Chapter 275: A Big family

"Really?" Zhao Hongyu had been calm in every emergency, but this time she was astonished.

"I don't know if it's a trick of theirs. Tomorrow evening, the premiere of the West Ocean Dragon Palace will come to the East Ocean Dragon Palace with the gifts and pick up Zeng Yitao," Zhao Guang said.

"But West Ocean's style is not to play tricks. They don't think they need schemes with their greater strength," Zhao Hongyu analyzed in a low voice.

Standing next to them, Hao Ren didn't understand the 180-degree change in the West Ocean's attitude.

"Mom! The pot is taken out. Shall I wash it?" Standing on the other side of the living room. Zhao Yanzi asked with a dusty electric hotpot pot in her hands.

Zhao Yanzi glanced at Zhao Guang. "We'll talk about it when we get home."

She turned to face Zhao Yanzi. "Of course, you must wash it. It's dusty!"

"Ok!" Nodding, Zhao Yanzi walked to Hao Ren and placed the pot into his hands with a frown. "Hurry up and wash it!"

"Zi, you wash it!" Zhao Hongyu glanced at Zhao Yanzi in exasperation.

"The pot belongs to him, and I don't know how to wash it! It took a great effort of mine to dig it out from the storage room!" Zhao Yanzi said, widening her bright eyes

Hao Ren saw threads of spider webs on her arm, knowing that she had indeed dug out the hotpot from under the pile of rarely used objects. Without talking back, he took the pot to the kitchen to wash it.

"Linlin, Lili, come with me to rinse the vegetables!" Zhao Hongyu beckoned to the sisters.

"Ok!" The Lu sisters answered in unison.

They needed to wash and rinse the vegetables and chop the meats for hotpot.

Obediently, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili followed Zhao Hongyu to the backyard and helped her.

This left Zhao Yanzi with nothing to do. While Grandma talked with her dad, she stood in the living room and found it quite empty.

She thought for a while and ran into the kitchen to stand beside Hao Ren.

Hao Ren was rubbing the pot with a piece of cloth, and he ignored her when she came in.

Zhao Yanzi didn't speak; she just watched him by his side.

"What are you doing here?" Hao Ren turned his head slightly and looked at her.

"Nothing." Zhao Yanzi curled her lips.

Hao Ren rinsed the pot with hot water before scrubbing the stubborn stains with a tougher scrubby.

"Hey!" Zhao Yanzi yelled abruptly.

Ignoring her, Hao Ren continued scrubbing.

"Hey!" Zhao Yanzi yelled again.

When Hao Ren continued to ignore her, she said, "Do you want me to call over your Class President?"

"Are you trying to mess with me?" Hao Ren looked at her in exasperation.

"Not at all. You miss her, right?" Zhao Yanzi glanced at him and said in a provocative tone.

Ignoring her, Hao Ren scrubbed the pot more thoroughly.

"Give me your cell phone; I'll call her." Zhao Yanzi reached out her hand.

"I have no time for your nonsense." Hao Ren took the pot to the other sink.

However, Zhao Yanzi followed him. While he was busy scrubbing, she stuck her hand into his pocket for his cell phone.

Hao Ren tried to dodge, but her hand kept wriggling in his pocket. Hao Ren panicked.

Finally, she grabbed the cell phone and took it out of his pocket.

"Hey! Give it back!" Hao Ren chased her with the pot in his hand. However, she had run out of the kitchen and then out of the house, making the call.

With the pot in his hand, Hao Ren could only watch her.

Minutes later, Zhao Yanzi returned to the kitchen with his cell phone.

"Did you finish the call?" Hao Ren looked at her.

"No! I lied to you. I didn't call her." Zhao Yanzi slipped the cell phone back into his pocket before running out of the kitchen to join Zhao Hongyu and the Lu sisters in the backyard.

Hao Ren didn't believe her.

After drying his hands, he took out the cell phone and pulled out the recent calls. Sure enough, there was a call made to Xie Yujia a few minutes ago.

He dialed her number, and it was answered after two rings.

"Yujia?" Hao Ren said immediately.

"Yeah, it's me," Xie Yujia answered.

"Did Zhao Yanzi call you?" Hao Ren asked.

"Yeah. She called me," she answered lightly.

"What did she say?" Hao Ren asked cautiously.

"Nothing important. She just invited me over for hotpot," she paused for a few seconds before asking, "Is she with you right now?"

"Yeah. She's at my home with her parents."

"Oh..."

Silence.

To break the silence, Hao Ren asked her, "What are you doing?"

"Reading."

"Are you home alone?"

"Yeah," she answered in a gentle and lazy voice.

"Do you... do you want to come over and have hotpot with us? Lu Linlin and Lu Lili are here as well."

"No. I'll cook something for myself."

"Oh..." Now, Hao Ren didn't know what to say.

"Have fun. I'll go back to my book." Xie Yujia's words signaled her intention to end the conversation.

"Ok. And... Grandma hopes that you can come over when you have time," he said.

"Got it," she answered before hanging up.

Hao Ren was suddenly at a loss.

He could imagine Xie Yujia sitting in the small windowless room, reading under a yellow lamp.

Seeing Zhao Yanzi playing with Zhao Hongyu outside, Hao Ren wondered if Zhao Yanzi had called Xie Yujia for fun or to meddle with her.

"Ren! Are you done washing the pot?" Grandma called him from outside.

"Yeah. It's done!" he answered immediately before taking the pot out of the kitchen.

Then, a boisterous and lively hotpot meal began. With Grandma in the center, everyone talked, laughed, and got closer to each other in the process.

Zhao Guang was in a great mood, eating, drinking and talking a lot. Grandma rarely had so many people eating a meal with her in recent years, so she was delighted.

When the night came, Zhao Hongyu and the Lu sisters helped Hao Ren to clean the table, and then it was almost time to leave.

Grandma stood in the doorway, seeing them off reluctantly.

There were two vacant spots in the car, so Zhao Guang would drive Lu Linlin and Lu Lili back to downtown. Since Lu Linlin and Lu Lili were 'granddaughters' of Lu Qing, they were also part of Zhao Guang's big family in a way.

While the black Chevrolet drove away slowly, Grandma sighed slightly.

Loneliness always came after the party.

Knowing Grandma's sentiments, Hao Ren helped her back to the house.

"I called Yujia today, but she said she is busy and can't come," Grandma said while walking into the house.

"She... I guess she's busy," Hao Ren said helplessly.

"Well, well! Nothing is perfect in the world!" With a wave of her hand, Grandma walked into the brightly lit house slowly.

While Hao Ren sighed together with his grandma, in her small room, Xie Yujia rubbed her head and closed a thick book.

After checking the clock on the desk, she rolled her shoulders and stood up. "Well, it's time for me to go to the old Grandma's place and cultivate."