Stealing Your Heart

“Young Master, Young Mistress, the dumplings are ready. Ma’am requests for your presence,” Mr. Feng informed them.

Lin Xinyan swallowed her words. “Let’s go.”

Zong Jinghao had been drinking on an empty stomach, and the mention of food made his stomach growl.

“Alright,” he hummed in response.

Chinese New Year was months away, but Cheng Yuxiu cooked up a feast anyway, considering the fact that they had four more mouths to feed. She hoped to get on Zong Jinghao’s good side as well.

She did not know what Zong Jinghao liked, so she cooked a variety of dishes.

Lin Xinyan caught on immediately and glanced at Zong Jinghao intendedly.

Zong Jinghao merely evaded her gaze and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Lin Xinyan walked into the kitchen just as the maid turned off the stove. She picked up a ladle and offered, “I’ll do it.”

Everyone’s dumplings were mixed together in the pot, making the ugly ones look increasingly jarring, next to the pretty ones.

Lin Xinyan scooped the dumplings into one giant bowl, which confused the maid.

“I wouldn’t eat that if I were you,” the maid warned her. “I don’t think that anyone can finish that!”

Lin Xinyan grinned. “Someone will.”

I’m doing this on purpose!

Didn’t you refuse to eat Cheng Yuxiu’s dumplings? How about the ones the kids and I had made?

all, you picky

so Lin Xinyan filled three bowls with dumplings- one for herself, one for Lin Xichen, and one for Cheng Yuxiu. She handed the three bowls to the maid to help her set the

misshapen dumplings right before Zong Jinghao. “I’m sure that you won’t reject this? I made this

Jinghao stared at the giant bowl in shock. This is enough to feed a

Lin Xinyan’s thoughts. He pulled

chirped. “Do you

Zong Jinghao fell silent.

going to

and stirred the suspicious mixture of dough and vegetables that looked nothing like

She had looked forward to the moment that her father had tasted the dumplings she

some vinegar. “It’ll

It tastes better

side, wringing her hands together anxiously. How is he going to finish that huge

for a moment before walking up to him with an empty bowl and saying, “Give me some,

scooped a mouthful of the doughy mixture into his mouth. He figured that

that Zong Jinghao would rather

Xinyan scooped a few dumplings into her bowl in an attempt to comfort her. “Mom, I can’t finish these.

forced a smile onto

spent the night tossing and turning on his bed, his stomach

next morning at the

several times throughout the night begging for water, while his grandmother returned to consciousness for a brief moment in the middle of the

night. She collapsed onto

his eyes, he took in the unfamiliar surroundings as the events of last night flooded into his mind; he had been out drinking with Shen Peichuan and

his surroundings. Did Shen Peichuan just send me to the

a blanket. The heater was on, but the cold wintry winds could still seep through the

over to Qin Ya

hasn’t been