89: Chapter 89 Meeting the Stepmother!! Shock!

"Big Brother, why did you only just arrive! I missed you to death!"

Chu Lingyin spoke with a beaming smile.

"You only miss your big brother, not your grandfather?" Old Master Chu Jianghe intentionally pulled a long face.

Chu Lingyin hurriedly nodded again, looking delighted. "Of course I missed you! Grandpa, where did you go for your trip? Why didn't you bring me any toys or snacks?"

"That... er! I'll buy them for you later!" Old Master Chu Jianghe's expression soured slightly. In the past, every time he returned from a trip, he would bring large bags of toys and many local delicacies. This time, he had barely escaped with his life from the Taklamakan Desert. To return alive was already the greatest fortune among misfortunes.

Chu Xiao frowned and asked, "Where's Dad? Why are only the two of you at home?"

Normally, it would definitely be dangerous for two small children to be home alone. Even if Chu Nantian wasn't home, that stepmother should have been there. If all else failed, it would have been reasonable to leave two nannies behind.

Chu Lingyin smiled and said, "Dad and Stepmother went to buy groceries. The nanny had something come up at home last night, so she took a leave of absence. Lately, Dad's been home every day cooking for me, and it's really delicious."

Hearing this, Chu Xiao muttered to himself in surprise, "Huh? Since when did our dad know how to cook?"

In his memory, his father Chu Nantian was a business elite who couldn't even take care of his own daily life, let alone cooking or doing laundry.

Chu Lingyin shook her head. "I don't know, but Dad's been the one cooking for the past few days. Stepmother has been looking after me and my little brother."

Just as she was speaking.

Footsteps came from outside, and the heavy wooden gate was slowly pushed open.

A man and a woman walked in arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing.

The middle-aged man wore a white shirt, his hair combed impeccably. He wore an old silver watch on his wrist and carried a large bag of vegetables, fruits, and meat. There were a few traces of age on his face.

After not seeing him for three years, his father Chu Nantian seemed to have become much more refreshed...

This was Chu Xiao's first impression upon seeing his father!

As for the woman, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her skin was snowy and translucent, and her smile was sweet. Wearing a pure white dress, she appeared exceptionally pure and refined, with an ethereal aura that seemed detached from the mortal world.

Seeing her, Chu Xiao felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

"Auntie!!!"

Chu Xiao cried out in shock, completely dumbfounded.

Wasn't this woman his mother's biological younger sister—his aunt who had been studying abroad?

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

The atmosphere couldn't just be called a little awkward; it was extremely awkward.

Chu Xiao hadn't been home for three years. Because he had blocked his father's social media updates, he naturally didn't know that his stepmother was actually his aunt, who was only eight or nine years older than him.

Good heavens!

Truly, good heavens!

Father, you really are something else!

You even went after my aunt?

“...”

Chu Xiao was speechless, feeling like he was suffocating.

His aunt's name was Jiang Yulan. She was a very lively woman who loved to laugh, had a great personality, and was very caring toward Chu Xiao. Since their age gap wasn't that large, they got along quite well.

Over these three years, Jiang Yulan had often contacted Chu Xiao to ask what he was doing, if he had found a good job, if he remembered to buy thick clothes for winter, if his pocket money was enough, and so on.

However, she had never mentioned that she had married Chu Xiao's father...

Almost everyone knew about this.

Only Chu Xiao didn't know!!

"That... Dad, Xiao, you guys talk, I'm going to cook!"

Jiang Yulan's face flushed red. Clutching the ingredients, she fled as if running for her life, even dropping a few tomatoes along the way without stopping to pick them up.

To be honest, she felt very embarrassed herself.

As for his father, Chu Nantian, he feigned composure. He forced a smile and first called out "Dad!" to Chu Jianghe, then looked at his eldest son Chu Xiao and said with a stern face, "What are you looking at? I married your aunt, do you have a problem with that?"

Chu Xiao: "...Heh! ...Hehehe..."

A problem?

What problem could I have?

As a son, could I possibly force you two to divorce?

Chu Xiao was currently thinking about only one thing: what if, just what if, he eventually pulled some kind of secret technique from the System's prize pool that could resurrect the dead without needing a corpse? If he brought his mom back to life, that scene would probably be quite spectacular.

Chu Xiao turned his head and looked at Old Master Chu Jianghe, asking, "So... Grandpa, you knew all along and didn't tell me?"

Old Master Chu Jianghe coughed and gave a dry laugh. "Your dad didn't tell you, so why would I? Who told you to run away from home and not keep in touch with the family? Whose fault is it?"

Chu Xiao was instantly speechless. He took a deep breath, not knowing what else to say.

How was this supposed to work!

Originally, he thought his stepmother would be some wicked woman and had been calculating how to deal with her.

Now, despite all his calculations, he never expected that the person his father married would actually be his aunt!

Should he call her Auntie from now on? Or Mom?

The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Chu Xiao couldn't even afford to feel sentimental anymore.

Dinner time.

His aunt Jiang Yulan had prepared a table full of great dishes: her specialty braised pork, stewed turtle with three delicacies, earth-pot chicken, stir-fried kidney, meat-stuffed eggplant, Mapo tofu, spicy chicken...

"Xiao, you should still just call me Auntie from now on." Jiang Yulan smiled as she picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in Chu Xiao's bowl. Her eyes darted away, looking very shy.

Chu Xiao nodded woodenly. "Okay... sure! Auntie!"

"Mom, I want braised pork too!" The little fat boy Chu Jie banged his bowl with his chopsticks, making a huge racket.

Chu Lingyin immediately slapped him across the face and said fiercely, "How many times have I told you? No banging the bowl! If you bang it one more time, I'll knock your head crooked!"

"Mom! Look at her, look at her! she's always bullying me~~~ Waaaah..."

The little fat boy Chu Jie clutched his face and wailed.

Jiang Yulan just smiled and clapped her hands. "Well hit, hit him well, hit him until he croaks! Lingyin, give him a good lesson. Your dad and I aren't home every day, and this boy has been spoiled by the nannies."

Chu Lingyin nodded and asked with a giggle, "Heehee, Stepmother, if I help you discipline your son, can you let me skip learning characters tonight?"

Jiang Yulan immediately pulled a long face. "No! You're eight years old this year and don't even know a thousand characters. I didn't have the chance to look after you when you were in Jianghai City before. Now that you're back, I have to strictly manage your studies."

"Nooo, I don't want to study!" Chu Lingyin wailed in misery.

Seeing this scene.

Chu Xiao felt a complicated mix of emotions. He suddenly felt that this stepmother... didn't seem unacceptable. Moreover, she was his aunt, so their relationship was even closer.

Come to think of it, this aunt really did look quite similar to his mother. Her nose and eyes were so alike, and even her personality was similar.