Xu Yun hadn’t expected Chen Xin to have gotten so close with his mom already.

She’d even gotten her to buy him steamed soup dumplings.

’She’s treating her just like family, not standing on ceremony at all,’ he thought.

As Xu Yun ate the steamed soup dumplings, his mom teased him from the side, "How are they? Are they good today?"

"Uh..."

Xu Yun replied, "They’re good."

"If they’re good, why don’t you thank Chen Xin?"

Xu Yun gave Chen Xin a resigned smile. "Thanks for the buns."

"You’re welcome," said Chen Xin.

Zhang Sujuan watched the two of them, the amusement in her eyes impossible to hide.

She asked, "Xu Yun, are you busy later?"

"No, why?"

"We’re having lunch at home. Your uncle and a few others will be coming over."

Zhang Sujuan continued, "I gave Chen Xin a list. You’re to go with her to New Century Supermarket later and buy everything on it."

"Oh."

Seeing Xu Yun polish off ten buns in no time, Chen Xin asked, "Was that enough? If not, I can go down and buy you some more."

"It’s enough. I’m not a pig. One steamer was just right."

Xu Yun drained the remaining half bowl of soy milk in one gulp, then got up and said, "Let me get changed, then we can go."

"Chen Xin, you go in too. Help him pick something out for me."

Zhang Sujuan smiled. "Make him wear something nice today. You have good taste—better than his."

"Okay, Auntie." Chen Xin nodded. Having received her orders from his mother, she opened the door and walked right in.

Inside the room, Xu Yun, who had just taken off his clothes, stared in confusion as Chen Xin suddenly walked in.

"???"

Chen Xin explained awkwardly, "Auntie said I should come in and help you pick out something to wear."

Xu Yun was speechless.

’Alright, Mom, I see what you’re doing. You want Chen Xin to skip the whole dating phase and jump straight into the wife role, huh?’

"This outfit looks great. Try it on."

Chen Xin deftly walked over to the wardrobe, and a moment later she had picked out an outfit for Xu Yun, laying it on the bed.

"Okay."

Xu Yun agreed. Seeing that Chen Xin was still standing there with no intention of leaving, he asked with a smile, "Planning on watching me strip and change?"

"Ah?! No."

Chen Xin’s face instantly turned red. She quickly backed out and closed the door behind her.

Since he hadn’t brought much luggage with him when he came home, Xu Yun had been wearing his old clothes.

No designer labels, just ordinary, mass-market clothing.

When Xu Yun came out after changing and Chen Xin looked at him...

’For some reason, even though he didn’t look as much like the typical ’tall, rich, and handsome’ ideal as before, she found herself liking this sudden, approachable ordinariness even more.’

’Perhaps this version of Xu Yun felt more real to her.’

"Chen Xin really has good taste."

Zhang Sujuan praised from the side, "In this outfit, you really look like my son."

"So you’re saying I wasn’t your son before?"

"You were, but it always felt a bit unreal, like a dream."

Zhang Sujuan smiled. "You look much more natural like this."

Xu Yun was speechless.

He could understand his mom’s feelings.

’Back when it started, even he had felt a bit dazed and disconnected seeing himself decked out in luxury brands.’

’But he’d gotten used to it over time.’

’His mom, however, wasn’t around him all the time, so she hadn’t seen it often. That’s why she felt this way after suddenly seeing such a huge change in him.’

Once changed, the two of them headed out, one after the other.

Zhang Sujuan watched them go, her eyes brimming with happiness. She sighed to herself, "If only we were really a family. How wonderful would that be."

In a small county like this, there was only one large supermarket. It was in the commercial center, about two to three kilometers away from their neighborhood, which was quite a distance.

Walking wasn’t a realistic option.

The saying "three minutes by car, half an hour on foot" was no joke.

Xu Yun and Chen Xin drove to the supermarket’s parking garage.

Unlike in the big cities, luxury cars weren’t a common sight here. Most vehicles were in the range of tens to hundreds of thousands of yuan, with very few costing more than 300,000.

So when Xu Yun’s car pulled in, it stood out like a crane among chickens.

Its looks and value were both so striking that people couldn’t help but take a second glance.

One guy even saw Xu Yun’s car about to park next to him and immediately drove off to find a spot further away.

He was terrified that if he accidentally scraped it, he wouldn’t be able to afford the repairs.

’And don’t even talk about insurance. Sure, insurance would cover it, but if they paid out this time, wouldn’t next year’s premium just go up?’

As soon as Xu Yun and Chen Xin parked and walked off, the garage’s security guard came over carrying several safety cones and placed one at each corner of the car.

They were afraid, too. If another car scraped it and the driver took off, they’d be in a world of trouble.

So it wasn’t about sucking up; they were just worried about the trouble an accident would cause.

Even though they were eating at home, the shopping list his mom had written out was still quite long.

The two of them first went to the fresh seafood section and bought a few mandarin fish.

This fish cost fifty to sixty yuan per jin—a price that meant his family rarely bought it back when they weren’t as well-off.

He was actually quite fond of it.

It was boneless and tender!

Of course, that wasn’t an issue anymore.

Never mind fifty or sixty yuan a jin, Xu Yun wouldn’t even blink if it cost five or six thousand.

Xu Yun didn’t know much about it, so when it was time to net the fish, he just went for the biggest one.

But Chen Xin stopped him.

She explained that for mandarin fish, a weight of around one jin was ideal for eating.

Fish of that size had the tenderest meat and the best texture.

Xu Yun curiously asked how she knew all that. She replied that she was in charge of cooking the fish for lunch.

"How do you know how to cook this?"

Xu Yun asked in confusion, "Last time, didn’t you tell me you couldn’t cook?"