The car quickly arrived at the Su Family Old House, and then stopped at the entrance.
Mu Jinyu and the others got out of the car and walked into the deeply rooted courtyard.
He had been to this courtyard twice before, but today, he was really going to move in.
Su Zijin gestured for everyone to follow her and then arranged a room for each of them.
As for whom Mu Jinyu would sleep with tonight, that was no longer Su Zijin's concern.
Mu Jinyu walked into the courtyard, glanced at the desolate phoenix trees, and felt the chill of autumn.
He tightened his clothes and then went inside to take a quick shower in the washroom before resting.
These past few days he had been on the road nonstop, without a good rest, and today, he was busy all day with the Old Dragon King's aftermath; even an iron man would feel overwhelmed, let alone his flesh and blood.
It was the same for Su Zijin and the others, who had been busy with the Old Dragon King's aftermath for the past few days without much rest. They returned to their rooms and soon felt tiredness creeping up, so after a simple wash, they went to rest.
The night passed without words.
The next day.
Mu Jinyu got up and then went to the dining hall.
Su Zijin had woken up around four in the morning today and got up early to prepare a table full of breakfast for Mu Jinyu and the others.
"Awake? Go have breakfast."
Wearing an apron and smiling at Mu Jinyu, Su Zijin looked like a housewife, her face dusted with some flour.
"Hmm," Mu Jinyu responded.
Not knowing what to say to Su Zijin, he lapsed back into silence.
Then, he sat on the chair, eyeing the variety of breakfast dishes on the table, including those from Fujian Province, Jiangnan Province, and the local specialties from the Capital.
Upon seeing the breakfast, Mu Jinyu knew what Su Zijin was thinking. They used to live in Rongcheng in Fujian Province, and then he ended up in River City. Not knowing whether he missed his mother's homemade breakfast or if he would be accustomed to it, she made breakfast from Jiangnan Province...
Finally, she prepared dishes from both places, and simply added some specialties from the Capital, since those were what she was best at now.
Mu Jinyu stared blankly at the breakfast on the table for a while, then slowly reached out to pick up a piece of oyster pancake, brought it to his lips, and bit off a small piece.
"Crunch!"
The oyster pancake, fresh from the frying pan, was quite crispy.
Mu Jinyu indeed hadn't had a breakfast from Fujian Province for a long time, and it was perhaps an intentional avoidance.
This oyster pancake was the first he had eaten since leaving Rongcheng thirteen years ago.
With the long-lost taste came an indescribable feeling welling up inside him. Mu Jinyu bowed his head, avoiding Su Zijin's probing gaze, and quietly continued to eat.
Standing by, Su Zijin watched Mu Jinyu eat the breakfast she had made with her own hands, feeling a long-lost sense of happiness surging in her chest. She gently patted her chest, feeling her early rise had not been in vain.
One day, she would be able to make Mu Jinyu call her "Mom".
"Does it taste good?" Su Zijin couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm," Mu Jinyu mumbled, his head down as he continued eating the breakfast, making an affirming sound.
"Then, would you like Mommy to make it for you every day?" Su Zijin asked tentatively, her voice cautious.
Had it been some time ago, she wouldn't dare call herself "Mommy" for fear of upsetting Mu Jinyu.
But now, seeing that he was less resistant to her, she started wanting to make her presence felt more.
Upon hearing Su Zijin's words, Mu Jinyu paused in his eating, and after a while, when Su Zijin was bracing for rejection and disappointment, he finally responded, "Hmm."
"Oh yeah!" Su Zijin upon hearing Mu Jinyu's grunt, clenched her tiny fists and cheered inwardly.
Soon, Mu Jinyu finished breakfast, and Gu Xiyan along with the other girls got up, yawning as they walked into the dining room.
When they saw Su Zijin there, as well as the table fully laden with breakfast, they quickly covered their mouths to maintain the image of a ladylike and good daughter-in-law in Su Zijin's heart.
"You're all up, come and eat," Su Zijin called out to them.
"Mom, did you make this early in the morning?" Gu Xiyan, seeing Mu Jinyu wiping her mouth, seemed to realize something and asked.
"Yes, I was afraid you wouldn't be accustomed to breakfast made by the household chefs. Since I had nothing better to do, I got up early and made some."
Su Zijin replied with a graceful smile.
This whole table is just 'some'?
Gu Xiyan felt disheartened when she heard Su Zijin's words!
If it were her, it would take at least a whole day, and even then, she might not be able to handle it.
"Mom, you don't need to go through all this trouble for us. We don't have any dietary restrictions," Wen Rou spoke up to advise: "You don't have to do this next time."
Mu Jinyu sat aside, listening to their conversation, and couldn't help but curl her lips.
This "Mom" rolls off the tongue quite smoothly, even more so than when I say it.
Mu Jinyu remembered that not so long ago, when Gu Xiyan and the others encountered Su Zijin, they didn't even dare to call her 'Aunt', let alone any other title. Only when absolutely necessary would they reluctantly call her 'Auntie.'
Now they were calling her "Mom" outright.
Sigh...
Mu Jinyu sighed lightly in her heart, then stood up and said, "You eat. I'm going out for a walk."
"Hey, Jinyu, what do you want to eat for lunch?" Su Zijin, upon seeing this, stopped talking to Gu Xiyan and the others and hurriedly asked from behind.
"Anything."
Mu Jinyu responded and left the dining room, then went back to her room to change clothes before leaving the courtyard, heading towards the address given to her by Xiang Mantang.
After walking some distance from the Su Family Courtyard,
she came face to face with a crowd walking towards her.
Leading the group were four individuals, three of whom looked rather strange, with bandages wrapped all over their bodies and around their faces as if they had something to hide.
Mu Jinyu looked at them curiously for a moment, then withdrew her gaze and continued walking indifferently.
After this group brushed past him, Young Master Zhou suddenly spoke up, "Hey, wait, wasn't that guy who just brushed past us the Mad Dog who beat us up yesterday?!"
They had difficulty remembering Mu Jinyu's face.
After all, Mu Jinyu had approached them head-on yesterday, then started hitting them without saying a word, so how could they remember what he looked like?
They only had a vague impression.
So today, seeing that Su Zijin's funeral affairs were nearly settled, they followed Young Master Wang and prepared to ask Su Zijin about the Mad Dog who had beaten them up. If Su Zijin had no recollection, they planned to request the surveillance footage of the day to carefully review it.
In yesterday's circumstances, even if they were the Great Young Masters of the Capital, obtaining surveillance footage wasn't something they could just get on a whim.
Upon hearing Young Master Zhou's words, Young Master Li and Young Master Wang also stopped, reflected for a moment, and said, "Yeah, it looks like it was him!"
"Is it really him?" Young Master Wang then, seeing their uncertainty, hesitated to confirm.
"It should be, let's not worry about it, catch him first!"
Young Master Zhou hurriedly said to Young Master Wang, afraid that Mu Jinyu might get away, then quickly turned around and shouted to Mu Jinyu, "Stop right there!"