Chapter 92: Is Trouble Brewing?

The impatience on the boys’ faces vanished the moment they turned around.

—No, that’s not it.

—Auntie said she’s the winner.

What does that mean? Erdan stared wide-eyed at Dadan, shocked. Could it be—

No! He refused to believe that guess!

Dadan felt like he’d swallowed a stone, remembering what Su Qinghu had said earlier: “Whoever’s number one, I’ll round up their savings account.”

—Whoever’s number one, I’ll round up their account.

So… who’s rounding up for whom?

Seeing the boys practically bristle with anxiety, Su Qinghu finally smiled and said, “Alright, you don’t have to round it up for me. You two can pick between washing dishes or cleaning. Decide together, and starting tomorrow, each of you does your job for thirty days.”

Dadan, true to his word, accepted his loss.

Erdan protested, “But you didn’t explain it clearly before!”

Thirty days of cleaning wasn’t a big deal, but it felt unfair.

“You didn’t notice, and you didn’t ask,” Su Qinghu said, blinking innocently. “You two are always listening to people chat in the alley and the park. Haven’t you ever heard of ‘all’s fair in war’?”

Erdan: “…”

“This isn’t war, it’s word games,” Erdan pouted. “You’re an adult, we’re just kids who don’t know much. You’re just taking advantage of us!”

Su Qinghu raised an eyebrow, giving off a “what are you gonna do about it?” vibe that made Erdan want to stomp his feet.

“Are you helping Dad get even?” Erdan suddenly had a flash of insight, remembering the conversation after they’d caught the thief, and looked at Su Qinghu like he’d uncovered a secret. “You are, aren’t you?”

Su Qinghu instantly understood what Erdan meant, but said, “You’re overthinking it.”

Erdan gave her a knowing, magnanimous look, as if to say, “Don’t bother denying it, I know everything,” and flashed her a mysterious smile.

That smile made Su Qinghu uneasy, like something bad was about to happen.

“Erdan, you know I have a bad temper, right?” Su Qinghu narrowed her eyes, giving him a little warning.

Erdan replied, “You have the best temper of anyone I know.” She never hit or scolded them, gave them pocket money, even took them out to earn money, and whatever they earned was theirs.

What he liked most was that she included them in everything, always letting them try new things together.

It was great!

Su Qinghu could see Erdan’s sincerity, and her heart softened. She talked herself out of her worries.

Forget it, let them stir up trouble. As long as it wasn’t anything serious, she could handle it. Depending on how much mischief they made, she’d decide whether to set a trap for them in return.

With that settled, Su Qinghu took the three kids to find Grandma Meng. With the kids cheering her on and Su Qinghu’s careful explanations and demonstrations, Grandma Meng finally managed to float and swim a couple of meters.

“Swimming isn’t that hard after all,” Grandma Meng said, as if a whole new world had opened up to her, full of enthusiasm.

“Come on,” Su Qinghu called, summoning the three little ones. “Swim across with Grandma.”

At her command, the kids cheered and chattered around Grandma Meng. Once she’d swum a few meters, they chased after her, laughing.

Su Qinghu glanced at Chen Yan. “Aren’t you coming?”

Chen Yan shot her a look but didn’t answer—she never even used a polite title!

“Alright, I’m off then~~~” Su Qinghu said, and shot off like an arrow, quickly catching up to Grandma Meng and the kids.

“Mom, just focus on swimming. Don’t worry about the kids, I’m right behind you,” Su Qinghu called out as she trailed behind.

Since Su Qinghu had taught Grandma Meng to swim, there was nothing to worry about. Hearing this, Grandma Meng focused on comparing her movements to her daughter-in-law’s, slowly improving her technique.

Meanwhile, Qian Duoshu stopped swimming forward, turned around, and swam over to Su Qinghu. “Auntie, I’m tired.”

Su Qinghu stopped and scooped him up, massaging his arms and legs to relax his muscles.

She was so practiced at this that she had Qian Duoshu sprawled out like a kitten, limp and content, almost purring.

Chen Yan, seeing her son swim over to Su Qinghu, hurried over and gently took him back, soothing him softly.

Su Qinghu just smiled and waved Erdan over. “Come here, I’ll give you a massage too.”

Erdan was delighted, swimming over and throwing his arms around Su Qinghu’s neck.

Su Qinghu nearly lost her balance. “…That’s a bit much.”

One was nearly four, the other almost seven. Both were little kids, but their weights were definitely different.

After finishing with Erdan, she set him on the edge of the pool and gave the sulking Dadan a massage too.

When she was done, Su Qinghu sat with them by the pool, watching Grandma Meng swim more and more confidently.

Chen Yan stood in the pool with her son, waiting for Grandma Meng to finish.

Qian Duoshu patted Chen Yan’s shoulder. “Mom, can I open a savings account on Tuesday morning too? I have a lot of money.”

Su Qinghu and the two boys turned to look at little Qian Duoshu in unison.

So young, and already has a lot of money~~~

You couldn’t blame them for staring—this kid was smart and had a clear sense of numbers. If he said he had a lot, he really did.

Chen Yan said, “Then I’ll have your grandparents take you on Monday.”

“I want to go on Tuesday,” Qian Duoshu pointed at Su Qinghu’s family sitting together. “I want to go with Auntie.”

Chen Yan felt a pang in her heart.

“Is that okay, Mom?” Qian Duoshu persisted. “Auntie is smart, she won’t lose my money.”

Su Qinghu waved him over. “That’s right, not only will I not lose it, I’ll round it up for you.”

As soon as she said it, she felt two daggers in her back. She turned to see Dadan and Erdan’s sour faces and laughed. “Of course, I’ll round up yours too.”

Dadan turned away, refusing to look at her—they were just an afterthought.

Erdan said, “You never know, what if you lose the kid’s money? Wouldn’t you have to pay him back?”

“No need,” Qian Duoshu said. “Even if she loses it, she doesn’t have to pay me back.”

Just as Erdan was about to pout, Qian Duoshu flashed a toothy grin. “I’ll just stay at your house and eat until I’ve made up the money, then go home.”

Erdan protested, “No way!”

Chen Yan felt another pang—her precious son actually wanted to move out…

“Second Brother, you can spend my money,” Qian Duoshu said, eyes crinkling with joy. “Dadan and Auntie too.”

He was just a little angel, shining bright!"