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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 23:27:19 on March 22, 2022 and 23:47:32 on March 23, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 58123721 (1 landmine);
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 63
On the 14th, the atmosphere at the Xin residence was extremely oppressive.
When Xin Hailan came out of her room in the morning, she felt that the atmosphere at home was a bit unusual. The nannies, who were usually cheerful and talkative, were all serious and doing things quietly.
Xin Hailan, not understanding what was going on, went to the kitchen to help Zhang Sao as usual.
Through her recent interactions with the Xin family, Xin Hailan realized that it was impossible to build a closer relationship with her aunt by simply ingratiating herself with her. Her eldest uncle had been staying in Hong Kong and hadn't returned home, so she hadn't seen him at all. Her fourth uncle, although in S City, hadn't returned for the past few days, leaving her unable to contact him either.
She did have a lot of contact with her cousin Xin Wenwen, but she was sensitive and always felt that her cousin's attitude towards her was very strange. It wasn't that she was bad, but she wasn't very kind to her either.
After understanding all this, Xin Hailan chose to stay at the Xin residence every day to be with her grandparents.
At least her grandmother's love for her was genuine. Although her grandfather was usually quiet, he would patiently respond whenever she spoke to him. Her grandfather held all the decision-making power in the family, and as long as he liked her, no one else's attitude mattered.
So these past few days, Xin Hailan has been getting up early every morning and making breakfast herself in the kitchen.
When she was in Australia, her parents doted on her. She never lifted a finger to do housework. The breakfasts she made these past few days were all made from recipes she found online.
Fortunately, it works well; my grandparents always praise the taste after eating it.
The day before each breakfast, she would tell Aunt Zhang what she was going to make. Aunt Zhang would always prepare the ingredients for her in advance, which saved her a lot of time and effort when cooking.
Today, she came to the kitchen, her gaze sweeping over the stove, and asked in confusion, "Aunt Zhang, where are the ingredients I ordered?"
Aunt Zhang was engrossed in rolling out noodles and didn't notice Xin Hailan's appearance. Xin Hailan suddenly spoke, startling Aunt Zhang.
After hearing what Xin Hailan said, Aunt Zhang clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot to prepare!"
Xin Hailan's brows furrowed immediately, her expression turning extremely displeased.
Aunt Zhang said, "I'm sorry, Miss Hailan, I had too many important things to do today and I forgot to prepare a pizza for you. But there's still time, so I can knead one for you right now."
Upon hearing this, Xin Hailan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she nodded without saying anything more.
Aunt Zhang quickly rolled out the noodles and then kneaded the remaining flour into a pizza dough.
Xin Hailan was cutting fruit and placing them one by one on the kneaded pizza dough.
While waiting for the pizza to finish baking in the oven, Xin Hailan noticed that Aunt Zhang had only prepared enough noodles for one bowl, and asked with some confusion, "Does Grandpa want to eat noodles?"
Aunt Zhang shook her head: "No, it's for the Fifth Young Master."
Xin Hailan looked puzzled.
She grew up in Australia and knew about her family and relatives only from her father's stories. She hadn't noticed before, but now that she thinks back, she realizes she has never heard her father tell stories about her fifth uncle.
Xin Hailan couldn't help but ask, "Is my fifth uncle coming home today?"
Aunt Zhang paused in her work, her gaze sweeping across Xin Hailan's face before quickly looking away.
Aunt Zhang shook her head: "I don't know."
Xin Hailan asked a few more questions about her fifth uncle out of curiosity, but Zhang Sao did not answer.
Xin Hailan suppressed her doubts and did not ask any further questions.
As usual, Xin Hailan happily took the pizza she had made to the restaurant today.
Today was quite unexpected. My grandparents, who usually arrive on time, hadn't arrived at the restaurant yet. Xin Hailan waited at her seat, and ten minutes later, Dai Jiaozhi finally arrived late.
When Xin Hailan saw her appear, she immediately called out sweetly, "Grandma."
Dai Jiaozhi nodded and hummed in agreement.
Xin Hailan felt a growing sense of unease. These past few days, the person who had been most welcoming to her at home was her grandmother. Her grandmother hadn't seen her father for over ten years, and every time she did, she would pull her aside and ask her about what had happened in Australia. Even the most mundane little things would fascinate her. But today, her grandmother was acting out of character, sitting quietly in her chair without saying a word.
Xin Hailan whispered, "Grandma, where's Grandpa?"
Dai Jiaozhi sat in her chair, her gaze fixed on a certain point on the dining table, without responding.
Xin Hailan raised her voice and asked, "Grandma!"
Dai Jiaozhi immediately realized what was happening and looked at Xin Hailan.
Xin Hailan asked, "Why hasn't Grandpa arrived yet?"
Dai Jiaozhi simply said, "I'll be here in a bit."
Xin Hailan nodded and sat down without asking any further questions.
Seeing the pizza on her plate getting cold, Xin Hailan said to Dai Jiaozhi, "Grandma, this is a pizza I made, please try it!"
Dai Jiaozhi waved her hand, refusing: "Let's eat when your grandfather comes out."
Xin Hailan responded with an "oh," her expression somewhat dejected.
After waiting another ten minutes, Xin Guangjin finally appeared at the restaurant.
Xin Hailan spotted him and immediately exclaimed happily, "Grandpa, I made pizza today, come and try it!"
Xin Guangjin sat down in the chair and gave a faint "hmm".
Xin Guangjin is seventy years old this year. Although he is nearing the end of his life, he is still vigorous and in good health. The decisive, dignified, and cold personality he developed in his youth while sailing has been tempered and refined over the past ten years, making him much more reserved.
However, Xin Guangjin was clearly in a bad mood today. He had a sullen face, and his intimidating aura was fully undisguised.
Xin Hailan was unaware of what was happening and happily divided the pizza in half, putting one half into Xin Guangjin's bowl and the other half into Dai Jiaozhi's bowl.
Xin Hailan urged excitedly, "Grandpa and Grandma, hurry up and eat! It won't taste good if it gets cold!"
Dai Jiaozhi took a bite and praised with a smile, "It tastes very good."
Dai Jiaozhi ate a lot, and seeing that her grandmother liked it, Xin Hailan grinned happily.
Then Xin Hailan noticed that Xin Guangjin had only taken one bite, so she quickly said, "Grandpa, you should eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Xin Guangjin took another bite at her urging.
Xin Guangjin was in a bad mood today because old things were on his mind. He silently chewed the pizza in his mouth without saying a word.
Xin Hailan looked at her grandfather for a long time, but she never heard the praise that Xin Guangjin usually gave her.
Before she could even ask, Xin Guangjin put down his pizza, stood up, and said, "You guys eat, I'm not eating this morning."
After saying that, he turned and left the restaurant. After Xin Guangjin left, Dai Jiaozhi also put down the pizza in her hand, her face cold and indifferent.
Xin Hailan was a little stunned, and called out blankly, "Grandma?"
Dai Jiaozhi cheered her up and said, "It's okay. Your grandpa isn't feeling well, so he didn't eat breakfast. I've eaten enough. I'm going back to my room to rest now. Why don't you go play with Wenwen for a while?"
After saying that, Dai Jiaozhi also left the restaurant.
Xin Hailan was stunned by this series of unexpected events and didn't react for a long time.
Xin Hailan sat in the restaurant for a long time. Her grandparents barely ate the pizza she had worked so hard to make, and she didn't even receive the praise they used to give her, which made her very disappointed.
Xin Hailan sat in the restaurant for a long time, and the breakfast on the table gradually got cold. Aunt Zhang couldn't help but come over and remind her, "Miss Hailan, would you like me to reheat the breakfast?"
Xin Hailan shook her head, stood up and said, "I'm not eating either, you can take this away."
"good."
Xin Hailan left the restaurant dejectedly. Aunt Zhang, who had been in close contact with Xin Hailan these past few days, knew about her emotional state. She guessed that Miss Hailan was pondering why the master and mistress hadn't given her a warm response that day, a situation that must have brought her a huge sense of disappointment.
However, Ms. Hailan's food was never very good to begin with. Her breakfasts were neither Chinese nor Western, and tasted very strange, completely unsuitable for the tastes of elderly Chinese people.
These past few days, the old master and mistress have been willing to patronize her breakfasts because they want to encourage the child and don't want to discourage her. But today is a special day. The old master is in a bad mood, and Xin Hailan is the third young master's child. How could the old master have the energy to praise Xin Hailan's pizza at this time?
Aunt Zhang sighed, shook her head, and cleared the breakfast away.
After leaving the restaurant, Xin Hailan did not go to find Xin Wenwen, but instead sat on the sofa in the living room.
At this moment, she sat in the middle of the living room, watching the people coming and going in the house, and she felt that everyone's mood was a bit off today.
Even the usually kind butler was silent today.
Xin Hailan had a lot of questions, but no one to ask.
An hour after breakfast, at eight o'clock in the morning, the butler's voice suddenly came from outside.
"Young Master, why are you back so early?"
A tall, upright man with a calm and dignified face entered the Xin residence.
The man entered the house with a cold expression, and paused when he saw Xin Hailan sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Xin Hailan stared at him for a few seconds, then stood up and called out, "Uncle."
Xin Boliang nodded, and without lingering, walked into the house.
Suddenly he stopped and turned around to ask, "Where's Wenwen?"
The butler immediately asked, "Is Miss Wenwen still sleeping?"
Xin Boliang frowned: "Giving her the day off from work isn't to let her sleep in. Have Aunt Zhang wake her up!"
The butler immediately replied, "Yes, young master."
Then, Xin Bolang walked inside without looking back. Xin Hailan watched him the whole time, and saw him go up to the second floor. The last room he opened was probably his grandfather's room.
Xin Hailan only slowly came back to her senses after hearing the door close.
This was the first time she had seen her uncle since returning home, but he didn't react to her presence.
Xin Hailan sat quietly on the living room sofa, her mind churning with various thoughts. An hour after her uncle returned home, her fourth uncle, Xin Sinan, who had been living outside, also rushed home.
When Xin Hailan saw him appear, she immediately stood up and called out, "Fourth Uncle."
Xin Si Nan hummed in agreement, then ran upstairs in a few quick steps.
Her two relatives didn't react to her appearance. Xin Hailan remained silent for a long time, her mind racing. Her mind gradually cleared, and she finally realized that today seemed to be a special day. Her eldest uncle and fourth uncle, whom she had never met before, had both returned home today.