"I...handed over all the toughest tasks to him, the dirty and tiring work is all his, and I only need to put in a tiny bit of effort to reap the biggest rewards."

"It seems we parents don’t understand much, quickly tell me more..."

Dou Ying knew once this matter was settled, there was basically no room for negotiation anymore.

When Li Likun had invited them for dinner a couple of days ago, she had vaguely sensed something wasn’t right.

Li Likun said a bunch of inexplicable things over there.

Like how the family conditions were average, but they would definitely not let anyone be wronged.

At that time Jiang Yaoting was too drunk to catch the meaning of these words, but she hadn’t drunk at all.

Previously she hadn’t sought out Xue Ning because Jiang Banxia and Li Yang hadn’t really confirmed their relationship, and she felt finding Xue Ning had no meaning.

But now, she was definitely going to have a talk with Xue Ning.

Even if she felt sorry for Xue Ning, ultimately she wasn’t her own child; at any time, she would definitely stand on Jiang Banxia’s side.

After chatting with Jiang Banxia for a long time, she slowly understood Li Yang’s role beside Jiang Banxia.

Li Yang indeed was not having an easy time.

So, she was striving not to embarrass Li Yang, and to handle this matter discreetly.

...

"Mom and Dad are not home, only a sleepy-head little brother..."

For Xue Ning, this kind of life was simply too good.

So, early in the morning she sneaked in quietly.

"Eh, why is there someone in my room?"

"Xue, you’re in the wrong room!"

Li Yang, who was woken up, said weakly.

"No way, this definitely is my room, if you don’t believe it, see, this key matches mine perfectly."

Li Yang’s drowsiness cleared instantly.

Xue Ning was coming on strong!

This lock indeed hadn’t been opened for a long time.

Li Yang liked the not too big nor too small points of force on Xue Ning’s body, just enough to exert full strength.

An hour later, Xue Ning secretly opened the door, discovered nobody was home, and ran back to her own room.

She felt exceptionally invigorated, like all her hidden energy was unleashed.

Although she had been happy these past six months, quite a few things were hidden away.

After taking a shower and changing into new clothes, she left home.

Li Likun and the others went to their hometown to visit relatives, so they wouldn’t be back for lunch, so... she had to manage Li Yang’s lunch.

Cooking was definitely out of the question, she could only go out to buy some food to maintain life, after all Li Yang was very tired, being dragged to work without having woken properly.

She bought breakfast at the community entrance and was just about to go back when she received a call from Dou Ying.

"Ningning, are you home? I heard your parents went to the countryside today, do you want me to take you out for lunch?"

Xue Ning said embarrassedly, "Teacher’s wife, isn’t it a bother?"

She was indeed a little embarrassed, and also because she had already prepared breakfast and lunch for Li Yang.

Breakfast was what she bought in her hand, lunch... was herself.

Oh dear, having finally gotten the chance, she definitely wanted to eat her fill, after all Li Yang was at the age to grow.

Dou Ying said, "No worries, no worries, just at the entrance of the community. We haven’t sat down and chatted for ages, I opened a tea room, if you’re free just come over and chat with me."

"Ah... okay..."

Xue Ning couldn’t refuse, so she had to bring breakfast home, left Li Yang a note, telling him to remember to eat when he woke.

If he woke too late, he should call her back to heat it up.

Then, she went to the tea house at the community entrance.

It was just past nine in the morning, Dou Ying was the only guest at the tea house, so it wasn’t hard to find.

Near the roadside window, Xue Ning came in and greeted Dou Ying, "Teacher’s wife, why are you in the mood to drink tea here today? Xiaxia and Dongdong are home, aren’t they?"

Xue Ning felt a bit strange.

Dou Ying said, "Your teacher took them to a relative’s house, just right, today a relative’s getting married, I mostly still have company matters here... you know, work is most afraid of being too far away and not making it in time, actually whether you go or not doesn’t matter..."

"Oh, true, true..."

Xue Ning sat down.

Just as she sat down, Dou Ying was about to pour her tea, she quickly took the kettle and said, "Teacher’s wife, I can do it myself."

Dou Ying didn’t argue, instead she asked, "Li Yang, is he home too?"

"Yes, but he’s still asleep."

Dou Ying said, "Just right he’s not here, Ningning, teacher’s wife wants to ask you something."

"Ah? Please go ahead..."

"Like this, you’ve stayed at their house for so long, I’d like to ask what you think of his family, and... Li Yang..."

"Huh? Why is teacher’s wife suddenly asking this?"

In Xue Ning’s view, Li Likun and Wang Cuiping are certainly good, at least as parents they definitely passed.

As for Li Yang, is there even a need to mention him?

Moreover, it’s a bit strange for Dou Ying to ask this, the families are already so familiar, there shouldn’t be any secrets between them, right?

Dou Ying explained, "Ningning, Li Yang and Xiaxia are together, you know this, right?"

"Well... I know..."

Could she not know?

Dou Ying continued, "Because of this matter, I wanted to ask you privately, as it concerns Xiaxia’s lifelong happiness."

Xue Ning hurriedly explained, "Teacher’s wife, although the parents over there don’t have high education, they’re really open-minded people. If Xiaxia comes over, she definitely won’t be wronged, you can be assured of that."

Dou Ying shook her head, "I’m not worried about his parents, I’m worried about Li Yang."

"Yangyang...is also very good..."

"But I heard he’s not that focused on feelings. Ningning, you live with him every day, do you know if there’re other girls around him?" Dou Ying was always watching Xue Ning as she spoke.

Xue Ning avoided Dou Ying’s gaze and said a bit unnaturally, "This...shouldn’t be, I’ve never seen it. Besides, his previous girlfriend broke up a while ago."

Regarding Li Yang’s personal affairs, she only saw them from gossip news, she hadn’t really asked Li Yang.

Dou Ying sighed, "I’m just worried about Xiaxia getting the bad end of the stick in feelings, after all, Xiaxia is soft-natured and rather simple, easily trusts others. Before confirming the relationship with Li Yang, I didn’t really mind, but now that it’s confirmed, the family has to pay attention. My teacher and I have always felt indebted to Xiaxia, if something happens later, your teacher may only blame himself to death."

Xue Ning was a bit panicked, hurriedly explained, "Yangyang likes Xiaxia that much, he wouldn’t let her suffer."

"Hmm, that’s good, with your words, I can also tell your teacher. By the way, Ningning, you have a boyfriend too, don’t you? It’s been more than a year, why hasn’t you brought him to meet us?"

Dou Ying shifted the topic.

Xue Ning stammered, "He..."

Dou Ying asked, "What is it? Is there something difficult to say?"

"No, no... just feel the timing isn’t quite right."

Xue Ning could only say that.

Dou Ying knew about her boyfriend, even Li Likun and Wang Cuiping knew.

After all, a few days before New Year’s, she had specially gone to Jiangbei to find Li Yang, using the excuse of being with her boyfriend.

Dou Ying laughed and said, "What’s wrong with timing? I knew your boyfriend had done a lot behind the scenes too. At that time I tracked your account IP address, when Li Yang was competing in South Korea, that account address appeared in South Korea, I suppose it was you asking your boyfriend to help take care of Li Yang? After all, it was Li Yang’s first time abroad..."

One sentence made Xue Ning’s head crash for a few seconds.

She had no idea how to respond.

At this point, Dou Ying took out a bank card and handed it to Xue Ning, "If you really don’t want to meet with us, that’s also fine, but my teacher and I have always considered you like a daughter. This card has a million inside, counts as some of my savings over the years. Whether you want to bring your boyfriend back to see us, we’d be happy, if not, then treat it as the dowry my teacher and I prepared for you. If it’s not enough, feel free to tell me, we definitely won’t let you suffer."