Observing her lower her head, Mu Yuchen then sighed to himself. His hand could not help but move to pat her head, gently pulling her into his embrace.
“How old are you now? I can’t even say a few words to you. You’ve got to fix this temper.” His voice came from above her head.
Xi Xiaye replied in a raspy, indignant voice, “I’m not angry at you.”
“Fine, I won’t argue with you. However you feel at ease, then be it. Quickly tidy up a little and finish handling your matters. I’ll take you out to pass some time,” Mu Yuchen said, and then he could not help but pat her head again before letting her go. He turned around and walked towards the shelves to continue arranging the books.
Xi Xiaye watched the way his figure got busy. She could still feel the faint warmth his hand had left on her shoulder. She stood in the same spot quietly for a long while before she eased up, and did not say anything more. She just picked up her pace and walked forward.
The teahouse holiday was initially planned to start from the next day onwards all the way until the 15th day of the month. Xi Xiaye told Professor Lin to give out all the New Year gifts prepared for the employees and then talked about some things to take note of during the celebrations. Then, she left with Mu Yuchen.
Mu Yuchen drove and his driving skills were better than Xi Xiaye’s. In fact, it seemed like he was also used to driving fast. He sped all the way and very quickly, they had entered the bustling city’s north.
When he brought her to a high-end beauty salon, Xi Xiaye still could not help but be startled. She did not expect that the way he wanted to help her pass time would be by getting her hair washed and trimmed.
“Give her a good wash and blow. Trim her hair a little too, but don’t cut it short,” he instructed a hairdresser that looked respectful and enthusiastic. Then, he walked over to a sofa and took a magazine from the side before sitting down leisurely to flip through it.
Before the shocked Xi Xiaye could return to her senses, the hairdresser had already agreed to the assigned task eagerly.
Xi Xiaye was in a daze for quite a while. When she snapped back to the present, the hairdresser had already called out to her a few times. After some thought, she went with it in the end since she would not need to wash her long hair when she got back.
The hairdresser was quick besides being very skilled and professional. It took a little over an hour to wash her hair, trim it, and give her a head massage. Xi Xiaye had even slept for a while.
When the hairdresser was trimming her ends, Xi Xiaye kept sneaking peeks through the mirror from time to time at him on the sofa. She saw that he was reading a book with a lot of focus and he did not look impatient at all.
She thought about it for a long time, before suddenly calling out to him, “Mu Yuchen?”
“Hmm?” He responded softly, not even looking up.
Although he responded, she did not utter a sound more.
When he did not hear her continue, Mu Yuchen looked up. Through the mirror, he examined for quite a while and was about to say something when the phone in his shirt pocket suddenly rang.
It was his personal phone.
Someone like him was usually busy with work, so he had quite a few numbers. On the weekends, he would only bring his personal phone with him. Even Xi Xiaye knew about this habit of his too.
He took out the phone and his finger slid across the screen to answer the call. It was from the Mu residence.
“Ah Chen, it’s the weekend today. Your grandmother and I have caught two carps. How about you bring your wife Xiaye back to the residence for dinner?”
The person who spoke from the other end was Mu Yinan, yet Mu Yuchen’s sharp ears could already hear Wang Hui pitter-pattering on the side, telling Mu Yinan to quickly tell him to bring Xiaye home for dinner.
He could not help but bury his head in his hands before answering softly, “We won’t be going back today. Perhaps another day.”
“Why not? You’re not working today, and we called Maple Residence for half a day but no one answered. Where did you guys go? I’m not talking to you. Pass the phone to our granddaughter-in-law. I want to talk to her. If you don’t come back, then I’ll have her come back. Oh, also, send your wife’s number to us…” Wang Hui snatched the phone from Mu Yinan and just spoke to Mu Yuchen directly.
After meeting Xi Xiaye twice, Wang Hui had taken a liking to Xi Xiaye just like how she quite liked Shen Wenna back then. Old people hated being lonely. Besides, she wanted to get to know Xi Xiaye better, so she had made this call.
She obviously did not forget that Shen Yue had especially asked the Mu family to take good care of Xi Xiaye. She also knew about Xi Xiaye and the Xi family’s relationship. Apart from taking pity on Shen Wenna, she felt rather sorry for Xi Xiaye.
At this moment, Xi Xiaye was already done. When she walked over, she saw that he was quiet and stared at the phone in his hand, so she could not help but ask, “What’s wrong? Who’s calling?”
Mu Yuchen just handed the phone to her. She frowned and was startled by his silence, but she took it. She put it to her ear while Wang Hui’s voice continued, “Since it’s about time, then you should have a child. Chen Er, you’re about to be 31 soon. You’re not young anymore. Your wife’s 27, isn’t she? Prepare now, and in a few months’ time when it’s your wedding, it won’t look like she’s pregnant yet. Don’t worry. I’m just worried about you young people’s thoughts… You have to consider about your wife. In another two to three years, when she has a second child, she’ll be a woman of advanced reproductive age…”
Listening to all of this, Xi Xiaye’s little face immediately blushed and she dared not utter a sound. She quickly stuffed the phone back in Mu Yuchen’s hands as if she was throwing a hot potato.
Mu Yuchen then softly said to the other person on the phone, “If you want to have your wish fulfilled, then speak less. That’s it for now. We’ll go back when it’s the holidays.”
Then, he hung up.
While Xi Xiaye was much more relaxed than her state earlier, her beautiful face was still blushing from Wang Hui’s words. She awkwardly looked at Mu Yuchen who was getting up.
“Grandmother’s like this. You’ll get used to it. If you don’t like to hear anything, just block it out,” Mu Yuchen explained a little helplessly.
Xi Xiaye just smiled and shook her head. “No, actually it’s really good that Grandmother’s like this. She’s very straightforward. In fact, she cares about us very much. Actually, we should be nicer to them the next time.”
When she spoke about Wang Hui and the rest, Xi Xiaye always thought about her grandfather, Shen Yue…
“Could it be that you’re teaching your husband to be grateful?” Mu Yuchen saw that she looked very serious, so he could not help but grin.
Xi Xiaye nodded and feigned seriousness. She pretended to go with what he said. “Of course, a person’s priorities in responsibility, and in being grateful. Mr. Mu, you must remember this!”
“You’ve gained in wisdom! Is it because your hair’s been trimmed short?”
“Mu Yuchen!”
“Hmm?”
“I won’t allow you to speak about me like that in a roundabout way!”
“What did I say about you?”
“You said I…”
Comments