Huang Xiaolin's face turned red with anger.
He glared at Shen Jinxi. These two brothers looked exactly alike, but their personalities were poles apart.
No, that wasn't right.
Chenchen, although not talkative, was also a tough character and quite formidable when he fought.
Truly brothers!
Seeing Huang Xiaolin's dejected state, Shen Qingqing chuckled, "Don't be scared. Since we said this matter was over, it won't be brought up again. I asked you to come today purely to have dinner with us and to clear up any misunderstanding with Chenchen."
Huang Xiaolin finally believed her. "I understand, Auntie. I'm sorry, I never apologized to you before..."
"You shouldn't be apologizing to me."
Huang Xiaolin was clever. Following Shen Qingqing's gaze towards Chenchen, he sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken about your mother like that."
"After I went back, I thought about it carefully. If someone said that about my mother, I would also be unhappy."
Shen Qingqing praised him with a smile, "It's good that you can empathize with others."
Huang Xiaolin tilted his head, not entirely understanding the idiom "empathize with others," but he knew the pretty auntie was praising him.
"Auntie, thank you."
Shen Qingqing beamed, "You're welcome. You kids play nicely in the living room, don't argue or fight. I'll go make you something delicious."
"Don't you have any maids?"
Huang Xiaolin didn't want to be alone with the brothers, fearing they might gang up on him.
Shen Qingqing, sensing his worry, couldn't help but laugh, "What are you thinking? They aren't bandits who would just hit people!"
Huang Xiaolin mumbled.
"Don't worry, you're all the same age. Any misunderstandings can be cleared up by talking. You've apologized, and we won't hold a grudge, right?"
With Shen Qingqing's assurance, Huang Xiaolin finally felt relieved and sat down.
Once Shen Qingqing entered the kitchen, she paid no further attention to the children. They were young and in their playful years. Even if there were initial rifts, they would likely be resolved with time spent together.
When she emerged from the kitchen after cooking, the three children were sitting side-by-side on the sofa, playing a game.
Chenchen and Shen Jinxi looked relaxed.
Huang Xiaolin, however, had a solemn expression, and sweat had already broken out on his forehead.
Shen Qingqing leaned closer to see.
It turned out Huang Xiaolin was losing the game to the brothers, sweating profusely and frantically pressing the buttons on the controller, yet he still couldn't win.
Unable to bear it any longer, he threw down the controller, "You're cheating! You know I'm no match for you, and you're ganging up on me!"
"Pick it up!" Shen Jinxi said sternly.
Huang Xiaolin hesitated, then grudgingly picked up the controller, huffing, "You just scold me, and you deliberately bullied me during the game!"
Shen Jinxi snorted, "Who bullied you? It's because you're too slow. If you were any smarter, you wouldn't keep losing!"
Huang Xiaolin was greatly angered.
Seeing his eyes beginning to redden, Shen Qingqing sighed softly and walked over, patting the little one's shoulder, "It's time to eat. You can play again later."
"Okay!"
Huang Xiaolin almost eagerly put down the controller, ready to go to dinner. He could already smell the food, and more importantly, he was tired of losing the game.
He didn't want to play anymore.
"We agreed on best of five, and you want to quit after only three games?" Shen Jinxi taunted.
"You won all three games against me, so there's no need to play further, right?"
Huang Xiaolin didn't look back.
Shen Jinxi said indignantly, "What a little scoundrel, refusing to play when he loses."
Chenchen said, "Brother, I'm hungry."
As soon as he said that, Shen Jinxi immediately replied, "Then let's go eat quickly. We can play the game after dinner."
Just then, Fu Jingshu returned.
The moment he walked in, Huang Xiaolin tensed up. He sat at the dining table, but his body felt stiff.
Shen Qingqing shot Fu Jingshu a look.
Fu Jingshu paused slightly.
He glanced at Huang Xiaolin, and the little boy's face immediately turned pale.
Fu Jingshu looked at Shen Qingqing, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
He hadn't done anything.
Shen Qingqing couldn't help it either. Fu Jingshu had an inherently cool aura, and few children, besides Chenchen and Shen Jinxi, were not afraid of him.
"Let's eat." There was no rushing this matter; it would have to be a slow process.
During the meal, Huang Xiaolin was timid, afraid to even pick up food.
Shen Qingqing had to proactively serve him food. But if she served him too much, the other two children would become jealous. Chenchen was not good at expressing himself.
Shen Jinxi's displeasure was written all over his face.
Shen Qingqing ended up serving food to them as well, barely eating anything herself as she attended to the children.
Fu Jingshu, seeing this, couldn't stand it anymore. He gently placed his chopsticks on the table with a soft clatter and said, "Take what you want to eat yourselves. You all have hands, don't you?"
Shen Jinxi and Chenchen exchanged a glance and obediently started serving themselves.
Huang Xiaolin no longer dared to be shy, fearing Fu Jingshu would scold him.
In any case, the meal concluded harmoniously.
After dinner, Shen Qingqing asked the children to sit in the living room. She cut a plate of fruit for them, turned on the TV, and sat with them on the sofa.
"Auntie, there's something I want to tell you."
Shen Qingqing handed him a slice of apple, "Go ahead. You don't need to hold back with Auntie. Say whatever you want."
"It's about Ning Zhizhi." Huang Xiaolin hesitated slightly when he mentioned the name, "She asked me what exactly happened in the teacher's office that day."
"And how did you answer?"
"I didn't say anything." Huang Xiaolin pursed his lips, "Because I didn't know what you were planning, I didn't answer her."
Shen Qingqing smiled and said, "Good. If she asks you such questions again next time, just answer truthfully. You don't need to worry about anything."
"I'll do as you say, Auntie."
"Good boy."
Shen Qingqing genuinely found the child to be very well-behaved and couldn't quite understand why he would say those things about Chenchen when influenced by others.
"Xiaolin, do you like Chenchen?"
Huang Xiaolin hesitated, "Why do you suddenly ask me this, Auntie?"
Their voices were low, so Chenchen and Shen Jinxi didn't hear them.
Shen Qingqing leaned closer to him and whispered, "Because I think you are both good children, and you can become good friends."
"Really?"
Huang Xiaolin looked surprised, "No one has ever told me I was a good child before."
Shen Qingqing hummed, "Really?"
"Yes!" Huang Xiaolin's eyes dimmed, "Excluding Dad and Mom, whether in class or kindergarten... no one has ever said that."
Shen Qingqing looked at him with affection, "You are a good child. That's a fact, and you don't need others to tell you. Look at how decisive you were after making a mistake; apologizing is a rare quality."
"Really?"
"Of course, it's true." Shen Qingqing looked at Huang Xiaolin's bright eyes and said gently, "The most frightening thing for a person is not making mistakes, but refusing to change after realizing one's errors."
"Mommy, I'm angry!"
Shen Jinxi suddenly exclaimed.