Chapter 562 - 53: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Doormat 41 (Bonus - Sponsored by Hua Xiguimei)

Chapter 562: Chapter 53: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Doormat 41 (Bonus Chapter Sponsored by Hua Xiguimei)

Li Jingming coaxed Li Jingyan and Li Jingyu into the house and then hurriedly went to find Li Zhiyuan.

"Dad."

When Li Jingming entered the room and saw Li Zhiyuan, he quickly told Zhiyuan about Jingyan asking her to drive them to Provincial City: "Do you think something happened to Jingyu and Jingyan? Their eyes were all red, like they’ve been crying."

Li Zhiyuan couldn’t sit still upon hearing this.

He didn’t go to ask, but asked Sun Xiumei to inquire about the girls instead.

Sun Xiumei went up to Li Jingyu and asked, "It’s already dark, why must you two go to the Provincial City?"

Li Jingyu didn’t hide the truth: "We want to go see our mom."

"What?"

Sun Xiumei was taken aback.

Li Jingming tugged at Sun Xiumei’s sleeve: "They want to go see elder sister-in-law."

Since the Li brothers changed how they addressed Anning, the older three called Anning ’fourth sister,’ and the younger two called her ’fourth elder sister,’ so the kids followed suit and called her ’auntie.’

Sun Xiumei understood: "Have you two suffered some grievances?"

Li Jingyu whispered: "My dad and Wang Baozhu said they want to sell our house, and we disagree. He was about to hit us, so we ran out."

Li Jingyan glared at Li Jingming: "Brother, just say whether you’ll take us or not. When I got out of school today, I borrowed some money from my brother. I have money. If it comes down to it, my sister and I will take a cab there."

Seeing Li Jingyan’s determination, Sun Xiumei thought if they didn’t take them, the girls might dare to run away in the middle of the night.

It was dangerous for two girls to go out late at night, so she didn’t want to bear that responsibility. After thinking it over, Sun Xiumei said to Li Jingming, "Get Jingdong and the two of you escort them there. Once you arrive, stay in Provincial City first, then come back tomorrow."

Li Jingming nodded: "Okay, I’ll go get Jingdong."

In a little while, Li Jingming and Li Jingdong got ready. Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan said a few more words to Sun Xiumei before they left.

Sun Xiumei watched the four children drive away and then went back to tell Li Zhiyuan about it.

Li Zhiyuan was furious: "Lao Si is really regressing. In other families, people strive to build up wealth for their children, but he, on the other hand, decides to sell the house not long after Anning left. If he keeps this up, his home will fall apart sooner or later."

Sun Xiumei laughed: "The two kids are quite resourceful, especially Jingyan. She was prepared beforehand and already placed the property deed at Third’s house."

Li Zhiyuan then said to Sun Xiumei, "Call Anning first, so she knows ahead of time; we don’t want the kids to arrive when there’s no one at home."

Sun Xiumei called Anning.

Anning was waiting for Liu Qi and Liu Ming to return before taking the three kids out to eat.

She had been living in Provincial City for a while and familiarized herself with many places, knowing where to find good food. Considering that Liu Qi and Liu Ming were stressed from studying and finally coming home, she wanted to take the kids out to relax.

The mother and her four children went to the snack street, filling their bellies round before heading home.

They also strolled through the night market on their way back, picking up some trinkets.

They had just returned home when Sun Xiumei called.

Anning laughed when she heard Sun Xiumei’s voice: "Elder sister-in-law, what’s up with calling me so late? It can’t be that you had a fight with elder brother and want me to mediate for you, right?"

She often joked with Sun Xiumei, so it wasn’t awkward at all at this moment.

Sun Xiumei laughed as well: "Isn’t that the case? Your elder brother is going to hit me, so I’m calling you to give him a good scolding."

After a few laughs, Sun Xiumei told Anning: "Jingyu and Jingyan are insisting on finding you. I’ve sent Jingming and Jingdong with them. If they get there, you keep them with you. The kids’ eyes were red; they must have cried a lot. Please comfort them and make sure they don’t do anything rash due to distress."

"Okay, I got it."

Anning readily agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Anning quickly tidied up the house.

Anning was now living in a house under Liu Qi’s name, which he and Liu Ming bought as a duplex—Liu Qi’s place on the lower level and Liu Ming’s just above.

Anning went upstairs to clean up Liu Ming’s house, set up two rooms, and laid out bedding.

Fortunately, it’s summer now and there’s really no need for thick quilts, just a bed sheet would suffice for a night.

She tidied up the room, thinking to let Liu Qi and Liu Ming as well as Jingming and Jingdong, who would arrive later, sleep there.

Anning finished tidying up the upstairs rooms and cleaned her own room as well.

She replaced the bedsheets and pillowcases with new ones, set out two sets of pajamas, and, after pondering, asked Liu Qi to go to the convenience store to buy a few sets of new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and towels.

Seeing Anning and Liu Qi tidy up the room, Liu Ming decided to cook.

The fridge was fully stocked with ingredients, and the home also had plenty of staples like rice and flour, making cooking quite convenient.

Liu Qi started the fire, cooked a few dishes, and also boiled water to prepare noodles.

He was boiling water on the stove when he whipped up some sesame sauce and sliced some cucumber into strips.

By the time the four Li siblings arrived, Anning had already cleaned the room spotless and neat; the beds were made, and four pairs of slippers were placed at the entrance.

As soon as Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan stepped in, they saw two pairs of pink slippers, smelled the savory aroma of food from the kitchen, and saw Anning holding Liu Yuzhen and beaming at them, they couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Li Jingyan rushed into Anning’s embrace: "Mom, I missed you so much, I really did."

Li Jingyu stood aside, her eyes also filled with tears.

Liu Yuzhen went to hold Li Jingyu’s hand: "Elder sister, don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll want to cry too."

Anning patted Li Jingyan’s back: "Alright, stop crying, isn’t your mother right here? If you miss me, just come and visit, what’s there to cry about, as if losing pearls."

Liu Qi and Liu Ming had already invited Li Jingming and Li Jingdong to sit down on the sofa.

Holding Li Jingyan with one hand and Li Jingyu with the other, Anning, with a smile, asked: "You two haven’t had dinner yet, right? Aming just made some food, let’s eat first, whatever matters we have can wait until after dinner."

Seeing Anning, the anxious hearts of the two girls immediately calmed down.

Liu Ming went to the kitchen to serve the food.

Anning asked Li Jingming and Li Jingdong: "Have you two eaten? If not, just make do [with what we have]."

Li Jingming quickly waved his hand: "We’ve eaten, let Jingyu and the others eat."

Liu Yuzhen opened the refrigerator door and took out a bottle of freshly squeezed juice, presenting it like a treasure to Li Jingyu: "Elder sister, this is a juice Mom just made, it’s really delicious. You guys should try it."

The summer night was actually still very hot. After driving all the way, they were truly exhausted and hot, drenched in sweat.

Now sitting inside with the electric fan blowing and a cool breeze coming through the window, they instantly felt much refreshed.

Liu Yuzhen poured two cups of chilled juice, and as Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan drank the cold, sweet juice, even their pores seemed to be infused with comfort and relief.

The dishes on the table were all their favorites, with Li Jingyu’s beloved tofu and Li Jingyan’s favorite chicken legs; besides, each person had a large bowl of cold noodles.

The noodles had just been cooked and quickly chilled, topped with red carrot strips and green cucumber strips, dressed with fragrant sesame sauce. Such a mix was really too delicious.

There was also a small dish of chili oil and crushed fried peanuts on the table.

Li Jingyan, seeing the dishes, couldn’t contain her craving.

She mixed the noodles well, drizzled some chili oil on top, and devoured it eagerly.

After eating half a bowl of noodles, she comfortably sighed: "It’s been a long time since I’ve had such delicious food."

Li Jingyu, eating her favorite dish and watching Li Jingyan eat so eagerly, also smiled: "Still, the food here at Mom’s is the best, it’s the most comforting."

These dishes might not look extravagant, just ordinary indeed, but they were incredibly satisfying to eat — perhaps, this was the taste of home.

Anning, seeing the girls enjoying their meal, said with a laugh: "Eat slowly, there’s more. If it’s not enough, Mom will cook more for you."

The two girls were really famished, each devouring two large bowls of noodles, and they nearly finished off the several dishes as well.

After a full meal, the two slumped onto the sofa, clutching their stomachs, reluctant to move.

Anning cleared the dishes and utensils and took them to the kitchen, then had Liu Qi and Liu Ming take the Li brothers upstairs to sleep there tonight.

Now only the four women remained in the room, Anning asked smilingly to Li Jingyu: "Did something happen at home? Why did you rush over in such a hurry tonight?"