205: Poor Kobayashi - Part 2 (Bonus Chapter)

Jiang Ye picked up a couple of mouthfuls of food with his chopsticks. Noticing his mom's wandering gaze and shifting expressions, he couldn't help but ask:

"Mom, what are you thinking about? Eat up. Wanxing's cooking is really good."

Her train of thought interrupted by her son, Xu Man snapped back to reality. The more she looked at his "oblivious" expression, the angrier she got, and she shot him an annoyed glare.

This Stinky Kid can't even play fair, yet he has the nerve to have three girlfriends at the same time?

He's hogging such great girls and doesn't even know how to cherish them!

Since her son had his favorites, as the mother-in-law, she naturally had to have her own. She had to help balance things out and back up the "wronged" Little Lin!

At that thought, Xu Man reached out with the serving chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish, and offered it to Lin Wanxing across from her, her voice exceptionally gentle:

"Little Lin, here, have some more fish. You worked the hardest today, preparing such a big spread."

The table suddenly went silent.

Lin Wanxing stared at the piece of fish being handed across half the table, then looked up at Xu Man, who was smiling kindly with encouraging eyes. She was bewildered.

She had thought that Jiang Ye's mom might have made a mistake and misunderstood her relationship with Jiang Ye, but... no matter the misunderstanding, the official girlfriend Ye Cheng was sitting right there. For the Auntie to serve food to her, the "roommate," right in front of the "main partner"—wasn't this move a bit too bizarre?

Seeing Lin Wanxing dazed, Xu Man smiled and pushed her chopsticks forward a bit more. At the same time, she quickly scanned Ye Cheng and Su Ning's expressions. Seeing that neither of them looked jealous, but instead had "this is interesting, keep going" looks on their faces, she felt slightly surprised.

This reaction... are these two even women? Shouldn't they be a little upset? Are they men in drag?

Xu Man suppressed her doubts and continued to show kindness to Lin Wanxing:

"Little Lin, come on, take it. Don't overthink it. Auntie just sees how well-behaved and sensible you are; I really like you, child."

Hearing the word "like" and seeing Xu Man's sincere gaze, Lin Wanxing hesitated before stiffly holding up her bowl to accept the fish:

"Thank you, Auntie."

Ye Cheng glanced at Jiang Ye, whose face was turning red from holding back laughter. She snorted inwardly and decided to join the "performance."

She picked up the serving chopsticks, took a piece of fish as well, and placed it in Xu Man's bowl. "Auntie, you should eat more too. Don't just worry about us."

Xu Man immediately nodded with a beam. "Ah, okay. Thank you, Little Ye. You're so thoughtful."

Su Ning looked at Xu Man, then at Ye Cheng, and scratched her head.

Because she had been shut down by Ye Cheng on Christmas Eve, she always felt an inexplicable awkwardness and guilt around her. Combined with her status as the "online wife, offline mistress," she had been feeling quite inhibited.

But in this situation, she couldn't lag too far behind, could she?

After all... she, Su Ning, had also been introduced by Jiang Ye as his "girlfriend"!

After thinking for a moment, she also reached out with the serving chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish, and put it in Xu Man's bowl:

"Auntie, Sister Wanxing's cooking is really excellent. Please have some more."

Looking at the extra food in her bowl, Xu Man nodded with a smile. "Good, good. Little Su is a good girl too."

After speaking, she waited for a while. Seeing that Lin Wanxing was still just quietly eating with her head down, seemingly unresponsive to the "special attention" just now, she sighed inwardly.

Sigh, look how repressed this child is! She doesn't even dare to express herself!

She must have no status in this "home" and has gotten used to it!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt Lin Wanxing was being "wronged." She proactively held up her bowl and pointed to another dish:

"Little Lin, those greens look good. Could you get some for Auntie to try?"

"...?"

Looking at Xu Man's eyes full of affection and encouragement, the question marks in Lin Wanxing's mind were about to hit the ceiling.

She hesitated, then tentatively asked in a low voice, "Auntie... have you... misunderstood something?"

Hearing this, Xu Man felt even more heartache. What a good child, still trying to cover for that Stinky Kid even after being neglected.

"Silly child, Auntie knows everything. I can see that you, Little Ye, and Little Su are all good girls. It's this Stinky Kid Jiang Ye who's doing a poor job. It's okay, Auntie will scold him. You don't have to suffer in silence; just act as you normally would."

Lin Wanxing: "..."

At this moment, she had the following three thoughts:

1. As expected of Jiang Ye's biological mother!

This confusing and utterly bizarre communication style and logic were practically carved from the same mold!

The power of genetics is too strong!

2. Based on Auntie's attitude toward Miss Ye, she clearly knows that Miss Ye is Jiang Ye's official girlfriend.

So why is she being so warm toward me now...?

Is she dissatisfied with Miss Ye and doing this on purpose to send her a message?

No, their interaction seemed fine just now!

Could she be trying to use me as a "pawn"? Is this mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship already this complicated before it's even begun?

3. What on earth are those two across from me laughing at?!

Do they know some inside information? Are they conspiring to keep me in the dark? What kind of setup is this?

In a flash, a fierce brainstorm occurred in Lin Wanxing's mind, but in the end, she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Looking at Xu Man's "warm" gaze and the "just play along" looks from the other three, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to ruin this "harmonious" atmosphere.

Forget it, I'll just cooperate for now and ask Little Su for clarification once Auntie leaves.

Lin Wanxing pursed her lips, raised her chopsticks, and served Xu Man a portion of greens. "Auntie, please try this."

Xu Man took the vegetables Lin Wanxing offered and smiled with great relief, as if she were seeing an oppressed concubine finally taking a brave step forward under her encouragement.

Then she turned to look at Jiang Ye, who was still snickering beside her. Her face instantly went from "sunny to cloudy," and she gave him an annoyed smack.

"What are you laughing at?! You have no manners at the dinner table! Look at how composed Little Lin is!"

After scolding her son, she turned back to Lin Wanxing, her smile instantly switching back to being kind and amiable.

"Little Lin, ignore him. The more I look at you, the more I like you. In a bit, I'll have this Stinky Kid share your WeChat with me. If anything happens in the future, whether it's work or personal, you can talk to me anytime. Auntie will have your back!"

Xu Man felt that she had made the right move.

If the Stinky Kid couldn't play fair, she, as his mother, naturally had to help balance things out.

This way, she not only comforted the "neglected" Little Lin but also gave the favored Little Ye and Little Su a sense of "crisis," letting them know that the Empress Dowager was aware of everything, so they wouldn't become arrogant or cause any trouble.

"..."

Looking at this Auntie who was full of affection and seemed about to adopt her as a goddaughter, Lin Wanxing could only lower her head and speed up her eating, planning to finish quickly and retreat to her room.

The Old Jiang Family was truly too complicated.