Chapter 232: Chapter 215: Thief? You’re Clearly a Flower Thief!
Mrs. Ren couldn’t help but tease.
"I wasn’t afraid you wouldn’t come, after all, three reasons—at least one of them would apply to you!"
Su Xiaomeng looked at Su Chengji... For the first time, she felt Dad’s jokes were really cold.
Su Ma decided on it like that, and Yin Shixiu didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until they got home that he privately said to Su Ma, "I originally planned to take Xiao Meng out."
Su Ma then realized... the wedding anniversary situation.
"Then I’ll go tell the Ren Family to change the date. Shixiu, I’m really sorry, I truly didn’t think of this."
Su Ma felt a bit regretful.
Yin Shixiu stopped her, "Since you’ve invited them, let’s not change. We can invite Xiao Meng’s cousins, who are close to her, to have a small party for Meng Meng, does that sound okay?"
"What are you talking about?"
Xiao Meng saw Yin Shixiu and Su Ma being all secretive in the kitchen, so she poked her head in and asked.
Smart people always have a tacit understanding.
Su Ma saw Yin Shixiu didn’t want Xiao Meng to know just yet, so she made up something casually, "Shixiu said he booked a restaurant for hot pot tonight."
"Really?"
Xiao Meng, who adored hot pot, couldn’t help but get excited.
"Of course."
Yin Shixiu walked out and affirmed it, then quickly headed to the room, silently going to secure the restaurant booking.
Su Xiaomeng didn’t bother with Yin Shixiu but looked at Su Ma with a mischievous smile...
"What?"
"Hehe, Mom, what’s the tenth all about?"
Su Ma’s heart skipped a beat, even Yin Shixiu, who had already taken a few steps, couldn’t help but slow down.
"Wh-what’s it about..."
Su Ma tried to play dumb, but Su Xiaomeng squinted her eyes and smiled, "Don’t pretend, it’s my birthday, your day of hardship, how could you forget!"
"Hehe, Mom, how are you going to celebrate it for me?"
Xiao Meng clung to Su Ma’s arm like a child...
"You’re already a mother of two, why do you still need a birthday celebration?"
Su Ma’s words weren’t to Xiao Meng’s liking, so she immediately said sternly, "Mom, that’s not how you say it. You celebrate my birthday every year and we can’t skip this year, or I’ll be unhappy."
Su Ma saw her acting spoiled and helplessly glanced at Yin Shixiu, who hadn’t walked far...
"Since you’ve already invited Uncle Ren’s family, let’s invite more people, and we’ll have a party at home. After all, the house is big enough now!"
"Hmm, gotta call Aunt to bring Little Qingqing and Little Qianqian over to play. Wonder if big aunt is free... Mom, it’s decided, I’ll go make a list!"
Saying that, she kissed Su Ma and quickly ran into the study to start planning on her own.
Su Ma walked in front of Yin Shixiu, cleared her throat, "Um... Xiao Meng doesn’t... um, need surprises, sorry for your loss."
And so, the surprise Yin Shixiu wanted to give Su Xiaomeng didn’t happen. On the tenth, Yin Shixiu followed behind Xiao Meng, taking instructions.
The living room was decorated with flowers and balloons, and the atmosphere changed instantly.
The two apprentices who worked under Su Chengji brought the flowers over and were kept by Xiao Meng.
Around three in the afternoon, Su Xiaomei arrived with her son and daughter.
Du Qing and Du Qian couldn’t help but widen their eyes when they entered the house, "Wow... Uncle’s house is so beautiful?"
Du Qian said and then ran to the big table in the center of the living room...
Cake, snacks, fruits...
All sorts of colors, making Du Qian drool, and he pointed at the Black Forest cake, looking at Su Ma, "Aunt, aunt, when can we eat this?"
"Little Qian, you haven’t even given your sister a birthday gift and you’re already thinking about eating?"
Su Xiaomei quickly said, feeling embarrassed for her gluttonous son.
Upon hearing this, Du Qian scampered over to Su Xiaomei, took the gift from her hand, and then ran to Su Xiaomeng, "Sister Meng Meng, gift, gift!"
"Thank you Qianqian. Let me see what it is!"
It seems girls of all ages never tire of unwrapping gifts.
In just a couple of seconds, she had the gift box open...
When she saw two sets of children’s clothes, she was pleasantly surprised, her eyes inadvertently spotting the brand...
Xiao Meng paused, looked at her aunt...
Su Xiaomei came over and quietly asked, "The sizes should be fine, just not sure if this brand counts as a good one..."
Su Xiaomeng quickly whispered, "Aunt, you spent too much. Why spend so much money on this? Shuangshuang and Huanghuang already have a lot of clothes."
Xiao Meng wasn’t sensitive to clothing brands, but since Shuangshuang and Huanghuang wore clothes from this brand, she knew just a bit of fabric cost four digits.
When she first learned Shuangshuang and Huanghuang wore four-digit clothes, it pained her.
Kids grow fast, and they’re so small. They’re either wearing big brands or custom-made clothes. Honestly, it’s totally unnecessary.
But Yin Shixiu and the entire Yin Family didn’t think it was a waste.
Of course, Xiao Meng acknowledged that such big brands did provide excellent quality and comfort, but... no matter how comfortable, they weren’t worth the price.
Later, she realized it wasn’t just the Yin Family. Even her grandpa and uncle bought clothes and toys for Shuangshuang and Huang Huang that easily cost thousands...
It got to the point where she felt a bit numb.
But then she thought, well, the Yin Family and her grandpa and uncle are wealthy, so it’s whatever.
But... why would Auntie also buy such expensive clothes?
Su Xiaomei tugged at Su Xiaomeng’s hand and whispered, "Even though your aunt didn’t have much education, and your uncle-in-law are from the countryside, we’re not clueless people."
"You know just by looking at your husband that he’s not an ordinary person. Even if you guys keep it to yourselves, we can sense it. I took Du Qian and Du Qing to the mall, and they said Shuangshuang wears clothes with that pattern... not sure if it’s true."
Su Xiaomeng felt a bit uneasy. Her aunt and uncle knew well how things worked, but still, they weren’t from an affluent family, so spending this money was indeed...
Seeing Su Xiaomeng’s conflicted expression, Su Xiaomei quickly said, "I heard families in Beijing with such high status are quite prestigious. Judging by how your husband acts, he must be of noble birth..."
"No... he just has some money..."
Su Xiaomeng muttered, but her words weren’t very confident.
Su Xiaomei chuckled, "Little girl, don’t be so polite with Auntie, alright? You’re the daughter-in-law of a prestigious family. We can’t let you lose face!"
Xiao Meng felt a warm sensation in her heart and was momentarily at a loss for words.
After holding back for a long time, she could only say, "Thank you, Auntie."
Su Xiaomei patted her head.
At this moment, the whole Ren Family also arrived.
The Ren Family was particularly close to Su’s father and Su’s mother. Su Xiaomei and her husband would visit occasionally, so they were quite familiar.
"Little Sister Cheng Mei."
Su Xiaomei was taken aback that Mrs. Ren would call her name so directly. She quickly walked over to greet the Ren Family.
Her gaze paused upon seeing Ren Yixuan and the girl beside him.
Mrs. Ren quickly introduced, "This is Yixuan’s girlfriend."
"She’s really beautiful, Mrs. Ren! You must be proud!"
Mrs. Ren held Rong Qiao’s hand, clearly very satisfied with this beautiful "prospective daughter-in-law."
Rong Qiao had a perfectly composed smile, but when a greasy hand smeared her dress... it stiffened.
Du Qing liked the dress Rong Qiao was wearing, but she thought it was odd...
"Sister, aren’t you cold?"
Rong Qiao, a bit disgusted, tugged at her dress.
Seeing this, Su Xiaomei quickly pulled her daughter back and apologized to Rong Qiao, "Miss, I’m really sorry. She doesn’t know better and got your dress dirty..."
"Well, you need to better discipline your child..."
Rong Qiao was holding back her anger, but seeing the greasy handprint on her dress, she couldn’t say "it’s fine."
Seeing Su Xiaomei’s embarrassed expression, Mrs. Ren quickly said, "It’s alright, it’s alright, this is your daughter? She’s really cute."
She squatted down to meet Du Qing at eye level, smiling, but Du Qing’s eyes were fixed on Rong Qiao...
Rong Qiao’s impatient and disdainful expression imprinted on Du Qing’s mind. She was too young to understand what disdain and contempt meant, but children have their intuition...
Rong Qiao didn’t like her, so she didn’t like Rong Qiao.
She turned her head and walked away, leaving Su Xiaomei at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Mrs. Ren was empathetic and quickly comforted, "Kids are like this, it’s normal."
"It’s my fault for not teaching her well, Miss Rong, really sorry... How about I get you a dress from Xiao Meng, you can change and I’ll wash this one for you."
"No need, this dress can only be dry-cleaned. It can’t be washed carelessly."
Ren Yixuan pulled at Rong Qiao, hinting for her not to go overboard.
Rong Qiao’s tone immediately softened, "Alright, alright, it’s just a dress, I’m overreacting. It’s fine, big sister."
Xiao Meng, having set up the drinks, came over, "Auntie, Uncle, Yixuan, Miss Rong, give me your coats. I’ll hang them in the room since there are many kids here."
After they took off their coats, Mrs. Ren and Xiao Meng each took two pieces upstairs and took the opportunity to tour the villa.
Su Chengji pulled Uncle Ren to the garden, proudly showing him all the plants and flowers.
"So, what do you think? Isn’t it great, big brother?"
"Only you have this skill. Mastery comes from dedication, indeed."
Meanwhile, Ren Yixuan and Rong Qiao handed over the gifts they brought to Su Xiaomeng. Xiaomeng accepted them with a smile but didn’t open them on the spot.
"Feel free to sit, dinner will probably be around five o’clock. If you’re hungry, have some snacks first. My mom made them, they taste better than what you get outside."
"Su’s mother is really good at everything, isn’t she?"
Rong Qiao laughed, then glanced around the house, "Speaking of which, isn’t the decor of this house a bit plain?"