"Ha ha ha ha……"
Xin Si Nan laughed, as if he had heard something funny, and he laughed very happily.
But his hearty laughter did not make the atmosphere between the two more lively. On the contrary, Dai Jiaozhi's face grew worse and worse in response to his laughter.
Xin Sinan quickly stopped smiling. The smile on his face vanished instantly, and he stared intently at Dai Jiaozhi, looking very serious: "Mom, when we were little, you cared the least about me out of the four of us brothers. Don't you think I got along well with the third brother because he was weak and honest and seemed to get along well with everyone?"
Dai Jiaozhi's gaze sharpened, and she remained silent.
Xin Sinan continued, "I am the fourth son, the last to be born. Compared to the other sons, I have spent the least amount of time with you. Over the years, I have felt that you have the least affection for me among all of your sons."
Dai Jiaozhi's expression changed, and she was about to say something when Xin Sinan interrupted her.
"My eldest brother was born first, and I could tell you loved him very much. However, as the eldest son, he received an elite education from a young age, attending various classes and having little time to spend with you, so your relationship wasn't very close. Later, my second brother was born, and you poured all the love you had for my eldest brother onto him. Sometimes I wonder if his later wild personality was a result of your overindulgence? My third brother is actually the same as me; you didn't have that much affection for us, but he's close in age to my second brother, and they played together. The more time my third brother spent with you, the more attention you paid to him. As for me, I was born when your relationship with Dad was at its worst. At that time, you not only disliked my birth but probably even resented it, right?"
Dai Jiaozhi's expression kept changing as Xin Sinan spoke, and when he finished speaking, her eyelids twitched violently.
"After your second brother died, all your maternal love is now focused on your third brother. But, Mom, more than ten years have passed, and your sons have lived half their lives. Are you trying so hard to bring your third brother back so that our family will fall apart again? Wouldn't it be better to learn to let go and let everyone live comfortably?"
After saying this, Xin Sinan stared intently at Dai Jiaozhi.
Neither of them spoke, and they fell into a long silence.
Dai Jiaozhi remained silent for a long time before turning around and going back upstairs with her cane.
Xin Si Nan watched her back as the old lady's frail shoulders trembled slightly as she slowly and laboriously walked into the room, leaning on her cane.
Xin Sinan's eyes welled up with tears. As far back as he could remember, his mother had always looked like his mother. He had never seen her at her most graceful and beautiful young age. So many years had passed, and his mother had grown old, and he was no longer young either.
As people get older, they develop their own convictions and want their children to come home. The grown-up children also have their own responsibilities; they want to protect the family.
Xin Si Nan turned around, went downstairs, returned to the garage, and sat in his car, lost in thought.
There was a box of pastries on the passenger seat of the car. It was a local specialty that he had specially asked someone to bring back from a project in Jiangnan.
After staying in the car for more than ten minutes, Shin Si-nam took the box of pastries back inside.
Xin Si Nan went upstairs and placed the box of pastries at the old lady's door. He looked up and found that the door was not closed, and he could see through the crack in the door that the room was dimly lit.
Xin Si Nan knocked on the door, then opened it, only to find the room empty; the old lady was not inside.
The old lady slept in a separate room from Grandpa Xin. When Xin Si Nan walked to the door of Grandpa Xin's room, he guessed that Grandpa Xin was already asleep, as the door was closed. Xin Si Nan did not disturb him.
Xin Si Nan placed the snacks on the table in the old lady's room and was about to leave when he noticed a dark figure on the balcony at the end of the second-floor corridor.
Xin Si Nan paused in his departure and walked over quietly.
With the faint light from outside, Xin Sinan could clearly see that the old lady Dai Jiaozhi, who was not in her room, was standing in the corridor.
Xin Si Nan checked the time; it was already one in the morning, and the old lady was making a phone call.
The bright light from the phone screen clearly illuminated the old lady's profile.
The closer you get, the clearer the old lady's voice becomes.
Suddenly, Xin Si Nan heard a complete voice speaking.
"Hailan."
Xin Si Nan's entire body suddenly stopped.
"Have you contacted your father? Eat well, take care of yourself, okay?"
“Sanatorium? What sanatorium? Oh, I remember now. Don’t worry about this. Just listen to Grandma.”
"Okay, go to sleep early. Grandma will contact you again later."
After making the call, Dai Jiaozhi opened the glass door to the balcony and came in.
As she walked back inside, she paused for a moment when she saw a box of pastries on the table.
On that day, Xin Si Nan did not sleep at the Xin residence. Instead, he sat in the garden all night, smoking.
He drove to the company just as dawn broke.
He didn't return to the Xin residence after that; he kept going back to his place of residence outside.
His villa and Xin Ying's villa were in the same villa area, and the two houses were not far apart.
He hadn't lived here for a while. These past two days, he'd been in a bad mood and hadn't gone out to attend any drinking parties, so instead of staying in his apartment near the company, he came here.
In the evening, Xin Si left the villa and walked towards Xin Ying's house.
As I approached, I saw two people busy in Xin Ying's yard.
Lin Leyao and Xin Ying were busy in the courtyard and didn't notice Xin Si Nan outside. Xin Si Nan stood outside, silently watching them.
Recently, Lin Leyao and Xin Ying have been staying at home, watching movies and going on dates, and they've also been thinking about renovating their yard.
Every day after getting up and finishing her meal, Lin Leyao would take a small hoe and start tilling the ground in the yard.
Xin Ying planned to replace the roses in the yard with calla lilies. As soon as she got home from work, she grabbed a small hoe and joined in.
The scene Xin Si Nan is seeing now is her younger sister, whom she has pampered since childhood, with her pants covered in mud, digging in the ground with Lin Le Yao.
Both of them had messy faces and hair, and didn't look like the elegant young ladies they usually were.
However, Shin Si-nan sensed the joy emanating from the hearts of the two.
He could sense that his younger sister, who was digging in the soil in her own yard, was even happier than when she became the president of Huanning Group.
After watching for an unknown amount of time, Xin Si Nan left.
The two people, engrossed in digging in the courtyard, were completely unaware of Xin Si Nan's arrival and departure.
Lin Leyao and Xin Ying returned indoors only after it had truly darkened outside.
The two ordered takeout, and Lin Leyao and Xin Ying sat at the dining table eating dinner. Lin Leyao's gaze couldn't help but drift towards the yard.
The two of them dug up the entire yard again, and now it looks messy and unsightly.
Lin Leyao looked at the yard, which had changed its appearance, with some worry: "What if the plants don't look good?"
Xin Ying laughed and said, "So what? It's my own yard. I can do whatever I want with it. If it doesn't look good, I'll tear it down and rebuild it."
Lin Leyao nodded: "That's all we can do. I have to attend my mom's birthday party tomorrow, so I don't have time to do anything else right now."
Xin Ying hummed in agreement: "Take your time."
After saying that, Xin Ying asked with a smile, "You're actually worried about the yard now? Shouldn't you be worried that I won't cook while I'm busy with the yard, and that I won't cook for you anymore if things continue like this?"
Lin Leyao withdrew her gaze from the courtyard and turned to look at Xin Ying with blinking eyes.
Seeing the teasing smile on Xin Ying's face, Lin Leyao rested her chin on her hands and said softly, word by word, "As long as my dear wife is by my side, I have nothing to worry about."
Xin Ying was startled by her serious gaze. As she finished speaking, Xin Ying lowered her eyelids, and her ears turned visibly red.
She actually got flirted with by Lin Leyao.
This girl is becoming more and more outgoing.
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:57:35 on April 29, 2022 and 18:19:33 on April 30, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 55157345 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 96
Ji Rong's 50th birthday banquet was held in the banquet hall of a five-star hotel in downtown S.
Because Ji Rong doesn't manage the affairs of Huanling Group, she usually associates with the wives and young ladies of wealthy families in S City.
Today, most of the people attending her birthday party were women, including wealthy ladies who were either on good terms with her or not particularly close to her.
Knowing that all those attending Ji Rong's birthday banquet were wealthy heiresses from similar backgrounds, many of the wives brought their eligible sons to see if they could find suitable partners, there were also quite a few young men in the banquet hall.
The birthday party will start at 7:30 pm.
Today, the entrance of the banquet hotel was filled with luxury cars, and many well-dressed men and women got out of the cars and entered the hotel.
Many vehicles passing by the hotel entrance couldn't help but stick their heads out and take out their phones to record the scene when they saw so many luxury cars at once, and everyone was speculating about what kind of event was being held at the hotel today.
When Lin Leyao and Xin Ying arrived, there were far fewer cars at the entrance.
The car keys were handed to the valet, and the two got out of the car one after the other and entered the banquet hall.
Ji Rong invited a lot of people this time, and almost everyone who received an invitation came to the event.
Ji Rong, along with Lin Shujun and Lin Zhipei, greeted them one by one.
As time passed, Ji Rong wore a stiff smile. Having just finished greeting an invited friend, she looked at the empty doorway and said to Lin Zhipeng standing next to her, "We've been working ourselves to the bone here greeting guests, while Le Yao has it easy, having a good time outside and not coming over at all."
Just as I finished complaining, another wealthy woman came in with her daughter.
Ji Rong's expression changed, and she immediately smiled and greeted the newcomer.
"Sister Qing, you're here?"
The elegantly dressed, wealthy lady instantly smiled and hugged Ji Rong, saying, "Happy birthday, Rongmei."
"Thank you, Sister Qing."
Ji Rong looked at the young girl beside her and asked, "Sister Qing, is this An'an?"
"Yes, my daughter An'an just returned from abroad, and I brought her along to your birthday party."
“The last time I saw An’an in person was when she was in junior high school. After that, she went abroad to study in high school and I haven’t seen her in real life. An’an has grown into a beautiful young woman now, just like you.”
Sister Qing laughed heartily: "She's indeed grown up now. I'm getting old and she's grown up too. I don't want her to find a foreign boyfriend. Today I'll see if there's any nice young man I can bring her here to find a boyfriend from China."
“Alright, quite a few young masters have arrived now, you can go in and have a look.”
Sister Qing smiled and looked at Lin Zhipei next to her, saying, "This must be your daughter. It's been a long time."
Ji Rong smiled and nodded, saying, "Zhi Pei, say hello to Aunt Qing."
Lin Leyao obediently called out, "Aunt Qing."
"Oh dear, this girl is so thin. She would look better if she gained some weight."