he’d arrange a mentor for me, teaching me what I don’t know!”
“Just don’t let your brother-in-law down~”
“Of course not! I’m smart; I’ll pick it up right away!”
Mom, holding her granddaughter, slowly came to the kitchen door, looking content as she observed the busy husband and wife inside. “Look how good your sister’s husband is! Reliable with a good job and loves his wife. Remember to have your sister vet your future boyfriends.”
Hei Dou nodded thoughtfully, “He really is quite capable…”
Every time she visited her sister’s house, she could always smell the enticing scents from every corner, which even daily chores couldn’t wash away.
“Mom, he’s just putting on a show in front of you. At home, he acts like an old man.”
Hearing her mother’s words, Ning Chu couldn’t help but mock Wen Yang.
Her gaze passed over her mother and Hei Dou, landing on Uncle sitting in the dining room with a slightly stunned expression.
The last time she saw Uncle was probably two months ago; he seemed to have lost some weight?
Uncle’s physique had changed from strong to beer belly, then to slender; one couldn’t help but say the succubus’s power was indeed a bit much, which indirectly reflected how good Wen Yang’s physical condition was. After all these years, Wen Yang’s stamina hadn’t changed much.
“Mom, Wen Yang bought some great supplements; let’s make sure Uncle takes some home later.”
Wen Yang hurriedly agreed, “I’ll go get it later. Mom, take Shu Jun to the dining room, the food will be ready soon.”
However, Mom put down her granddaughter and rolled her eyes at Wen Yang.
“You’re just adding trouble for Ning Chu, pretending to be busy. How many times do you even step into the kitchen in a year?”
“Two or three times…” Wen Yang awkwardly put down what he was doing, trying to defend himself. “I’m busy now, you know? A couple of years ago, I still had time on weekends to cook for Ning Chu.”
Seeing her husband get the brunt of it, Ning Chu burst into laughter.