Shi Xin Xin had always disliked owing favors. Although a few bowls of noodles didn't cost much, the favor still needed to be repaid.
Sheng Chen Jin also knew her personality, so he didn't refuse and readily agreed.
This also provided more time for them to interact.
They weren't far from home. Shi Xin Xin looked around, then turned to Sheng Chen Jin, "Do you need to call a car or anything?"
"No need," Sheng Chen Jin lifted his chin. "Bai Feng is already on his way. Shall I give you a ride?"
"No, we'll be home in a few steps." Shi Xin Xin pulled the three little ones and turned, waving goodbye behind her, "See you if fate allows."
Sheng Chen Jin smiled faintly and said softly, "See you if fate allows."
Shi Xin Xin and the three little ones returned home to find the living room dark, with no signs of anyone being present.
"What's going on? Where did Yan Hao and Feng Yu go?" Shi Xin Xin changed her shoes, turned on the light, and looked around. Indeed, things in the apartment seemed to be missing.
Xiao Yu hopped onto the sofa. Xiao Qian said with a serious face, "I forgot to mention, Uncle Yan is having surgery in a neighboring city, and Uncle Feng bought a house in another area and moved in yesterday."
Shi Xin Xin wasn't surprised by this.
She grabbed a pillow and hugged it, then suddenly remembered something. She looked at Xiao Qian, "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Xiao Qian casually averted his gaze.
If they had told Mommy earlier, wouldn't that have interrupted Mommy and Daddy's date!
They had finally managed to ease the relationship between Mommy and Daddy, so they couldn't let Mommy's attention be drawn away by other matters.
Seeing that she couldn't get any information from the three little ones, Shi Xin Xin didn't press further.
She took out her phone to contact Feng Yu and find out where his new house was, so it would be easier to contact him if needed in the future.
Feng Yu had saved up some money and bought a house in a newly developed area. It was over a hundred square meters, and the feng shui was good.
Shi Xin Xin told him to feel free to tell her if he needed anything or was short of anything.
Feng Yu replied with a fist-and-palm salute emoji.
Shi Xin Xin didn't dwell on it further. After all, he was an adult, and having his own independent space was good.
While she was chatting, the three little ones had already followed their usual routine, washed up, and gone to bed.
Before sleeping, they didn't forget to say goodnight to their mother in the living room.
Shi Xin Xin waved her hand, acknowledging the ungrateful little ones.
She glanced at the time; it was ten o'clock, already quite late.
So, after washing up, she went to bed.
She slept soundly through the night. As the sun gradually climbed over the edge of the high mountains, Shi Xin Xin woke up according to her natural biological clock.
As soon as she opened her eyes and her thoughts cleared, she heard quite a commotion from the living room.
What were those three up to so early in the morning?
Frowning, Shi Xin Xin got dressed and walked out of her room into the living room. She saw a collection of kitchenware, large and small, spread across the floor.
Kitchenware?
Shi Xin Xin doubted her own eyes.
Even with their exceptional intelligence, these three kids didn't have the skills to be cooking at the stove right now.
Shi Xin Xin immediately hurried to the kitchen with an imposing aura.
"You three incorrigible children, why couldn't you do something else? Why insist on courting disaster by cooking..."
Upon seeing the scene in the kitchen, Shi Xin Xin immediately stopped herself from speaking.
She tentatively looked at the person busy at the stove, "Uh... sir?"
Hearing her voice, the person busy at the stove stopped and turned around. "Oh, hello, hello! I'm the chef specifically here to make tomato and egg noodles for you."
Shi Xin Xin stood there stunned for a while before she could process this fact.
She went back to get her phone from the bedside table, then walked towards the kitchen, "But I didn't book a chef."
The chef smiled, "A gentleman from your household booked me, specifically asking me to make tomato and egg noodles for all three meals today."
Hearing the words "three meals," Shi Xin Xin's disheveled thoughts from just waking up instantly cleared.
She recalled what she had said at the noodle shop last night, then looked at her phone with a look of disbelief.
Could it be that some deity had heard her wish from last night, and thus specifically hired this chef to make noodles for her three meals?
This idea probably only worked in fairy tales. Shi Xin Xin quickly changed her line of thought.
She also thought about the gentleman the chef mentioned.
The figure of that person suddenly appeared in Shi Xin Xin's mind. She nodded to the chef, then pulled the three little ones, who were watching with interest, out of the kitchen.
"You three, be honest. When did this chef arrive, and who hired him?"
Xiao Qian shook his head. "I heard the doorbell and confirmed the chef's identity before letting him in."
Xiao Jie had heard the conversation between the chef and his mother clearly. A thought struck him, "Could it be that Daddy hired this chef to cook for us?"
This explanation perfectly matched what Shi Xin Xin had been thinking.
She held her forehead, fiddling with her phone as she walked to the side and dialed Sheng Chen Jin's number.
He answered quickly, his deep, cello-like magnetic voice coming through, "Xin Xin? What's the matter so early in the morning?"
Shi Xin Xin glanced at the green plants on the balcony. "The chef making noodles at my place, did you hire him?"
Sheng Chen Jin chuckled. "Yes, how did you guess it was me?"
Shi Xin Xin's emotions became somewhat hard to describe.
She had intended to repay the favor of the meal at the noodle shop soon, but with Sheng Chen Jin's sudden move, she now owed him even more favors.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I have hands and feet. I don't need a chef."
The reason that noodle shop never offered delivery was because their cooking techniques were a long-held secret of the shop and couldn't be revealed elsewhere.
But this master craftsman was busy in the kitchen, and the recipe for their signature noodles was being revealed entirely. It must have cost quite a sum.
Sheng Chen Jin laughed. "You don't need to be so formal. Just think of it as me having too much money and nowhere to spend it, wanting to fulfill the wishes of those three children."
His words were so reasonable that Shi Xin Xin truly couldn't find a perfect rebuttal.
She could only grit her teeth and bear it silently.
"Alright, when I have time, I will definitely repay your kindness properly," Shi Xin Xin said with an unpleasant tone.
Sheng Chen Jin could naturally tell what she meant, and the smile on his lips grew wider. "Okay, then I'll be waiting for you."
The call ended. A waft of fragrance drifted from the kitchen. The master craftsman came out carrying five bowls of noodles.
The three little ones quickly stepped forward to help hold them.
Shi Xin Xin returned and nodded to the master craftsman. "Thank you for your trouble. May I ask how much your wages are? I'll settle it all at once."
The master craftsman quickly waved his hands. "No need. The gentleman from your household has already paid me for three days' wages. For these three days, I'll be making various types of noodles for you."
Shi Xin Xin couldn't help but twitch her lips helplessly.