CHAPTER 561: CHAPTER 561: SITTING LIKE ON PINS AND NEEDLES

Taozi was nervous the whole way, but after arriving downstairs, her expression became calm instead.

Ruan Hongzhuang wasn’t surprised at all.

Some people become exceptionally calm when faced with big events, which is a very admirable quality.

However, obviously, Taozi isn’t one of those people; she’s simply carefree, with a "let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may" courage.

This also relates to her upbringing, as she always had her parents as her safety net from a young age, naturally developing this carefree nature over time.

With someone backing her up, she naturally has ample confidence.

And now, it was the same; she followed Ruan Hongzhuang upstairs with a calm demeanor.

She even went in first when Ruan Hongzhuang opened the door, which made Ruan Hongzhuang grit her teeth — this girl was getting too cocky, unaware of rank, but since Shen Siyuan’s mom was here today, she decided to let it slide.

"Aunt Jiang."

As soon as she walked in, she greeted Jiang Yingxue in the living room first.

Then she turned her gaze towards Shen Siyuan’s mother, Huang Huijuan, smiling generously and greeting her as well.

"Hello, Auntie."

"Hello, hello, you must be Miss Jiang?" Huang Huijuan hurriedly greeted in return.

Meanwhile, she couldn’t help but praise internally that her son really had an eye for beauty. Not to mention Ruan Hongzhuang’s appearance, this Miss Jiang was also quite stunning.

But considering that she was best friends with Ruan Hongzhuang, it wasn’t surprising at all. Birds of a feather flock together, after all; beautiful people tend to hang out with beautiful people.

Of course, it’s not to say beautiful people don’t play with less attractive ones. It’s just that the latter might feel more self-conscious, causing the relationship to fade over time unless one is particularly open-minded and doesn’t mind these things. However, such people are rare in reality.

Seeing how warm and friendly Huang Huijuan was, Taozi breathed a sigh of relief despite her usual carefree attitude. It’s impossible not to feel any pressure at all since she wouldn’t want Huang Huijuan to dislike her.

"You can just call me Taozi," she said with a smile.

"Alright, Taozi." Huang Huijuan greeted warmly.

Suddenly recalling something, she glanced somewhat uneasily at Jiang Yingxue aside, only to find her watching her with an ambiguous smile.

Huang Huijuan panicked slightly, quickly looking away to avoid eye contact. Just then, seeing Ruan Hongzhuang also entering the house, she hurried up to greet her, "Ruan Ruan."

"Auntie."

Ruan Hongzhuang smiled as she greeted her, glancing at her, then at Taozi.

Taozi shot her a sneaky glare.

Huang Huijuan stepped up, taking Ruan Hongzhuang’s hand, and said, "I haven’t seen you in days, let me take a good look."

Taozi stood aside, feeling a little awkward.

Luckily, Jiang Yingxue stood up and said, "What’s there to look at, besides, she’s my daughter, you’re being overly enthusiastic."

"Tch, she’s also my daughter-in-law, a daughter-in-law is half a daughter, right?"

Goodness, she’s flexible. Isn’t it supposed to be a son-in-law is half a son?

"Even if I, as her mother, haven’t commented... Hey, you’ve changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you," Jiang Yingxue noticed Ruan Hongzhuang’s different demeanor only now.

It’s not her looks but her aura.

Ruan Hongzhuang, who used to exude a shrewd and capable strong-woman aura, now seemed softer, more charming, even standing there made one unable to take their eyes away.

Huang Huijuan also looked at her in amazement but soon shifted her gaze to Taozi.

Releasing Ruan Hongzhuang’s hand, she went over to take Taozi’s, saying, "Taozi’s skin is truly good, so soft and smooth, how do you take care of it..."

"Auntie, my skin is naturally like this," Taozi replied with a hint of pride in her tone.

"Oh~"

At this moment, Tang Tang came running in from the balcony, followed by Shen Siyuan.

"You’re back." Shen Siyuan smiled and greeted them.

Then he turned to the two mothers and said, "Since we’re all back, let’s eat, we can talk later."

"Yes, let’s eat, you must be hungry too, right?" Huang Huijuan quickly added.

She instinctively took Taozi’s hand to lead her to the dining table but suddenly felt this wasn’t quite right. Being overly kind to Taozi, she worried if her daughter-in-law might overthink.

Thus, she uneasily glanced at Ruan Hongzhuang.

Seeing Ruan Hongzhuang at ease, she let out a breath of relief but was still pretty annoyed — it was all the brat’s fault, putting her in such a difficult position.

At that moment, she eagerly awaited her husband to pick her up in the afternoon; she really didn’t want to be caught in the middle anymore.

As they approached the dining table, Tang Tang had already climbed into her seat, craning her neck to look at the table.

On the table were several dishes Mao Sanmei had already prepared.

"Come on, push!"

Seeing Shen Siyuan approaching, she waved her little hand eagerly.

Despite being young, she was quite adept with chopsticks.

"This little one seems like a foodie," Huang Huijuan remarked as she sat next to Taozi, right across from Tang Tang.

Tang Tang thought Huang Huijuan wanted to eat too, so she took the partially eaten chicken wing from her mouth and offered it across the table.

"Oh~, it’s yummy, here you go~"

Huang Huijuan was speechless looking at the bone that was mostly gnawed on and coated in saliva.

Everyone else laughed, especially Jiang Yingxue, who laughed the loudest.

A fun meal was enjoyed by all, except Huang Huijuan, who felt a bit uncomfortable.

No matter the goodwill from Taozi, an eye from Jiang Yingxue, or a smile from Ruan Hongzhuang, they all made her feel ill at ease.

She kept glaring at Shen Siyuan to vent her inner stress.

Thus, as soon as they finished eating, Huang Huijuan couldn’t help but ask eagerly, "When is your dad arriving this afternoon? He’s been awfully quiet."

"I don’t know, but he said he’d bring some chickens along, maybe that delayed him," Shen Siyuan replied.

"Why don’t you call and ask? Besides, is he driving here or coming on a motorbike?"

They had a car, but it was mostly for deliveries; Shen Jianjun often rode the motorbike.

"Why should I call? Can’t you call him yourself?"

"If I call him, there’ll be no surprise when we meet; you call. That way, he’ll be pleasantly surprised when he sees me," Huang Huijuan justified.

Shen Siyuan: ...

Jiang Yingxue: ...

Taozi: ...

Ruan Hongzhuang: ...

Everyone present, except for Mao Sanmei and Tang Tang, was rendered speechless.