After leaving the school gate, Yu Miaomiao took out her phone and called Lin Songbai. "Hello, Uncle Lin, Zijin and I are already at the school gate. You and Auntie can come over now."
"Oh, okay. Your aunt and I are on our way. Just wait for us by the entrance."
"Mm-hmm, alright." After hanging up, Bai Xue sat in the passenger seat and asked, "Are Miaomiao and Zijin out?"
"Yes, they're right at the school gate. We're heading over now."
"Then drive faster, I want to give my boy a big hug."
"Alright, alright, I'll drive a bit faster." Lin Songbai simply had zero ability to refuse his wife. Meanwhile, Yu Miaomiao and Lin Zijin were chatting away.
"Any plans for where to go now that vacation's started?" Yu Miaomiao asked.
"Definitely going to some gatherings, and then I'm planning to hang out with Xing Yi'an and Mu Han for a few days."
"Must be nice." Yu Miaomiao felt a twinge of envy.
"As if you haven't been through it yourself. Who knows who drank so much at the middle school graduation party that—oh my gosh, never mind, let's not bring it up." To this day, Lin Zijin still remembered that night: Yu Miaomiao had gotten drunk, and when Zijin went to pick her up, Miaomiao threw a drunken tantrum all the way home. To keep Yu Miaomiao's parents from finding out, Zijin finally called them with a white lie, saying Miaomiao was staying the night at Gu Tongyi's place, which kept her from getting caught. It just so happened that Lin Songbai and Bai Xue were away on a business trip that day, so Lin Zijin ended up dealing with Yu Miaomiao's chaos for the better part of the night. From that moment on, Lin Zijin vowed to always remember one rule: never let Yu Miaomiao drink alcohol.
"Hey, how long ago was that? That was just a beautiful accident, a total accident."
"Oh," Lin Zijin replied flatly.
"How about you get drunk at this gathering and I take care of you, how's that?"
"You think I'm you?" Still, the idea didn't sound half bad.
"Psh, so what if my alcohol tolerance is a little low? Hmph, writing me off like that. I even changed your diapers when you were little! Waaa—" Lin Zijin clapped a hand over Yu Miaomiao's mouth, but Miaomiao dodged away.
"Sis, can we please drop that subject? I was wrong, I was wrong."
"Hahaha, trying to seal my lips? No way! But considering your sincere attitude, I'll spare you and let it go since I'm the bigger person."
"Thank you for your gracious mercy, Your Highness," Lin Zijin said, bowing with folded hands.
"Rise, peasant, rise." The two friends had fully embraced their inner drama queens.
"Oh, Auntie's here, let's hurry over." Yu Miaomiao and Lin Zijin quickened their pace.
"My boy!" Bai Xue got out of the car and rushed over to hug Lin Zijin.
"Mom." After holding him for a moment, she broke the embrace. "You've worked so hard, son. No matter the result, you're the best." She gently stroked Lin Zijin's head as she spoke.
"Mom, I didn't work hard, you and Dad did." Lin Zijin bent his knees slightly and lowered his head.
Hearing this, Bai Xue smiled and stroked Lin Zijin's head again. At that moment, Yu Miaomiao thought Lin Zijin looked just like a cute little baby.
"Honey, come on, let's talk more when we get home. We can't leave the car parked by the side of the road for too long," Lin Songbai's voice drifted out from the window.
"Alright, coming!" Bai Xue called back. Once they got in the car, Lin Songbai asked, "Zijin, how did you feel about the test?"
"Pretty good, Dad."
"Alright, alright, let's drop this topic. Our boy finally finished his exams, let's not grill him with these questions. Now let's hurry home and cook up a feast to eat with Miaomiao."
"Yes, yes, my dear boss, I won't ask anymore, okay?"
Listening from the backseat, Yu Miaomiao couldn't help laughing out loud at how much Uncle Lin acted like a devoted puppy.
Bai Xue had already been feeling a bit shy about Lin Songbai calling her his "dear boss" in front of the kids, and hearing Yu Miaomiao laugh made her even more embarrassed. Honestly, the man had zero seriousness day in and day out. To break the awkwardness, Bai Xue pulled out her phone and called Du Yun. "Hey, little Yunyun, we'll be there in about half a minute. You and Yu Hua time it so you arrive at my house then. Yeah, right, okay, bye-bye."
A little over half an hour later, they finally arrived home and ran right into Yu Hua and Du Yun downstairs. The moment Du Yun and Bai Xue saw each other, they immediately launched into a marathon of TV drama gossip. Yu Hua and Lin Songbai exchanged a glance and shook their heads. How did it feel like the two of them were the third wheels in this relationship? Yu Miaomiao and Lin Zijin walked behind them in silence, quietly watching the show.
Once inside, Du Yun and Bai Xue immediately dived into the kitchen to whip up some food. Yu Hua and Lin Songbai tried to go help, but got chased right back out on the grounds that they shouldn't interrupt the ladies' quality couple time. *You know,* Yu Hua thought with a helpless sigh, *why didn't the two of you just end up together back then?*
Lin Zijin and Yu Miaomiao sensibly made themselves scarce. Heading up to Lin Zijin's bedroom, the two of them fired up a video game—the classic, *Contra*.
"Just like usual, I'll take the top path, you take the bottom," Yu Miaomiao said.
"Okay." The two of them cooperated seamlessly, one picking off enemies up high while the other handled the lower level. Perfect. Level two began.
About an hour later, Lin Songbai called out, "Miaomiao, Zijin, time to eat!"
"Coming!" Lin Zijin replied.
Six people sat around the dining table, loaded with dishes that rivaled a Manchu-Han imperial feast: steamed sea bass, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly, shredded pork with green peppers, braised eggplant, shredded potatoes, smashed cucumber salad, and napa cabbage tofu soup.
"Ah, Mom and Auntie's cooking is as amazing as ever," Yu Miaomiao praised.
"Mom, Auntie, you've worked hard," Lin Zijin added.
"You've both worked hard," echoed Yu Hua and Lin Songbai.
They poured drinks and raised their glasses together. "To celebrate Zijin finishing the high school entrance exams, and in anticipation of him getting a great score!"
"Thank you, Mom and Dad, Uncle and Auntie, thanks, Sis." The group downed their drinks in one go, and the meal officially began.
After dinner, once Lin Zijin and Yu Miaomiao finished washing the dishes, Yu Miaomiao prepared to head home. There was no help for it—life as an impending high school senior was just like that. Lin Zijin initially offered to walk her back.
"You finally finished your exams, get some rest early," Miaomiao told him. "If you come over, I'll just be doing homework there anyway, no time to hang out with you."
"I can just sit next to you." Lin Zijin argued that watching her do homework was nice too, and just being together was enough.
"No way, I'm heading out. Get some proper rest yourself."
"Alright then." Seeing how adamant Yu Miaomiao was, Lin Zijin didn't push it further.
"Uncle, Auntie, I'm heading back first. Mom, Dad, I'm leaving."
"Why go back so early, Miaomiao? Just head back with your parents in a little bit," Du Yun suggested.
"No, I can't, upcoming seniors have tons of homework, I've got to get back."
"Well, alright, senior year is indeed tough."
"Since Miaomiao is heading back, let's all go home together, honey," Yu Hua said to Du Yun.
"Okay, let's head out too, Xiaoxue."
"You guys can just stay and hang out! I'm so big already, I won't get lost," Yu Miaomiao protested.
"Let's go, Mom and Dad will walk you back," Yu Hua insisted, leaving Yu Miaomiao with a slight pang of guilt.
"Well, alright then. You guys watch out on the road!"
"Mm-hmm, we know, we're off," Du Yun said.
"See you later, Uncle and Auntie, my parents and I are heading out first." Yu Miaomiao felt a bit awkward; she had planned to walk home alone, but now her parents were tagging along too.
"Alright, bye-bye," Bai Xue said.
"Bye." After exchanging farewells, Yu Miaomiao and her family headed home.