Chapter 140: New Year's Eve (2)
Things quieted down inside the car. Mu Yuchen was still driving and he glanced over at her when the woman did not say anything for quite some while. He noticed something.
She was staring at a number on her phone, seeming distracted as a complicated expression appeared on her face. It was as if she was struggling.
"Just call that number. Hesitating isn't going to help." He nudged her as though he understood her inner struggles. Stunned, Xi Xiaye turned around and gaped at him in shock.
"You know who I wanted to call?" She blurted out.
"Why wouldn't I?" He replied calmly as he slowed the car down.
Xi Xiaye sighed on the inside. She almost forgot that the man's eyes were all-seeing. Sometimes, she realized he could see through everything about her, yet until now she was unable to look at him openly...
She hesitated for another brief moment before calling the number.
The call went through quickly, but it was not Xi Jiyang who picked up the call. Instead, it was Xi Xinyi...
She was way too familiar with Xi Xinyi's voice!
"Hello? Who are you looking for?" Xi Xinyi asked gently when no one spoke on the phone after she picked up the call. She then spoke to Yifeng beside her, "Yifeng, why are you here? Oh, right, Grandfather actually liked your present a lot. It's been some time since I last saw him so happy. We have to come back and visit him more in the future..."
...
Xi Xiaye slowly put her hand down as she stared at her phone screen go dim. A self-mocking smile appeared on her beautiful face.
Of course, she could hear the elated voices from the other end. Compared to the Shen Residence, West Park was much livelier and she even heard Xi Jiyang's laughter as well.
This call was probably not necessary.
Mu Yuchen did not say anything when he saw her expression darken. He did not tell her that he had actually sent Ah Mo to West Park and handed a special gift to Xi Jiyang under her name.
With her worrying EQ, she would never be able to beat the expert in acting.
After some moments of silence, she tossed her phone aside and closed her eyes in fatigue. She said quietly, "I want to take a nap."
He nodded and replied gently, "Mmm, I'll wake you up when we reach."
He even grabbed a blanket for her.
...
At the same time, in West Park.
The elder Xi Jiyang was sitting on the living room sofa while flipping through a thick and yellowish album. A precious cheerful expression was on his face and his hands were shaking slightly as he was not able to hide his excitement.
Someone had sent the album over just now and said that it was a New Year's gift from Ms. Xiaye. Opening it, he noticed that the album recorded all his achievements when he was still active in politics as well as some of the important events involving him back in the day. There was a whole list of newspapers and magazine clippings all arranged in chronological order.
He was suddenly reminded of his old days. Every image summoned a past memory deep inside him, making him feel like he had traveled back in time...
Tears were on the verge of falling from his eyes. He flipped through the album again and again dearly with a fulfilled smile spreading across his wizened face. He did not even look at the well-prepared and expensive gifts Han Yifeng and Xi Xinyi had bought for him. Instead, he praised Xi Xiaye, "Your sister is really amazing. Just how much effort did she put into making this? She found me my precious old memories... How great! Xinyi, you'd better learn from your sister."
Xi Xinyi was a little distracted when she heard Xi Jiyang's words. Nevertheless, after a while, she smiled gently as she nodded. "Mmm, I got it. I told you so! Sister won't forget about you. She's even prepared such a meticulous gift for you. As long as you're happy!"
Xi Jiyang glimpsed at Xi Xinyi.
"Grandfather, I..." Xi Xinyi's expression froze.
Before she could reply, Xi Jiyang mumbled to himself as he closed the album, "It's not been very lively around here in the recent years. I wonder if she's gone back to her mother. It's been years since I've had a reunion dinner with her."
"Her coming back here will just give us trouble. We've indulged her too much and she's become extremely rude now! Lingsi was being considerate about Shen Wenna and just let her daughter do whatever she wanted. Now, look at her arrogance!" Deng Wenwen criticized unhappily when she heard Xi Jiyang.
...
The New Year spirit got more and more fired up as fireworks shot up high into the sky everywhere. The car rumbled under the beautiful fireworks as they arrived into the Mu Residence. Xi Xiaye was already asleep on the man's shoulder.
However, she was a light sleeper and she woke up the moment the car stopped moving.
Wang Hui and the others had prepared the reunion dinner and were waiting for them to arrive.
"Come and sit down. I'm worried the dishes might go cold, so I even started making them later."
Wang Hui looked at the young couple with a big smile, her tone kind. She felt that the more she looked at Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye standing beside each other, the more she thought of them being a perfect couple. She was over the moon as she thought that she would be able to have a grandchild soon.
Mu Yinan could not help but pat his wife's shoulder when he saw her face. "Don't put on such a vulgar smile. You might frighten them."
"Who has a vulgar smile now?" Wang Hui glared at Mu Yinan, annoyed by what he said. "I can't believe that such words came from a vulgar person like you."
"So, only you can talk about others and I can't talk about you? Can you be any more unreasonable?"
Mu Yinan was not convinced.
"I'm the reason here. Any problems?"
"I'm not going to talk to you anymore!"
"Talk? My smile has nothing to do with you, alright? Am I disturbing you in any way?"
...
"Just ignore them. They'll come and eat after they are done." Mu Yuchen lowered his voice as he glanced at the old couple fighting before them as he spoke to the slightly shocked Xi Xiaye.
Mu Tangchuan and Zhuang Shurong smiled at each other and shook their head helplessly. Then, they started serving everyone wine.