"Shouldn't you be at school?"
"Shouldn't you be at work?"
They spoke simultaneously once again. Upon hearing each other's questions, they both instinctively chose to remain silent, their expressions stiffening.
Seeing him standing in the sun, Su Miao beckoned him over. "Come here first, be careful not to get sunburned."
Su Yuyan pressed his lips together and walked over.
Su Miao patted the dust off the steps, but still finding it not clean enough, she simply spread the takeout bag on the steps. "Here, sit on this."
Who knows how long Su Yuyan had been out in the sun; his originally fair face was flushed, with a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.
"Are you hot?" Su Miao asked, unconsciously wiping the sweat from his brow. "Have some water first."
She offered him the bubble tea she had been drinking.
Su Yuyan didn't drink it, instead staring at her intently with a complex expression.
Was this really Su Miao?
That woman would never treat him like this. She wouldn't care if he got sunburned; she would only ask why he had to appear, why he had to show up in her life.
She always said he shouldn't have appeared in her life.
Always.
"Kid, are you disgusted by me? Because I've drunk from it?" Su Yuyan's immobility led Su Miao to misunderstand. "Don't you know this is a precious drink? You should feel honored that I'm willing to share it with you. How dare you be picky with me."
"This one even has the legendary boba pearls, which cost an extra two yuan."
She felt the pricing wasn't quite reasonable.
Something this delicious should be sold at a premium. In the post-apocalyptic world, those energy drinks cost several crystals per cup, and they didn't even taste good.
Bubble tea should be introduced in the post-apocalyptic era; it would definitely make a fortune.
If she had the chance to go back to the post-apocalyptic world, she would definitely bring bubble tea back. Her assets would surely multiply several times over.
Su Yuyan: "......"
Just as expected.
"If you don't want it, forget it," Su Miao withdrew the bubble tea.
It's normal for him to be picky, she understood.
After all, what kind of antagonist doesn't have some special habits? You can't even call yourself a protagonist or antagonist without some quirks.
Besides, he only had a cleanliness obsession, not some bizarre condition where he'd be allergic to women within half a meter of him.
Even if it were that kind of outlandish condition, what could she do? After all, he was her adopted son. What else could she do but indulge him?
Su Miao took out a new cup of bubble tea from the bag at her feet and pushed it into Su Yuyan's hands. "Here, take it."
It was originally meant to be an after-meal drink.
The two of them sat by the roadside, drinking bubble tea and holding fried chicken, looking comically out of place.
"Eat more, it's good for your health," Su Miao tore off a chicken leg for Su Yuyan.
Su Yuyan: "......"
Eating fried chicken for health?
First time he'd heard that one.
After eating and drinking their fill, Su Miao rested her chin on her hand and looked at Su Yuyan. "Kid, can you tell me now why you're not at school?"
Su Yuyan pressed his lips together, once again looking uncooperative.
He didn't want to say.
"You didn't get into a fight at school..."
Hearing Su Miao's words, Su Yuyan's eyes darkened, his little mouth pressed even tighter.
"And then lose, so you ran away, did you?" Su Miao looked disappointed. "You're my son, Su Miao's son. How could you lose a fight? Where am I supposed to put this beautiful face of mine now?"
Su Yuyan: "......"
Just as he thought, nothing good ever comes out of her mouth.
"I didn't lose," Su Yuyan bristled like a small, angry animal.
Su Miao smirked, "How did you not lose? Did you beat him until he called you daddy?"
Of course, she knew this kid wouldn't lose. After all, he was destined to be a major antagonist in the future. It would be too embarrassing if he couldn't even win a fight.
Su Yuyan: "......"
Having such an explosive and rebellious mother.
Shouldn't a parent scold their child first without distinguishing right from wrong when they hear about a fight? Why was her reaction like this? How was she so different from other people's mothers?
"Come on, tell me how you won," Su Miao encouraged.
Su Yuyan hesitated, but in the end, didn't say anything.
"If you don't want to say that, then tell me why you got into a fight."
This time, Su Yuyan fell completely silent.
He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to tell her that he got into a fight because other kids were talking about her.
He didn't want her to know that.
Su Miao took out a cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette and held it between her fingers. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about that either, but there's one thing I must tell you."
"Fighting isn't a big deal. There's no kid who hasn't been in a fight. Your old lady here has been in more fights than you've eaten grains of rice. I only have one principle for you when it comes to fighting, and that is: don't lose."
She wouldn't say nonsense like 'don't fight'. Whatever the reason for fighting, win first, then talk.
"The reason for fighting might not be important, but you running away from kindergarten on your own, that's a serious problem," Su Miao's expression turned grave. "What if you got lost? Where would I look for you? And what if you ran into kidnappers?"
Su Yuyan remained silent.
"Don't play mute with me. Tell me, what would you do if you met a kidnapper?"
Su Yuyan thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes dangerously, and said coldly, "I'd turn the tables and kidnap the kidnapper instead."
"Huh?"
"There's an old saying: 'If you don't kidnap me, I won't kidnap you. If you kidnap me, I must kidnap you.'"
Su Miao: "???"
Is there really such a saying?
"What nonsense are you spouting? Kidnapping is illegal. Just the other day you were telling me you wanted to be a good person, and now you're having such dangerous thoughts?" Once a villain, always a villain, truly vindictive and vicious.
Su Yuyan looked serious, "But they kidnapped me first."
Su Miao took a deep breath, "Even so, you can't kidnap them."
This is bad, the kid's villain genes seem to be awakening.
She can't let this kid's villainous bloodline awaken, or she'll be in danger.
"If I don't kidnap them, then what should I do if I encounter kidnappers?" Su Yuyan threw Su Miao's earlier question back at her.
Su Miao: "......"
Good question.
Su Miao fell silent, looking down at him, "If, and I mean if, you ever encounter kidnappers, I will find you, even if I have to turn the Earth upside down."
"So you don't need to do anything, just protect yourself and wait quietly." Su Miao spoke solemnly.
Su Yuyan's brows furrowed, his bright black eyes filled with complexity.
A mixture of sourness and sweetness spread in his heart.
But this wasn't right.
If he really encountered kidnappers, she should be happy. She should be happy to finally get rid of the burden she had always wanted to shake off.
Seeing his furrowed brow and the complex, conflicted look in his eyes, Su Miao burst out laughing. "Are you so moved that you want to cry?"
If not for her comment, Su Yuyan might have indeed been close to tears, but now that was entirely impossible.
How was she so good at ruining the mood?
"Kid, don't get too emotional," she said with a cigarette dangling from her lips. "When you grow up, just make sure to feed and take care of me well. Better yet, find me some handsome guys now and then."
"I want the tall, dark, and handsome type – about 6'3", with abs," Su Miao continued, eyeing the male college students passing by. "Though curly-haired puppy-like boys are fine too..."
Su Yuyan: "..."
Speechlessness was his native language.
"So, is this why you're not out delivering food? To check out handsome guys here?" Su Yuyan asked.