Sitting on the sofa with her mother, watching a rerun of "Happy Camp" on Mango TV, Liu Chen's heart was turbulent.
Since her rebirth, the system had been subtly presenting her with choices, assigning tasks, and giving rewards.
But... to be honest, if there were no system, what would she be doing?
Liu Chen thought again and again. It seemed she would still be doing the same things, just at a slower pace and with less progress.
Once she understood this, the unease that had been buried deep in her heart was instantly swept away from her little heart.
She even felt an urge to go upstairs right now and dive into her professional textbooks.
Liu Fang, who had been sitting beside Liu Chen and paying attention to her, was even more flustered by Liu Chen's sudden smile.
What exactly happened yesterday that everyone in the family was keeping it from her? And her well-behaved daughter suddenly smiled while sitting on the sofa?
Did something happen that was too much for Chenchen to bear mentally?
The entire afternoon, Liu Fang guessed wildly while sitting on the sofa and making dumplings, yes, on the sofa.
"Ah Fang's waist hurts so much now when she sits on hard surfaces. I got a desk, and it fits perfectly on this chaise lounge without pressing on your stomach."
Chen Long said this as he and someone else carried a solid wood desk and placed it on the chaise lounge. He also propped up five sofa cushions behind Liu Fang.
"Alright, alright, if you add any more, I'll slide off the sofa!"
Liu Fang raised her hand and complained, which finally made Chen Long stop. However, instead of stopping, he brought himself a plastic stool and sat beside Liu Fang. He also brought one for Liu Chen, and the two of them, one on each side, completely surrounded Liu Fang.
With her hands busy and her ears listening to the laughter of the hosts on TV, Liu Chen gradually calmed down, focusing on making dumplings and thinking of nothing else.
Liu Fang, on the other hand, had concerns weighing on her mind. She wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Chenchen alone and ask her, but she also wanted to ask Chen Long alone, hinting indirectly to prepare herself mentally.
With things on her mind, the dumplings Liu Fang made were lopsided. They probably belonged to the category of "ugly ones that looked bad when boiled" if they were put in the pot.
Chen Long looked at the dumplings his wife was making and raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself:
"It seems the responsibility of making dumplings will fall on me in the future. Otherwise, these dumplings would be quite unfair to the person who rolled the dough."
With their own thoughts, the three of them finished wrapping the entire basin of pork and beef filling and only then realized it was past two in the afternoon.
Sister Qiong, who usually cooked, had already gone home for the New Year. There was no one to cook lunch, and since everyone who could cook was making dumplings, Old Mr. Chen came to visit. Seeing everyone making dumplings, he didn't say anything and went back to his study to eat a bread.
"It's already past two, let's just have some noodles."
Liu Fang looked at the dumplings on the table and calculated. Including the two new children at home, these dumplings would only be enough for one meal.
Chen Long quickly said, "Ah Fang, eat a couple of tangyuan first to tide you over. Sister Qiong had already cut the vegetables at home. This morning, before I left, I stewed chicken soup and old duck soup in the kitchen. It's New Year's, how can I let you and your mother eat noodles with me?"
Hearing about the chicken and duck soup stewed since early morning, even Liu Chen couldn't help but swallow. She hadn't felt hungry while concentrating on making dumplings, but now that she stopped, her stomach rumbled.
After Liu Fang ate six tangyuan, even though the kitchen door was tightly shut, the aroma of meat wafted through the entire house, a smell that clearly indicated it had been stewed for ten hours.
"Chenchen..."
"Mom, I know."
"You, you know what Mom wants to say?"
"Yes."
"Then, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Liu Fang watched as Liu Chen got up from the sofa and walked out of the living room with big strides.
Liu Fang: ???
What did this mean?
Chenchen didn't want to talk to me about yesterday?
As she thought this, Liu Fang pursed her lips, and her strange speculations resurfaced.
"No... no, it couldn't be..."
Liu Fang recalled what Hu Xingfa had done to Hu Qian on a talk show.
"It's impossible, it's impossible. If it were this, wouldn't Jiang Di be so scared?"
By the time Chen Long and Liu Chen had finished cooking and brought the food to the table, the sky outside had already turned a deep blue. The winter branches, with their remaining withered leaves, swayed in the cold wind.
The courtyard lights had all been turned on at Xia Tian's request, so the bare courtyard was completely exposed under the light.
Old Mr. Chen sat in his chair, looking at his somewhat desolate courtyard, and remained silent for a long time:
"If it doesn't work, we'll find someone to pave the courtyard in the spring next year. It's not good to be so bare."
Liu Chen, who was carrying dishes, heard this and quickly offered a solution:
"Paving it isn't necessary. I'll ask my senior classmate to take a look and plan the greenery in the courtyard, aiming for flowers all year round. Then, in the autumn, we can move a stove into the garden and have barbecues, which would be great."
Old Mr. Chen nodded enthusiastically upon hearing this:
"It sounds much more interesting than it is now."
Liu Fang sat in her chair without a word, watching the conversation between her father-in-law and Liu Chen. She felt that somehow, as soon as Chenchen spoke, her father-in-law agreed.
With her mind preoccupied, Liu Fang had no appetite during dinner. After eating a few dumplings and drinking two bowls of chicken soup, she tugged at Chen Long's sleeve and said she wanted to go for a walk.
Liu Chen glanced at the half-eaten rice in Chen Long's bowl and the look her mother stole at her as she got up. She had a premonition that her mother was going to break through Chen Long first.
However, Liu Chen wasn't worried. Chen Long knew what he was doing. If her mother were to find out that she had been murdered, she would probably be so scared that she'd end up in the hospital.
Just as Liu Chen was thinking this, she heard Chen Long's shouts:
"Ah Fang! Ah Fang! Sister Fang! Help!"
Hearing this, Liu Chen didn't even have time to put down her chopsticks and rushed towards where Chen Long was shouting.
When she arrived, she saw Chen Long holding Liu Fang, who had her eyes closed, leaning against him.
Xia Tian, who followed closely behind Liu Chen, placed a hand on Liu Fang's wrist:
"Overly worried, with anger rising, take her to the hospital immediately."
Liu Chen: "Huh?"
Chen Long: "Huh?"
Old Mr. Chen: "Huh?"
While the three of them were still saying "Huh?", Dong Tian had already checked the car and driven it to the front door.
Xia Tian, without further ado, gave the order: "Help her into the car, be gentle."
Liu Chen glanced at the dark sky outside, casually put on the down jacket hanging by the door, and the family headed to the hospital together.
Looking at the dark green belt outside the window, Liu Chen suddenly realized that this year, it seemed, she wouldn't be able to have a peaceful Lunar New Year watching the Spring Festival Gala again.