957  JIAO JIAO'S BIRTHDAY (III)

ARRIVING at Yu Jiao and her mother's apartment, Luo Yan and Luo Jin immediately smelled the mouth-watering scent of food floating in the air.

"Mom, we're here!" Yu Jiao called.

Ji Xiuying appeared from the kitchen wearing an apron. She smiled when she saw the three. "Get inside. I'll prepare some snacks for you three."

Before any of them could reply, the other had already walked back to the kitchen. So, they had no choice but to go to the living room.

The apartment of the mother-daughter pair was a simple two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom. The kitchen, dining area, and living room didn't have any division, so one could see everything at a glance. But it didn't feel crowded at all. In fact, the whole apartment looked very open and cozy. It's a space where anyone would feel comfortable staying.

"Do you want to play a game?" Yu Jiao asked.

After she said that, both she and Luo Yan instinctively glanced towards Luo Jin. The other frowned and snarled like an annoyed puppy.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You can play, I don't care."

Luo Yan gave his brother a sympathetic glance, before turning to Yu Jiao and said, "Let's just watch a movie."

Yu Jiao nodded with a serious expression. "I agree."

This made Luo Jin annoyed even more. "Hey, you two, you're doing this on purpose, right?"

Luo Yan showed an innocent expression. "What, we're only thinking of Ah Jin's well-being. If we played a game, you might be annoyed again. Isn't watching a movie better?"

After they finished eating the snacks, Luo Yan volunteered to bring the tray and the plates back to the kitchen. He saw Yu Jiao's mother busily moving around. Checking the food being cooked on the "Or we could just study," Yu Jiao suggested.

Luo Jin narrowed his eyes at them before scoffing. "Just play a movie or something."

Luo Yan and Yu Jiao looked at each other and then smiled. Both were probably thinking what a cute kid Luo Jin was.

As Yu Jiao played a movie, her mother walked out from the kitchen carrying a tray of snacks and juice. Luo Yan and Luo Jin both stood up to get the tray from the other. Since Luo Jin was the one closer, he took the tray from Yu Jiao's mother and put it on the center table.

Ji Xiuying smiled at this little gesture of both brothers. Whenever they visited, they had always been so respectful and polite. Just by that, anyone could see their good upbringing.

"Pad your stomach with this first," she said, referring to the snack.

She made light snacks so that it wouldn't affect the kids' appetite for dinner.

"Thank you, Aunt Xiuying!" Luo Yan said. Luo Jin also said his thanks. "By the way, does Aunt need help to prepare dinner? We could help."

Yu Jiao also turned to her mother. "That's right, Mom. If you need anything, just tell us."

"Oh, it's fine. I can handle it. Just enjoy your movie."

After she went back to the kitchen, the three watched the movie while eating the snacks that she had prepared.

After they finished eating the snacks, Luo Yan volunteered to bring the tray and the plates back to the kitchen. He saw Yu Jiao's mother busily moving around. Checking the food being cooked on the stove while cutting vegetables at the same time.

"Aunt Xiuying, where should I put this?" he asked.

Ji Xiuying stopped chopping and turned to Luo Yan. "Just leave it in the sink."

Luo Yan did as he was told. He was thinking of washing the plates himself, but Aunt Xiuying would probably just stop him.

"By the way, Yan Yan, what time is your father and older brother coming?"

"Ah, they'll probably be here by six," Luo Yan answered.

He was thinking of going back to the living room, but when he saw the other's expression, he stopped and waited. It was because Aunt Xiuying looked like she was about to say something, but she was hesitating whether to say it or not.

"Yan Yan, I want to ask you something, if that's okay?" the other finally said.

"Of course. What is it, Aunt Xiuying?"

"Does your older brother have a girlfriend? Or perhaps a fiancée?" Ji Xiuying asked in a very secretive manner.

It's something that she wanted to make sure since new year when they went to the Luo family's house. For someone young, rich, and handsome, having a girlfriend wouldn't be weird. In fact, it's just something natural. Even having a fiancée wasn't in the realm of impossibility. After all, assigning a marriage partner to heirs of a wealthy family was not that uncommon.

On the other hand, this question startled Luo Yan. His brain had to work on overdrive just to figure out how the heck did this question come about? At the end, the result all pointed to the lunch they all had during new year.

Aunt Xiuying must have become suspicious of Luo Ren's intention towards Yu Jiao. But... how?

He tried to remember everything that had happened that day. Especially all of his older brother's actions. But he couldn't think of anything that would warrant such suspicion. No, wait, could it have happened when Luo Ren fetched Yu Jiao and her mother? There was also that time when Luo Ren was left alone with their father and Aunt Xiuying.

If that was so, his brother probably didn't do it on purpose. Maybe his affection for Yu Jiao came off naturally because of how in love he was. Someone sensitive to people's feelings would have definitely noticed that. Not to mention, Aunt Xiuying was Yu Jiao's mother. Maybe her 'mom instinct' was telling her that 'hey, this man has designs for your daughter'.

If that was the case, then, as a loyal younger brother, he should raise Luo Ren's prestige in front of his future mother-in-law.

"Oh no, Brother doesn't have a girlfriend. In fact, he hasn't had a girlfriend in his 22 years of life. He also doesn't have a fiancée. Our father believes in love marriage. He wouldn't impose his will on his sons regarding our future partners. Thus, Brother is very, very pure and very, very much single."