Return to the City: The Strongest King

"What did he say when he called you?" Chu Xianling asked Lin Su'er.

"Brother Xiaodong... asked me to keep an eye on you guys." Lin Su'er said quietly.

"He asked you to report back, what's there to observe?" Sun Yiyi asked.

"Brother Xiaodong said to keep an eye on your moods, especially those who tend to be jealous and have a bad temper." Lin Su'er said, looking at the floor.

"Who has a bad temper and gets jealous?" Miao Qingqing exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Seriously, who has time to be jealous over him? I really have nothing better to do!" Chu Xianling said.

"Hahaha, Su'er didn't say it was you two..." Sun Yiyi mocked Miao Qingqing and Chu Xianling.

"Ha, he actually said we're jealous and have bad tempers; wait till I get back at him!" Miao Qingqing said, pushing up her sleeves.

"Alright, Director Qiao is visiting soon, stop messing around!" Li Sijie said.

"Hmph, speaking of that, first he wouldn't come home, then he wouldn't come home for dinner, and now—great! He's bringing them home directly!" Chu Xianling said.

"He's coming for dinner; soon, he'll just stay here, and Xiaodong won't have to run around outside all the time." Li Sijie said.

"That's not for sure... Once Director Qiao is settled, there's Teacher Wang; after Teacher Wang, there's Xu Duoduo; after Xu Duoduo, there's Yang Yushi; after Yang Yushi, there's..." Sun Yiyi said.

"Aye, saying that, in the future there might not be any peace. If you're going to be jealous every day, you'll be having lots of vinegar!" Sun Yiyi added.

"Aye..."

When Song Xiaodong and Qiao Yutong arrived, the table was already set with dishes.

Every night they prepared a big spread; for the Song family, it's just a normal dinner, but to Qiao Yutong, it seemed like a feast.

"You're back! Come in, Director Qiao!" Song Xiaoru and Li Sijie warmly welcomed Qiao Yutong.

"Sit down and warm up; it's pretty cold outside, right?" Li Sijie asked.

"It's okay, it's okay; it's not cold in the car." Qiao Yutong replied.

"Look at you two; if you're coming for dinner, let me know in advance. Order anything you'd like—I'll prepare it for you." Song Xiaoru said to Qiao Yutong.

"Sis, your cooking... let's keep it low-key!" Song Xiaodong teased Song Xiaoru.

"Let me tell you, most of the dishes here today were cooked by me; if you don't like them, don't eat them." Song Xiaoru pointed to the dishes on the table and said to Song Xiaodong.

"Sister Xiaoru, you made so many dishes yourself?" Qiao Yutong said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, when I heard Director Qiao was coming today, I said I'd cook, showcasing my specialty dishes!" Sun Yiyi said to Qiao Yutong.

"Thanks for all your hard work, Sister!" Qiao Yutong said to Song Xiaoru.

"No hard work at all; you just heard him claim my cooking is bad. If I don't practice more, won't it actually taste worse?" Song Xiaoru said, glancing at Song Xiaodong.

"Alright, alright, put your phones down; dinner time!" Song Xiaoru shouted at the group of lounge-lizards on the sofa.

"Got it!"

Everyone sat down, with Qiao Yutong seated between Song Xiaoru and Song Xiaodong.

"Here, try this." Song Xiaoru served Qiao Yutong some food.

"Don't be shy; even though our family is big, it's just a meal at home, why be so restrained?" Li Sijie said to Qiao Yutong.

"Mhm." Qiao Yutong nodded, keeping quiet and just eating.

"Xiaodong, serve some from this side to Director Qiao; you're blocking her, so she's hesitant to reach out." Miao Qingqing motioned to Song Xiaodong.

"Alright, here, Director Qiao, let me serve you some meat." Song Xiaodong said as he placed a piece of meat onto Qiao Yutong's plate.

"Director Qiao, how is your scar recovery going?" Sun Yiyi asked Qiao Yutong.

"I don't know, I can't see it myself, but he said it's healing well." Qiao Yutong glanced at Song Xiaodong and said.

"Yes, when I checked yesterday, it looked good. Director Qiao's body has fast-healing wounds, which tend to leave scars, so using medicine these days mainly aims to prevent scar formation and recover normal skin tissue." Song Xiaodong said.

"Also, the medication Xiaodong prepares for me is done fresh daily; it's really kind of him." Qiao Yutong added.

"Why does it need to be so complicated for you, but just some ointment for me works fine? My back recovered very well too." Sun Yiyi said.

"Is it because you're looking for an excuse to meet Director Qiao often, that's why it's so complicated?" Miao Xuanxuan teased.

"Exactly, Director Qiao, take a sneak peek when Xiaodong changes your medicine later; maybe your scar has healed long ago, and Xiaodong is pulling a fast one on you." Chu Xianling told Qiao Yutong.

"Could be..." Lin Su'er and Xiao Yingying nodded.

"It's not like that; Xiaodong said mine has already scarred, so it's harder to remove, while Yiyi's was treated soon after the injury." Qiao Yutong explained, with her face flushed.

"It's not that simple, Yiyi's wound healed so well because I used my elixir, which are few in number." Song Xiaodong said.

"Then what you're using for Director Qiao isn't the elixir?" Sun Yiyi stirred.

"Director Qiao's condition doesn't require elixir; my carefully prepared herbal concoction suffices." Song Xiaodong said.

"You just don't want to part with it, right?" Chu Xianling teased Song Xiaodong.