She bought it for Mo Yushen, but she herself didn't know it.
This topic was eventually interrupted by Ji Zhenghe, who then talked about New Year's Eve dinner and something more cheerful.
Xi Jia: "What are you talking about? My second brother?" She nudged Ji Qingshi with her elbow, "Is your stomach still hurting?"
Ji Qingshi: "..." He picked up a piece of meat for her, "Gag your mouth."
Xi Jia laughed heartily.
After the meal, the card game continued.
Ji Qingshi sorted through the cards he had stolen and swapped, then stared blankly at them. Such a terrible hand; defeat was inevitable. His attempt to steal a chicken had backfired spectacularly.
Ji Qingshi lost a lot of money in one night.
Xi Jia printed four copies of the QR code and placed one in front of each person. Whoever lost would transfer the money to her voluntarily.
Each time, it was Ji Qingshi who transferred the money.
Xi Jia played on her phone for a while, sending New Year's greetings to her friends. She could only remember a few people now: Wu Yang, Ye Qiu, Cheng Weimo, and Mo Lian.
In her memory, there was no relationship between Mo Lian and Mo Yushen. The name she used in her contacts was Mo Lian's English name.
Happy New Year! I hope I'll still remember you next year and send you my best wishes again~~
Mo Lian was at his grandparents' house, and his parents were also there. The atmosphere at home wasn't very good.
My father and mother have been giving each other the cold shoulder for several months and still don't speak to each other. Because they are afraid of my grandfather, they pretend to have a good relationship.
Grandpa had long seen through their superficial relationship, but he simply turned a blind eye and didn't bother to ask.
During the New Year's Eve dinner, fewer than ten sentences were spoken at the table, and they were all related to the dishes.
We ate without speaking, and finally made it through.
Mo Lian's friends are all abroad and don't celebrate the Spring Festival. Tonight, aside from polite business greetings, he received none of them genuine.
He didn't expect Xi Jia to send him a message.
Mo Lian replied: 【Thank you. Happy New Year, and wishing you good health and peace.】
Xi Jia was about to send Ye Qiu a message; she had already typed out the New Year's greeting, but then deleted it. She called Ye Qiu at midnight.
It will be midnight in a few minutes.
Ji Qingshi didn't win a single game all night. After transferring money to Xi Jia, his phone battery was low, so after a few seconds of thought, he simply turned it off.
"Jiajia, can I borrow your phone for a moment? I need my secretary to transfer some money to me."
Xi Jia: "Hurry up, I still need to call Ye Qiu."
Ji Qingshi took Xi Jia's phone to the restaurant, where it was relatively quieter.
He glanced at his watch; at 11:59, he dialed Ye Qiu's number. He might not get through at midnight; Huo Teng might beat him to it.
A few dozen seconds later, Ye Qiu answered the call. Before he could even speak, Ye Qiu's gentle voice came through, "Baby, Happy New Year, I love you."
Ji Qingshi felt that a year of bad luck had come to an end, and he seemed to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if he had stolen it.
Ye Qiu didn't hear anything, but the call was still going on. She frowned. There were probably too many midnight greetings and calls, causing congestion and a bad signal.
"Hey? Jiajia? Can you hear me?"
On the TV, the countdown reached one.
Ji Qingshi finally spoke, "Happy New Year. I love you."
Ye Qiu was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on and immediately hung up the call.
Over there, Xi Jia wanted to ask Ji Qingshi for his phone, but Mo Yushen stopped her, saying, "Have some pity on your second brother."
At midnight, Mo Yushen received a video from Jiang Qin and Cheng Weiming, who were currently in Switzerland. Jiang Qin had previously posted several skiing videos in their small group chat.
Mo Yushen watched the video and replied to Jiang Qin: "You seem to have gained weight. How much have you eaten these past few days? You're almost getting a double chin."
Jiang Qin angrily threw her phone aside. She blamed at Cheng Weiming, "Couldn't you have chosen a better angle before taking the picture?!"
Cheng Weiming was replying to messages and wasn't paying attention.
Jiang Qin waved her hand in front of him, "I'm talking to you." She glanced at Cheng Weiming's phone screen; the contact name was Xiang Luo.
"When did you two start talking?"
Cheng Weiming: "I don't have time to chat with others. I'm just giving a polite reply to the New Year's greetings."
Jiang Qin moved his phone aside. "Look at me, do you have a double chin?"
Cheng Weimo remained silent for a few seconds, his survival instincts kicking in: "Do you want me to tell the truth, or a lie?"
Jiang Qin: "...You'd better not say anything."
She texted Mo Yushen: 【I'm not done with you yet!】
Mo Yushen didn't have time to chat with Jiang Qin; he had just received Yu An's blessing.
Yu An had already typed out the message, waiting to send it at midnight. 【Mr. Mo, Happy New Year! Wishing you and Sister Xi Jia a happy and fulfilling life together, and hoping for Sister Xi Jia's speedy recovery. I look forward to next year when I can send Sister Xi Jia my midnight New Year's greetings right on time.】
Zhou Mingqian assumed that Yu An was holding her phone to send him a midnight blessing, since she had no friends besides him.
At midnight, he clinked glasses with Yu An and said thank you.
To my surprise, several minutes passed, and still no messages came in on my phone.
Yu An's phone vibrated. After reading the message, she smiled and looked up at him, saying, "President Mo replied to me. He said that Sister Xi Jia has been doing well these past few days."
Zhou Mingqian hummed in agreement and took another sip of red wine.
Yu An continued eating the cake on her plate. Her birthday wish this year was that her birthday wish from last year could come true.
Chapter Ninety-One
On the last day of the holiday, Mo Yushen prepared to go to the company. He got up at six o'clock, before dawn, while Xi Jia was still fast asleep.
No matter how gently he moved, Xi Jia was still clinging to him and was woken up.
"Good morning, honey."
"Good morning." Mo Yushen put her down from his arms. "You go back to sleep. I'm going to the company."
Xi Jia, still half-asleep, looked at him for a few seconds, nodded, and said, "I'm reading at home today." She turned over and went back to sleep.
Mo Yushen looked at the papers on the wall and added a sentence: He was going to the company and signed his name and the time.
Secretary Ding arrived at the company early today. The confrontation between Mo Yushen and Mo Lian will resume tomorrow when the stock market opens.
This battle for control has lasted for several years, and it's unclear when it will finally end.
"Mr. Mo, Mo Lian's flight is to Shanghai today. He hasn't made any appointments with anyone during this holiday, and he hasn't made any moves at all." Secretary Ding couldn't figure out what Mo Lian was thinking.
During last year's Spring Festival holiday, Mo Lian didn't have a single day of rest.
Mo Yu pondered for a moment. Perhaps Mo Lian was using stillness to control movement. Perhaps he was holding back for the time being. Who knows? Mo Lian, like him, often didn't play by the rules.
Around 8 o'clock, Qin Sulan, the mother, arrived. She was going abroad the next day to visit her parents and stay there for a few months. Besides seeing her son, she had another matter to discuss with the Mo family.
"Last night, Mo Lian's mother called me." It was an unfamiliar number. She thought it was an old friend she hadn't contacted in a long time, so she answered the phone, only to find out it was her.
Mo Yushen's gaze shifted: "Is she causing you trouble again?"
Qin Sulan shook her head, "Say I won." Actually, Mo Lian's mother didn't know that the divorce wasn't initiated by Mo Yushen's father, but rather she insisted on it.
Mo Yushen's father knelt down and begged her, wrote a letter of repentance, saying that he could never acknowledge that child, that it was just a business dinner, a drunken affair, and that he had no feelings for him.
No matter how much he begged her, she remained unmoved.
Later, Mo Yushen's father went to plead with her parents again, but she still insisted on getting a divorce.
Mo Yushen was completely confused and asked, "What? You won?"
Qin Sulan: "She wants to divorce your father. I'm afraid your grandparents will suffer another blow then. When you're not busy, go and spend more time with them."
Mo Yushen reassured his mother that his grandparents understood the situation better than anyone else.
Qin Sulan: "That's good." She then asked Xi Jia, "How have you been these past few days?"
Mo Yushen: "Not bad. Yesterday she went to the bookstore and bought a lot of parenting books, saying she wants to have a baby once she recovers." He paused for a moment, "Let her be happy."
Qin Sulan comforted her son, "Don't force it, let everything take its course. I still believe that life is what it is, no matter how you live it. There is happiness in having children, and there is joy in not having children."
Mo Yu nodded; he understood. He was just worried that Xi Jia would be upset if she knew she might not be able to have children. Perhaps, once the medication stopped and all her health indicators returned to normal, they could have a baby.
——
Xi Jia took a nap until she woke up naturally. When she woke up, she was in a daze for a moment and didn't know where she was.
Right now, all she could think about was celebrating Mo Lian's birthday. She couldn't attend her elective class that evening, and she had to borrow notes from a classmate.
After reading all the reminders posted by her bedside, Xi Jia finally realized that she was sick and her memory was playing tricks on her. She tried hard to control herself from thinking too much, especially about things from a long time ago.
Calming down, she remembered that she had been married for a long time, and her husband was Mo Yushen. Today, Mo Yushen went to the Mo Group.
Xi Jia jotted down her thoughts and struggles in her memo. After writing several hundred words, she still hadn't returned to her previous memories. She added, "[I've improved; I'm able to control my brain from issuing incorrect commands for longer periods. Keep it up!]"
Xi Jia put her phone aside, went to the bathroom to wash up, changed her clothes and put on makeup. Her memory returned to a day many years ago when she was in college and had just met Mo Lian a year ago. Today was Mo Lian's birthday.
Xi Jia called Mo Lian.
Mo Lian was on his way to the airport to handle matters related to Mo's Real Estate in Shanghai.
I was quite surprised to see the name displayed on the screen.
He paused for a few seconds before answering the call.
Xi Jia immediately asked, "Where is your restaurant located? I'm taking a day off from my equestrian training today, so I'll head over early to help you plan your birthday party."
Mo Lian was stunned and forgot to respond to Xi Jia. He didn't remember telling her when it was his birthday today.
Xi Jia didn't hear a sound: "Hello, is the signal bad?"
Mo Lian suddenly remembered that a long time ago, Xi Jia had indeed arranged a birthday party for him.
That was the first time he had celebrated his birthday since he grew up. Everyone had class that night, so not many people came, but she did, and she even ordered a birthday cake for him.
"Hello?"