A tinge of disappointment flickered in Mu Qingyan's eyes.

She had thought that Xu Fan had already accepted her, but it seemed that she might have been presumptuous in her assumptions…

"Qingyan, what's wrong?"

As she watched Xu Fan walk towards her with a smile, Mu Qingyan wiped her eyes and pretended nothing was amiss as she busied herself with the ingredients on the table.

"Nothing… nothing at all, Xu Fan, you go out first…"

"Pfft."

Seeing Mu Qingyan's flustered expression, Xu Fan couldn't help but chuckle aloud.

Leaning in close to Mu Qingyan's ear, he whispered teasingly, "Qingyan, what I meant was, we still haven't made our marriage a reality."

"..."

The breath Xu Fan blew into her ear was like igniting a bomb in her head; Mu Qingyan's mind buzzed and went blank.

Turning her head numbly to gaze at Xu Fan's tender expression, Mu Qingyan's face flushed to her neck in an instant.

"You're awful, so bad…"

Like a little wife, Mu Qingyan's punches landed softly on Xu Fan's chest.

She was secretly annoyed with herself for being so helpless, letting her composure be shaken so easily by his few words.

Xu Fan's hand found its way to Mu Qingyan's voluptuous backside, pulling her into his embrace.

Feeling the fullness of the woman in his arms, Xu Fan whispered into her ear, "Qingyan, you said you wanted to properly thank me tonight, how do you plan to repay me, hm?"

"I don't…"

She was utterly helpless, like a puddle of mud collapsing into Xu Fan's arms; Mu Qingyan found herself with no means to escape.

"What I meant was… was to cook for you, Xu Fan, don't get any crazy ideas…"

With difficulty, Mu Qingyan extricated herself from Xu Fan's embrace, trying to explain with a face that remained beet-red.

But even she didn't believe such words, much less Xu Fan…

Watching him smile wickedly close to her, Mu Qingyan's heart thumped so hard it felt like it might burst from her chest.

"Alright, stop it, just go out…"

Feeling shy, she pushed Xu Fan away and pretended to take up chopping in earnest.

Xu Fan watched, still amused.

Pointing to what Mu Qingyan was about to chop, he reminded her, "Qingyan, you're holding a rolling pin."

"I… I know that…"

Mu Qingyan dropped the rolling pin in a fluster and cast a reproachful glare at Xu Fan.

If it wasn't for you, how could I have made such a mistake…

However, even as she picked up a kitchen knife, Xu Fan still showed no signs of leaving, standing as if he had roots at her feet.

"Xu Fan, please, just go out for a while…"

If this went on, she feared they might end up not eating at all tonight, Mu Qingyan pleaded as she looked at Xu Fan.

"Qingyan, I think…"

Seeing Xu Fan's mischievous gaze, Mu Qingyan's face reddened instantly.

"Stop it, Duoduo is still outside…"

This guy was probably looking to cause trouble in the kitchen, and Mu Qingyan, blushing, quickly shook her head to refuse.

If her daughter wasn't there, she might have softened and indulged in a bit of play with Xu Fan, but their daughter was right outside watching TV, and she didn't want to take that risk.

"Qingyan, what are you thinking."

"I mean that I want to eat dumplings tonight."

Mu Qingyan was utterly embarrassed, but Xu Fan turned the conversation on its head with a straight face.

"You!"

He was clearly making fun of her, and Mu Qingyan, her cheeks burning, gave Xu Fan another punch.

"I won't pay you any attention anymore!"

"Hehe."

Watching Mu Qingyan's flustered and exasperated expression, Xu Fan laughed and pulled her into his arms, planting a kiss on her delicate cheek before saying, "Qingyan, I won't leave tonight, okay?"

"Mhm."

Mu Qingyan, clearly understanding the subtext in Xu Fan's words, buried herself in his chest and answered shyly with a hum.

The coyness mixed with allure in her demeanor set Xu Fan's heart itching, and he intended to cozy up with Mu Qingyan in the kitchen for a while, when suddenly the door behind him creaked open.

"Mommy, why are you two hugging each other?"

Duoduo's little head peered in through the door crack, her large eyes blinking curiously at the intimate scene before her and asking.

"Cough cough!"

Mu Qingyan, in panic, quickly pushed Xu Fan away.

Then she shot Xu Fan a blaming look, thinking, now what are we going to do...

"Uh..."

Xu Fan touched his nose awkwardly, thinking that he should have locked the door just now...

He then walked up to Duoduo and, with a serious face, started to explain, "Duoduo, here's the thing."

"Just now, your brother was teaching mom how to make a secret dish. This dish, well, the recipe can't be leaked or there'll be trouble."

"So, to keep it from other people, brother had to whisper it into mom's ear. Do you understand?"

"..."

Mu Qingyan stood by, nearly in tears, thinking, where on earth did you come up with that excuse...

Fortunately, Duoduo was young and didn't question Xu Fan's fabricated story too much.

She nodded her head, seemingly understanding, and then looked up to ask, "Can Duoduo know the recipe?"

"Uh, well, that... we'll tell you when you're older..."

Xu Fan brushed off the question and said, "Alright, Duoduo, let's not get in the way of mom cooking anymore. Brother will take you out to play."

...

After playing with the little girl in the living room for a while, it finally got dark.

Mu Qingyan prepared a truly sumptuous array of dishes after an entire afternoon's work, yet both Xu Fan and she weren't really in the mood to eat, preoccupied with the thoughts in their minds.

After accompanying Duoduo to finish her meal, Mu Qingyan stood up to clear the dishes and snuck a shy glance at Xu Fan.

Immediately understanding Mu Qingyan's hint, Xu Fan perked up and turned his gaze to Duoduo.

"Alright, Duoduo, it's gotten dark, time to go to sleep."

"But Duoduo doesn't want to sleep yet..."

Having had such a fun day, the little girl was brimming with energy and was not ready to rest yet, now looking pitifully at Xu Fan.

"Uh..."

Xu Fan felt somewhat reluctant, scratching his head as he tried to reason, "Then let's play for another hour, but when time's up, you have to go to sleep, okay?"

"Mhm mhm!"

Having reached an agreement with the little girl, Xu Fan played along with her until it wasn't long before Mu Qingyan had cleared everything up.

She gave Xu Fan a look and went into the bedroom first.

Watching the little girl with boundless energy beside him, Xu Fan smacked his lips.

Life is indeed tough.

The clock hands ticked by until an hour finally passed, and the triumphant Xu Fan took Duoduo to the bedroom, patiently coaxed her to sleep, and then gently closed the door.

Tiptoeing, Xu Fan made his way step by step toward Mu Qingyan's bedroom.

Resting his hand on the doorknob, Xu Fan gently turned it, and the door creaked open.

Obviously, Qingyan had left the door open for him!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.