Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Is It Overindulgence?

Lu Lin shook his head. "I just want the chess set."

Lu Chen glanced at them, reluctant. "Although I really want it, I promised Mom I could only have one toy, so thank you both, Aunties, but I’ll pass."

"Really not?!" Zhao Shishi was skeptical and turned to Fu Xiaoxiao. "You go out first; they won’t speak the truth while you’re here!"

Fu Xiaoxiao chuckled and decided to play along. "Alright, I’ll go upstairs for a walk."

Fu Xiaoxiao turned and headed up to the third floor, leaving Lu Lin, Lu Chen, and Qin Shuang behind.

"Alright, now that your mom’s not here, you can tell the truth."

Zhao Shishi smiled, certain they would want the toys.

"Even if Mom’s not here, we still won’t take them." Lu Chen hugged his toy tightly and shook his head resolutely.

"Really not?" Qin Shuang and Zhao Shishi were puzzled.

"Really not," Lu Lin and Lu Chen replied in unison.

"Why?" This left Qin Shuang and Zhao Shishi baffled.

They’d seen kids around their age from the countryside before, usually clamoring for toys when they saw them.

Why did these two not want them?

"Because we promised Mom!" Lu Chen looked at the two and spoke earnestly. "If we don’t keep our word, then Mom doesn’t have to keep hers either, and we can’t break trust."

"Did Fu Xiaoxiao teach you that?" Qin Shuang was taken aback. Do kids talk about trust?

"Yeah! Mom always keeps her promises to us, so we keep our promises to her too. That’s trust." Lu Chen said seriously.

"I’ll definitely have to share this with my parents." Qin Shuang found it interesting that a child could resist temptation.

"How about I buy you some candy then?" Zhao Shishi suggested with a smile, pointing to the candy counter beside them. "You didn’t have an agreement on this with your mom, right? Plus, consider it a welcome gift; you can pick whatever you like."

Zhao Shishi’s suggestion made Qin Shuang laugh, and the two exchanged glances, waiting to see their choice.

"Go ahead! Pick whatever you want." Zhao Shishi nudged them toward the candy counter to let them choose freely.

Lu Lin and Lu Chen looked at the various candies. "Go ahead! Pick what you like."

Lu Lin looked for a long time and picked out some plain white sugar from the counter.

Lu Chen, however, took one of each type of candy, enjoying the variety.

"Done." Lu Chen grinned. "Thank you, beautiful Aunt Zhao."

"That’s it?" Watching them choose so differently, with Lu Lin only picking plain white sugar, left Zhao Shishi a bit taken aback.

Her cousin would always try to empty the whole counter or target the most expensive chocolates, never spending less than thirty yuan at this counter.

"Everything is weighed, and it’s a total of two yuan," the shop assistant calculated the price of each candy.

"...Two yuan?" Qin Shuang had never heard of such a small amount.

"My parents would be shocked to hear this." Zhao Shishi gave Lu Lin and Lu Chen a deep look.

Either the two kids were very cunning and knew how to disguise,

or... they simply didn’t know better, and therefore didn’t dare to choose more.

Could it be that two children actually knew their boundaries? She really couldn’t believe it.

"Let’s go!" Lu Lin, holding a bag of candy, took the initiative to head toward the third floor.

They hadn’t seen Fu Xiaoxiao in a while.

When they found Fu Xiaoxiao, she had just picked out two pairs of shoes and was about to check out.

"You’re here? Just in time, I picked out two pairs of shoes for you, come and try them on."

"Mom, why are we buying shoes? Our shoes aren’t worn out and still wearable." Lu Chen didn’t understand; they always bought new shoes only when their old ones were broken down.

The pair they were wearing was even bought just before they came, so why another pair now?

Fu Xiaoxiao laughed lightly. "Because you’ve been good, it’s a reward for you."

"Then of course it’s okay." Lu Chen’s eyes lit up, and without another word, he sat down to take off his shoes and try on the new ones Fu Xiaoxiao had picked for him.

Watching Lu Chen admiring himself in the new shoes in front of the mirror, everyone couldn’t help but chuckle.

"That’s not right! Why is it when we buy for them, they won’t accept, but when you say it, they take it?" Qin Shuang felt that Fu Xiaoxiao must have said something to them, wondering why they behaved so differently with her compared to Fu Xiaoxiao.

Fu Xiaoxiao just smiled without answering.

After buying the items, Fu Xiaoxiao’s hands were empty, with everything carried by Lu Lin and Lu Chen.

From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like a stepmother being unfair to the kids.

"Why don’t we help you carry them?" Li Xiaomei wanted to lend a hand, but Lu Lin and Lu Chen dodged her grasp, walking one after another behind Fu Xiaoxiao.

"There’s no need, we can do it."

"Are you sure it’s alright?" Qin Shuang and Zhao Shishi watched as the two kids carried bags of shoes, toys, and even held the white sugar in their hands.

"Anything within their ability, they do themselves." Fu Xiaoxiao spoke slowly. "The kids aren’t young anymore, and whatever they can do themselves, I never help."

"Aren’t you afraid people might see and say you’re mistreating the kids?" Qin Shuang asked.

"We’re not being mistreated at all. We just want to carry our own belongings!" Lu Chen said loudly. "Don’t talk about our mom; she’s the best mom in the world."

Lu Chen’s statement captured the attention of passersby.

On the way home, everyone watched the two kids, and many kindly offered to help, but were turned down by Lu Lin and Lu Chen.

Under the watchful eyes of Qin Shuang and others, they carried their belongings all the way home without a single complaint or a word about being tired.

This left Qin Shuang and Zhao Shishi profoundly shocked.

After bidding farewell to Fu Xiaoxiao, Qin Shuang returned home, sat on the sofa, and fell into deep thought.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t you go to buy a dress today? Didn’t find one you liked?" Mrs. Qin blinked when she saw her daughter return and asked.

"Mom, are we being too indulgent?" Qin Shuang looked at her mother and recounted everything that happened today.

"You mean that new family?" Mrs. Qin was momentarily stunned, and after listening to Qin Shuang, she inquired.

"Yes, the Lu family that moved into 103, the house where the Bai family used to live," Qin Shuang replied.

"Your brother only has one child. We can afford it, so why not buy things for him? Every family is different, and when they have enough, they’ll buy too." Mrs. Qin was unfazed, believing that with just one precious grandson and the family not short on money, what’s wrong with satisfying the child’s desires?

"But... is it right for him to throw a fit when he doesn’t get what he wants?" Qin Shuang looked at her mother and asked seriously. "Last time, he pushed you to the ground over a toy. Have you forgotten?"

"He’s just a child. What does he know? It was just a push, nothing really happened..." Mrs. Qin waved her hand, dismissing it as a non-issue.

Listening to Mrs. Qin’s indifference, Qin Shuang felt differently. She always thought her mother spoiled her nephew too much, never allowing her sister-in-law to discipline him, even when he pushed her to the ground last time, she still wouldn’t let her brother correct him.

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