Chapter 489: Yellowing Picture (3)

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye's brows furrowed into a knot. She could tell that Mu Zixi must have been quite an unyielding person.

"Now that we think about it, it was our fault back then. We failed to guide her. Otherwise, the tragedy wouldn't have happened."

When Mu Yinan talked about this, he could not remain calm. His aged eyes were filled with indescribable pain and struggle. "This incident has always been a thorn in your grandmother's heart. It's best if you never talk about this in front of her. Xiaye, you're a sensible child. Just be good and stay by Chen Er's side. Don't think about all of these things of the past anymore. It's not a bad thing to be able to live a calm life like you do now. Knowing too much about some things will only make it become a kind of burden."

"As the eldest brother, Chen Er has always been very protective of Lingtian and Lingshi, but Lingtian... This incident... Everyone knows that we can't blame him because..."

"What are you two talking about? Xiaye, you were free to come back today!" This sudden cheerful voice interrupted Mu Yinan's words. The two of them quickly turned and saw that Wang Hui was walking over to them.

"Grandmother!" Xi Xiaye immediately stood up.

"Sit, sit. I've been waiting for you two to come by for a while now. I was quite surprised to hear the butler say that you were back. You must've been extremely busy recently. What do you want to eat? We'll make it for the two of you."

"Don't busy yourself now, Grandfather and Grandmother. We're just back to visit you two."

Xi Xiaye smiled. "Let me go back to pack up some of Ah Shi's things first. She asked me to take a few books for her."

"Go then, but have dinner here before going back."

"Mmm, okay." Xi Xiaye responded before turning to leave.

...

"What did you say to her? What about Lingtian? Why did you talk about these things to her? Are you trying to add trouble for her?"

Wang Hui had vaguely heard them mention Lingtian earlier, so she shot Mu Yinan a warning glare.

"It's nothing. Ah Chen has never forgotten about Lingtian's incident. Today is Lingtian's birthday, and they've just been to Qingshan Cemetery... Sigh, I keep feeling that perhaps this matter should just be talked about openly. Do you think that the children would be willing to just let it be if we don't talk about it?"

Mu Yinan sighed as he got up and walked to the other end of the corridor with his arms behind his back, looking frustrated.

Wang Hui's expression darkened and shifted while she followed him too.

"It's been so many years now. The children have all grown up and are sensible now. We can't just keep interfering and controlling them. A few days ago, we already received news. We know that Lingshi was trying to find out about Zixi. You should know very well why," Mu Yinan expressed softly.

"Hmph, so what if we found that person? She's already dead! What's the point of finding out who he is? The biggest failure of my life was giving birth to such a disappointing daughter! I let you down!" Wang Hui took a deep breath. The pain that surged up her chest was so suffocating that she could barely breathe, causing an indescribable tightness of distress.

"That's enough. What are you saying now? You didn't have the child alone. If we are to blame, we can only blame ourselves for caring about her too little back then, and for indulging her too much."

"I just feel quite bad... I..."

"Enough, let's not talk about this anymore. It's in the past now, so why are we talking about this now? Only causing trouble!"

Mu Yinan turned to look at Wang Hui with a sigh. "Just let the children worry about these things. We don't have to care. Our grandson would have the fortune of a descendant. Let's just see how it goes."

...

On the other end, after Xi Xiaye heard Mu Yinan speak, she did not manage to get anything useful, so she kept feeling a little disappointed, yet she also understood that Mu Yinan did not actually want to let her know too much about the past. Just as what Mu Yuchen said, this topic was practically a taboo in the Mu family.

Xi Xiaye pushed open Mu Lingshi's door and followed the instructions from Mu Lingshi's call earlier. She began to pack the things to bring over.

It was just a few books and a gift box from the drawer.

The book was about music and a huge stack of musical scores was slotted in between the pages. Xi Xiaye naturally could not read it.

While the gift box contained a very unique pen, it had white porcelain as its body and blue gems embedded it all over. It looked rather expensive.

"That was a present that Aunty gave him during Lingtian's first birthday. When he did the one-year-old grab [1], she hoped that he would be a learned and knowledgeable scholar when he grew up."

Just as Xi Xiaye was lost in thought as she stared at the pen in the gift box, the man's deep and calm voice was suddenly heard. She turned and saw that he was standing behind her.

"This pen is beautiful," Xi Xiaye exclaimed, handing the gift box to him.

"Mmm, this is also the only present that my aunt left for Lingtian who always treasured it. After he passed away, Lingshi safeguarded it. This gift has a unique meaning to them. Back then, Lingtian didn't even allow anyone to touch it."

Mu Yuchen reached out to take it. He held the pen and carefully examined it while the gem flickered and sparkles reflected in the light. It looked a little lonely and bleak when the light bounced off his handsome face.

"That means Lingtian should be quite protective of Aunty." As Xi Xiaye said this, she picked the pen up and carefully scrutinized it. "Mmm? What do these two letters mean?"

She had stroked it for a while when she suddenly noticed that there seemed to be two little letters 'ZX' engraved into the inner part of the cap.

"Zixi?"

She thought for a moment before handing the pen to Mu Yuchen.

Mu Yuchen took it and studied it for a while too. His handsome brows furrowed slightly as he pondered for a while before putting it back.

"Quickly pack up." He closed the gift box and handed it back to her.

"I'm almost done. Ah Shi doesn't have many things."

Xi Xiaye looked around the empty bedroom. Mu Lingshi's entire room was a gloomy coffee-colored design and suited her personality.

"I remember when this room used to be filled with all sorts of toys and dolls. Lingshi loved Barbie dolls. She also loved collecting all sorts of musical boxes, and now...

"She's probably grown up, so she doesn't play with those things anymore. I used to love folding stars too. Now that I think about it, I think it was quite corny, so don't think too much into it."

When she realized what he would say next, her beautiful face flashed with a smile and she quickly interrupted him, "Stars?"

He squinted as he seemed to recall something before he stared at her in amusement. "Back then, you were all little girls, so you liked playing with these things, especially to give to boys that you admired. Did you also do the same?"