Chapter 181: Returning Home |
After the final exam, everyone had a few more days of classes, with only half a day on the last day.
When school was over, the parents of the trio appeared in the crowded group of parents.
Mei Fang’s father, Mei Lijun, along with his sister Mei Ya, Xia Yuan’s father, Xia Xun, Lin Youxi’s father, Lin Guochuan, and Liang Meijuan who had been taking care of the trio were all present.
It was Lin Guochuan’s first time visiting Jiangcheng with this group, seeing Jiangcheng NOHS, the high school that Lin Youxi attended for the first time.
He was usually busy with work and hadn’t seen his daughter for almost half a year, so he wanted to visit during the final exam.
He worked tirelessly to complete his work project and finally caught up with the holiday. He came to Jiangcheng with Mei Lijun in his car.
Lin Youxi was also pleasantly surprised to see her father’s arrival. She immediately approached him to talk, while Liang Meijuan intentionally stepped back, giving them some time alone.
However, Lin Youxi seemed a bit unhappy.
“Dad, you seem to have lost a lot of weight. Have you not been eating properly at home?”
“You already have a stomach problem. It’s not good for your health if you continue like this. I think it would be better to let Aunt Meijuan take care of you at home for a while next semester.”
“Ah? Then who will take care of you guys?”
Lin Youxi smiled faintly. “We can take care of ourselves now.”
However, Lin Youxi was the only child who willingly sought closeness with her father.
When Xia Yuan saw her father coming over, she didn’t react much. Instead, she immediately ran to play with Mei Fang’s little sister, Mei Ya.
“Sister Yuan Yuan!”
Xia Yuan picked up the already 9-year-old Mei Ya and said with a smile, “Xiaoya, I missed you so much, and you’ve grown taller.”
Mei Ya had trouble catching her breath after being picked up by Xia Yuan. “Sister Yuan Yuan… you… have gotten… fatter… ah…”
Xia Yuan’s face turned red from Mei Ya’s comment, not knowing what to say.
At this moment, it was up to Mei Fang to intervene. He decided to teach his younger sister a lesson and gently tapped her head.
“Don’t say that your sister Yuan Yuan is fat, okay? Your sister Yuan Yuan has just…um…developed, okay?”
“De…veloped?”
Mei Ya covered her head and looked towards Xia Yuan, “So ‘developed’ means they get bigger…Xiaoya learned something new!”
“Don’t learn things like that!”
Xia Yuan scolded Mei Ya a few times with a blush on her face, and Mei Fang watched the two of them being affectionate. At this time, Mei Lijun also approached.
“…”
“…”
The father and son looked at each other in silence for a while.
Usually, Mei Fang would talk to his mom, Xiang Xioaxia, when making phone calls. He hardly spoke to his father, to the point that they hadn’t exchanged words in half a year, leaving them speechless in each other’s presence.
The first one to break the silence was Mei Lijun, the elderly father. He chuckled a few times, patted Mei Fang’s shoulder, and asked, “How did the final exam go?”
“They went alright.”
“What do you mean by ‘alright’? You used to be in the top three or five in middle school, but now you’ve probably fallen behind.”
“It’s not the same as middle school rankings.”
“Tell me, did you make it to the top 10?”
“Um, I’m eighth.”
“Oh, okay then.”
At this moment, Mei Fang noticed something unusual on Mei Lijun’s head. Finally, he suddenly stopped and seemed unsure of what to say.
A look of sadness and grief appeared on his face. His mouth moved, but no words came out. Finally, he trembled and spoke up.
“Dad, you’re balding!”
Upon hearing this, Mei Lijun immediately became furious. “It’s just that I have a little less hair. It doesn’t count as balding!”
“Look at where your hairline has gone.”
“Don’t successful men end up like this?”
Xia Yuan, after affectionately interacting with Mei Ya, started speaking up for Mei Lijun.
“Ah Fang, don’t say that! Uncle Mei is a high-ranking official now, and his work is very demanding. It’s normal for him to be like this.”
“Yeah, yeah, Yuan Yuan’s words sound better…” Mei Lijun had always leaned towards the “Yuan faction” since they were younger, so he naturally got along well with her.
Xia Xun stood by, watching his little cotton-padded jacket happily chatting with someone else’s father, feeling an indescribable sense of loss.
But he couldn’t show it. Especially in front of these fathers, he had to maintain his composure.
…
…
Xia Xun waited for his daughter to come and talk to him, but all the way, Xia Yuan held Mei Ya’s hand and leaned on Mei Fang’s arm, while chatting happily with Mei Lijun.
Xia Xun finally got impatient and reluctantly asked his daughter, “Ahem… um, Yuan Yuan, you haven’t seen your dad in so long, why don’t we talk a bit more?”
“Hehe, Uncle Xia is jealous,” Mei Ya giggled, covering her mouth.
“Dad…please don’t be like this.”
Xia Yuan suddenly felt embarrassed by Xia Xun’s behavior, so she explained, “I won’t see Mei Ya and Uncle Mei again for a while after this. When we get home, I’m going to tell you and Mom about my life in Jiangcheng.”
“Oh… I see, I see.”
Xia Xun awkwardly touched his nose. “It’s getting late, let’s go eat together. Today, I’ll treat you all. Kids, just order whatever you want.”
Upon hearing the news, little Mei Ya immediately ran up to Xia Xun, tugging at his clothes with a very coquettish tone.
“Uncle Xia, Uncle Xia, can we have lamb? I want to eat lamb hot pot. I’ve been wanting to eat it for a long time! But Mom and Dad are stingy and never take me to eat it.”
“Of course we can! If Xiaoya wants to eat it, Uncle will let you eat it. Xiaoya is so well-behaved. When we come back for the Lunar New Year, Uncle will give you a big red envelope.”
Mei Ya jumped up excitedly on the side, “Thank you, Uncle Xia! Uncle Xia, you are so handsome and generous, much better than my dad! Why don’t you be my dad?”
Hearing this, Xia Xun couldn’t stop laughing. Mei Lijun, who was standing by the side, was furious and said, “Hey, you silly girl, how can you just defect like that? Haven’t I always been good to you?”
“No matter how good you are to me, it’s useless. You don’t have any money. Your money is all in Mom’s hands… Uncle Xia and Aunt Yu are better. I want to switch and become their daughter instead!”
So, all cotton-padded jackets are cold sometimes?
The mischievous Mei Ya filled the journey with a lively atmosphere, and the commotion seemed never-ending.
It was only when Xia Xun asked about Mei Ya’s studies that the world finally became quiet.
On the way back home, Xia Xun drove with his daughter and the Lin family to Baimei County, while Mei Fang and his sister Mei Ya got into Mei Lijun’s car.
“Dad, when are we going back to Baimei?”
“Probably on the 28th or 29th. I initially wanted to bring your grandparents here to live, but they want to take care of their vegetable garden.”
That won’t do, I already made a promise with Sister Yuan Yuan and Sister Youxi to set off fireworks together.”
Mei Ya emphasized, “I don’t have many good friends in Baizhou, and they live too far away.”
“Okay, okay,” Mei Lijun said, driving with peace of mind.
Jiangcheng had just experienced a snowfall yesterday, and the roads were covered in a white blanket.
Mei Fang gazed at the scenery outside the car window.
Thinking about it carefully, since the time they first met, the trio had hardly ever been apart for more than two weeks, except when Xia Yuan went to her grandmother’s house in Jiangcheng for summer vacation.
Especially after starting middle school, they rarely went three days without seeing each other.
Not to mention high school…
Just as Mei Fang was reflecting on this, his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was a message from Xia Yuan.
【We’re on our way!】
After sending the message, Xia Yuan also attached a photo.
It was a group photo of her and Lin Youxi in the car.
Xia Yuan made a peace sign towards the camera, while Lin Youxi maintained her usual gentle and reserved smile.
【Have a safe journey!】
Mei Fang sent a message to Xia Yuan.
【Have a safe journey!】
Xia Yuan replied.
She then stared at the chat conversation with Mei Fang for a while, typed a few words, then deleted them, and finally just sent a red heart emoji.
…
Why did I send this?
Xia Yuan pursed her lips, locked her phone, and then snuggled closer to Lin Youxi, intending to take a short rest. Suddenly, her phone vibrated again.
Xia Yuan hurriedly opened her phone to check the message. She saw that Mei Fang had also replied with a red heart emoji, just like her.
She was overjoyed and hugged Lin Youxi even tighter.