Bragging: no one has any proof to show he’s bragging.
Su Xiaoman, Xie Mingtu, and Second Brother Jiang stayed the night at Grandpa Jiang’s place. The grandparents had already prepared rooms for when the children came over. Although they hadn’t expected them to arrive, it was close to the end of the year, and the cleanliness-loving Grandma Jiang had already tidied everything in advance.
Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu shared a room.
After dinner, Grandpa and Grandma pulled them into conversation—especially Grandpa Jiang, who had a belly full of things to say. Once he started talking about stories from his youth, he could go on for seven days and seven nights without stopping.
However…
For the other Jiang grandchildren, they had long since grown tired of Grandpa’s stories. They had heard them so many times their ears had practically grown calluses, so they had no interest in listening anymore.
But Xie Mingtu was different. He was his biological grandson and had never heard those stories before. Grandpa Jiang pulled his youngest grandson and granddaughter-in-law close, acting like a storyteller and unable to stop reminiscing.
Xie Mingtu and Su Xiaoman were exceptionally attentive listeners. Since it was their first time hearing the stories, they listened with great focus and admiration, making Grandpa Jiang so happy he was almost dizzy with delight.
It had been a long time since any of the younger generation had listened to him brag like this.
Grandma Jiang went to make them some hot tea and brought out a plate of sunflower seeds and dried sweet potatoes—all homemade. Xie Mingtu ate sunflower seeds while Su Xiaoman slowly chewed on a piece of dried sweet potato.
Jiang Leiyan, on the other hand, was not so cooperative. As he sipped his tea, he was practically about to start snoring, earning a scolding from Grandpa Jiang.
“Look at this guy—just like his father. He can fall asleep anywhere.”
Jiang Leiyan argued back, “That’s because I inherited your style, Grandpa. I can even sleep while walking.”
Grandpa Jiang immediately launched into another lecture.
Grandma Jiang sighed from the side. “With all your noise, my ears are about to go deaf.”
Grandpa Jiang replied, “If it were just me keeping you company at home, would you be happy?”
Grandma Jiang said, “As long as you keep your mouth shut, I’d be happiest.”
Grandpa Jiang clicked his tongue. “So heartless. No fun. My little grandson is the cutest.”
Right in front of Grandma Jiang, Grandpa Jiang suddenly grabbed Xie Mingtu’s face and examined him closely with a frown.
Xie Mingtu still had sunflower seeds in his mouth, his cheeks squished.
Second Brother Jiang nearly laughed himself to tears at the sight.
Su Xiaoman wasn’t much better—she forced herself not to laugh, thinking Xie Mingtu looked like a prairie dog being strangled by fate.
“What are you doing?” Grandma Jiang swatted Grandpa Jiang’s hand.
Grandpa Jiang excitedly announced his “discovery”: “Among our grandsons, Xiaotu looks the most like me when I was young!”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Jiang Leiyan: “…”
Grandma Jiang smacked his hand. “Stop flattering yourself. Do you think I don’t know what you looked like when you were young?”
Grandpa Jiang retorted, “Doesn’t he look like me?”
“No. You weren’t nearly as handsome as Xiaotu.”
“Then that’s strange,” Grandpa Jiang said suspiciously. “If I wasn’t handsome, why did you marry me? Didn’t you marry me because I was good-looking?”
Grandma Jiang said, “I deeply question my taste back then. Though I really was as pretty as Xiaoman when I was young.”
Grandpa Jiang replied, “If you were as pretty as Xiaoman, you wouldn’t have waited for me.”
“Say that again?”
“I mean—I never saw anyone as pretty as you when I was young.”
Grandma Jiang sighed. “If only you spoke this sweetly when you were younger.”
Grandpa Jiang sighed too. “That’s because you trained me over all these years… first comes the chicken, then the egg.”
“Xiaotu, Xiaoyan, learn from this—how else will you make girls happy in the future…”
“Xiaotu doesn’t need to learn. He’s better than his brothers—he already has a wife.”
…
After chatting with the grandparents, only Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu were left in the room at night. The two elders had already gone to bed—they were used to sleeping early.
Su Xiaoman opened the window and looked at the starry sky outside. There was less pollution in this era, and the air was especially fresh. The night sky was clear, filled with countless stars, bringing a sense of calm to the soul.
At night, the events of the day began to resurface in her mind. She turned to look at Xie Mingtu, worried about him, but he seemed completely fine—there was even a faint smile on his lips.
Handsome, gentle-eyed—if he went out like this during the day, he could easily charm girls.
He looked genuinely happy. It was clear he really liked Grandpa Jiang. This trip back to the Jiang family wasn’t a mistake—at least Xie Mingtu had gained loving grandparents and an interesting second brother.
Things in life were always like this—nothing perfect, good things often came with some hardship.
“Xiaotu, Xiaotu, Xiaotu…” Su Xiaoman mimicked the grandparents’ tone like a broken recorder.
As soon as Xie Mingtu heard her, he immediately walked over and pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing against her shoulder like a big dog.
“Manman.”
Every time he called her that, she wanted to joke, *why not call me “Kuai Kuai”*, but she always held it back—just in case he took it seriously and started calling her that every day.
“How does it feel when Grandpa and Grandma call you Xiaotu?”
Xie Mingtu smiled. “It makes me happy.”
Su Xiaoman raised an eyebrow. “Not even a little guilty?”
Xie Mingtu: “???”
“Xiaotu, Xiaotu… little rabbit, little rabbit… Every time they say it, I think of the white rabbit you caught for me. You raided so many rabbit nests—don’t you feel guilty bullying your own kind?” she poked his chest.
Xie Mingtu calmly said, “No.”
He wasn’t a rabbit.
He grabbed her mischievous hand, pulled her close, and pinned her onto the bed, forehead against hers, voice low and husky. “Manman is the little rabbit.”
“I’m Su Xiaoman. No way I’m a rabbit. You’re the rabbit.”
Xie Mingtu laughed, closing his eyes as he indulged her, nudging her nose. “Fine, I’m the rabbit. Manman can call me that. Rabbits love eating grass—Manman.”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Her cheeks warmed. His breath brushed her face, making everything feel more intimate.
“I’m thorny grass. Be careful.”
She could already feel the change in his body. Thinking young men were just full of energy, she lightly punched his chest in dissatisfaction. He obediently let go and rolled to the side to calm down, curling up in the corner of the bed, looking pitiful.
Feeling a little sorry for him, she crawled over and kissed his cheek.
The next second, he grabbed her wrist, flipped her over, and kissed her fiercely. By the end, it was hard to tell who looked more pitiful.
“Manman… don’t tease me,” he murmured.
At eighteen or nineteen, even a spark could ignite a fire.
Su Xiaoman felt conflicted. She wasn’t unwilling—just lacking courage. If he were more forceful, things might have already progressed.
But he respected her too much, always holding back.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally whispered, “Do you want… help?”
He instantly perked up. “How?”
…Afterwards, Su Xiaoman realised—it was more serious than she expected.
Looking at her hands, she felt flustered. That… was not small at all.
Maybe it should be postponed… just a little longer.
Fortunately, Xie Mingtu, inexperienced as well, was completely satisfied and happily hugged her, calling “Manman” over and over.
Later, he softly asked near her ear, “Manman… do you think my build is too thin?”
He had overheard men talking before—about what women liked.
He felt insecure about his body.
He decided he would train hard and become strong.
Su Xiaoman immediately denied it in her heart: *No, absolutely not.*
He wasn’t thin—if anything, he was… not small at all.
She hugged his waist. “You’re fine as you are.”
“Eat more in the future.”
“I’ll train with Grandpa tomorrow morning.”
She wanted to cover her face.
This guy was already strong enough to knock out a wild boar—what more did he want?
“Go ahead. I’ll sleep in.”
…
The next morning, Xie Mingtu got up early and went out with Grandpa Jiang and Second Brother Jiang. The two planned to give him a tough workout to make him realise his limits.
But…
No matter what they did, he wasn’t even out of breath.
Pull-ups? Easy.
Endurance? Endless.
The two elders secretly complained in their hearts: *What kind of monster is this kid?*
“Shall we continue?” Xie Mingtu asked enthusiastically.
Grandpa Jiang: “…”
Second Brother Jiang: “…”
Why is this kid so… annoying?
…
When Su Xiaoman woke up, only Grandma Jiang was at home. After washing up, she returned to the room and noticed Xie Mingtu’s clothes from the night before.
She picked them up… and paused.
That stain…
Her face flushed.
What exactly had he dreamed about?
She quickly washed the clothes.
Just as she hung them up, the three exhausted men returned—except Xie Mingtu, who suddenly looked full of energy again when he saw her.
Grandma Jiang handed water to the other two and sighed, “Young people really have energy.”
…
Watching Xie Mingtu follow Su Xiaoman around like a lovestruck puppy, Grandma Jiang smiled.
Grandpa Jiang snorted, “I had even more energy back then.”
Grandma Jiang replied, “Yeah right.”
Grandpa Jiang said proudly, “My grandson believes me!!!”
But deep down, he worried—what if the boy really did believe him?
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