"Excuse me, miss, are you from the lab too?" the aunt asked, sizing up Huo Rou with a smile. "You look familiar, do you like braised beef noodles?"
Huo Rou blinked, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
She blinked again, tucking the memories welling up into her heart. Politely, she shook her head. "I prefer sour soup noodles. Auntie, could I have two bowls of sour soup noodles, please?"
"Sure! Auntie remembers!"
Hearing the aunt say this, Huo Rou's eyes welled up. When her mother brought her here for noodles as a child, the aunt had said the same thing.
After all these years, she still remembered her mother's taste.
Huo Rou composed herself and turned to Qin Ningyi, persuading him, "Since we're here, why don't you have a bowl with us?"
An An had already squirmed out of his seat when Huo Rou ordered the noodles. Now, standing beside Huo Rou, they both looked at him with united front.
Since the aunt had said that, and with the mother and son's expressions, he chuckled. "Alright, I'll have a bowl of clear soup noodles."
Huo Rou's smile widened as she expertly pulled Qin Ningyi to a corner seat.
An An, unaccustomed to eating at a street stall, looked around. Soon, his gaze fell on the wall.
The wall was covered in graffiti, and near where they were sitting, An An could see a row of small characters.
The strokes were not strong, but the writing was neat.
"Mom! Look at this! Is it the same as the sentence on your bracelet?"
Huo Rou glanced in the direction he pointed. "Yes. It's the same."
"Mom, it's so small, how could you see it from so far away?" An An asked, amazed.
The row of characters was tiny. He had only just managed to see them sitting right next to it, and from further away, they were lost in the graffiti.
Huo Rou gave a soft "mm-hmm," which earned her An An's admiring gaze.
How could she not know what was written? She had written it herself when she was a child.
But since An An had said it, she took the opportunity. "That's why you need to keep a distance when reading books or using phones and computers. That way, you can maintain good eyesight."
Qin Ningyi watched as she, without actually looking closely in the direction An An pointed, lectured him earnestly on protecting his eyesight. And what was more, An An, this little genius, actually believed her!
The noodles were soon served. The aroma of the sour soup noodles alone was mouthwatering.
Qin Ningyi's clear soup noodles also gave off a rich fragrance, and the chopped scallions on top were exceptionally fresh.
He picked up the chopsticks from the table and meticulously rinsed them in hot water before handing them to Huo Rou and An An.
An An watched his action and let out a giggle. "Dad, you're acting like those aunties!"
Huo Rou smiled and playfully tapped his little head. An An giggled even harder. "When we eat together, those aunties collect everyone's chopsticks, rinse them with boiling water again and again, and then give them back to us."
Qin Ningyi didn't think his action was that funny, but it made An An laugh for a good while.
"Thank you," Huo Rou said, her eyes curved as she thanked him.
Seeing them eating heartily, the proprietress came over and asked with a smile, "Young man, the taste is alright, isn't it?"
She then began to praise him. "I used to have an old customer, she was from the lab nearby. She looked as beautiful as your wife. She often brought her family here, and her husband loved my clear soup noodles. He always said my noodles were different from others!"
Indeed, they were different. Qin Ningyi nodded. In her good mood, the proprietress chatted with them for a long, long time.
Emerging from the alley, Qin Ningyi looked at the message from Wang Haozhuo on his phone, a smile uncontrollably spreading across his lips.
"What's making you so happy?" Huo Rou rarely saw Qin Ningyi smile like this.
Qin Ningyi reread the word "Completed" on his phone screen. He looked up, smiling at Huo Rou. "Arou, are you done with your errands? When can we go home?"
Huo Rou thought about the latest drug extraction she and Shen Wuyou had done at the lab. The quantity should be enough to last for some time. However, there were still some things she needed to handle. What if she could never come back?
The will to survive and the readiness to face death were not mutually exclusive.
"I still have a few things to sort out. Since we're here, I should also visit Old Xiao and his wife."
"Then we'll stay a few more days," Qin Ningyi smiled at her. "I want to take you and An An back to the old house and formally introduce you to my family."
Hearing the words "Qin family old house," Huo Rou and An An reacted entirely differently.
An An looked excitedly at Qin Ningyi, then at Huo Rou. Dad was going to take them home! So Dad really hadn't lied to him.
Huo Rou's pupils contracted, her eyelids lowered, concealing all the struggle and hesitation in her eyes.
Family...
What a tempting word. It was her heart's desire.
"This, maybe next time..." Huo Rou's voice was faint, completely unexpected by Qin Ningyi.
"Our family matriarch makes all the decisions. You don't need to worry about anything, or be nervous." Qin Ningyi could clearly sense Huo Rou's longing for a large family, yet she was refusing now.
"Are you worried about my mother? She gets confused easily..." For some reason, he felt very flustered.
It was just a refusal; he wasn't so overbearing as to forbid anyone from refusing him. However, Huo Rou's tone suggested she didn't envision a future with him.
"It's not that," Huo Rou interrupted Qin Ningyi's guess, forcing a smile. "It's too sudden to go like this. Let's do it next time. Aren't you saying Grandma's birthday is coming soon? I'll prepare a gift and accompany you back then."
She was still someone whose future was uncertain, with a limited lifespan. She didn't want to add to the sorrow of parting. Meeting Qin Ningyi was already a selfish choice on her part.
Fortunately, Xiao Yuda's call came in time. She felt a sense of relief as she answered, "Old Xiao."
As Huo Rou turned her back, An An pouted at Qin Ningyi, his voice soft and reproachful. "Mom is definitely angry and doesn't want to go. Dad, did Mom hear what Auntie Xiaoxiao said too?"
Qin Ningyi closed his eyes, reflecting. He had indeed been too hasty in his excitement, not considering things thoroughly. Such a matter should have been proposed solemnly and with thorough preparation. He had been too eager.
Before Huo Rou could say anything, he spoke first, "It was my oversight, too impulsive. How about we go back together next month for Grandma's birthday?"
Looking at the seriousness and self-reproach on his face, she felt a pang of guilt. However, she had tried so hard for this before with no results, and she didn't want him to worry alongside her.
"Okay." She hoped she wouldn't break her promise this time.