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Chapter 78
After having lunch at the Xin residence, Lin Leyao and Xin Ying went to the Ji residence.
Knowing that his granddaughter was coming home today, Ji Hongchen was in a particularly good mood and waited for her at the gate of the yard early in the morning.
The Ji family is small; even though Lin Leyao brought Xin Ying home this time, there were only six people celebrating the New Year together.
Ji Rong, Lin Shujun, and Lin Zhipeng returned to the old house a couple of days ago. When they saw Lin Leyao and Xin Ying return, they all came out to greet them.
I don't know if Ji Hongchen had given Ji Rong a warning in private, but recently, since Lin Leyao has been filming on set, Ji Rong has been contacting her much less often than before. This time when she came home, Ji Rong didn't say anything inappropriate.
All afternoon, everyone sat in the living room chatting leisurely.
When the New Year's Eve dinner was served, the housekeeper switched the living room TV to CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, using the lively atmosphere of the show to add some joy to the home.
While they were eating, Ji Hongchen, who had been talking to Lin Leyao and Xin Ying, suddenly remembered something and looked at the girl not far away, saying, "The things you're going to give your mother for the New Year's greetings tomorrow have already been prepared at home. Go and check with the housekeeper in a bit, and just let us know if you need anything."
It took Lin Zhipei a while to realize that Ji Hongchen was talking to her.
Lin Zhipei, who had always been very quiet and low-key at the Ji residence, was the center of attention for the first time at the dinner table.
She quickly realized what was going on and replied, "No need, Grandpa. I've already checked and I don't need anything."
Ji Hongchen remained expressionless, nodded, and said, "That's good. Please give my New Year's greetings to your mother tomorrow."
Lin Zhipeng forced a smile and replied, "Thank you, Grandpa."
The dinner table was quiet for a few seconds. Just when Lin Zhipei thought the conversation was over, Ji Hongchen suddenly spoke up: "If you miss your mother, you can go to the nursing home to spend the New Year with her. Our family doesn't mind."
Lin Zhipei maintained her unwavering smile and replied, "I understand, thank you, Grandpa."
In fact, Ji Hongchen often said this a few years before Ji Rong and Lin Shujun remarried, when Lin Zhipei had just entered the Ji family.
When she was little, she was timid and prone to overthinking. She thought that Ji Hongchen said this because he didn't want her to stay at the Ji family home for the Spring Festival, so for the first few years, she went to the nursing home to accompany her mother.
Later, she learned from her experience in the family and realized that Ji Hongchen didn't mean it that way. After that, she stayed at the Ji residence for the New Year, and more than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
After saying those few words, Ji Hongchen didn't say anything more to Lin Zhipei.
As the New Year's Eve dinner was about to end, Ji Hongchen suddenly asked Lin Leyao and Xin Ying, "When are you planning to hold your wedding?"
As soon as Ji Hongchen finished speaking, the others at the table slowed down their eating.
Ji Rong and the others were also paying close attention to Lin Leyao's marriage.
After a few moments of thought, Lin Leyao said, "It will be soon."
Xin Ying, who was standing next to her, replied quickly: "September."
Xin Ying's reply was very certain, and Ji Hongchen nodded in agreement.
Lin Leyao looked at Xin Ying in surprise upon hearing her answer. Both of them were certain that the wedding would be held this year, but they had not discussed the specific details of the wedding in private. She did not expect that Xin Ying would state the time so decisively this time.
Xin Ying answered very affirmatively because she had been considering this matter.
She had thought about the wedding for a long time and had many ideas, but she had never told Lin Leyao about them.
She felt that the two of them had registered their marriage in a hurry, and that this wedding should make up for all the ceremonies that were not carried out back then.
Throughout the New Year's Eve dinner, Lin Leyao kept looking at Xin Ying with curious eyes, as if she wanted Xin Ying to tell her why the wedding date was set for September.
Xin Ying never told her.
Just as everyone was finishing their New Year's Eve dinner and about to leave the table, Ji Rong, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke up: "Dad, I'm going to have a 50th birthday banquet this year."
For Chinese people, the older a person is, the more important their birthday becomes. After listening to Ji Rong's words, Ji Hongchen nodded and said, "You can discuss it with the housekeeper yourself."
Ji Rong asked softly, "Dad, were you coming that day?"
Ji Hongchen pondered for two seconds, then slowly shook his head: "Forget it, it's too noisy, you guys play by yourselves."
Seeing that Ji Hongchen was unwilling, Ji Rong had no choice.
Then, Ji Rong looked at Lin Leyao and Xin Ying and said, "You two remember to come. I'll let you know the location once it's decided."
A 50th birthday is such an important occasion that a daughter has no reason to refuse.
Lin Leyao hummed in agreement and said, "There were too many people that day, so I didn't go to the lobby. I stayed in my room."
For so many years, she has not socialized with these rich young ladies and gentlemen, nor is she willing to reveal her identity in front of everyone.
If people knew that Lin Leyao, a celebrity in the entertainment industry, was the youngest granddaughter of the Ji family, who knows what kind of trouble would happen.
Ji Rong nodded and looked at Xin Ying, who immediately replied, "I will go."
Ji Rong was in a great mood after finally settling things down. Later, she sat in the living room with Lin Zhipeng and watched the gala on TV until it ended.
The two were staying at the Ji residence tonight. This was the first time Xin Ying had entered Lin Leyao's room. The interior design style was consistent with the overall style of the villa's hall and dining room. It was probably designed by the designer as a whole, without any obvious personal touches from Lin Leyao.
However, the room was filled with many small items, including some photos and award certificates of Lin Leyao when she was a child, and some small dolls that showed signs of age. From these small items, Xin Ying could truly feel the traces of Lin Leyao's growth.
Lin Leyao was taking a shower in the bathroom and asked Xin Ying to get her a towel.
Xin Ying opened a cabinet and was instantly stunned when she saw what was inside.
This cabinet is filled with various gift boxes and packaging bags, and judging from the labels on them, they are all kinds of brand-name jewelry, clothing and perfumes.
Xin Ying didn't understand why Lin Leyao had locked so many unopened items in this cabinet, nor did she know why Lin Leyao didn't open these gifts.
Xin Ying stopped looking at the items, opened the wardrobe next to her, found a clean towel, and gave it to Lin Leyao, who was taking a shower.
Lin Leyao was scheduled to return to the film studio at noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The next morning, Lin Leyao and Xin Ying left the Ji residence after having breakfast.
Xin Ying drove Lin Leyao to the airport.
After Lin Leyao boarded the plane, Xin Ying sat in the car and, after thinking for a long time, dialed a phone number.
"Ying—why did you suddenly decide to call me!"
Iris was very surprised and excited when she received the call.
Xin Ying took the initiative to invite him: "How about you come to China soon?"
Iris was quite surprised: "Are you inviting me?"
"Yes," Xin Ying answered decisively. "I have something to ask of you."
Iris was very curious: "What's going on? Is it related to your beautiful wife?"
Xin Ying didn't answer: "You'll know when you come here. White was recently invited by a hospital to perform surgery. Come with him."
"Okay, okay, then you'll stay in Australia with me for a while too."
Xin Ying agreed: "Okay."
After talking with Iris, Xin Ying sat in the car without starting it. She opened her phone's notes app and focused intently on the notes she had made recently. After a while, she put down her phone, started the car, and left the airport.
Early this morning, Lin Zhipei, who went unnoticed by everyone, went to the sanatorium with the things that her housekeeper had prepared in advance.
Knowing that her daughter would come to visit her every year at this time, Qin Suzhen stayed quietly in her room. She seemed perfectly normal today, but the way she stared intently at a mural on the opposite wall with her dark, unfocused eyes revealed that something was wrong with her.
As soon as Lin Zhipei knocked on the door, the caregiver immediately opened it.
Lin Zhipei placed the bag of things she had brought on the coffee table and called out softly, "Mom."
Qin Suzhen sat there blankly for more than ten seconds, then suddenly realized what was happening and called out, "My daughter! Peipei!"
Lin Zhipei quickly walked up to her and said, "Mom, it's me, Peipei!"
Qin Suzhen kept looking at the wall in front of her, her gaze fixed on the mural: "Peipei."
Lin Zhipeng squatted down in front of Qin Suzhen and called out, "Mom."
“Pei Pei”.
"Mother."
“Pei Pei”.
"Mother."
The caregiver quietly left the room, closed the door, and left the mother and daughter alone.
Qin Suzhen and Lin Zhipeng called out to each other more than ten times before Qin Suzhen finally quieted down.
She slowly came to her senses, her gaze falling on Lin Zhipeng, who was squatting in front of her, and said, "Baby, you've lost weight."
Lin Zhipei shook her head: "Mom, I'm not. I just can't gain weight no matter how much I eat."
Qin Suzhen didn't believe it: "Did bad people bully you? Did your father bully you? Did they all bully you?"
Lin Zhipei denied it: "No, no."
Qin Suzhen didn't believe her words and muttered to herself, "I heard it, I heard it, you're crying, you said you're unhappy."
Lin Zhipei's expression froze for a moment.
Over the years, most of the time when she visited Qin Suzhen, Qin Suzhen had just taken her medication and was asleep. When Qin Suzhen opened her eyes, Lin Zhipeng couldn't say anything, but when Qin Suzhen was asleep, Lin Zhipeng seemed to have found a box to confide in, and poured out all her grievances and sadness.
She originally thought no one knew, but unexpectedly Qin Suzhen suddenly said today that she had heard it.
Impossible, how could she have heard that?
Lin Zhipeng quickly calmed Qin Suzhen down and asked, "Mom, how did you hear that? Can you hear me when you're asleep?"
Qin Suzhen first shook her head, then quickly nodded.
After a while, she suddenly screamed, shouting, "I heard it! I heard it! No, no, I saw it, I saw it..."
Qin Suzhen suddenly stood up, and Lin Zhipeng, who was squatting in front of her, was knocked to the ground by her.
She looked at Qin Suzhen in front of her and suddenly became agitated, raising her hands and waving them around.
“I didn’t hear it, what I saw, no, no, what I heard. No, no, I can’t, I can’t say it…”
"Yes, yes, I heard it..."