A Mother’s Concern and a Daughter’s Secret

No matter how Zhuang Wenli tried to persuade them, in the end, Professor Yuan and his group didn’t stay for lunch.

According to Yuan Fei, good food wasn’t in a hurry, there would always be time to eat it later, but right now there were urgent matters, so they had to pass.

“Do you need my help?”

At the entrance, Huang Xiu’s hand was gently held in her mother’s palm. She didn’t pull away, just spoke.

Unlike her clueless mother, she knew what was happening.

Just a moment ago, a void realm incursion had occurred on the outskirts of Ying City, and there were suspicions that the Black Tower was behind it.

“It’s nothing. I just ran into an acquaintance and wanted to check on them. That’s all.”

Professor Yuan leaned against the door with one hand, his expression completely nonchalant, as if the Black Tower was just a minor thug in front of him.

There was a sense of arrogance, of looking down on everything, as if he was the only one who mattered.

“Don’t you trust me?” He laughed, turned around, and waved. “I’m off!”

Tap, tap, tap… The sound of footsteps faded away.

But… the last man who wore that invincible look was already lying in the old world… Huang Xiu complained internally.

Fortunately, this wasn’t an anime. It was reality, in the Great Xia Nation, where the government’s authority was unparalleled.

Any other illegal organization could only scheme in the shadows.

So in her heart, she wasn’t really that worried.

With a soft click, the brown-red door closed.

Huang Xiu turned around and met her mother’s questioning gaze.

Oh no… Her heart skipped a beat. She gently pulled her hand away and tried to sneak off.

But before she could take a step, her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Truth be told, if Huang Xiu really wanted to run, her mother’s strength alone wouldn’t have been enough. After all, she was a Special, far stronger than an ordinary person.

But she was still her mother!

The pressure of bloodline was no joke!

Huang Xiu was like a kitten caught by the scruff, obediently placed on the sofa.

Her hands were held again by her mother, the warm and smooth touch instantly transmitted.

She felt a bit strange.

Before, her mother had liked to show affection, but back when she was a boy, she hadn’t been so keen on holding her hands like this.

What Huang Xiu didn’t know was that Zhuang Wenli simply thought that after her son turned into a girl, her hands were as smooth as a loach and extremely nice to touch.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Zhuang Wenli’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, looking a bit angry.

But Huang Xiu knew it was all an act.

When her mother was truly angry, she didn’t act like this. She would put on a fake smile and start being sarcastic.

The fact that she was so good at sarcasm was actually a family tradition.

“It’s because… I was scared…” Huang Xiu said timidly.

She could never be tough with her parents.

Especially in situations where she was in the wrong, her attitude and expression softened like a cloud.

Seeing her former brat, no, now her daughter, looking so pitiful, the faint anger in Zhuang Wenli’s heart melted away.

“By the way, why isn’t Dad back yet?” Huang Xiu looked around and asked. “Didn’t you tell him?”

It was a major event concerning her; even if the convenience store had to close temporarily, her father would definitely rush back.

“I did tell him!”

Zhuang Wenli said while studying her daughter’s face, finding it more and more beautiful, more and more satisfying.

Her son had been good-looking before, but now he was on a whole other level.

So from this perspective, it wasn’t such a bad thing. Besides, who said a girl couldn’t carry on the Huang family name…

After all, if worse came to worst, she could have two kids. The first would take the surname Huang, the second would… ahem.

She quickly stopped that dangerous line of thought and continued answering her daughter’s question.

“A few days ago, there was a heavy rain in the hometown that caused a landslide. He went back early to help.”

“Oh, is that so?” Huang Xiu was stunned for a second.

Hometown… That was a distant memory.

She vaguely remembered it was the summer vacation right after elementary school graduation.

Her dad had a fight with the village elder of the Huang family village, and after that, he rarely took her back to the hometown for the New Year.

Basically, they only went back during Qingming to pay respects at the ancestral graves, and they didn’t actively visit the village.

“Is it serious?” Huang Xiu asked with concern.

Her hometown was in a remote mountainous area near Ying City.

Though it was surrounded by mountains and rivers with beautiful scenery, transportation was poor. Even utilities like water and electricity had only been connected a few years ago.

“It’s okay, not a big problem. I just called him, and he’s on his way back now.” Zhuang Wenli picked up an apple from the table and handed it over. “Eat this apple first to tide you over.”

“Mm.” Huang Xiu took it, didn’t even wipe it, and took a bite directly.

Crunch. It was very sweet.

The girl squinted her eyes.

Her mother’s skill at picking apples was still unmatched. She herself could never pick good apples.

“Today you finally came home, and it’s a major milestone in your life. It’s worth celebrating, no…”

Zhuang Wenli realized she had misspoken and quickly corrected herself.

“It’s worth remembering. At noon, I’ll make your favorite steamed pork ribs with rice flour.”

“Great!” Huang Xiu didn’t mind the slip-up. Like a little kid, she raised her hand in joy.

With so many dishes planned for lunch, it was already past nine.

So Zhuang Wenli didn’t dawdle. She got up and went into the kitchen to prepare.

Watching her mother disappear into the kitchen, Huang Xiu’s previously tense nerves instantly relaxed.

She tossed the apple core, now only the pit left, into the trash can.

With her left big toe, she hooked off her socks. Shwoop, both socks came off and were tossed aside.

The first thing to do when coming home was always to take off socks!

Huang Xiu didn’t know if others did the same, but she always had this habit.

She turned on the TV and switched to the movie channel.

Barefoot, she lay on the sofa, legs crossed, head tilted, watching TV.

She was the picture of a complete homebody, a couch potato.

Her clothes were all messy, and she didn’t bother to straighten them.

She had completely shed the image of a well-behaved girl. Of course, Huang Xiu had never really been one.

She had only been pretending just now out of guilt and fear.

The movie channel rarely updated its lineup, always showing the same classic old films over and over.

But Huang Xiu still enjoyed them.

What could she do? Anything that wasn’t studying or working was fun.

Zhuang Wenli came out a few times, and seeing her daughter sprawled on the sofa without any decorum, she shook her head inwardly with a smile.

As a girl, she could be this unrestrained at home, but outside, she needed to pay a bit more attention.

She didn’t even need to guess; her daughter was probably just as lazy outside, completely uncaring about her image.

But Zhuang Wenli wasn’t planning to correct her just yet.

After all, it had been over a decade; bad habits were hard to break. She planned to slowly teach Huang Xiu over the two-month summer vacation.

To be honest, Zhuang Wenli was already surprised that Huang Xiu had come back wearing a bra and women’s clothes.

Even if it was a relatively androgynous outfit.

She could only silently marvel at the specialized teacher who managed to change her stubborn daughter’s mind.