Chapter 2276

"Help yourself to breakfast from the pot. Today is red date, lotus seed, and silver ear fungus porridge," Xie Xinlian said. "Little Northwest has always been so good. It’s your blessing."

"Okay." Zhu Yanyi went to serve herself a bowl of porridge and took two vegetable buns. After finishing her meal, she went to check on Little Northwest.

Although she lived here, as the bride-to-be, she didn’t need to do any chores. In the past, when Zhu Yanyi returned, she would help wash dishes, but now, as the new bride, she was exempt from all work.

"Mommy." Zhu Yanyi walked into the room and saw Little Northwest sitting up by herself, rubbing her eyes with a confused, adorable expression.

Zhu Yanyi leaned in and kissed her. "Good boy, get up. Mommy will take you to wash your face, then we’ll eat."

"Food." Little Northwest patted his tummy. "Bei Bei’s tummy is hungry."

"Okay, Mommy knows your tummy is hungry. So first we wash, then we eat." Seeing Little Northwest’s pitiful look, Zhu Yanyi felt her heart melt.

After dressing Little Northwest and washing her face, she carried her downstairs. Xie Xinlian saw them and brought out a bowl of milk paste that had been prepared earlier. She handed it to Zhu Yanyi to feed Little Northwest.

Little Northwest was indeed hungry. She finished the full bowl of milk paste in just two or three minutes. After eating, Zhu Yanyi patted her tummy. It felt about eighty percent full, so she stopped feeding her. She then placed Little Northwest on the living room carpet to play by herself.

Soon, Zhu Yanli and Taishu Yuanxiang arrived, carrying Little Monkey and Little Cicada. They came to help. They placed the two children in the living room as well. With nothing else to do, Zhu Yanyi became the leader of the kids, tasked with looking after the three children.

"Mom, I’ve brought Nuan Nuan." Zhu Zhibin entered with a round-faced girl, calling out loudly.

Zhu Yanyi glanced at Nuan Nuan and understood why Zhu Zhibin had chosen her. The girl didn’t have stunning beauty, but she gave off a very peaceful and approachable vibe.

Zhu Zhibin was a high-IQ genius. It was hardest for such geniuses to find people they could get close to.

In fact, that was true. Besides family and teachers, the only person Zhu Zhibin could talk to comfortably was Shangguan Jiacheng. He kept others at a distance. So when he met Nuan Nuan, he couldn’t help but want to be close to her.

Zhu Yanyi looked at her and said nothing. Nuan Nuan seemed nice. If she was nice, Zhu Yanyi wouldn’t interfere.

"Second Sister, this is Nuan Nuan." After introducing her to Zhu Yanyi, Zhu Zhibin turned to Nuan Nuan. "Nuan Nuan, this is my Second Sister, Zhu Yanyi."

"Hello, Second Sister." A hint of shyness appeared on Nuan Nuan’s apple-like round face.

"Hello, Nuan Nuan. Did you have breakfast when you came?" Zhu Yanyi asked.

"No. When I went to get her, she had just woken up, so I brought her straight here. Their school cafeteria food tastes bad," Zhu Zhibin said with a look of disgust.

Xie Xinlian came out just in time to hear this. "You really are a child. Hurry up. I’ll serve you some red date, lotus seed, and silver ear fungus porridge. Eat something. You can’t skip breakfast in the future; it’s bad for your health."

Nuan Nuan nodded seriously. "I remember, Auntie. I won’t skip breakfast."

"You’re good. I basically knew you wouldn’t skip it. It’s definitely Dou Miao’s fault," Xie Xinlian said. She had forgotten her son now that she had a daughter-in-law, and she belittled her son greatly.

Zhu Zhibin felt truly wronged. He could only look at Xie Xinlian and say, "Mom, don’t you think it’s immoral to belittle your own son like this?"

"Then you should do something moral," Xie Xinlian retorted directly.

Zhu Zhibin was speechless. He didn’t dare to argue with his mother. Not only were Zhu Yanyi, Zhu Yanli, and Taishu Yuanxiang here, but if Zhu Shunyao came back and found out he had argued with Xie Xinlian, he would be in trouble.

Zhu Yanyi waved to Nuan Nuan. "Nuan Nuan, come. Help Second Sister take care of Little Monkey and the others."

Nuan Nuan came over and sat on the carpet. Little Monkey, Little Cicada, and Little Northwest didn’t know what to say. Although the sounds they made occasionally were interesting, adults couldn’t always understand them.

"So cute." Nuan Nuan looked envious. "I have a little niece, but my sister-in-law doesn’t let me get close to her."

"Why?" Zhu Yanyi looked at Nuan Nuan curiously. "Nuan Nuan, you’re so cute. You must get along well with children."

"Yes. I originally wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. But my sister-in-law said I’m still a child myself, so I can’t take care of kids. Plus, Zhibin said if I took care of children, I’d probably just end up being taken care of by them. So he said I should be a primary school teacher instead, not a kindergarten teacher. But I don’t mind. It’s all teaching, and primary school students are cute too." There was no sign of resistance on Nuan Nuan’s round face.

Zhu Yanyi glared at Zhu Zhibin. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she always felt that these geniuses had a tendency toward male chauvinism.

Zhu Zhibin chuckled nervously, pretending not to notice. He said, "Sis, Jiacheng and the others are arriving in the capital tonight. Do you want to arrange someone to pick them up?"

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "I’ll have Brother Luo drive to pick them up. Don’t worry about it." Zhu Yanyi looked at Zhu Zhibin. "By the way, you’re getting engaged next New Year’s Day. Do you have any ideas?"

"No. Engaged is engaged. What ideas could there be?" Zhu Zhibin looked at Zhu Yanyi, confused.

"I mean, have you made preparations? Engagement is important," Zhu Yanyi said seriously. "In our family, engagement means marriage. When you reach the right age, you’ll just register. Don’t bully the other party and then deny it later."

"Sis, am I that kind of person?" Zhu Zhibin smiled. "You should say that to Jiacheng. Jiacheng has had several girlfriends in Hong Kong."

"Several?" Zhu Yanyi frowned slightly, looking at Zhu Zhibin with disapproval.

Zhu Zhibin nodded. "Jiacheng’s status is what it is. Plus, he was sick when he was young, and you cured him. So Grandpa Shangguan feels particularly sorry for him. As long as it’s not a big deal, he lets him do as he pleases. Jiacheng actually knows his limits. When he dates a girlfriend, he’s sincere. But after a while, if he feels no spark, he breaks up. He pays a generous compensation fee, then starts the next relationship."

"Love has an expiration date," Zhu Yanyi said speechlessly. "Tell me, what have you all been learning while I’ve been away these years?"