Chapter 93: Changing Life ③
Nie Qiu was lost in thought when a knock sounded at the door. Nie Aifang was cooking dinner in the kitchen and couldn’t leave because she had to keep stirring the food to prevent it from sticking. So, Nie Aifang called out, “Qiu Qiu, go open the door quickly and see who it is.”
“Okay,” Nie Qiu snapped back to attention, replied to Nie Aifang, then stood up and walked to the doorway, opening the door. The moment she saw Nie Aiwen, Nie Qiu froze. “Uncle?” She thought that after what happened, Nie Aiwen wouldn’t come to their house again.
Nie Aiwen handed a beautifully printed shopping bag with ballerina on it to Nie Qiu. “Qiu Qiu, happy birthday.”
Birthday? Nie Qiu was a little lost. To be honest, she didn’t even know when her birthday was. But if it were her birthday today, even if she didn’t remember, Nie Aifang should have.
Seeing Nie Qiu’s confused expression, Nie Aiwen smiled indulgently and ruffled Nie Qiu’s hair. “Your birthday is on the seventeenth of the eighth lunar month, which means your birthday is in a few days. But Uncle has to go out of the province on your birthday, so I have a little time today and came to celebrate your birthday in advance. How about it? Do you like the gift Uncle bought for you?”
“Nie Qiu, happy birthday.” A girl panted as she climbed the stairs. Seeing Nie Qiu, she smiled, waved the cake in her hand, and looked at Nie Qiu with a smile.
Nie Qiu looked at Li Mingxue, who was smiling brightly, with some surprise. Then she looked at Nie Aiwen and smiled, opening the door wider. “You two come in!”
Nie Aiwen and Li Mingxue both nodded and walked into the room.
Nie Aifang was dishing up the food in the kitchen. While tasting it, she asked, “Qiu Qiu, is it the electricity and water bill collector? I put the money in the cabinet in my room. You can get it from there.”
Nie Qiu glanced at Nie Aiwen and said with a smile, “Mom, no, it’s Uncle. He’s here to celebrate my birthday.”
There was a moment of silence in the kitchen. Nie Aifang put down the pot and spatula she was holding and walked out of the kitchen. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Li Mingxue standing next to Nie Aiwen. Nie Aifang was stunned. “Who is this?”
“Sister, I’m sorry about what happened last time.” Nie Aiwen put his arm around Li Mingxue’s waist and sincerely apologized to Nie Aifang. “Chen Yan and I got divorced last month. Sister, this is my girlfriend. Will you… bless us?”
Nie Aifang stood there stunned, her lips trembled a few times, and then she suddenly smiled. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? What would you like to eat? I’ll cook for you.”
Li Mingxue was about 1.7 meters tall and not bad-looking. Most importantly, she had the temperament and confidence of an educated person. Nie Aiwen and Li Mingxue looked perfect together. Standing side by side, they were truly a match made in heaven, radiating brilliance.
“Hello, Sister. My name is Li Mingxue. We’ve met before, do you remember? That time at the night market.” Li Mingxue extended her hand and smiled at Nie Aifang.
Nie Aifang was taken aback. She wiped her hands on her apron. Having just finished stir-frying, Nie Aifang still felt a greasy sensation even after wiping on her apron. Nie Aifang felt too embarrassed to shake Li Mingxue’s hand and just smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, I was just stir-frying. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Please stay for dinner before you go!”
Li Mingxue withdrew her hand and smiled, handing over the cake. “Then I’ll trouble you, Sister.”
“No trouble at all.” Nie Aifang took the cake and then said to Nie Qiu with a smile, “Help Mom entertain them. I’ll go stir-fry a couple more dishes.” Since they hadn’t set up their stall yet, there were still quite a few vegetables at home, so there was no need to go out and buy any. They could just pick a few and stir-fry them.
Nie Qiu smiled and stood to the side, replying, “Okay.”
Nie Aifang looked at Nie Aiwen and Li Mingxue again and said with a smile, “Please sit down. It will be ready to eat in a moment.”
Nie Aiwen smiled and said to Li Mingxue, “Mingxue, go help my sister.”
Li Mingxue smiled and said, “Okay.”
Nie Aifang didn’t refuse and went into the kitchen with Li Mingxue. Nie Qiu placed the gift Nie Aiwen bought for her on the sofa. “Uncle, please sit.”
Nie Aiwen didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down. He looked at the notebook and workbook on the table and asked with a smile, “Are you doing homework?”
“Mm.” Nie Qiu sat down and picked up her pen. “Uncle, how did you and Li Mingxue meet?” Logically speaking, Li Mingxue was a university student, so how could she know Nie Aiwen?
“Mingxue is doing her internship in her fourth year. She’s interning at our company,” Nie Aiwen said, looking down.
Nie Qiu lowered her head and didn’t ask further. Nie Aiwen called Nie Aifang “sister,” which meant Nie Aiwen was younger than Nie Aifang. Although Nie Aifang looked older, she was only thirty-eight. Judging by Nie Aiwen’s appearance, he should be around thirty-four or thirty-five. But Li Mingxue was only twenty-one or twenty-two. Yet, they looked very well-matched when standing together.
To be honest, Nie Qiu didn’t really care about age, otherwise, she wouldn’t be with Yang Zihao. She felt that as long as the relationship was right and the feeling was right, then it was right. Li Mingxue also fit her imagination. When she saw Chen Yan, she had imagined what kind of girl Nie Aiwen would end up with. She never expected Nie Aiwen to actually find such a girlfriend with such temperament, even if… this girlfriend was much younger than him.
Nie Qiu didn’t ask any more questions, and Nie Aiwen didn’t say anything further. He just quietly watched Nie Qiu do her homework, then took a book from Nie Qiu’s schoolbag to read.
Before long, fragrant dishes were brought out one by one by Nie Aifang and Li Mingxue. Although everyone had their own thoughts, it didn’t affect anything. They sat down and picked up their chopsticks to eat…
Although Li Mingxue was a guest, she didn’t seem the least bit reserved. Her demeanor was generous, her words were reasoned, and she could even chat and laugh with the slightly reserved Nie Aifang, occasionally telling a few dry jokes that made the atmosphere very harmonious.
After the meal, Nie Aiwen took Li Mingxue and bid farewell. Nie Aifang cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, and Nie Qiu walked Nie Aiwen and Li Mingxue out of the residential area.
“Alright, go back! You haven’t finished your homework yet!” Nie Aiwen waved at Nie Qiu with a smile, urging her to go back quickly.
Nie Qiu nodded. “Then I’ll be going back. Uncle, remember to visit often.” She turned and walked back.
Seeing Nie Qiu out of sight, Nie Aiwen looked at Li Mingxue and asked impatiently, “How was it? Did my sister look heartbroken? Was she very sad?”
Li Mingxue shook her head. “No! She even told me to take good care of you! She also told me that you don’t like ginger and garlic, you like beef and fish, and you hate pork intestines… For vegetables, you like eggplant, water spinach, and green beans… Boss, you and your sister…”
So… so she knew I hated pork intestines… Nie Aiwen suddenly started laughing. “Didn’t I tell you? She’s not my biological sister…”
Nie Aiwen smiled. “Mingxue, why don’t you intern at your own family’s company?”
Li Mingxue also smiled. “I don’t want to be dependent on my family. Is that reason acceptable?”
Saying that, Li Mingxue got into a car parked by the roadside and stuck her head out of the car window with a smile. “Let’s go, Boss, drive.”
