"Xiao Xi, you're back. How was your outing yesterday?"
Qiu Ma, sitting in the living room, spoke without even looking up as soon as she heard the door open.
"Aunt Qiu, it's been a while."
Hearing this voice, Qiu Ma immediately looked up. "Nan Hua?"
"How is it you?!!!" Qiu Ma was exceptionally shocked.
"I was just talking to your mom about you yesterday, and she didn't mention you were coming back. How come you're back with Xiao Xi today?" Qiu Ma blurted out a long sentence, looking at the person in front of her.
"Aunt Qiu, I just got back yesterday. I met up with Xi Xi and plan to leave in a bit," Nan Hua explained.
"Oh, I see..."
As Qiu Ma spoke, she turned to look at her daughter behind her. "Xiao Xi, call your dad and tell him to prepare a few more dishes."
"...Okay, I got it."
She was called before she even entered the house.
Saying this, Qiu Xi started calling while changing her shoes.
Nan Hua found a place to sit down.
"A Hua, you stay here for now. You can leave after lunch."
"Okay, I'll listen to Aunt Qiu. I'll be a bit shameless and stay then."
"What are you saying? We're family, no need to be polite." After speaking, Qiu Ma glanced at Qiu Xi, who had just finished her call. "Xiao Xi, you two chat first."
Qiu Xi nodded helplessly. "Mom, I know. You go ahead and be busy."
It wasn't the first time A Hua had visited...
"Okay, I'll go get busy then."
"Mm."
...
After lunch -
"When did A Hua get back?"
With nothing pressing to do, Qiu Dad started chatting with Nan Hua.
"I arrived yesterday. It was a bit late, so I didn't want to disturb anyone..."
"Mm, so is this return because your business is finished, or are you on a temporary leave?"
"The experiment isn't finished yet. I'm back for a few days, then I'll head back."
"That's good, very good." Qiu Dad was quite satisfied.
The fact that this child could return showed he was doing quite well, otherwise, his professor wouldn't have given him leave.
As for the situation where he was doing poorly, Qiu Dad didn't even consider it. If he were really doing poorly, he probably wouldn't even need to go back.
"Come, play a game of chess with me."
"Sure, no problem." Nan Hua nodded and followed Qiu Dad.
To be honest, Qiu Dad's chess skills weren't great; he just fooled around a bit. However, he really liked having people play with him, especially Qiu Ge and Nan Hua.
Of course, besides these two, it was unlikely anyone else would "willingly" play chess with him.
"Dad, it's about time. You should go for your nap."
"..."
"Got it, coming right now." Qiu Dad looked up and responded.
Then, he immediately lowered his head to look at Nan Hua. "See? My daughter does have her flaws. She just likes to rush things."
He spoke with a hint of complaint, but there wasn't a trace of resentment on Qiu Dad's face. Instead, there was a smile.
Nan Hua chuckled. "Uncle Qiu, you should go for your nap."
"...No fun. I'm going." Saying this, he put down the chess piece.
It was unclear what the "no fun" referred to.
However, after the man turned away, Nan Hua checkmated him with the piece in his hand.
This was the first time in the whole afternoon that he placed a piece in the opponent's "base camp."
Thus, after playing chess for most of the afternoon, their game was brought to an end by Qiu Xi, who interrupted under the guise of her dad needing to nap.
"Is playing chess with my dad very boring?" Qiu Xi asked, pulling Nan Hua to sit in chairs in the courtyard to chat.
"Cough cough... Actually, Uncle Qiu is quite cute." Nan Hua said with a smile.
"..." Qiu Xi gave him a speechless look.
"Cute" didn't sound at all out of place for a fifty-year-old man; it actually sounded quite fitting.
Although Qiu Xi knew that this was a subtle way of saying her dad's chess skills weren't great...
"Alright, no need to force the praise. Honestly, I'm also quite displeased with my dad's chess skills." Qiu Xi started laughing herself as she spoke.
"Mm..." Nan Hua suppressed himself for a moment, but then couldn't help but laugh.
"Cough cough... It's okay, I guess."
"..." Qiu Xi looked up, speechless.
Was this something that could be praised?
"Alright, I get it. Just stop forcing the praise."
"Mm, I won't say anymore." Nan Hua slowly nodded.
"Mm..."
Qiu Xi nodded, and the next second, her head rested on Nan Hua's shoulder.
The weather was like this, and even with a slight breeze, she felt a little sleepy.
Feeling the weight on his shoulder, Nan Hua turned his head to look.
The girl's eyes were slightly closed, her brows relaxed, seeming to be dozing off quite soundly.
After watching quietly for a while, the corner of Nan Hua's mouth curved up, and he smiled faintly, reaching out to gently adjust her to a more comfortable position.
...
A summer afternoon, in the backyard of the villa filled with flowers, one chair, two young people.
They stayed there for the duration of an afternoon nap.
When Qiu Xi opened her eyes again, she didn't realize where she was for a moment.
Once she was fully awake, she remembered that she had been chatting with Nan Hua earlier.
When she opened her eyes again, she had somehow slept until now?
And had been moved to a reclining chair?
It wasn't until she saw Nan Hua, who had been dozing off with her, that she understood.
Fine... If she fell asleep, she didn't even notice being moved.
"What's wrong?" Just as Qiu Xi sighed softly, Nan Hua opened his eyes.
He had a higher level of alertness and always slept lightly.
So, when Qiu Xi moved just now, he had actually woken up.
"A Hua, you're awake..." Qiu Xi looked up at Nan Hua, then shook her head. "It's nothing, just finished dozing off, and I haven't quite adjusted yet."
"Since you're awake too, how about we go wash our faces together?" Qiu Xi asked.
"Mm, let's go." Saying this, Nan Hua had already gotten up and was reaching out towards Qiu Xi.
Qiu Xi's eyes moved, and she started to smile. "Let's go!"
"A Hua, Xiao Xi, you two are awake?" They were called as soon as they walked into the hall.
Seeing her mother's smiling face, Qiu Xi had a pretty good guess.
"Mom!"
"You didn't take a nap?" Qiu Xi asked, not answering, and instead questioned her mother directly.
Qiu Ma shot her daughter a sidelong glance. "Couldn't sleep, so I've been scrolling on my phone here!"
"..."
"Mom, you carry on then!"
"A Hua will be leaving soon. We two are going up to chat about some things."
"..."
"Go on, go on!" Qiu Ma didn't even look at the two of them this time.
She was just in a good mood, so she wouldn't expose them...