TFEDLAM 31

Chapter 31 Mommy’s Here

“Young master is too innocent. Whispering? You really think your dad and mom were just whispering? Are you sure they weren’t doing whispery things?”

“Oh my god, my male god! I never thought you were that kind of male god!”

“I’ve been a fan of Lu Tingchuan for ten years, and today I realized—I’ve probably been worshipping a fake one!”

“The male god and goddess didn’t even say or do anything, but their son just publicly displayed their affection for them. This is even more intense than if they did it themselves!”

“I admit defeat. This dog food (PDA) is too strong—I’m eating it willingly!”

“Our Movie Emperor sure plays deep! The goddess is too beautiful and has many admirers, so sensing danger from the outside world, he directly killed the threat in the cradle—and even conspired with his son! Hahaha, so scheming!”

“Poor little young master, how could he have such a father! Don’t be afraid, sweetheart, come to my arms, I’ll protect you!”

“Wrong! That’s what a real dad is! Hahaha!”

“The little young master totally sold out his parents! He’s a professional dad-pit master!”

“Now that I’ve re-evaluated Movie Emperor Lu’s personality, I’m curious if the little young master will be punished later. [laugh-cry emoji]”

“Also curious how big the shadow over Movie Emperor’s heart is right now—he’s been completely exposed. PS: Just a small reminder, Movie Emperor Lu—your wife Xiaxia already knows~”

“Haha, evil!”

Overnight, hashtags like #ConjoinedCoupleLuTingchuanAndXiaShi, #PoorLittleLuXuan, and #ComeHereXuanXuanBaby flooded every social media platform.

At that moment, Xia Shi had already packed up her luggage and boarded a plane to the show’s filming location. Four other mothers were traveling with her. It was her first time meeting Mo’s mother.

The woman looked delicate and gentle, not too similar to her son Mo Jia’ang, who resembled his father more. Perhaps because of Lu Tingchuan’s fame, Mo’s mother had switched seats just to sit beside Xia Shi. She smiled quietly the whole time, listening to Xia Shi and another mom, Ye’s mother, chatting, occasionally inserting a few words.

Xia Shi’s impression of her was very good.

The show was being filmed in a remote southern village in Huaguo (China). The living conditions were poor. Though none of the moms had grown up wealthy, they had never lived such rustic lives before. They exchanged uneasy glances with each other.

Even though they had seen the show and heard stories from their husbands and kids, watching and hearing were one thing—experiencing it firsthand was another.

The house that Lu Tingchuan and his son were assigned was a small, old bungalow—but at least it had the basic necessities. Compared to the first season’s conditions, this was luxury.

The task for the moms: each had to cook 3–4 dishes. Later, all the dishes would be mixed together, and the dads and kids would have to guess who made what. Only those who guessed correctly could eat.

Xia Shi was completely unfazed. After asking where the kitchen was, she tied on an apron, picked up a knife, and got to work.

Her chopping skills stunned everyone.

The cameraman couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Xia, were you trained professionally?”

“No,” she replied easily. “Practice makes perfect.”

The cameraman was dumbfounded. Her moves were that fast, that clean—and she said it wasn’t training?

When she poured oil, stirred the wok, and sautéed, the cameraman felt like he wasn’t filming a parenting show anymore, but a gourmet cooking show. There was no background music, yet in his head, the soundtrack from A Bite of China started playing.

Four dishes:

Shredded Cucumber Salad (like a woven bamboo pattern),
Phoenix-Tail Pear and Tomato Cups,
Shrimp Steamed Egg,
and Steamed Osmanthus Fish.

The cameraman almost drooled on the spot. The presentation was stunning—especially the Phoenix-Tail Tomato Cups, which showed off Xia Shi’s incredible knife skills.

After finishing, she searched around the kitchen for something, couldn’t find it, then stepped outside to pick two small flowers. She washed them, placing one on the cucumber salad and the other on the fish.

The cameraman’s vocabulary failed him. Only one word came to mind: beautiful.

“Xia Shi’s dishes could win a beauty pageant,” someone murmured.

Xia Shi chuckled. “Xuanxuan likes pretty things. If it’s not pretty, he won’t eat it.”

The cameraman was speechless. Behind him, the director whispered, “Lu Tingchuan’s cooking isn’t pretty at all.”

Xia Shi grimaced. “It’s not that it’s ugly—it’s that it’s unseeable! Poor Xuanxuan. So today, I made all his favorites—and the prettiest versions!”

Of course, she definitely wasn’t here to one-up Lu Tingchuan. Nope. Not at all.

When all the dishes were done, the crew mixed them together on a long table and had the moms hide behind the houses, peeking through cracks in doors and windows as the dads and kids returned.

Mo Jia’ang was the first to shout, “Whoa! So much food! Dad, did the village chief finally grow a conscience today?”

Then Yu Siyuan exclaimed, “Oh! Did they invite five-star hotel chefs or what?”

Lu Xuan came running, glanced at the dishes, and leapt up.
“Mommy! My mommy’s here! Uncle Village Chief, my mommy’s here, right? She made this one, this one, and this one! These four are my mommy’s—my favorites!”

The production team hadn’t even started the “guessing” part yet when little Lu Xuan blew the suspense wide open.

Worse still, before anyone could react, he bolted off on his tiny legs, pushing open a door and spotting Xia Shi hiding behind it. Beaming, he threw himself into her arms. “Mommy!”

The village chief sighed helplessly. The assistant director tried to reason, “Xuanxuan, you have to guess first before you can hug Mommy.”

Lu Xuan clutched her hand. “But I already guessed! I said those were Mommy’s dishes!”

Director: “Uh… okay. You win.”

Lu Tingchuan was chatting with the chief nearby. Eventually, the chief relented: “Alright, Lu Xuan guessed right. Now let’s see if the other kids can identify their moms’ dishes! If not, Mommy goes home!”

Mo Jia’ang snorted, “This game’s lame. Who wouldn’t recognize their own mom’s cooking? My dad’s eaten Mom’s food for years—if he couldn’t tell, he shouldn’t even be her husband!”

Xia Shi burst out laughing. Across from her, Mo’s mom blushed bright red.

As expected, every family quickly identified their dishes once they took a bite.

Soon, everyone was seated for lunch. Xia Shi’s dishes were a hit. Little Yuanyuan hugged her shrimp steamed egg and declared, “Auntie Xia’s food is my favorite! The best in the world!”

The village chief teased, “So your mom’s cooking isn’t good?”

“It’s good too!”

“Then whose cooking is better—Mom’s or Auntie Xia’s?”

Yuanyuan tilted her head, looked between her mom and Lu Xuan in Xia Shi’s arms, then frowned thoughtfully.
“…Auntie Xia’s, I think. Mommy said, if I want to marry Xuanxuan-gege, I have to be nice to Auntie Xia and Uncle Lu first. Otherwise, they won’t agree!”

Ye’s mom covered her face in embarrassment.

Lu Xuan whispered into Xia Shi’s ear, “Mommy, don’t worry, I won’t go live with Yuanyuan. I like her, but I like my own little sister more. When I have one, Fangfang-ge won’t worry about me stealing his sister. I’ll be really good to her—better than Fangfang-ge is to Yuanyuan!”

…Sweetheart, do you even know what “like” and “home” mean?

And since his mic was on, everyone heard that.

The dads grinned and nudged Lu Tingchuan. “So, good news on the way?”

Lu Tingchuan smiled ambiguously at Xia Shi. “Working on it!”

Working on it, huh…

The dads roared with laughter. Xia Shi turned crimson, secretly pinching him. He didn’t flinch—just grinned wider.

From the corner, Mo’s mom lowered her head, biting her lip. Those two—such obvious flirting! Can’t watch, can’t watch, she scolded herself. But… maybe just a little peek?

Then she saw under the table—Lu Tingchuan’s hand clasped around Xia Shi’s. She tried to pull away, but he slid his arm around her waist instead.

Mo’s mom thought miserably, We’re all just extras here. Can someone make us disappear so they can have their private world?

Suddenly, someone covered her eyes. It was Mo Jia’ang. “Mom! It’s one thing to fangirl over Uncle Lu at home in front of the TV or magazines, but now? In front of Auntie Xia and Dad? Really? And look—you’re giving all the fish you picked clean of bones to Xuanxuan! What about me?”

She looked down—sure enough, she’d absentmindedly given all the deboned fish to little Lu Xuan.

Mo Kang chuckled, pulling his son close. “Son, we talked about tolerance, remember? Don’t expose your mother.”

Mo’s mom hid her face, mortified. Everyone laughed good-naturedly—they all knew she’d been Lu Tingchuan’s fan for years.

After the meal came the vote for “favorite dish.” Normally, kids always voted for their dads no matter how bad the food was. But this time, with the moms cooking, Xia Shi got a unanimous vote.

Even shy little Betty cheered, “Auntie Xia’s food good! Very nice!”

Yu Siyuan, the show’s host, went into interviewer mode: “So, Xia Shi, how did you cultivate such chef-level skills? Any professional training?”

“No, no!” she said helplessly.

Everyone widened their eyes.

“Really not!” She glared at Lu Tingchuan. “These two—father and son—are so picky! Especially him! I was forced to get this good!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Xia Shi mock-glared again. “So you tell me—these hands were made for playing piano, and now they’re ruined by you. Don’t I deserve sympathy?”

Lu Tingchuan propped his head on one hand, gazing at her tenderly. “You spoiled me, remember?”

That look—so full of affection.

And under the table, his hand still held hers, playing with her fingers. Mo’s mom nearly spat out her drink.

She regretted choosing that seat so much. Too close to the battlefield!

Yu Siyuan slammed the table. “I can’t take it anymore! Honey, let’s kiss and show them what real PDA looks like!”