Did I say anything wrong?
Su Zhan looked dazed.
“Did I say anything wrong?” Su Zhan gazed innocently at Zong Jinghao.
Lin Xinyan also turned to look at her husband, as he had indeed cut Su Zhan off abruptly.
Zong Jinghao slanted his eyes at Su Zhan. “Do you have to know why? Has age made you oversensitive like a woman?”
Su Zhan was stumped by Zong Jinghao’s sudden onslaught.
Nothing I say now seems to be right!
Lin Xinyan was also at a loss for words.
Who says all women are sensitive?
So now I can’t ask you about anything without you calling me ‘sensitive’?
Once they got into the house, Lin Xinyan exploded, “Were your remarks just now directed at Su Zhan or me?”
It was Zong Jinghao’s turn to be speechless.
Tsk, why are you so sensitive?
“I know what you’re going to say next. You are going to say I’m being too sensitive, right?” Lin Xinyan spoke Zong Jinghao’s mind and chuckled lamely. “Alright, maybe I’m too sensitive. Let’s sleep earlier. You still have a flight to catch tomorrow morning.”
Lin Xinyan was reflecting on her recent behavior. As of late, she seemed to be quite edgy. Now that she thought of it, she couldn’t believe that she still suspected Zong Jinghao of hiding things from her after they had spent almost a lifetime together.
“When was the last time we spent time away from each other?” Lin Xinyan gently helped Zong Jinghao to unbutton his shirt. It had been a while since he last wore anything formal. After he stopped going to the office, Zong Jinghao stopped wearing suits until today, the day of Zhuang Jiawen’s marriage.
After Lin Xinyan was done with the last button, she said, “Go and have a shower.”
Zong Jinghao lowered his gaze to her. “Why are you suddenly so nice towards me?”
Lin Xinyan arched her brow. “Did I ever mistreat you before?”
“Okay.” Zong Jinghao took his wife’s hand in his. “Since you’ve already taken off my shirt, why don’t you help me scrub my back too?”
“We’re already so old. Why are you so cheeky?” She slapped Zong Jinghao’s hand away. “Go.”
Zong Jinghao only smiled blandly. He obediently went to the bathroom. Weirdly, after Su Zhan intercepted the two of them, all of Lin Xinyan’s suspicions towards him had vanished.
The next day, Zong Jinghao took the first flight in the morning.
Lin Xinyan extended her stay at Su Zhan’s house.
The lot of them at Su Zhan’s place didn’t wait for Zhuang Jiawen and Shen Xinyao to come back to have breakfast.
“Let’s eat first.” Qin Ya poured Lin Xinyan a glass of milk. “They should’ve already eaten at the hotel.”
Lin Xinyan took a sip of the milk. “Can you take a break from work and go out with me today?”
There were many in-house designers at the boutique. It didn’t make much difference if Qin Ya wasn’t there. Qin Ya sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of toast. She slathered some peanut butter over it. “What’s up?”
“I’m looking for a new home for the children. They can’t stay at the hotel forever. Also, they can’t stay here; it’s too crowded. It’s better if they can have their own place,” Lin Xinyan replied.
“Mmhmm, I agree with you. They are still a pair of young, newly-wed lovebirds. They won’t want anyone to interrupt them. Alright, let’s go out to look for a new house after breakfast.”
“You guys are going to have breakfast so early?” Zhuang Jiawen and Shen Xinyao walked into the dining room.
“So you guys didn’t plan to wait for us?” The couple walked to the table. Zhuang Jiawen pulled a chair for Shen Xinyao.
“Not that we don’t want to wait for you, it’s just that we thought you guys won’t be back that early. Speaking of it, why are you lovebirds here so early?” Qin Ya went to get cutleries for the two of them.
“We aren’t the kind of people who will laze in bed all day,” Zhuang Jiawen explained himself with a charming smile.
Before Qin Ya could reply, Su Zhan spoke, “But you guys literally just got married yesterday. We really thought you two will have better things to do.”
The couple could sense what was the older man trying to imply.
Shen Xinyao lowered her head bashfully, her face reddening.
Even though Zhuang Jiawen was junior to Su Zhan, the two were more like friends. Their conversations were usually lively and outspoken, occasionally filled with banters.
“Quite the experienced man you are, I see.”
Su Zhan was stumped by the younger man’s refute.
“You little rascal. How dare you made fun of me?” Su Zhan sounded livid but there was an obnoxious grin on his face. “You sure act more like me day by day. People might even think you’re my son!”
“I can be your son. But you will have to name me in your will.” Zhuang Jiawen accepted the utensils from Qin Ya and chuckled, “So what do you think? Will you take me as your son?”
Qin Ya pretended to be angry. “Tsk, you haven’t even called us mom and dad and you already have your eyes on our assets? What a gold-digger!”
“Yeah, what a gold-digger you are!” Su Zhan chimed in.
“You guys are so petty!” Zhuang Jiawen stuffed a bun into his mouth. “I want to eat the herbal egg.”
“I’ll cook it tomorrow,” Qin Ya replied.
Zhuang Jiawen smiled. “Yay! Thank you!”
“Kids, I’m going to look for a new house for you guys today. Do y’all have any special requests?” Lin Xinyan moved an egg from her plate to Shen Xinyao’s.
“We’ll probably be okay with anything you choose. But it will be better if it’s close to Jiawen’s office, so he can get back from work earlier.” Shen Xinyao seemed shy when she told Lin Xinyan her request. “Mum, you eat the egg.”
She pushed her plate to Lin Xinyan. “I’m not that hungry. I just had a piece of toast.”
Breakfast was simple that morning. There were fried eggs and toast other than some fruits and milk.
“You eat it.” Lin Xinyan tucked in a strand of hair behind Shen Xinyao’s ear. “Alright, I’ll try to find somewhere close to Jiawen’s office. After breakfast, get back to the hotel to rest.”
Lin Xinyan could sense that Shen Xinyao didn’t feel completely at ease at Su Zhan’s house.
Shen Xinyao lowered her head and responded politely, “Okay.”
After breakfast, Lin Xinyan began to clean up the table. Qin Ya stopped her in a hurry. “Let Su Zhan take care of it. We can leave now.”
At once, Su Zhan’s eyes had a pitiful light in them. “I can take care of the dishes but can’t y’all bring me out with you guys too?”
Since Shen Peichuan and Sang Yu already left, after Zhuang Jiawen and Shen Xinyao got back to the hotel, Su Zhan would be the only one at home if Lin Xinyan and Qin Ya went out.
“If you have nothing to do, go and check on the factory.” Qin Ya looked at her husband. “Don’t you dare take your hands off it completely even though Jiawen is in charge of it now. He just got married, so let him have some fun. Watch over the factory for him, will ya?”
Su Zhan was at a loss for words.
“Why do I have a feeling that you love Jiawen more than you love me? You always think of him but you never think of me. Hmph!” There was a childish grievance in Su Zhan’s tone.
“Jiawen has never pissed me off. What about you?” Qin Ya chortled at Su Zhan.
Su Zhan was at a loss for words.
“Not only am I going to wash the dishes, but I will also prepare lunch.”
Lin Xinyan who was watching the two of them quarrel almost burst into laughter. She tapped Qin Ya lightly on her shoulder. “Don’t tease him anymore, Qin Ya! Why did you make him do so much work though?”
“No, I actually volunteered,” Su Zhan hurriedly explained.
Qin Ya glanced at Su Zhan and headed for the stairs. “Let me change into something else before we leave.”
Previously, Lin Xinyan had felt sorry for Qin Ya. She had to endure a lot of hardships because she chose to be with Su Zhan. Because of Su Zhan, she lost the ability to conceive children. It was a lifelong regret she always had as a woman.
However, now it seemed that Su Zhan was the one Lin Xinyan should feel sorry for. Still, she didn’t think that Qin Ya acted over the top. Lin Xinyan was happy for Qin Ya now that she could finally live freely after all the troubles she had to put up with.
“Boohoo! No one cares about my dignity as the householder anymore!” Su Zhan rubbed his nose. He didn’t think that even at this age, he would still be oppressed.
While Qin Ya was getting changed, Lin Xinyan helped Su Zhan to clean up the tables. “Let me help you. Don’t let Qin Ya get to you. She’s suffered a lot before, so just let her be. If anything, you should shower her with more love.”
“It’s fine. I can do everything on my own. You guys just go on and have fun. Don’t worry, Xinyan. I’ve never gotten angry at Qin Ya before. I already owe her a lifetime. I am so thankful that she forgave me and even agreed to marry me. It’s the greatest blessing I’ve ever received,” Su Zhan sounded earnest as he reflected on himself.
I know I owe you a lot, Qin Ya. I will love you forever.
Meanwhile, Mu Yuan’er had already managed to find the herb she needed to cure Zong Yanchen and was now in the midst of treatment.
“Rest assured. I will cure you.” Mu Yuan’er was weighing the herbs needed to concoct his medicine.
In Mu Yuan’er’s house, there was a room lined with cabinets filled with herbs. In the middle of the room was a rectangular table with an electronic scale. Nowadays, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners no longer used counterweights to weigh their herbs and have opted for modern technology, including Mu Yuan’er herself.
Zong Yanchen sat on the chair as he waited for Mu Yuan’er. By now, he had already gotten used to the smell of various herbs in the house. Out of the blue, he spoke in the direction of Mu Yuan’er’s voice, “How are you sure I’m not blind because of external trauma?”
