"Ms. Song, would you like to go with me for awhile? I'd like to invite you to have brunch with me."
Suyin spoke beside Meixiu, as they were both going towards Ning's house. Meixiu looks at her and hums, accepting her invitation in the process.
"I'll have to ask my wife and grandma Peng for that; would that be alright with you?"
Suyin's eyes brightened at what Meixiu said. Even though she felt like the taller girl shouldn't be doing it, she had hope that the two mentioned would agree.
Suyin, not wanting to have a bad image in front of Meixiu, nodded her head as they finally reached the house.
After the talk earlier with Ning, the younger girl quickly left to help her mother with her bath. Meixiu, wanting to help her fetch the water from the well, asks if she'll be alright, and Ning answers that she can do it.
Ning didn't want to leave, but she has to, and she told Meixiu to bring Suyin to their house so the others can be introduced.
They finally reached the house, and Meixiu opened the door for Suyin. The girl smiled at her and thanked Meixiu.
"Meixiu! Why did you- Young Lady of Jia."
Xiaowen was angry that Meixiu went out and didn't even fetch water for her, so she had to fetch water for herself as Ning was busy.
And she didn't want to seem like a laid-off lady.
Suyin raises her eyebrows in confusion, looking at the lady in front of her, who bows down.
"Suyin, this is my mother-in-law."
Meixiu walks behind Suyin as her face remains blank, and Xiaowen looks at her and glares.
"Ms. Zheng, it's nice to meet you."
Suyin bows down to respect Xiaowen as the lady smiles at her and takes her hands.
"You don't need to bow, Ms. Jia; a handshake is alright."
Xiaowen smiles widely, her eyes going clear as Suyin smiles back at her.
Their handshake got interrupted when a booming and angry voice came into the house. Tingfeng wants to shower, but being a spoiled brat who never does any work, he's going back to the house to ask someone to fetch water for him.
"Suyin."
Tingfeng called, shocked to see the girl in front of Xiaowen. The girl mentioned looking behind her, her eyebrows raising in the process.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Xie; I wasn't informed we don't do honorifics."
"Suyin, our families are business partners."
"So? Does that mean we should be friends?"
Tingfeng's mouth dropped as Suyin said that. He was about to argue with her when the girl looked at the door open, seeing an old lady coming out of the bedroom.
"Suyin, that's Grandma Peng."
Suyin's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she quickly went towards the old lady. Grandma Peng got confused about who the young woman was.
"Grandma Peng, it was nice to finally meet you."
Suyin bows down in front of the old lady, her eyes smiling as the old lady looks at her with excitement.
"You might be Meixiu's friend?"
Suyin looks behind to see Meixiu with Xiaohui, who seems to have just gotten out of her room as well because her hair is a bit messy, before nodding at the old lady in front.
Grandma Peng smiles widely, her hand going towards Suyin's as she holds it tightly.
"Meixiu is such an incredible person, so I hope you don't hurt her."
Suyin smiles widely at the old lady's words.
-
"Ms. Song, this is one of my favorite restaurants to have brunch."
Meixiu looks at the simple-decorated restaurant they currently have as Xiaohui stands beside her.
Suyin couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed to pull Meixiu into the restaurant, as it seemed like something Meixiu wouldn't agree on.
Even if she already saw the condition the girl is living in and how her mother-in-law treated her, Meixiu is someone who still has style.
Considering their few hangouts, Suyin can conclude that the woman is hiding something.
"The restaurant is nice."
Meixiu spoke out, her eyes taking in the detail of the small, simple-decorated restaurant they are currently in.
Her eyes went towards Suyin and the distance between her and Tingfeng.
Upon asking Xiaohui for permission to take Meixiu out, Tingfeng voiced out behind Xiaohui to let them come.
Suyin couldn't help but glare at the guy as Tingfeng smiled widely at her, as if mocking her.
Meixiu may have wanted Xiaohui to come, but she didn't want Tingfeng to cling to her wife.
Xiaohui, getting stuck in the middle, didn't want to come with Tingfeng and Suyin, but she didn't want to crush Meixiu's hope.
Considering the taller woman is looking at her with hopeful eyes,
And that brings them inside the small, simple-decorated restaurant they are currently in.
"Ms. Jia! Welcome back!"
An old lady at the back of the register looks up at the sudden sound of the bell ringing, seeing the lady who constantly comes whenever she's in town.
"Ms. Tian! It's good to see you again."
The old lady went out of the register to welcome the newcomers, smiling brightly at the lady she's very familiar with.
"Ms. Jia, let me help you settle."
Ms. Tian bows down at the three behind Suyin, guiding them towards the four-seater table.
"Ms. Tian, please give us my usual order."
"Surely, let me prepare it, okay?"
Ms. Tian smiled widely at them before she left. Meixiu pulled a seat for Suyin as the lady smiled and thanked her.
Her action causes Tingfeng to do the same for Xiaohui. The woman smiles at her and bows down, showing her gratitude towards the guy.
"Ms. Song, I apologize for the small place, but this is where I mostly go for brunch."
"Suyin, I didn't know you could be that low to even go here."
Suyin glares at Tingfeng as the guy is busy studying the area where they are currently. Her eyes landed on Xiaohui as the woman smiled at her.
"Ms. Jia, I think you found a lovely place."
Suyin smiles widely at Xiaohui, her head bowing down as a sign of gratitude at the compliment the woman gave her.
"Suyin, I like this place. It's nice and homey. I didn't know they could still have a restaurant like this."
The lady's heart flutters at Meixiu's words; she can't help but smile wide as her eyes brighten.
Oh, Song Meixiu, if you only knew the effect you had on Jia Suyin, you wouldn't be saying that.
Suyin couldn't be happier that Meixiu liked the place. It's such an honor for her to even be sitting and talking to a master.
Her eyes glance at Xiaohui, jealousy arousing in her system as she quickly realizes that Meixiu is married to someone who seems to not even care about her.
The bell chimes, catching the attention of the four, and a beautiful woman in her early 20s comes in.
The smiling face greeted them warmly as her eyes scanned through them, slowly widening upon seeing a familiar face at the place.
"Meixiu!?"
The booming voice caught the attention of Meixiu, who was looking at the utensils on the table, observing their cleanliness.
Meixiu looks at the woman, her eyes widening as she stands up quickly and goes up towards her.
"Luli? What are you doing here?"
Luli squeals before she engulfs Meixiu in a hug, causing the latter to flinch at the sudden action but hug her back.
"Meixiu! It's good to see you again!"