Su City was so small that it only took about an hour and a half to drive from the airport in the neighboring provincial capital.
Chen Shuo calculated the time. It would take at least another twenty minutes from the time his mother's plane landed to when she walked out of the arrival gate. That meant there were still at least two hours before he could pick up his mother.
"I'm getting a little hungry. I only had a couple bites of dinner last night," Su Xiyan pulled on Chen Shuo's arm, "Chen Shuo, I want to try some breakfast from your hometown."
Chen Shuo: "..."
"Our hometown? You make it sound like my home is ten thousand miles away from Nanli University. The breakfast you can eat here is the same as what we eat at home, isn't it?"
Su Xiyan looked at Chen Shuo with puppy eyes, "But I want to try it!"
"Take me to eat the breakfast you often had when you were little, okay? I want to learn more about your childhood."
Chen Shuo looked around, "Miss Su, there's no one here. You don't have to pretend to be a sweet and well-behaved lady."
As soon as Chen Shuo said this, Su Xiyan immediately let go of his arm and resumed her aloof demeanor, "Chen Shuo, I'm hungry. Go buy me breakfast."
"Make it light."
Chen Shuo breathed a sigh of relief, "That's more like the original you. Don't put on an act anymore, it's making me cringe."
Su Xiyan's beautiful eyes glanced at Chen Shuo, "Chen Shuo, don't be ungrateful. I'm doing this for your sake. What will others think if they know you have an ill-tempered and cold-hearted girlfriend?"
"I don't really care. No one knows me here anyway."
Chen Shuo saw right through Su Xiyan, "I think someone wants to gain the approval of my hometown, right?"
He had hit Su Xiyan's sore spot, but she still had to maintain her pride.
"Don't be so full of yourself, Chen Shuo! It's not what you think!"
"I'm hungry. Go buy breakfast."
Chen Shuo looked ahead and said, "Alright, I'll go buy some."
"Follow this road straight ahead past the residential area, take a right turn, and that's my elementary school when I was little. I heard that school is going to be demolished soon. If we don't go take a look now, we may never see it again."
Speaking of this, Chen Shuo felt a little nostalgic about the past.
On his way to buy breakfast, Chen Shuo suddenly sensed someone following behind him.
It turned out Su Xiyan had caught up.
In fact, Su Xiyan also wanted to see what Chen Shuo's school was like when he was little.
If only they had met earlier, she could have been part of Chen Shuo's childhood.
Unfortunately, their encounter came too late, and she had missed out on too much.
Su Xiyan didn't say it outright. Her pride wouldn't allow her to reveal all her thoughts to Chen Shuo.
After buying breakfast, Chen Shuo didn't stand on ceremony. He started eating while walking.
Su Xiyan had to remind Chen Shuo every now and then to wipe the oil from the corners of his mouth.
"Chen Shuo, this is the kind of breakfast you ate when you were little?" Su Xiyan looked at the oily cake she was holding with disgust.
Chen Shuo wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth, "Yeah! I loved eating these when I was little."
"I'm going to make a 'delicious' emoji for you on the computer when we get back home."
Su Xiyan: "Stinky Chen Shuo, you don't understand."
Of course he didn't understand her subtle thoughts and feelings. What sinister motives could Su Xiyan have? She only felt that she had come too late and wanted to be part of Chen Shuo's life earlier!
Su Xiyan's pouting made her look naturally cute. This wasn't an act she had put on to fool the neighbors.
Her pink lips against her fair complexion looked even more charming.
"Eat slower. No one is going to grab it from you."
Chen Shuo took out a tissue and gently wiped the oil cake crumbs from the corners of Su Xiyan's mouth.
He was a little careless and smudged her lipstick, leaving a red lipstick stain spreading across her cheek, looking rather silly.
Chen Shuo couldn't help laughing out loud.
Su Xiyan: "Chen Shuo, what are you laughing at?"
Chen Shuo: "Haha! I'm not telling you!!"
Just then, a neighbor who was out buying groceries walked by and saw Chen Shuo and Su Xiyan laughing and fooling around.
"Hey, isn't this the Chen family's boy? What a beautiful girlfriend!"
Chen Shuo was tired of hearing such flattering remarks. His expression was merely polite.
After some small talk, he sent the neighbor on their way.
After the neighbor left, they shook their head and mumbled to themselves, "Time flies so fast! The little brat has grown into a handsome young man! And he even has a girlfriend now!"
The neighbor immediately took out their old-fashioned cell phone and called their grandson, "Xiaojun, do you still remember your neighbor Chen Shuo? You should learn from him... Not only did he get into Nanli University, he brought his girlfriend home right after starting school..."
The rest of the words were no longer clear.
Chen Shuo never imagined that bringing Su Xiyan home would make him a "model child" in the eyes of the neighbors.
Being the so-called "someone else's child" actually didn't feel so bad.
Everyone has some vanity after all! Chen Shuo looked at Su Xiyan beside him, even her aloofness seemed more agreeable now.
After finishing the two oily cakes, Chen Shuo and Su Xiyan arrived back at the parked car.
Checking the time on his phone, it was just the right time to drive to the airport to pick up Mother Chen.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Su Xiyan noticed that Chen Shuo had smudged her lipstick.
"Chen Shuo! You have to make up for this."
Chen Shuo nodded, "Okay, just tell me what brand and shade you want. I, Chen Shuo, may not be as rich as you, but I can still afford to buy lipstick for my girlfriend."
Su Xiyan: "You have to buy expensive lipstick, the more expensive the safer."
Chen Shuo chuckled, "Then let's buy a cheap one! Ideally something toxic that you can wear every day and develop a chronic reaction until you suddenly drop dead from poisoning one day."
"I wonder how many episodes I could last in a detective anime with a clever brain like mine?"
A hint of a smile flashed across Su Xiyan's lips, "Chen Shuo, I don't know how many episodes you could last in a detective anime."
"But I do know, this little trick of yours won't even get you through one episode with me."
Chen Shuo looked back in confusion, "Why not?"
Su Xiyan leaned forward slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a fox-like smile, "Because the lipstick I wear is meant to be eaten by you!"