The atmosphere at the dinner table was very harmonious.
The Xia family members are typical of loving the people in their family. Eight years ago, Xia Zhi took Jiang Zhixia to meet his parents. Although they attended the banquet as ordinary friends at that time, because Xia Zhi said "Zhixia is my best friend", Sheng Mingyan and Xia Junmei showed great enthusiasm and kindness to Jiang Zhixia.
Now, eight years later, Jiang Zhixia officially came to visit as their son's lover, and the couple still treated her warmly. Compared with eight years ago, they felt closer to her like a family member.
Xia Zhixia has been very sensible and independent since he was young, so the couple has always been very confident in their son and rarely interfered in his life. As for his love life, they never asked about it. The only request was to bring him home so that they could get to know him. They believed in their son's judgment, so they had no dissatisfaction or criticism towards Jiang Zhixia.
In order to entertain Jiang Zhixia, the couple put in a lot of effort. Even though they were not good at cooking, they were still busy all morning and prepared a table of dishes for Jiang Zhixia. When they were cooking, the couple was full of confidence and enthusiasm, but when it came to the table to eat, they began to lose confidence.
"Xiao Jiang, your uncle and I are not very good at cooking, so please don't look down on us." Xia Junmei was unsure and gave Jiang Zhixia a heads-up in advance, and she began to regret why she didn't take her daughter's advice. Even if it was not convenient for Jiang Zhixia to go out for a meal due to her status, she could still order food from the restaurant and bring it home.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhixia was very considerate.
"No, it's delicious." Jiang Zhixia commented with a smile after eating a piece of braised pork.
Although I knew that this was mostly a compliment, it still sounded very comforting. Xia Junmei's worry faded away, and she smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. Eat more."
Jiang Zhixia smiled and nodded, while picking up another piece of braised pork and putting it into the bowl.
Xia Zhi turned to look at him while holding the rice bowl, with an expression of admiration and ridicule on his face, as if to say - How can you praise my mother's cooking skills! Where are your principles! Where is your bottom line!
Jiang Zhixia smiled at him and picked up a piece for him with a calm expression - in order to please the parents-in-law, some principles can be abandoned and the bottom line can be lowered moderately.
Xia Zhi looked down at the braised pork in her bowl, and after a long struggle, she gave up trying it, and secretly gave it back to Jiang Zhixia when her parents weren't paying attention. She raised her face with a bright smile - if you like it, eat more.
As expected, Jiang Zhixia ate both pieces of meat in the bowl without changing his expression.
Across the table, Sheng Yingying bit her chopsticks and looked at her idol, feeling touched and relieved. This dish of braised pork was the most unpalatable of the whole table, but her idol could actually eat three pieces in a row!
Ah—he loves him so much!
During the meal, Jiang Zhixia was the most enthusiastic. Not only did she try every dish, she also ate a lot. She successfully made Sheng Mingyan and Xia Junmei smile. When they left the table, they changed their name from Xiao Jiang to Zhixia.
After dinner, everyone moved to the living room to continue chatting.
After dinner, Sheng Yingying went into her room. She needed some time to digest everything that had happened today.
Sheng Mingyan and Jiang Zhixia sat on the sofa and chatted about a variety of topics.
Sheng Mingyan's greatest hobby in life is reading. He reads all kinds of books and has a wide range of interests. When he chats with people, he may be discussing literature and art in the last second, and talking about astrophysics in the next second. If you don't have any knowledge, it will be difficult to chat with him.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhixia also likes to read books. It is difficult for actors to play various roles without a certain amount of experience. Therefore, he has a wide range of knowledge and can keep up with whatever Sheng Mingyan talks about. After a conversation, Sheng Mingyan has a better impression of Jiang Zhixia.
Xia Zhi came out of the kitchen with a plate of fruit and saw Sheng Mingyan and Jiang Zhixia seemed to be having a good chat. Sheng Mingyan stroked Alice's head while chatting with Jiang Zhixia with a smile on his face, and his eyes were full of undisguised admiration.
Xia Zhi did not go over immediately. Instead, he stood at the kitchen door and watched quietly, a smile slowly gathering in his eyes.
Xia Junmei came up, glanced into the living room, and smiled, saying softly to Xia Zhishu, "It was a good chat. Your dad, with his picky personality, can only laugh so happily when he's chatting with you. It's rare to see him chatting so enthusiastically with others."
Xia Zhi smiled slightly.
Xia Junmei patted his shoulder and asked, "Are you going to stay at home today?"
"No," Xia Zhi shook her head. "Zhixia has to film tomorrow. Let's go back and stay there. It's more convenient for me to go to the set."
"Okay," Xia Junmei suggested, "Let's have dinner first and then go back."
"…" I have to eat another meal of burnt braised pork...
"You don't have anything to do anyway, so why rush back?" Xia Junmei patted her son's shoulder and made the final decision, "It's settled. The braised pork for lunch today was a bit of a failure, so we'll make another meal in the evening."
"..." Xia Zhi suggested calmly, "How about letting Zhixia do it?"
"How can that be? They are guests." Xia Junmei poked her son's forehead with her index finger. "How can we ask guests to cook for the host?"
"We're going to be a family sooner or later anyway, so why make such a distinction?" Xia Zhi said indifferently, "Zhixia cooks delicious food, so it's a good opportunity for you to have a taste of his cooking skills."
"Zhixia can also cook?" Xia Junmei was surprised.
"Yes. Zhixia's cooking skills are really good. It tastes better than what is sold in restaurants outside." Xia Zhi hugged his mother's shoulders and shook them. "Just give him a chance to show off, okay?"
"What's good about that?" Xia Junmei laughed. "You made the decision for him without even asking for Zhixia's opinion?"
"No need to ask, he will definitely be happy to do it." Xia Zhi said, "He cooks for me every day, and he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't cook for me for a day."
"You still have the nerve to show off." Xia Junmei glanced at him, "You're so old but you can't even cook a bowl of noodles properly. You're far worse than Zhixia."
"It's enough to have someone who can cook at home." Xia Zhi said without blushing, "Besides, even if I can cook, he won't allow me to cook. Even if I have good cooking skills, there is no place to use them."
"You don't even blush when you say that." Xia Junmei said with disgust.
Xia Zhi smiled calmly, thinking: Why should he be embarrassed? It's the truth. That guy is happy to serve~
The mother and son walked into the living room, talking and laughing.
Xia Zhi placed the fruit plate on the coffee table and sat down next to Jiang Zhixia. Alice, who had been lying obediently at Sheng Mingyan's feet, also came over with her tail swaying, and put her head on Xia Zhi's knees, asking for a touch.
Xia Zhi rubbed Alice's head and introduced her to Jiang Zhixia: "This is Alice, a stray dog that Yingying picked up. One of her hind legs was born disabled, but she has a very good personality."
Jiang Zhixia had no obvious likes or dislikes for pets, so she just responded with a calm "hmm" and didn't touch it.
Alice was lying on Xia Zhi's knees. Seeing the stranger next to her looking at her, she glanced at him lazily with a lukewarm attitude.
Xia Zhi smiled, grabbed Alice's soft ears and rubbed them twice, and added to Jiang Zhixia: "This is a replica of you."
Jiang Zhixia looked at him in confusion.
Xia Zhi smiled evilly, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "This dog sticks to me instead of anyone else. He's usually very serious with others, but he acts like a spoiled brat in front of me."
Acting, coquettish, and weird?!
Jiang Zhixia's expression was a little stiff. Is this how she is seen by her boyfriend
Sheng Mingyan and Xia Junmei looked at the two children whispering to each other, and couldn't help but smile at each other, then stood up with a tactful look.
"Xia Xia, your father and I will go into the house to rest for a while, you treat Zhi Xia well."
"Okay." Xia Zhi agreed with a smile.
Xia Junmei turned to Jiang Zhixia and said, "Zhixia, just treat it as your own home and don't be restrained. Have dinner before going back."
Jiang Zhixia also agreed with a smile.
Sheng Mingyan and Xia Junmei went back to the house hand in hand, leaving the space for the two of them.
As soon as his parents left, Xia Zhi suddenly leaned forward and lazily leaned on Jiang Zhixia. Jiang Zhixia naturally reached out from behind and hugged his waist, lowered her head and whispered in his ear: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"No, I'm just a little tired." Xia Zhi's back was pressed against Jiang Zhixia's chest, with his hands still around Alice's big head.
Jiang Zhixia observed the listless dog for a while and said, "It seems unhappy."
"Well," Xia Zhi purred on Alice's head, "because it took a bath yesterday."
"Take a bath?" Jiang Zhixia was puzzled. How could taking a bath be related to being in a bad mood
Xia Zhi smiled and explained, "Alice doesn't like water, especially bathing. Every time we bathe her, it's like a war. She will be depressed for two days after each bath. So unless there are special circumstances, we rarely bathe her."
"Then why did you give it a bath yesterday?"
"To welcome you." Xia Zhi raised his head and looked at him backwards. "Yesterday, my parents took Yingying to clean the house inside and out. Even the dog was forced to take a bath."
Jiang Zhixia was stunned.
Xia Zhi raised her hand and rubbed his head twice, the same action as when she rubbed Alice: "This is the highest level of hospitality in our family. You are the first one to enjoy this kind of treatment. Are you happy?"
Jiang Zhixia lowered her head, gently rubbed the collar open a little with her chin, lowered her head and placed a kiss on the delicate white skin, and raised the corners of her mouth silently: "Happy."
"As long as you are happy." Xia Zhi straightened his collar, "It's a courtesy to return the favor, so you will be responsible for the dinner."
"dinner?"
"Yeah." Xia Zhi said, "My mother asked us to have dinner before leaving. I took the initiative to let you take over the job of cooking."
Jiang Zhixia laughed and said seriously: "Actually, your mother's cooking skills are really good."
Xia Zhi climbed up from his arms and looked at him with a complicated expression: "My mother is not here now, you don't have to flatter her to this extent!"
"I'm serious." Jiang Zhixia pulled the man back into his arms, "Take the braised pork for example, except that the sugar color was a little overcooked and the dark soy sauce was a little too much, the other flavors were all well controlled."
"I suggest you say these words again in front of my mother." Xia Zhi said with emotion, "You are the first one who has praised her cooking skills in all these years. My mother will be very happy if she knows. By the way, it would be even better if you could teach her a few tricks."
"Of course I'd be happy to do that if Auntie doesn't mind." Jiang Zhixia patted his waist and said, "Let's go, let's go check out the ingredients for dinner."
"Are we starting now?" Xia Zhi sat up and looked at the clock on the wall. "There are still four hours before dinner. Are you going to prepare a full banquet?"
"It's okay if you want to eat." Jiang Zhixia pulled him to the kitchen, "But I just want to see what other ingredients are left at home. If there's anything missing, go buy it as soon as possible."
"Oh." Xia Zhi was obediently pulled away by Jiang Zhixia.
Yesterday Sheng Mingyan and Xia Junmei went to the market and bought a lot of vegetables and meat. After cooking some at noon, there was still a lot left.
"Is there anything missing?" Xia Zhi asked.
After counting the ingredients, Jiang Zhixia said, "I want to make fish-flavored eggplant, but I don't have eggplant and bean paste at home."
"Then go buy some." Xia Zhi's expression was serious, "There must be fish-flavored eggplant on the dinner table tonight. I'll drive to buy some!"
"Let's go together." Jiang Zhixia said.
Xia Zhi reminded: "I'm going to the supermarket, there will be a lot of people, do you really want to go?"
"Why not?" Jiang Zhixia asked, "Don't I have what it takes?"
Xia Zhi raised an eyebrow: "Okay, if you want to go, I'll take you. If you're recognized by fans, I'll leave you alone and run away."
Jiang Zhixia pinched his chin and bit his lips as punishment. Xia Zhi didn't dodge, but tilted his face up and let him bite.
Jiang Zhixia originally just wanted to bite the person and then let him go, after all, this was not their home and someone could come in at any time. But because the person in his arms was too close, Jiang Zhixia couldn't help but be distracted, and was reluctant to let him go, so it naturally evolved into a more intimate contact.
Outside the kitchen, Sheng Yingying and Alice were lying at the door together, stretching their heads to peek.
Sheng Yingying covered her mouth with one hand and used the other hand to tightly pinch Alice's mouth to prevent it from making any sound and disturbing the two people who were kissing passionately inside.
She had never been in a relationship, and had never even held the hand of a man. When she suddenly saw such an exciting scene, her face turned red with shyness. However, being shy did not affect her concentration, and she did not even blink. Fearing that she would be discovered, she did not dare to look at it for too long. After watching for a while, she quietly walked away with the dog in her arms.
She tiptoed back to the house and closed the door gently. She calmly walked around the house twice with her hands behind her back, and then suddenly started dancing. At this moment, she looked like she was about to go crazy with excitement, but although her hands and feet were fluttering happily, she didn't make any sound, as if she was performing a funny pantomime.
Alice squatted at the door and watched quietly, her eyes gradually filled with fear.
(End of this chapter)