After the scene with Xiao Dong had settled, the mood around them eased considerably.
After getting the children's clothes, Qin Lian went to get some clothes for herself. After all, she'd left the Qin family with only a few garments. She needed proper clothes and personal items too.
She stepped into a women's clothing shop nearby and picked out a few dresses for herself. It felt a little strange, buying clothes with Xu Yinchen standing close by. She'd only known him for a few days. Still, she didn't mind it as much as she thought she would.
The real embarrassment came a few minutes later.
A saleswoman noticed the stack of bags in the man's hands behind her, then noticed the way Qin Lian kept glancing at the new displays.
She walked over with a knowing smile and pointed toward a curtained section at the back. "Comrade, we just got a new shipment in. Imported. I think you'll be interested. Want to take a look?"
Qin Lian raised her brows, glanced over, and felt her face heat up.
Bras. Newly imported. Not many women in the city had switched over yet—most still wore the old wrapped cloth, which didn't support or shape anything the way this did.
She was so pleased to see it that she completely forgot she hadn't come here alone.
"Yes, I'd like to see," she said quickly, already following the saleswoman toward the counter.
Then she caught Xu Yinchen going still out of the corner of her eye.
His ears had turned red.
He stood a few feet away, half-turned, staring hard at a rack of scarves he clearly had zero interest in.
Qin Lian felt her own ears heat up too. She'd never bought this kind of thing in front of a man before. Not even with Chen Zhihao. They'd never gotten anywhere close to that.
Before she could decide what to say, Xu Yinchen cleared his throat.
"I'll... wait outside with the kids. Take your time." He was already turning, already reaching for Xu Wei's hand without meeting her eyes.
"Oh—sure," Qin Lian said, relief and amusement fighting for space in her chest. "I won't be long."
She watched him hustle the boys out of the shop a little too fast, then turned back to the saleswoman with a small smile and finished her shopping in peace.
When she came back down, she found Xu Yinchen and the boys waiting for her on the ground floor.
Before joining them, she made one more stop.
She still remembered what she'd seen in his wardrobe—the few clothes he owned were all worn thin, some patched more than once. He clearly didn't spend a thought on his own appearance. But everyone else had gotten something today. She wasn't about to leave him out.
She picked two shirts, plain and sturdy, nothing that would stand out in the village, had them wrapped, and headed downstairs to join him.
It took a long while before the shopping was finally done. Beyond the clothes, she'd also picked up a small mountain of household items the house had been missing.
By the time they left, people were turning to stare, not at them, but at the sheer number of bags stacked in Xu Yinchen's arms.
….
Outside, the sun had gotten stronger. By the time they climbed back into the tempo, all three boys looked ready to fall asleep on their feet.
Qin Lian pulled Xu Hao onto her lap and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I never thought shopping could be this tiring," she said, letting out a breath. She looked back at the boys. "Are you two tired? Did I make you wait too long?"
Xu Shen shook his head, same as always.
Xu Wei had no such restraint. "I'm not tired at all!" he said, bouncing despite clearly being worn out. "I had so much fun today. Can we come back?"
It had been a long time since either of them had a day like this.
Xu Shen tugged his brother's sleeve, a quiet warning to stop talking. "It was fine," he mumbled. "We don't need to come again. We already got so much."
He didn't say the rest out loud, that he was worried about how much had been spent today, that he didn't want to become a burden on his father.
Qin Lian reached over and ruffled his hair before he could pull away. "You don't have to hold back like that," she said. "We'll come again. There's no need to be so careful."
She looked between the boys. "And you don't have to worry about that woman coming back to the house anymore. She's not welcome there. So stop being so careful with everything. Spend your father's money, he's earning it for you, after all."
Xu Yinchen, listening quietly from the driver's seat, added without turning around, "She's right. If you want something, just tell your—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Mom. He'd almost said it without thinking.
Even though Qin Lian had called herself their mother back in the store, without a second thought, he still hesitated to use the word himself. It had only been a few days since they'd met.
He didn't want to push it on her before she was ready to accept this new life with him.
He cleared his throat instead. "...just say so." He glanced at Qin Lian, unsure if she'd noticed.
She had.
Catching the hesitation, Qin Lian filled it in for him, keeping her voice light. "Yes. Whenever you want something, just tell me. We'll come back."
Xu Shen's ears went pink. He looked down at his lap and gave a small, reluctant nod, but said nothing more.
The tempo sat idling a moment longer before Qin Lian turned to Xu Yinchen. "We still need to stop by the Qin house for my registration book," she said. "Should we eat something first, before we go?"
Xu Yinchen was quiet for a second. Then he reached forward and started the engine.
"Before the Qin family," he said, "there's somewhere else we need to stop first."
Qin Lian raised a brow. "Where? Do you have something to finish up?"
He didn't answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than usual, almost careful.
"You'll see."
He pulled the tempo out onto the main road, his face unreadable, leaving her staring at him in confusion as the storefronts shrank behind them.