Chapter 53: Let Me Round Down the Total for You

Su Qinghu lifted her chin and shot him a look that said, “Kid, you’ve got potential.”

Er Dan instantly broke into a wide grin, a little shy but clearly pleased.

After all, he’d meant every word he said~~~

The two bystanders watched as Su Qinghu and Er Dan exchanged flattery with just their eyes, not knowing what to say or do. The only thing they could do was not interrupt.

Da Dan, at this point, was already numb. He just wanted to wait until the two of them were done before asking the ultimate question.

Sensing the sudden quiet around her, Su Qinghu paused, turned to look at Da Dan first, and saw his little face frozen in a blank expression. She cleared her throat, quickly straightened up, and looked seriously at Chen Lie, who was standing opposite the three of them.

Chen Lie looked at Su Qinghu. “Er Dan is just talking nonsense, asking for the moon. What about you? What do you think?”

“Me?” Su Qinghu beamed, then turned to look at Da Dan’s wooden little face.

Da Dan felt a chill run down his back under her gaze, getting nervous despite himself, his eyes widening a bit.

What is she up to now?!

Su Qinghu withdrew her gaze and looked back at the unflappable Chen Lie, blinking. “I want to give it.”

Da Dan: “!!!”

I knew it! I knew it! She has no intention of changing her mind! She still wants to give it! And she’s not even giving a discount!

Chen Lie nodded and shot her a warning look, telling her not to provoke the child any further, then continued, “How much do you want to give?”

“That amount.” Su Qinghu pointed innocently at Er Dan with her chin. “Five yuan.”

Chen Lie glanced at Da Dan’s little face, then looked helplessly at Su Qinghu. “Can you give a little less?”

“Why should I?” Su Qinghu puffed out her cheeks and shook her head. “I don’t want to give less!”

“In fact, not only do I not want to give less, I want to give Da Dan five yuan too!” Su Qinghu waved her hand, grinning like a little devil, completely ignoring Da Dan’s look of the sky falling down.

“I like both kids, so I have to treat them the same. So… they both get it.”

Her voice was sweet and cute, but to Da Dan, it sounded scarier than the Golden Snake Spirit in this year’s cartoon.

He blurted out, “I don’t want it!”

“Nope, you can’t refuse!” Su Qinghu shot him down immediately, even doing the math for him. “There are 30 days in this month, and seven days have already passed. The money I’m giving you now is for the next 23 days. Tomorrow, when I get change, I’ll make up for the seven days you missed.”

Da Dan’s expression grew more and more desperate, until he finally let out a hiccup. The shock even cured his habit of hiccuping when scared.

Chen Lie was utterly helpless. He’d told her not to tease the kids, but it was like she hadn’t heard him at all—she was teasing them to death...

“Mom, we’re family, not real brothers who need to keep accounts,” Er Dan finally managed to get a word in, waving his hand and grinning as he tried to help her round down the total. “You don’t need to make up for the seven days.”

Da Dan: “…”

At this point, Da Dan felt he didn’t even have the energy to argue with Su Qinghu anymore. He didn’t even want to scold his brother.

He could only pin his hopes on Dad, hoping Dad would stop these two troublemakers.

Chen Lie caught his eldest son’s look and sighed inwardly. Even if he could stop them now, once he went back to work, wouldn’t she still be in charge at home?

“Su Qinghu.”

Chen Lie called her name. Su Qinghu quickly turned to look at him, and before he could say anything, she preempted him, “You know I’ll just pay lip service and do what I want anyway, right?”

Chen Lie: “…”

Just as he’d thought—no matter what she promised now, once he left, things would go back to how she wanted.

“Be serious,” Chen Lie said, face stern. “Tell us why you agreed. What’s your reason?”

At the very least, give the kids a reasonable explanation, so the devastated child can… maybe smile again?

Su Qinghu: “I don’t want to say.”

Chen Lie frowned and stepped forward, about to press her to be serious, when Su Qinghu also took a step toward him, grabbed a belt loop on his pants, and gave it a little tug. “If you really want to know, I’ll tell you later~~~”

Chen Lie resisted the urge to pull away, looked down at the hand on his belt loop, then up to meet Su Qinghu’s beautiful eyes. For a moment, he was speechless.

Su Qinghu tilted her head up, lowered her voice, and met Chen Lie’s deep gaze, blinking. “Not now.”

With that, Su Qinghu mentally stamped a “Read and Approved” label on Chen Lie, turned around, and pulled out two crisp five-yuan bills.

Knowing Da Dan needed time to recover from the shock, Su Qinghu handed one bill to Er Dan first, just like giving out New Year’s money, smiling as she did. Then she offered the other to Da Dan.

Da Dan didn’t reach out, just glared at Su Qinghu in silent reproach.

Su Qinghu sighed. Just as Da Dan thought she might change her mind and take the bill back, Su Qinghu cupped his head and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

It happened so fast that Da Dan was completely stunned, mouth open as he stared at Su Qinghu, eyes full of disbelief.

Did that… did that just happen?

His brain froze. Before he could process being kissed, Su Qinghu stuffed the bill into his hand. Looking down, he saw it was five yuan…

“All right,” Su Qinghu clapped her hands, looking very pleased with herself. “You two can go to school now.”

Er Dan chirped, “Okay!” and dashed off toward the living room.

Five yuan! It’s really five yuan! How should I spend it? My friends are going to be so jealous! This is almost as much as those few kids everyone envies at school!

Da Dan was still in a daze, staring at the money in his hand.

Su Qinghu just watched him, smiling with squinty eyes. Kid, that was a shock, huh?

Chen Lie watched Su Qinghu grinning mischievously at the kids for a long moment, then sighed inwardly and reminded her, “Shouldn’t you get ready for work too?”

“No rush,” Su Qinghu replied without even looking up. “I’ve timed it out. I know exactly how long it takes to get there.”

Chen Lie shook his head and discreetly patted his belt loop, brushing away the lingering sensation of being tugged.

“Bro, let’s go.” Er Dan, looking comical with his backpack slung over both shoulders, grabbed Da Dan and pulled him along. “Today I’ll carry your bag all day. You don’t have to carry anything. After school, wait for me—I’ll come to your class and carry it for you. You won’t have to lift a finger all day…”

Er Dan tugged hard, dragging Da Dan out the door, chattering nonstop. As they walked out of the yard, Su Qinghu could hear Da Dan’s angry threats to beat up Er Dan drifting back.

Su Qinghu smiled at Chen Lie. “Do you want to hear my reason?”

Chen Lie nodded.

Su Qinghu said, “But it’s already 7:15. How about you come with me to work, and I’ll tell you on the way…”

Maybe she could train Chen Lie to become the kind of husband who takes the initiative to drive his wife to and from work~~~

Su Qinghu was a little tempted by the idea.

Chen Lie narrowed his eyes slightly, studying Su Qinghu’s expression. Under her gaze, he finally said, “You can tell me when you get back.”"