After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 125: Heartache

Shen Yunqing, who successfully gained quite a bit of favor from his little brother-in-law upon their first meeting, met Jiang Lingxi’s gaze with a flawless smile on his lips.

Since Your Majesty has accepted the family of the original host, he will also treat the Jiang family as his own.

The key is to closely follow in Your Majesty’s footsteps.

Jiang Wenhu had not let go of her younger son’s hand since she grabbed it, "Mom has already reserved a table at a restaurant near home. We’ll eat there at noon."

Although in the Juvenile Detention Center there was no lack of food and clothing, it was all cafeteria food—just enough to be cooked and hygienic, the taste could only be called edible.

Jiang Lingxu couldn’t help but secretly swallow, but in his memory, he still recalled the times he hid at home, with people coming to the door to demand debts, "Let’s not eat at the restaurant, let’s go home and cook instead."

Jiang Wenhu felt her eyes heat up once more.

When the family hadn’t gone bankrupt, forget about eating in high-end restaurants, even the chefs they hired at home were of a level that could serve as master chefs in restaurants.

The son and daughter were spoiled by her, accustomed to luxury, having tasted all sorts of delicacies.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed, the daughter gave up her studies to enter the entertainment industry to earn money, and even the younger son became sensible in a way that made her heart ache.

But the cost of such sensibility was truly too great.

"The family doesn’t lack money for this meal now," Jiang Wenhu insisted, "Besides, there’s not enough time to go back, and you know how your sister and I cook."

She once was a wealthy lady who never touched kitchen work, only in the past few years did she force herself to cook, and what she made was barely edible.

Jiang Lingxu: "...Then let’s go to the restaurant."

There were just a few of them, at worst, they could order a few cheap and large-portion dishes, and definitely avoid ordering expensive and small-portion ones.

Finally getting away from cafeteria food, to be honest, he was indeed a bit tempted.

Better to first eat something good, then go back to eat his mom’s cooking.

Xu Ling’an and Xu Lei came over to bid farewell, but Jiang Lingxi called them, "You two should come along too."

"How could we..."

Before Xu Ling’an could politely refuse, Jiang Wenhu grabbed his wrist, "I was just about to say, it’s quite far from the city center here, and it’s hard to catch a cab. You siblings should come along, eat, and then head back. Having two extra pairs of chopsticks will make it livelier."

Xu Ling’an still felt a bit embarrassed, but Xu Lei happily nodded, "Thank you, Auntie, then An’an and I won’t stand on ceremony."

Jiang Lingxu was standing aside, just lifting his gaze from Xu Ling’an’s slightly reddened ear tips when Xu Lei shot him a glare, causing him to rub his nose and look up at the sky.

The eight-seater van could just fit all eight of them.

Xu Lei was a master at livening up the atmosphere. Even sitting in the front passenger seat, his voice was abundant throughout the journey.

Jiang Lingxi learned a bit more about Xu Ling’an’s past from his words.

She grew up without a father, taken in by her mentally unstable mother from the roadside when she was still a baby.

In elementary school, she experienced her mother’s disappearance, living thereafter with her grandmother dependent on each other.

In her third year of junior high, she encountered a life-threatening danger. If Xu Lei hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

As a result, Xu Lei ended up in the Juvenile Detention Center.

The account was very brief, yet it described a path full of unimaginable twists and turns.

Jiang Lingxi suddenly remembered what she had accidentally seen on her phone the other day: Although this world seems peaceful, if you have a healthy body, living parents, and one or two siblings to rely on, a family not affluent but sufficient in food and clothing, and a job that sustains you, you are already better off than the majority of people in the world.

Many people are still struggling desperately, doing their utmost to live.

She held Xu Ling’an’s hand beside her, slightly rough, a bit cool.

"Wear more clothes."

Xu Ling’an nodded obediently.

While Jiang Lingxi’s sympathy was felt internally, Jiang Wenhu’s concern was visibly expressed on her face.

Her first impression of Xu Ling’an was very good. The girl looked nice, was well-behaved, sensible, and polite, yet her body was obviously frail, making one feel a sense of pity at a glance.

Now knowing this child’s winding life story, it was truly heart-wrenching.

"Sweetheart, life will eventually get better after the bitterness."

Jiang Lingxu pressed his lips tightly. He had thought his life was already bad enough, with an uncertain future, not knowing what to do next, but compared to this girl named Xu Ling’an, he realized he seemed somewhat self-indulgent.

At least he was healthy, with caring parents, a sister, and a brother-in-law around him. What more could he be dissatisfied with?

He should be grateful for everything he has now, make the most of his still young body to pursue more possibilities, rather than dwell on the past wallowing in self-pity.

The hidden gloom in his heart quietly dispersed, revealing specks of sunlight.

The restaurant Jiang Wenhu chose was an old family-run establishment, operated by a couple for over twenty years, specializing in home-cooked dishes at reasonable prices. Being open for such a long time at least proved it had a good reputation.

Considering her daughter was a public figure, she specifically asked for a private room.

Xu Ling’an, seeing the menu posted on the wall of the restaurant’s lobby, also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If it were really the expensive kind, she would have wanted to find an excuse to leave early.

After all, she hadn’t had the chance to treat her sister to a meal yet, and she was already eating her sister’s mom’s treat.

Inside the private room, Jiang Lingxu looked at the menu in his hand, pondering over a few dishes, before handing it to Xu Lei.

Despite accepting the invitation graciously, when it came to ordering, Xu Lei searched through every corner of the menu, finally ordering the cheapest dish of hot and sour shredded potatoes, "I just love this dish, I can eat it with four big buns."

Jiang Wenhu couldn’t just stand by, grabbing the menu to add two hearty dishes, then looking at her daughter, "Xixi, do you have anything you’d like to eat?"

Jiang Lingxi was about to say it was enough when she saw a hand extending in front of her, followed by Shen Yunqing’s voice to her left, "Auntie, let me take a look."

"Add the double pepper beef tenderloin and steamed mandarin fish, please."

Jiang Lingxi couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Shen Yunqing.

In ancient times, there were times when cattle were considered more precious than people, and eating beef was even illegal. Not even on a king’s menu were there dishes made with beef.

The first time she ate beef was during an incognito visit when she happened upon a farmhouse where a cow was giving birth but suffered dystocia, resulting in both the mother and the calf not surviving.

The family, though heartbroken, reported it and had the cow slaughtered, giving her the chance to taste what beef was like.

Only when the Ministry of Agriculture finally bred beef cattle that grew quickly enough to be eaten did she gain freedom to eat beef.

If it were just this dish, she might call it a coincidence, but coupled with the steamed mandarin fish, which she also liked...

She had reason to suspect that perhaps this person had even specially asked Tong Yue and the others about her tastes?

Could it be, just to act loving in front of the parents, he had taken such effort?