Chapter 191: What Did I Forget?
Well, since this was something his father had instructed, no matter how reluctant Xia Le felt, he didn’t voice his objections. He just accepted it as a fact of life.
So, the next person to leave the living room and retreat to their room was, of course, Xia Le. He figured his parents had nothing else to discuss, so he might as well go back to his gaming sanctuary. Honestly, it was just too boring out there.
With Xia Le gone, only Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan remained in the living room, seemingly in no hurry to hit the hay.
Watching his eldest son exit, Xia Hong let out a sigh. Being a dad was tough; he was always worried his kids would turn out disappointing. Wang Wenjuan, his wife, had worked alongside him in the company, so she often had a knack for guessing what he was thinking. Like right now, she could tell Xia Hong was worried sick about their children and clueless as to what to do next.
Wang Wenjuan decided to try once more to share her thoughts: “I think the kids have their own ideas; we should give them more chances to express themselves.”
“I know what you’re saying, but… but Xia Yu is a boy, isn’t he? Look at him now—he looks nothing like a boy! I can’t just sit back and let him go down this path!”
With that, Xia Hong sighed again, clearly troubled by his “problem child,” Xia Yu.
Wang Wenjuan, noticing her husband’s obliviousness to the broader picture, considered telling him about Xia Yu’s health issues. But she hesitated, afraid Xia Hong might reject Xia Yu, and where would that leave him?
Based on her understanding of Xia Hong and the folks back in Xia Family Village, Wang Wenjuan feared they might just give up on Xia Yu. After all, saving face was paramount. If Xia Yu’s situation became public, the consequences were unimaginable.
Eventually, Wang Wenjuan fell silent, knowing that Xia Hong was the head of the family. After years of living together, she was used to relying on him to make decisions.
Since Xia Yu’s situation had developed like this, they could only take it one step at a time. With a heavy heart, Wang Wenjuan got up and went to lie down in their room.
Now, the living room was left with Xia Hong alone, glued to the TV, but his mind was clearly miles away. With no one to converse with, he found himself reflecting on how no one seemed to support his approach to handling Xia Yu—not even his wife. Could it be that he was wrong? He started to doubt himself, but he couldn’t figure out where he went off track. What was wrong with wanting his child to be “normal”? It left him puzzled, so he decided to stop overthinking it, switched off the TV, turned off the lights, and headed to bed.
Meanwhile, in her room, Xia Yu was tossing and turning, unable to catch a wink of sleep…
Even though her blanket and stuffed animals still smelled like Sister Little Ning, it was nothing like having the real deal there. In the dead of night, Xia Yu was missing her beloved sister’s warm hugs…
Across the hall, Xia Ling was in a similar predicament, but instead of missing Xia Yu, she was lamenting the mischievous Jiang Hanhang leaving without warning. The nerve! And somehow, her scent lingered in the sheets—definitely not as fun without those nightly torments from her!
In Jiang Kekai’s room, she was still hard at work, engaged in grown-up activities that frankly didn’t belong to someone her age, while Jiang Hanhang seemed to be the more “normal” one, sitting cross-legged on her bed, engrossed in a game.
Suddenly, Jiang Kekai’s phone rang…
Seeing it was a significant business partner, Jiang Kekai answered, “Hello?”
…
Ten minutes later, she hung up and turned to Jiang Hanhang. “I need to head to the capital for a bit; I’ll be back on Sunday. Want to tag along?”
Jiang Hanhang was a bit surprised. “Sis, it’s so late! What’s so urgent? Can’t we at least say goodbye to Xia Yu and Xia Ling before you go?”
The moment Jiang Hanhang mentioned Xia Yu and Xia Ling, Jiang Kekai couldn’t help but remember how the two didn’t welcome her parents with open arms. It soured her mood.
“No, it’s not necessary. We’ll see each other at school later anyway. No rush on this part. Besides, I need to handle things on my end early in the morning, and going tomorrow won’t work—air travel takes time. So, are you coming or not?”
“Of course I’m going!” Jiang Hanhang replied with enthusiasm.
Right, just the thought of being left alone in this huge place made her feel unsafe. Better to join her sister in the capital than sulk alone.
With that, the two sisters packed light and headed out to the airport. Meanwhile, Doctor Y had also returned to his research facility in the capital, brimming with the spoils of his recent haul.
Without hesitation, Doctor Y mobilized his team for repairs. Funding? No problem! But the data had to remain intact. He insisted so because the repair personnel weren’t just his staff; some were highly reputable repair experts he’d summoned. If it were just a handful of people, they’d be stuck repairing things for ages! So, Doctor Y had made sure they were ready to go.
Before long, the research facility was buzzing with activity, nonstop repairs underway, all to safeguard the precious data inside. Dawn broke.
Last night, Xia Yu had no clue how she eventually dozed off, feeling utterly exhausted, and she just didn’t want to wake up at all. The alarm clock rang three times before Xia Yu realized it was time to get up.
Today should’ve been a cozy sleep-in day, but thinking about what her dad had demanded last night weighed her down like a ton of bricks. She reluctantly slipped into the “serious boy” outfit her dad had prescribed, put on some sporty footwear, and couldn’t help but yawn before trudging out of her room.
Sure enough, at this hour, Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan were already off to work, while Xia Le and Xia Ling were still snoozing, leaving the house eerily quiet. Slowly, Xia Yu started reminiscing about her Sister Little Ning. In the old days, Jiang Kekai would have been in the bathroom with her.
But when she remembered Sister Little Ning had moved out, she felt a pang of regret and began to wonder whether staying back had been the right call. She had turned down Sister Little Ning, so surely that must’ve hurt her feelings…
With that thought nagging at her, Xia Yu skipped brushing her teeth and headed straight for the door to knock on the next room. “Sister Little Ning, are you in there?”
She knocked several times, but all she got in response was silence. Now she was worried—was Little Ning mad at her? What was she supposed to do?
Just then, a bodyguard from the Jiang family, dressed in a suit, noticed Xia Yu and approached her. “Miss, the Young Lady and Second Young Lady left for the capital last night and will return tomorrow.”
“What? Sister Little Ning went all the way there to do what?”
“I… I’m not sure. It’s her business, but I would assume she’s off to handle some work. You know how busy she is.” The bodyguard thoughtfully replied, understanding how close Xia Yu and Jiang Kekai were.
Indeed, this bodyguard was aware of their bond, so he was extra patient with Xia Yu. Otherwise, anyone else would’ve probably been met with a rather different attitude!
Off to work, huh? But why would Little Ning leave her secretary behind? She must really dislike me now… As those thoughts swirled in her head, Xia Yu’s mood slumped further.
“Okay, I get it. Thanks,” she replied and turned to head back home, her face a picture of disappointment.
At that moment, having just disembarked from her flight, Jiang Kekai had a brief nagging feeling that she had forgotten something important but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. A quick check of her baggage confirmed no items were left behind.
“Hey, sis, hurry up! Where are we eating first? I’m starving!” Jiang Hanhang’s voice snapped her back to reality.
Jiang Kekai managed a fond smile at her sister. “Alright, you pick where to eat. I have some time before I need to get back to business.”
“Awesome! Too bad Xia Ling and the others didn’t come; it would’ve been more fun to eat together,” Jiang Hanhang said with a pout.
Jiang Kekai merely smiled at that, choosing not to respond.
Truthfully, she would’ve loved to bring them along, but after considering it, she figured if Xia Yu and Xia Ling had chosen to join, it would be a bit rude to their parents.
As a parent herself, Jiang Kekai thought Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan probably wouldn’t hand their two kids over to someone they barely knew for babysitting, so she didn’t push the issue. Sometimes, it was best to take things slow.
And so, guided by Jiang Hanhang, the two sisters walked into a luxurious restaurant. “We need a private room!”
Jiang Hanhang showed no hesitation in making demands to the waiter. Dining out with her sister was a treat—she didn’t have to spend her own money!
