At nine thirty in the morning, Qin Tian arrived at Xia Nuannuan's home.
Xia Nuannuan opened the door, still holding a half-eaten steamed bun in her left hand.
"Why are you here so early? We're still having breakfast!"
"I just finished mine too. Since I had nothing else to do, I came straight over," Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Come in, come in quickly!" Xia Nuannuan urged him inside, then offered him the half-eaten bun, smiling sweetly. "Want to eat a bit more? My mom makes these buns, they're especially delicious."
Qin Tian was actually quite full, but he really couldn't refuse that smile. He took the bun and stuffed it all into his mouth, demonstrating to Xia Nuannuan how he could eat a large bun in two bites.
Xia Nuannuan was amused by his silly antics and let out a giggle. Qin Tian's cheeks puffed out, and he gave a thumbs-up, praising indistinctly, "Thin skin, thick filling, delicious!"
"Hehe..." Xia Nuannuan laughed even more heartily.
In the living room at the dining table, Xia Zhengping and his wife exchanged surprised glances as they watched the scene.
"Little Qin is becoming more and more amusing," Su Xia said, unable to suppress a smile. Xia Zhengping took a bite of his own bun and said in a low voice with a calm expression, "Immature!"
Su Xia rolled her eyes at him and called out to Qin Tian at the entrance, "Little Qin, come and eat with us!"
"Auntie, I've already eaten at home," Qin Tian replied, swallowing his food and walking over with a smile.
"It's fine, eating more breakfast is no problem. Come on, sit and eat a bit more!" Su Xia invited him with a beaming smile.
"Okay!" Qin Tian agreed with a hint of helplessness. It seemed he would have to eat breakfast twice today. Fortunately, he was young and strong, so his appetite was naturally large. The saying from the older generation, "A growing boy can eat his parents broke," held true.
"Uncle Xia, good morning!" Qin Tian greeted his future father-in-law with a smile. Xia Zhengping nodded calmly, "Sit down." Qin Tian gave a sound and sat down casually.
Xia Nuannuan went to the kitchen first, fetched a bowl of millet porridge that her mother had made, and placed it in front of him.
"Auntie, I must say, seeing this porridge makes me feel like I haven't eaten this morning," Qin Tian complimented skillfully after looking at the millet porridge in the bowl. Of course, it wasn't entirely flattery; his future mother-in-law was indeed a good cook. However, it was precisely this kind of compliment, laced with sincerity, that was most appreciated.
Su Xia was overjoyed and said, "Then eat two more bowls. There's still more in the pot, and we can't finish it without you!"
"Got it!" Qin Tian chuckled heartily, took another meat bun handed to him by Xia Nuannuan, and began to eat with gusto.
Old Xia, sitting opposite them, felt a pang of envy. What was with this sense of familiarity? It seemed so natural! Their daughter and this kid had only officially started dating recently, so why did they seem like they had been together for many years?
"Little Qin, is your mother going to the shop today as well?"
"Yes, actually, the people responsible for the renovation were all found by Zhang Peng's father. I told her she didn't need to go and supervise every day, but she's worried."
"That's just your mother's personality," Su Xia said with a gentle smile. Just two afternoons ago, the two mothers had met for lunch on their own and then spent half the day shopping. Without a doubt, they had gotten along very well and had a pleasant time.
After eating and drinking their fill, they began to pack things. Xia Nuannuan and her parents had already packed quite a bit yesterday, but after living in the place for several years, there was still a lot to move. Su Xia and Xia Nuannuan were responsible for continuing to pack and tidy, while Qin Tian and his future father-in-law would move the packed items to the car in batches.
His future father-in-law had rented a large minivan, which was parked in the underground garage. Su Xia clearly no longer treated him as an outsider; whenever something was too heavy to move or she needed help with reaching high places, she would call out "Little Qin." Upon hearing the call, Qin Tian would quickly go to assist.
With the four of them working together, the efficiency was very high. By almost noon, most of the items that needed to be moved were loaded onto the van.
"Wife, is there anything we've forgotten?" Xia Zhengping asked his wife before they prepared to leave.
"Probably not. Even if we have, we can come back for it later. It's not far anyway!" Su Xia said with a smiling expression.
"That's true," Xia Zhengping nodded. They likely wouldn't be living here anymore. However, they had no intention of selling this apartment, which they had bought to be closer to their daughter during her college entrance exams. They weren't short of money, and keeping it as a memento to visit occasionally would be nice.
"Having lived here for so long, it feels a bit reluctant to move back now," Xia Nuannuan said with emotion, looking around the surroundings. Qin Tian, holding the last cardboard box, stood beside her and said with a smile, "After you move, you'll be even closer to my home."
A sweet smile bloomed on Xia Nuannuan's face, and she nodded vigorously. After moving, the new place would be a little further from the No. 4 Middle School campus, but since it was in the same direction as Qin Tian's home, it was indeed much closer. The journey, which originally took over half an hour on foot, could be reduced to about ten minutes. In her opinion, this was something very worth celebrating.
"Indeed, it will be much more convenient for me to go shopping with Little Qin's mom later," Su Xia added with a smile. Qin Tian nodded with a light chuckle, "My mom said the same thing. I'm very happy."
"Let's go!" Su Xia said with a gentle smile.
...
...
Xia Zhengping drove, and Qin Tian was arranged to sit in the front passenger seat. Xia Nuannuan and Su Xia sat in the back, with the remaining space in the car filled with various items to be moved.
"Uncle, your driving skills are great! You drive the manual transmission so well!" Qin Tian found a topic of conversation and complimented him with a smile. Xia Zhengping grinned, saying with a touch of pride, "This is nothing. My very first car was a minivan, and it was a second-hand one, much harder to drive than this."
"Impressive!"
"Little Qin, do you like cars?"
"Yes, I do. What man doesn't like cars?" Qin Tian replied with a light smile, then added, "After I fill out my college applications, I plan to enroll in driving school and get my license during the holiday."
"That's great. The sooner you get your license, the better," Old Xia said with a smile.
"Little Qin, are you eighteen yet? Which month were you born?" Su Xia asked from the back.
"I was born in December '93, so I turned eighteen last year," Qin Tian replied, turning his head.
"Is that so!" Su Xia looked at her daughter beside her and said, "Our Nuannuan was born in October '94."
"I can't get my driver's license yet!" Xia Nuannuan said with an expression of regret. Qin Tian looked at her with a smile and said, "Then after our university military training, you'll be celebrating your eighteenth birthday right away!"
"Yes!" Xia Nuannuan smiled and nodded.