small gossips

The afternoon sun spilled through the kitchen window in golden ribbons, lighting up the steam rising from the pot.

Shen Qingshan stirred it slowly with a long wooden spoon, humming under his breath. The scent of braised eggplant and soy filled the air — earthy and warm, like the soil after spring rain.

In the corner of the small room, his sister-in-law sat cross-legged on a worn mat, a toddler cradled in her lap. The boy — barely two and a half, plump-cheeked and curious — was making a mess of the rice porridge she fed him, smearing more on his face than in his mouth.

“Xiaobao, slow down!” she laughed, wiping his chin with the edge of her sleeve. “You’ll choke if you eat like a hungry little pig.”

The boy babbled something that sounded like “No!” and tried to grab the spoon himself. Both of them laughed — she, like a soft bell; he, like a squeaky toy.

Qingshan glanced over from the stove, smiling without meaning to. “He’s going to grow up just like his father,” he teased. “Stubborn and noisy.”

“Hey!” she protested, feigning offense. “My husband’s not noisy. He’s just… passionate.”

“Passionate,” Qingshan repeated, chuckling. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

They both burst out laughing.

It was always like this in the afternoons. His brother shen zhihao would be out in the fields or fixing the irrigation pipes, his parents resting in the shade. The little house, with its uneven walls and faint scent of herbs, would belong just to the two of them and Xiaobao — a pocket of warmth and chatter.

“Did you hear,” his sister-in-law said, lowering her voice as if sharing a state secret, “about old Auntie Zhang’s granddaughter?”

Qingshan arched a brow. “No. What happened?”

“She ran off with that boy from the next village. You know, the tall one with the crooked teeth?”

Qingshan blinked. “Him? Really?”

She nodded, eyes bright with the thrill of gossip. “They say they’re going to get married. His family’s furious, hers even more so. But they can’t find them — they probably eloped.”

Qingshan snorted. “Eloped? What is this, a storybook? Who runs away just for love these days?”

“People who have love,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow. “Not all of us are as heartless as you, Shan’er.”

“I’m not heartless,” he protested, mock-offended. “I just have priorities. Like… food.” He stirred the pot with exaggerated seriousness.

“Food, hmm?” she said with a laugh. “You and your cooking. Honestly, whoever marries you one day will be lucky. They’ll never go hungry.”

Qingshan rolled his eyes, but the tips of his ears turned faintly pink. “Who would marry me? I can’t even read properly. All I know is how to wash clothes and stir soup.”

“You also know how to talk for hours,” she said, smiling. “And how to make people feel warm. That’s worth more than reading books sometimes.”

Her words lingered in the air for a moment, warm and sincere.

Qingshan looked down at the simmering stew. “I don’t think about marriage,” he admitted quietly. “Who would want a nobody like me anyway?”

“Plenty of people, trust me,” she said. “If it weren’t for your parents saying no, half the village’s mothers would be knocking on our door with matchmakers.”

“Ugh,” he groaned. “They’re just saying that because they want someone to cook for their sons.”

“Or maybe,” she said, leaning closer with a knowing grin, “because they can’t stop looking at you.”

“Stop it,” he muttered, laughing despite himself. “You’re worse than Auntie Zhao when she starts matchmaking.”

They laughed again, and Xiaobao clapped his little hands, delighted by the noise though he didn’t understand a word.

Outside, a soft breeze stirred the willow trees, carrying the scent of wet earth and distant fields. Inside, the tiny kitchen was alive with warmth and small joys — the smell of stew, the sound of gossip, the laughter of two people who, for all their struggles, still had each other.

Shen Qingshan had no idea how much his world was about to change.

For now, life was simple. Beautifully, blissfully simple.

Notice

( hello guys i want to say that before you further read the story u should read this notice what I am going to say next is very important. so before you read the next chapter, i want to make sure u know that in the novel the main characters have very large age gap 15 something . so if u are uncomfortable with such large age gap then u should Stop reading it, because it's totally ok Everyone have different opinions right , some may like it some don't. well this story is nothing special,it's very Much slice of life with little bit sweet moments cause i hate sad ending story nowadays and after reading it so many sad ending stories,i just want little bit sweetness in my life so i am writing this story for myself and I really don't know how it will turn out and those who like ml or mc eachother first love again it's not for u how can u expect someone who is so older than mc to never fall in love and be in relationship as u already read in last 2 chapters our ml do love someone ,his gf whom he broke up with )

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