novelraw Chapter 826:
Chapter 826:
When Sheng Jiayu arrived, Xu Qingru was trimming her potted plants under the outdoor fence. Seeing Sheng Jiayu coming over, she put down the scissors in her hand: "Why did you buy so many things? I don’t lack anything here. You’re worrying for nothing again."
Sheng Jiayu smiled and exhaled a puff of white breath. As Xu Qingru touched her cold little hand, she felt a pang of heartache and quickly led Sheng Jiayu into the house.
The villa was evidently well-cleaned, and there were several flowers on the coffee table that she couldn’t name.
Sheng Jiayu glanced around the house; not seeing any strangers, she asked, "Mom, hasn’t that uncle arrived yet?"
"The flight was delayed. He only boarded half an hour ago."
Sheng Jiayu nodded, not saying anything further, but she keenly noticed that Xu Qingru was in an exceptionally good mood today.
She grew up in a wealthy family, and the Xu Family wasn’t poor to begin with. After marrying into the Sheng Family, she never really had to do household chores. Sheng Jiayu’s lack of domestic skills, especially her kitchen ineptitude, probably came from her mother.
But Xu Qingru was slightly better; although she wasn’t good at household chores, she could still manage to make some decent things, like her baked cranberry cookies.
And today, as soon as Sheng Jiayu entered, she smelled the scent of cranberry cookies.
Mother rarely went into the kitchen, so her doing so today clearly meant she was in a great mood.
Just before noon, the sound of a car arriving could be heard from outside. Sheng Jiayu looked in the direction of the sound, spotting a not very tall man getting out of a taxi with two bags in his hands.
From afar, Sheng Jiayu couldn’t see his features clearly, but she could tell that the man had an extraordinary demeanor, clearly resembling a university professor.
Although he wasn’t very tall, he wasn’t short either. Importantly, he was in good shape and didn’t appear overweight.
Xu Qingru introduced the two of them. Sheng Jiayu smiled, "Hello, Uncle Zhou."
"Hello."
During the meal, the atmosphere was pleasant. Sheng Jiayu noticed that this Uncle Zhou wasn’t very talkative but was humble, though he carried a certain scholarly pride. However, he was quite attentive to her mother, and most of their conversation revolved around historical topics, which Sheng Jiayu could understand but wasn’t interested in.
Suddenly, the topic shifted to her.
It’s a small world: Uncle Zhou is a professor at S University, and Mu Ke’s mother, Ms. Wang, is also a professor at S University. Although in different departments, there are only a few who are recognized as professors at the same university, so they knew each other.
Moreover, coincidentally, Uncle Zhou was considered Ms. Wang’s senior.
So when he heard that Sheng Jiayu’s boyfriend’s mother was Wang Ke, he couldn’t help but say a few more words: "Professor Wang has significant prestige in academics. I’ve been to several meetings with her. She’s nice, but she cares too much about appearances and what others think."
Sheng Jiayu had already heard such evaluations several times, whether from Mu Xin or Su Chen.
Clearly, Ms. Wang was indeed a nice person, just overly concerned with her image.
Xu Qingru didn’t say much, and Uncle Zhou naturally didn’t know more. The topic moved on quickly, as they didn’t discuss their matter too much. It seemed today was just about having a meal for Sheng Jiayu to meet him.
In the evening, Sheng Jiayu stayed at the old house. Lying in bed for a while, she took her pillow and walked into Xu Qingru’s room. This was the first time she came to her mother’s bed since growing up.
Xu Qingru made room for her, and the mother and daughter started chatting—about everything from childhood to the present, about Mu Ke, and also about Uncle Zhou.