Chapter 103: A Little Supplement for Lin'er

Qin Xuan and Liu Ruoxi, tired from their outing, finally returned home carrying Maru. Seeing no one in the house, they realized that Nan Zhiyi had gone back home, while Qin Lin’er had locked herself in her room for some unknown reason.

After unfastening the leash from Maru, Liu Ruoxi and Qin Xuan sat on the sofa, idly playing with their phones. Recently, Liu Ruoxi especially enjoyed the warm feeling of being nestled in Qin Xuan’s arms.

“Qin Xuan~” Liu Ruoxi turned her head slightly and called softly.

“What is it?” Qin Xuan replied, rubbing his chin gently against her head.

“What do you think?” She looked up at him with a bright smile that made Qin Xuan’s heart flutter. Was he losing his mind?

Seeing his distracted expression, Liu Ruoxi knew he was overthinking again. She playfully slapped his thigh. “I meant I want to eat meat for lunch!”

“Oh...” Qin Xuan was momentarily at a loss for words. Embarrassed, he thought, “Forget it, I’ll just admit defeat!”

“So, what kind of meat do you want for lunch?” Qin Xuan glanced at the clock; it was already half past ten. He had originally planned to just make do at noon.

“I want to eat… you!”

Before Qin Xuan could finish his self-reproach, Liu Ruoxi’s words interrupted him. He had once again underestimated her.

“Then why are you just sitting there? Let’s go!” Qin Xuan stood up and took Liu Ruoxi’s small hand.

“Hmm?” Liu Ruoxi was momentarily stunned, quickly pulling her hand back to feel her body. “I was wrong!”

Qin Xuan reached out and pinched her nose, feigning innocence. “What did you say? I don’t understand. I just want you to come with me to buy groceries.”

“Whoa?” Liu Ruoxi was utterly confused, realizing her mistake. “Sorry about that!”

“Let’s go,” Qin Xuan linked arms with Liu Ruoxi and headed out.

Once they left, Qin Lin’er changed her clothes and emerged from her room, feeling a bit unwell and planning to take a shower.

“Don’t laugh!” Liu Ruoxi clung to Qin Xuan’s arm, glaring at his amused expression as if she wanted to punch him.

Qin Xuan, noticing her embarrassed annoyance, said, “Ruoxi, that’s not a good thought…”

“Shut up!” Liu Ruoxi rolled her eyes at him, utterly vexed. Tonight, she vowed, she’d definitely give him a good beating.

The two wandered leisurely to the market, but unfortunately, they arrived a bit late, and the prime goods were mostly gone. They picked some vegetables casually, planning to get the rest from the supermarket.

Ultimately, Liu Ruoxi was unabashed, grabbing a hefty pile of meat. Judging by Qin Xuan’s assessment, it could last them through several hot pot meals.

They returned home with their haul just as Qin Lin’er finished her shower.

“Oh? You bought so much meat; are you planning to have hot pot?” Qin Lin’er asked curiously, drying her damp hair.

“Yeah, don’t you want some?” Liu Ruoxi flopped onto the sofa and looked at her.

“I do!” Qin Lin’er nodded without hesitation, her mouth watering, though her craving was quite different from her desire for Qin Xuan.

Noticing Qin Xuan still putting things in the fridge, Qin Lin’er touched her hair.

“Bro, can you help me dry my hair?”

Though she said it aloud, she didn’t notice Liu Ruoxi’s gaze nearby. Despite the fact that Qin Lin’er had previously brought over some groceries, this was unacceptable now.

Qin Xuan looked up at Liu Ruoxi, and seeing no objection, assumed she agreed.

After tidying up, he picked up the hairdryer beside the sofa and beckoned Qin Lin’er.

“Hehe,” Qin Lin’er obediently sat on the sofa.

Liu Ruoxi watched awkwardly for a moment before stepping forward, pushing Qin Xuan aside, and snatching the hairdryer from his hand.

Qin Lin’er immediately sensed something was off—this was far too gentle.

“Ruoxi, could you be a bit lighter? It hurts when you pull my hair!” Qin Lin’er said without hesitation.

Liu Ruoxi said nothing. After a few minutes, Qin Lin’er found herself with a tangled mess atop her head as she sat at the dressing table.

“So annoying!” She was frustrated to see her once-beautiful hair so messed up.

Meanwhile, Nan Zhiyi returned home and found her mother and several neighbor ladies playing mahjong in the living room, which left her speechless.

“Zhiyi, you’re back! How did it go?” Her mother asked directly.

Despite the number of people present and the sensitive nature of the question, Nan Zhiyi answered honestly, “Got it!”

“Good, good. Bring them over for a meal sometime,” Yang Ying said, sorting her cards. “The things you wanted are in my room.”

Nan Zhiyi acknowledged and went upstairs straight to her mother’s room.

Opening the door, she saw documents on the bedside table and reached to take them. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed several familiar small boxes on the desk. Could they be more discreet?

After a moment’s thought, she pocketed one box, thinking it might come in handy soon.

She also grabbed a few clothes from her room before heading downstairs to greet her mother and prepare to leave.

“Wait, take these fruits with you; there are too many for us to finish, and you can snack on them,” Yang Ying pointed at a pile of fruit on the coffee table, including papayas and bananas.

“I don’t need these!” Nan Zhiyi knew exactly what this was about; she certainly didn’t need nourishment from these.

“Just take them!” Yang Ying snapped, exasperated. “Why don’t you have any sense?”

Nan Zhiyi was about to retort when she thought of Qin Lin’er and decided to bring the fruits home for her to replenish herself. She could sneak a bit for herself, too.

...

When Nan Zhiyi returned home with the fruits, Qin Xuan had just finished preparing the hot pot.

“Hot pot?” Nan Zhiyi dropped the fruits on the coffee table and looked at the table full of meat.

“Yeah. What did you bring?” Qin Xuan curiously eyed the sealed bags.

“Papaya and such, for Lin’er to replenish,” Nan Zhiyi opened a bag and held up a whole papaya as a gesture.

“Huh?” Qin Lin’er, on the sofa, looked up, puzzled, and glanced at Nan Zhiyi with disdain. Who did she think she was fooling?

“I don’t need this stuff!”

Nan Zhiyi handed the papaya to her. “It’s okay, you’re still young, no rush.”

“I…” Qin Lin’er looked at the papaya in her hands, then at herself, wondering if Qin Xuan might actually like this kind of thing.

“Qin Xuan! Do I really need to eat this?” Qin Lin’er challenged, glaring at Qin Xuan, who was busy piling lemon chicken feet onto a plate.

“You…” Qin Xuan turned around, still chewing on a chicken foot, and sized up the sulking Qin Lin’er. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Qin Lin’er immediately lost heart and threw a pillow at him. If not for Qin Xuan’s quick reflexes, the pillow would have landed on the meat.

“Oh, it’s nothing, you’re still young!”

Hearing others call her young annoyed Qin Lin’er, who was nearly nineteen. Young? Not anymore!

Only when Nan Zhiyi returned did Qin Xuan turn on the induction cooker. Soon, the pot began bubbling vigorously.

Qin Lin’er sat alone, sulking as she stared at the braised beef in front of her.

Watching Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi busily dunking tripe and duck intestines into the pot, Qin Lin’er couldn’t help but wonder if they could save some for her.

Qin Xuan noticed the bowls were nearly overflowing. The two seemed to be fighting with chopsticks in the pot; he had even seen their chopsticks clash in a mini skirmish...