Jiang Wei obediently took two bowls and ran to sit opposite her mother. Her phone in her pajama pocket suddenly vibrated twice. Jiang Wei casually held the phone in her hand and quietly lit up the screen.
It was Yi Ming.
Yi Ming: "I think what your mom just said was quite right."
Jiang Wei raised her eyebrows and typed back: "Mind your words, she's my mom."
Yi Ming: "Oh ok..."
After a pause, Yi Ming replied again: "I think what your mom just said was quite right..."
Jiang Wei: "..."
Ignoring that, Jiang Wei was worried Yi Ming might be hungry, but with her mother there, he couldn't show up. So she consoled him: "My dad will come to pick up my mom soon. After everything is settled here, I'll take you for bamboo shoot and beef noodles."
Yi Ming on the other end clearly wasn't so easy to "bribe". He replied with a long string of "whiny" emoji stickers: "No, I want to eat the small millet porridge made by my mother-in-law, with boiled eggs and milk..."
While Jiang Wei and Shang Wenli were chatting in the kitchen, Yi Ming couldn't help but sneak his head out of the bedroom and through the living room's floor-to-ceiling mirror, he caught sight of the breakfast laid out on the dining table.
"There's still porridge in the pot, later..."
Jiang Wei was typing intently when she suddenly heard Shang Wenli let out a low cry: "Jiang Wei, look, what's wrong with Xiao Shi?"
Jiang Wei looked up at her words.
Xiao Shi was sitting upright in front of Yi Ming's bedroom door, sniffing the gap with her nose. Apparently just smelling wasn't enough - she suddenly propped herself up on her hind legs, and her two little paws began scratching vigorously at the door...
"Xiao Shi!"
Jiang Wei was startled and quickly stood up.
"Jiang Wei, is there a ghost in your room...?"
Shang Wenli stood up in fright and quickly hid behind her daughter, her gaze fixed on the door Xiao Shi was scratching. "Didn't you say your roommate wasn't here? There shouldn't be anyone inside, why is Xiao Shi acting like this?"
Jiang Wei knew in her heart that a certain someone was probably pulling a prank inside...
Jiang Wei patted her mother's shoulder reassuringly and laughed dryly: "Mom, don't be afraid, I'll go check."
As Jiang Wei walked towards the bedroom, she quickly sent a message to Yi Ming:
"Yi Ming, what kind of trick are you playing in the room again? Xiao Shi has started scratching at the door."
A few seconds later, Yi Ming replied: "Hungry, secretly took a vacuum-packed chicken leg from my backpack to eat... the one you asked me to pack for you when we went grocery shopping yesterday..."
Jiang Wei was stunned, she squatted down and hugged the greedy Xiao Shi.
"That's pet food, for Xiao Shi to eat..."
Jiang Wei carried Xiao Shi back, and what seemed like a faint retching sound came from the room behind her.
"What's going on, Jiang Wei?"
Shang Wenli still seemed unnerved.
"It's nothing, Mom. Usually Xiao Zhou gets up early and makes some breakfast for Xiao Shi first. Today, Xiao Zhou isn't here, so Xiao Shi must miss her..."
Jiang Wei made up an excuse.
"Oh."
Hearing her daughter's explanation, Shang Wenli finally sat back down half-believing, and drank her porridge.
"Jiang Wei..."
After a few sips, Shang Wenli suddenly looked up again.
"What is it, Mom?"
Jiang Wei had just peeled the boiled eggs and looked at her mother.
"I think... you should find a boyfriend to protect you. You told me last night that you met someone you think is suitable... Who is that person...?"
Shang Wenli's words made Jiang Wei pause.
Oh no, she was so tired last night, she couldn't remember what she might have said or done in her half-conscious state.
"I... did I say that?"
Jiang Wei blushed slightly as she looked at her mother, her breathing becoming tense.
