Douluo Continent: Thunder Roar

Ling Yu put down his teacup, stood up, and walked towards the backyard.

"Mrs. Jiang," he said calmly, "I'll help."

Jiang Wanqing peeked out from a pile of old furniture, her face immediately breaking into a smile. She quickly waved her hand, saying, "No need, no need. You can rest. I'll do these chores."

But Lingyu had already rolled up his sleeves, walked to her side, bent down and picked up an old wooden plank: "Hurry up, you two, and finish cleaning as soon as possible."

Jiang Wanqing looked at his profile; the sunlight fell on his eyebrows and eyes, making him appear even more handsome.

A light flickered in her eyes, and that light lingered longer than usual, long enough for Ling Yu to clearly sense the tenderness in her gaze, tinged with a hint of straightforward appreciation and probing.

Then she smiled, her voice soft and cheerful: "Okay."

Sunlight streamed down from the courtyard, bathing the two of them in a warm glow.

Ling Yu kept his head down, focused on moving things, trying not to think about anything else. But Jiang Wanqing was right beside him, her breath gently lingering around his nose, carrying a faint fragrance, and her occasional gentle gaze made him feel inexplicably tense in his back and uncomfortable all over.

He didn't look up, but silently picked up an old wooden board, gently raised it to cover his face, and also to block her overly eager gaze.

The feeling of escaping one danger only to fall into another became even stronger.

Just as Ling Yu put the old wooden plank down, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by Wang Dong'er's deliberately raised voice drifting into the clinic: "Ling Yu, we're here."

The door was pushed open as soon as he finished speaking.

Wang Dong'er was the first to step in, her pinkish-blue eyes quickly scanning the shop before finally settling on Ling Yu. A mischievous smile curled at the corner of her lips: "Oh, someone's already taken the lead in helping."

Her gaze passed over Ling Yu and landed on the figure in plain clothes not far behind him. She raised an eyebrow and spoke with a hint of scrutiny in her tone.

Jiang Wanqing was just walking out of the courtyard, still clutching a half-damp rag in her hand. When she saw a group of young people rushing in through the door, she paused for a moment, then a gentle smile spread across her face as she quickly went to greet them: "You've arrived? Are you all Dr. Xiaoyu's friends? Please come in and sit down, don't stand at the door."

Wang Dong'er's gaze slowly swept over her, a meaningful smile curving her lips. She chewed on the words "Dr. Xiao Yu" for a moment, then looked at Ling Yu with a half-smile: "You call him quite affectionately."

Ling Yu glanced at her, but remained silent, maintaining his usual indifference.

Ma Xiaotao followed in and happened to hear this. Her gaze fell on Jiang Wanqing, and she looked her up and down before naturally moving closer to Ling Yu, hooking her arm around his, and asking affectionately, "Little Yu, who is this?"

Jiang Wanqing's gaze swept lightly over Ma Xiaotao's hand linked with Ling Yu's arm. Her eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, but her smile remained unchanged as she said gently, "I'm Nannan's mother. I've come to help Dr. Xiaoyu tidy up the clinic."

Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow and drawled, "Oh—Nannan's mother."

She emphasized the word "Nannan" slightly, and glanced at Jiang Nannan out of the corner of her eye. "Auntie, you've worked hard, and you even came all the way from Lingdou City to help."

Jiang Nannan stood at the door, her lips twitching slightly, but she didn't say anything. She just silently walked in and stood on the other side of Ling Yu, closer than usual.

Zhang Lexuan was the last to enter. Her gaze swept lightly over the people in the room, a faint smile playing on her lips. She stood to the side, looking like she was watching a good show.

Wang Dong'er walked to the small table, glanced down at the snacks and fruits on it, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, looked at it and put it down, then turned to look at Ling Yu, her tone lazy and sarcastic: "Oh, there are snacks too. Some people are treated differently. Even when they move, someone specially makes snacks for them."

She paused, then added, "Unlike us, who can only come over and help out of desperation."

Ma Xiaotao leaned on Ling Yu's arm and scoffed, "Wang Dong, why are you talking so strangely today? Who taught you that tone?"

Wang Dong'er blushed slightly and stubbornly defended herself, "How am I being strange? I'm just stating the facts."

"The truth is, you stared at that auntie the moment you walked in," Ma Xiaotao said slowly. "What, so curious about elders?"

Wang Dong'er was momentarily speechless. She suddenly realized that she was dressed as a man, which did look rather strange.

But she refused to admit defeat, so she could only purse her lips and stop talking.

Jiang Wanqing stood to the side, watching the young people bicker. She smiled gently, walked to the table, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of hot tea for each person, and handed it to them. She said softly, "Don't stand there, have a cup of tea and catch your breath. You are all friends of Doctor Xiaoyu, so come and visit often. I'll be staying at the clinic for a while and can cook you some good food."

Wang Dong'er took the teacup, her gaze lingering on Jiang Wanqing's face for a moment before she spoke with a hint of ambiguity: "Auntie is so good to Ling Yu, helping him tidy up, making him snacks, and inviting us to come over often..."

Jiang Wanqing smiled and shook her head, her tone natural: "What are you saying, child? Dr. Xiaoyu has helped my daughter and me so much, what I did is nothing at all."

Wang Dong'er drawled out an "Oh," her eyes sweeping over Jiang Nannan: "You've helped so much..."

Jiang Nannan stood beside Ling Yu, silently drinking tea with her head down. Her face was expressionless, except for a slight blush on the tips of her ears.

Ma Xiaotao observed all of this, then quietly leaned close to Zhang Lexuan's ear and whispered, "Sister Lexuan, don't you think Wang Dong is acting strange today?"

Zhang Lexuan glanced at her and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"It's just..." Ma Xiaotao carefully chose her words, "...the way she talks, like a timid young wife, so sarcastic and strange."

Zhang Lexuan smiled gently, but didn't reply. She just glanced around at the people in the room again.

Ma Xiaotao leaned closer and continued, "And why did he keep staring at that auntie? That look... it was like he was jealous. What's a man jealous of?"

Zhang Lexuan gently shook her head and softly advised, "Don't talk nonsense, it's just childish talk."

Ma Xiaotao pursed her lips and didn't ask any further questions, but her gaze towards Wang Dong'er held a hint of inquiry.

Wang Dong'er noticed her gaze, turned her face away uncomfortably, walked to the row of wooden cabinets, touched and looked at them, and said without turning her head, "These cabinets are cleaned quite well, I just wonder if anyone will come here to freeload every day in the future."

Zhang Lexuan finally spoke up, smiling as she tried to smooth things over: "Alright, stop joking around. Since you're here, let's help out. There's still a lot to pack up."

Ma Xiaotao stretched and said with a self-righteous expression, "I'm injured and can't work."

Wang Dong'er scoffed, her tone full of disdain: "When you were eating osmanthus cake just now, I didn't hear you say you were injured."

"My mouth isn't injured, what's wrong with eating something?" Ma Xiaotao retorted stubbornly, refusing to back down.

Jiang Nannan looked up at the two of them, said nothing, but walked to Ling Yu's side and said softly, "Dr. Ling Yu, let me help you."

Ling Yu nodded slightly.

Jiang Wanqing stood by and watched, her gaze lingering on her daughter's face for a moment before turning to Ling Yu, her eyes filled with satisfaction, relief, and a hint of barely perceptible expectation.

She didn't say much, just smiled and turned to walk towards the kitchen: "I'll go see if there's anything else that needs cleaning up in the kitchen."

Watching her retreating figure, Wang Dong'er muttered to herself, "She's certainly very enthusiastic..."

Ma Xiaotao happened to overhear this and leaned over to ask, "What did you say?"

Wang Dong'er was startled and quickly waved her hand, "N-nothing, I was just saying."