When they arrived at the Mu family home, Shuishui greeted Auntie Mu warmly. Qian Anzhi was a little shy, but when he saw Mu Zilin, he became excited.
Mu Ziyu pulled Shuishui in, but Shuishui was taken away by his mother.
"Shuishui, come, come. I bought you a set of clothes, but I think they're too small. Come and try them on." She pulled Shuishui into her room.
Auntie Mu wanted to dress up in girly clothes, and she simply went ahead and bought clothes without trying them on. She had gained weight, so she ended up not fitting into the new clothes. It was a pity. She suddenly thought of Qian Shuishui and felt that she would look good in them.
Shuishui followed Auntie Mu's instructions and changed into the clothes. Shuishui could not even bear to look at the clothes. She could not bear to imagine Auntie Mu wearing them. What was with the mini skirt and the butterfly collar? Auntie Mu had just said that she wanted to try out new styles. Shuishui simply nodded and smiled.
"You can wear that when we go out this afternoon. It's not bad." Auntie Mu was happy with Shuishui's youthful aura.
Although Shuishui was very embarrassed, she did not say anything to reject it. It was a bit revealing, but she felt she could manage it just to please Auntie Mu. After she was dragged out by Auntie Mu, Mu Ziyu pulled Shuishui into the room with a dark expression. He then asked her to change into her pants.
Shuishui had no choice but to put on her pants. The pants that she had originally worn matched the shirt quite well, so she kept the shirt. As she walked out, Auntie Mu looked at her sadly. "But it was a nice outfit," she said.
"Mom, don't let Shuishui wear such clothes." Who would want other people to see their girlfriend's slender legs?
"All right. Why are you so agitated?" Auntie Mu also realized that it was not appropriate. She also felt that Mu Ziyu was being too possessive.
Shuishui pulled Mu Ziyu aside. She felt quite awkward that he was acting like a child. "Don't fuss about it. It's just a short skirt," she said.
"Don't compromise every time. I know my mother's personality very well. Next time, if you don't want to, just say so." Mu Ziyu felt that it was because of his mother.
Shuishui was embarrassed. Actually, she didn't really care. She felt awkward seeing Mu Ziyu's reaction. She laughed dryly and said, "All right. Looking at you, I thought we were fighting over it."
She did not understand why he was angry over such a small matter, but she comforted Mu Ziyu.
Mu Ziyu knew that Shuishui did not take it to heart. "I don't want you to wear anything too revealing."
Shuishui nodded to show that she understood. "All right. I understand."
Seeing Shuishui nod, he reached out and grabbed Shuishui's chin. "It's good that I'm here and I can watch over you."
"Then won't you be controlling me from time to time?" Shuishui raised her eyes and smiled.
"I'm not controlling you. I'm just reminding you." Mu Ziyu rubbed Shuishui's head. He found her very adorable.
Ding dong!
Ding dong!
Auntie Mu was a little confused. They were not expecting any other guests. "Seriously? Who could that be?"
She looked through the screen and saw that it was her big brother. Why were they here? However, she still opened the door. "Big Brother and Sister-in-Law, why are you here today?"
A middle-aged couple walked in. "We haven't been here for a long time, so we decided to visit."
Auntie Mu was in shock. She felt like they were either conspirators or thieves. Her husband was not around because he had something to do that day, so she had to deal with it. She had always been casual with her husband's relatives. She simply said, "We were just about to have dinner. Since you guys are here, I'll get the helper to prepare a few more side dishes."
"Sorry we forgot to tell you in advance. Sorry for the trouble," said her sister-in-law, who was also a little embarrassed.
Auntie Mu was annoyed because she had only prepared enough food for Shuishui and Anzhi's visit. She even thought of telling her in-laws that they could come back later because there was not enough food.
Although she was a little unhappy, she tried to keep a straight face. "Have a seat first. We're going out after lunch also," she said to the couple.
Auntie Mu was annoyed. She didn't want to stay and deal with them.
The couple walked in and saw Mu Ziyu, whom they greeted warmly. However, they didn't expect to see a young woman seated beside Ziyu. They looked very intimate. "Ziyu, aren't you going to introduce her?"
Mu Ziyu wanted to introduce Shuishui as well. "Oh. This is my girlfriend, Qian Shuishui. Shuishui, these two are my aunt and uncle."
Shuishui greeted them politely. "Hello, Aunt and Uncle."
The couple was surprised. Girlfriend? How come they had never heard of her before?
They saw how comfortable Ziyu and Shuishui were as a couple. It was also clear to them that Ziyu's mother approved of Shuishui. There was nothing they could do about it.
The previous day, the Murong family had called to inform the couple that Mu Ziyu already had a girlfriend. The Murong elders also told them how they had shamelessly visited the Mu family. They felt like they had embarrassed themselves because of Murong Xi's behavior. They expressed their disappointment that Ziyu was already in a relationship, because the couple had previously assured the Murong family that Ziyu was not dating anyone.
Zilin and Qian Anzhi walked out. Zilin sat beside Shuishui and said, "Shuishui, shall we eat seafood hot pot tonight?"
"Sure," Shuishui answered.
"Actually, if we want to eat seafood hot pot, why don't we make our own seafood hot pot at home?" Qian Anzhi suggested. He was quite confident that his sister would be able to prepare a good seafood hot pot.
"That's true. Let's go to Shuishui's house instead of going out," Zilin said after he pondered on it for a while.
Shuishui pondered for a while before saying anything. Didn't that mean that she would be busy? However, she knew it was indeed more comfortable to eat at home than dine outside. It was also more hygienic. She said, "That's fine. I'll accompany Auntie this afternoon and come back. You guys can go and buy the ingredients. Anyway, we'll just prepare everything tonight."
Mu Ziyu held Shuishui's hand. "I'll accompany them to the supermarket this afternoon. When they're done, I'll go pick you guys up."
Auntie Mu walked towards them and said, "There's something going on tonight, but after lunch, I'll take Shuishui shopping first, and then I'll take her with me for a spa treatment."
She touched her face and said, "It's been a long time since I've had any facial treatments."
Her sister-in-law smiled and said, "Are you going shopping later? It's been a long time since I've gone too."
Auntie Mu could tell that she wanted to go as well, so she couldn't refuse. "Sister-in-Law, if you want to, you can come with us."
After waiting for more than half an hour for dinner to start, they all sat at the dining table. Mu Ziyu kept putting food into Shuishui's bowl. "Eat more. This is the helper's specialty dish."
He saw that Shuishui had been eating more of the braised pork, so he kept putting other foods into her bowl. "Baby, eat less fatty meat," he said.
Everyone could hear Mu Ziyu as he continued to pester Shuishui about her food choices. "Come try this one. It's also really good."
Zilin and Qian Anzhi wanted to laugh. Auntie Mu held back from laughing out loud. She felt that Ziyu was being a little overbearing. Didn't Ziyu understand that Shuishui simply loved to eat meat?
She felt that Ziyu had to stop acting like that. Shuishui was very independent, and if Ziyu continued to control her, she would probably get fed up with it. Besides, Shuishui's body was unique. She clearly had a fast metabolism. No matter how much she ate, she didn't gain weight.
Shuishui looked at Mu Ziyu with a hint of bitterness. "I realized that I can't eat with you anymore," Shuishui said.
"Why?"
Zilin could not help but interject. "Brother, don't you know that Shuishui loves to eat meat? Why aren't you letting her eat what she wants?" Zilin felt that his brother would soon become very controlling of Shuishui. He would want to be involved in every little thing Shuishui does.
Shuishui nodded. "That's right."
Auntie Mu tried to smooth things over. "All right. Let's eat. We'll be going out this afternoon."
After the meal, Auntie Mu felt that the couple did not plan on leaving, so she pretended to go upstairs. "I'm going upstairs to change my clothes and get ready to go out. Brother, Sister-in-Law, what about you?"
"Your elder sister-in-law will go with you. I'm going back. I still have something to do." His younger brother, Ziyu and Zilin's father, had not yet returned anyway, so it would be useless for him to stay behind.
"Elder Brother, come with us later. You can also accompany Sister-in-Law to the department store. Because there are five of us here, we won't fit in the car," Auntie Mu said. Zilin and the others wanted to go to Shuishui's house, so they all left together.
The sister-in-law's expression did not look right. "In that case, I don't think I should go. You guys can go. It'll save us some trouble."
They tactfully left. No one would be left behind, so they had no reason to stay.
Shuishui spent the afternoon accompanying Auntie Mu out on the streets. They went into a few shops to pick out a few clothes, and ended the day by getting a massage at a nearby spa. When it was getting late, Auntie Mu called Mu Ziyu and asked him to fetch them.
Mu Ziyu first sent Auntie Mu home, then he drove towards Shuishui's place to drop Shuishui off.
Shuishui stretched her arms and legs in the car. She said, "I feel so relaxed. The muscles in my shoulders don't feel tense."
"Did you get a massage?" Mu Ziyu asked.
"Yes, Auntie booked a massage for me too." Shuishui felt dizzy and tired because of the walking around and shopping, but she felt better after the massage.
When they arrived at Shuishui's place, Mu Ziyu accompanied Shuishui into the house. When they got inside, Shuishui quickly went upstairs to check on the two dogs. Mu Ziyu followed behind. "Don't worry, everything should be fine," he said.
When Shuishui got to the third floor and opened the door to the greenhouse, the two dogs rushed towards her and barked as they looked up at her. She refilled their water and food bowls and squatted down to pet them. "Taking care of my pets is something new to add to my long list of responsibilities."
"Yes, you will have to take good care of these pets in the future. However, this bulldog is indeed a little ugly," Mu Ziyu said. After he spoke, the bulldog barked at him, as if it understood what he said.
Shuishui could not help but laugh. She caressed the bulldog and said, "Don't tell me you understand."
"It's a little fierce. After all, it's a bulldog. When it grows up, it's going to be fiercer." Suddenly, Mu Ziyu did not like the bulldog anymore.
Shuishui stood up. "I need to do something first. I'll come back later for the dogs."
"Then I'll help." Mu Ziyu walked beside Shuishui and lowered his head to look at Shuishui with a smile. "Earlier today, my uncle and aunt might have said a few things. Don't take it to heart."
"Don't worry about it. Actually, I did feel that they were quite dissatisfied with the fact that you have a girlfriend. Why?" Shuishui asked curiously.
"Because they don't have sons. They have three daughters, and they recently had a business deal with the Murong family. They had to form an alliance through marriage. Since they don't have a son and the Murong family had only one daughter, they set their sights on me. My parents are not happy about it, because their business has nothing to do with us directly. It was my uncle's business, but they want to use me so they would make a profit from the deal with the Murong family. It's so ridiculous. Don't worry. Although I've met that woman before, I was very straightforward with her. I told her that I have a girlfriend." Ziyu was worried about what Shuishui would think of it. He was sure, however, that Shuishui would think too much of it. He simply felt that he had to explain so she knew everything. He was in a committed relationship, and if that woman would continue to follow him around and pester him, Shuishui would probably misinterpret the whole thing. He believed she had to know the truth before anything of the sort happened.
Shuishui frowned. She knew that Mu Ziyu had already told her everything, and she shouldn't be concerned. She noticed that Ziyu seemed to be disgusted with that woman. She felt that something had already happened. "Does that woman like you?" she asked.
"Who knows? Anyway, I'm so tired of her. I'm sure that after our last encounter, she will stop bothering me. Don't worry. My heart is yours. If she continues to bother me, I'll let you handle it." Mu Ziyu assured her that he didn't care about Murong Xi. To him, Shuishui was the most important person.
Shuishui pulled her hand back. "You settle it yourself. I won't get involved. It's too troublesome. Moreover, when the time comes, she might come for me for no reason."
"I know. I'll take care of it." Mu Ziyu knew that Shuishui didn't want to be involved in troublesome matters. She would dislike him if he dragged her into such things.
They busied themselves in the kitchen. Mu Ziyu had originally planned to pick up Mu Zilin and the others, but traffic was heavy at that hour. He felt that it would be better if they simply took a taxi.
Zilin soon returned with Anzhi, and they were carrying many grocery bags. "Come and help. We've bought too many," Zilin said.
The two were dragging in the bags breathlessly. They put down the bags as soon as they got in the house. Shuishui and Mu Ziyu walked out and saw the two of them, sitting on the sofa. They had placed the grocery bags on the floor as they tried to catch their breath.
"What exactly did you buy? I asked you to buy just seafood and vegetables. Why are there so many bags?" Shuishui helped to carry the bags to the kitchen. She opened the bags and saw that they had bought a lot. "Actually, it's too much. There are only four of us anyway," Shuishui said.
Qian Anzhi was a little embarrassed. "It was on sale and there was a huge discount, and the saleslady told us that those are very fresh."
Shuishui knew that Zilin and Anzhi had been fooled into buying the groceries. She looked closer at the ingredients and confirmed that they really were fresh. "Okay. There are too many ingredients. I won't use everything anyway. You guys wait outside. Ziyu and I will wash these ingredients first, and then we can start eating."
Mu Zilin couldn't help but complain. "That's great. I'm starving. The taxi driver dropped us at the gate, not on your house's door. We came all the way up here dragging the grocery bags. It was so tiring."
Shuishui laughed and said, "What bad luck. Anyway, it's all over. We'll prepare dinner first. I remember we still have drinks at home." Shuishui wasn't quite sure if there were any left.
She still had four bottles of fruit juice. She took them out and placed them on the counter. She checked the pot she had put on the stove. It wasn't clear soup. It was a slightly spicy broth. Mu Ziyu suddenly walked behind Shuishui and hugged her waist. Shuishui was shocked and accidentally poured out all the dried chili into the soup. She blinked in surprise and turned to look at Mu Ziyu. "Is it all right if it's spicy?" she asked.
"It's fine."
Since Mu Ziyu had said it was all right, she poured in a bit of chili oil. She had inhaled the thick smoke that rose from the pot. She coughed and tried to cover up her nose.
"You're coughing. Is it that spicy?" Mu Ziyu peered into the pot and saw that it was covered in a layer of red oil with bits of red chili flakes. "Today's hot pot is going to be very spicy."
Shuishui laughed and said, "Hey, you said you're all right with spicy hot pot. It's not that spicy. Don't worry." Shuishui was about to take the pot out of the stove, but Mu Ziyu was one step faster. He stopped her and said, "Let me do it."
Shuishui allowed Ziyu to help her. She just held on to the small bowl as he assisted her. The way they acted made the others feel like they were an old married couple.