After rebirth, I rejected the rich yandere lady

In fact, if Yao Mingyue knew that Xu Musen's impressive crab peeling skills were solely developed to serve her in a past life,

she would probably be so angry that she'd flip the table on the spot upon seeing him perform this for another girl now.

"But to me, it's really amazing. If it weren't for you today, I might not even know what the inside of a crab looks like."

An Nuannuan giggled, looking even more naive, but it gave Xu Musen an inexplicable sense of achievement.

Actually, the best thing a girl can offer a guy is emotional value.

Given the same financial conditions, a man will definitely choose someone with a gentler personality.

"Go ahead and eat."

"Actually, I don't really like eating crab."

"Then why were you in such a hurry to nibble on it just now?"

"That's because you said you wanted to eat it, and I also wanted to help you get the crab meat. But I don't know how to crack a crab open... I think I'm really a bit clumsy."

An Nuannuan blushed slightly and took a sip of her milk tea with sincere simplicity.

At this moment, even the mother-daughter pair was momentarily stunned.

Am I clumsy?

Then are we all fools!

It's all about peeling crabs.

Especially Liu Rushuang, as a bystander, saw things most clearly.

The feeling her darling daughter gave to Xu Musen was like "you can't manage without me."

Yet this little girl called An Nuannuan was more like "I can't manage without you."

Honestly speaking, if she were a man,

she would feel pressured by the former, even a sense of defeat as if unable to lift his head in front of his own woman.

But with the latter... even if a man were in a difficult situation, he could still find that sense of achievement from being needed and relied upon.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs,

Physiological → Safety → Social needs → Esteem → Self-actualization.

A wealthy woman who can financially support you can at most satisfy your physiological and safety needs.

But a girl who encourages you, understands you, and allows you to feel recognized and needed already fulfills the highest levels of esteem and self-actualization.

Chinese parents often work themselves to death for their children, precisely because of the sense of validation from being needed by their offspring.

This sense of achievement is the most solid psychological shield.

Liu Rushuang couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

Looking at the naive girl in front of her, she finally understood where her daughter had fallen short.

Meanwhile, Yao Mingyue watched as the two flirted with each other as if no one else existed, her eyes growing hollow.

Xu Musen also felt the temperature at the dining table drop a few degrees.

He glanced at the two girls and then looked down at the two plates in front of him.

Yao Mingyue was staring intensely, still clutching the tool for extracting crab meat in her hand.

It seemed as if the first bite Xu Musen took wasn't from the crab she peeled, she was ready to peel him instead!

The situation was getting heated.

Xu Musen's gaze inadvertently caught that of Liu Rushuang.

Heh, you love to fan the flames so much, now there's really a fire burning!

I'm sorry, Aunt Liu!

Xu Musen smiled brilliantly, carrying his peeled crab over to her.

"Aunt Liu, you've had a busy day at work and came to see us. You should eat the crab first."

As he said this, Xu Musen placed the plate in front of her.

In that moment, Yao Mingyue's gaze also shifted, and seeing her mother, she couldn't help but pout her lips.

Liu Rushuang, seeing Xu Musen's radiant smile, also inwardly marveled at how the rascal had grown up, deftly pulling such a move.

Then she turned to her daughter, who was eyeing the crab meat that Xu Musen had peeled, and thought how pitiful she looked...

"Xiaosen has grown up. You know how to be considerate now, not letting me see you as my son for nothing."

Liu Rushuang responded with a beaming smile.

"I've always regarded you as my elder too." Xu Musen was also all smiles.

A perfect picture of maternal affection and filial piety.

Liu Rushuang casually handed the plate of crab meat to her daughter.

Only then did Yao Mingyue's expression soften significantly.

Without haste, Liu Rushuang continued to speak, still smiling: "Speaking of which, when you two were children, a betrothal was arranged between you and Ming Yue. There might really be a chance in the future..."

Huh?

Everyone looked up simultaneously, Yao Mingyue and Xu Musen catching each other's gaze.

Sure enough, given the past relationship between the two families, a childhood betrothal wasn't out of the question.

An Nuannuan listened to the term, muttered it to herself, and looked at them with a slightly different emotion in her peach blossom eyes.

"Aunt Liu, actually Ming Yue and I are quite happy with our current relationship. I have no plans for dating or anything of the sort," Xu Musen admitted without directly offending Liu Rushuang, but saying so to the woman was sufficiently face-slapping.

Yao Mingyue clenched the small tweezers in her hand as if she wanted to snap the silver instrument in two.

Her dark eyes bored into him.

Liu Rushuang paused for a moment, yet her smile didn't falter: "Auntie understands, matters of the heart all depend on fate. Are you and Nuannuan in a romantic relationship?"

Suddenly, the direction of the conversation shifted.

Xu Musen was taken aback, turning to meet An Nuannuan's clear and bright gaze.

An Nuannuan blinked, her pretty face slightly flushed, but she said not a word.

As if leaving the decision up to him.

In his heart, Xu Musen certainly had a good impression of An Nuannuan, and to say he liked her wouldn't be an overstatement, as she ticked all of Xu Musen's boxes.

Having not experienced a proper romance in his past life, he truly enjoyed this current phase.

As for defining their relationship, he really wasn't in any rush.