Chapter 849: Begin Again (1)

When they returned to the Grand Waves Villa area, the entire area was in stillness. Mu Yuchen slowed his car down and drove slowly on the cemented path towards Maple Residence. From afar, with the help of the dim car headlights, he could see that slender figure waiting by the door.

She wore a simple, long stay-at-home dress while she stood quietly at the door.

"It's still a cool night. Aren't you cold?"

When she came up to him, he had already taken off his coat and put them over her shoulders.

Xi Xiaye fixed the coat he put on her as she looked up with twinkling eyes. "I was worried, so I came out to look. You did drink a lot too..."

"It's fine. I haven't been this happy in a while. Have the boys fallen asleep?" Mu Yuchen said as he put an arm around her shoulders and walked into the house.

"Mmm, they've both fallen asleep. Oh, Mr. Mu, earlier Father and Mother called..."

"What did they say?" he asked softly.

"Nothing much. They were just asking about you. It's going to be the first of May soon, and the new batch of students are going to graduate. In June, the students have to defend their dissertations, so they're a little busy on their end," Xi Xiaye explained briefly.

"Are Father and Mother both supervising dissertations?"

Ever since Xi Mushan and Shen Wenna got back together, Mu Yuchen rarely interfered with their lives anymore. She only found out from Xi Xiaye and Shen Yue that the two of them were doing well.

"Mmm, they are. The dissertations that Mother has been supervising every year are great. Every time, it will be quite a rush back to the university after the New Year. Coincidentally, Father previously graduated as an engineer, so he can help her a little. Right now Father's mainly helping her supervise the students' experiments while she guides them with the data analysis for their dissertations."

"Let's find a day to visit them."

"Mm-hmm..."

...

Without those trifling matters from before, Xi Mushan and Shen Wenna have had quite a few months of peaceful living. They taught classes in the day and were busy with work. At night, the husband and wife duo would go home and cook together before marking the students' homework.

Just like today...

After the two of them had their lunch, Shen Wenna returned to the study room and began marking the students' thesis while Little Apple sat leisurely on her lap with its eyes squinted. Xi Mushan cleaned the dishes in the kitchen.

Just as Shen Wenna was fully focused on reading through a document, there was suddenly a glass of warm water beside her. Xi Mushan's deep voice interrupted her. "Have some water and rest for a bit."

Shen Wenna peered up before setting aside her pen and drinking two mouthfuls of water. "This batch of students' dissertations are quite impressive in quality. I think there are quite a few excellent ones. Wang Ning who's in my class is quite good. His grades are top-notch, but his family background isn't outstanding. Previously, when the recommendation list for school admissions came to me, I told him to apply for it, but he rejected it. It's probably because he's thinking about going out to work sooner. He still has a younger brother doing his third year in university, and a younger sister still in high school. See if you can find a connection and recommend him. I don't want him to waste his talents. If we can recommend him to a research institute, I think this student has huge potential."

"I remember that there was a career fair a few days ago, and a lot of students in your class have found a job. Has Wang Ning not found one?" Xi Mushan looked at Shen Wenna, perplexed, as he bent down to pick up the thesis before her and flip it to read.

"No, I heard that he wants to stay in this city."

"I'll see if there's anything suitable. We're almost done editing the dissertations these past few days. Once we return them, let's go to Maple Residence to take a look. Ah Chen..."

Knock knock.

Before Xi Mushan could finish, there was already a knock from outside. Xi Mushan then stopped what he was saying, looking at Shen Wenna questioningly, and then went to open the door.

When Xi Mushan saw who was standing outside the door, he was stunned.

Upon seeing the steadfast and bright Xi Mushan, Xi Xinyi was a little dazed, but she still called out softly to him, "Father..."

"Why are you here?" Xi Mushan stared at Xi Xinyi in confusion though his face did not reveal much of an expression.

Xi Xinyi looked inside, hesitated, and then said softly, "Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you for a while."

Xi Mushan looked at Xi Xinyi, then turned around and peered into the house before he nodded. His tall figure walked past her. "Let's go. We'll talk downstairs."

Xi Xinyi had mixed expressions as she glanced inside again, yet the door was already closed.

The father and daughter walked downstairs one after another, but the two of them did not say much. Even the atmosphere was rather stifled.

"Father, have you and Aunt been doing good?" Xi Xinyi spoke up first, finally breaking the silence.

"Pretty great. We're rushing for the students' graduation recently, so we've been a little busy. How are you?"

Xi Mushan actually did not quite know how to face this daughter of his. Even if he had not been willing to back then, Yue Lingsi did give birth to Xi Xinyi, and she was his daughter. This was a fact that could not be changed.

"I'm doing pretty well. I've just come from the sanatorium. Mother's alright too. She knows that you handled the matters at the sanatorium for her, so she's thankful for you," said Xi Xinyi softly after hesitating.

However, as Xi Xinyi said that, a smirk already flashed on Xi Mushan's face. "Thankful? Xinyi, I know very well the kind of person your mother is. I'm afraid she wouldn't have known to use that word."

Even though Xi Xinyi knew that it was not very appropriate, when she thought of the way Yue Lingsi had begged her earlier, she could not help but blurt out, "Father, Mother's suffered enough with the lesson this time. I hope that you could go see her just once. There are things that she's been wanting to say to you..."

"All that can be said between us has been said. There's nothing else to say," Xi Mushan responded with an indifferent expression.

"Father, perhaps Mother just wants to repent. She was wrong back then, but she only did so because she cared too much about you. I never knew how she felt, yet after I've experienced all of this, I can empathize with her. Right now, I really regret all those things I did to Sister. I think Mother's the same. A few days ago, Brother-in-law came to look for me..." Xi Xinyi said with a darkened expression while her voice was colored with a hint of sadness.

"Ah Chen went to look for you?" Xi Mushan seemed quite shocked as he stared at Xi Xinyi. Confusion surfaced in his eyes.