RMM -Chapter 323 Prelude to Going Home

“Shen Liang, call and ask—where are Yuechen and the others now? Why haven’t they come back yet?”

The old man of the Xi family paced back and forth in the living room, glancing toward the doorway every so often. His brows were tightly knit as he spoke, clearly growing impatient. If the others hadn’t stopped him, he would have gone outside to wait for his precious Xi Zi himself.

“Dad, I just asked. They said they’re almost here. Please wait a bit longer—it won’t be long now,” Shen Liang replied helplessly.

This was already the nth time the old man had asked. She was anxious too, all right—but no matter how anxious she was, they still had to wait for them to arrive. What was she supposed to do about it?

“How many times have you said ‘almost here’? Every time you tell me to wait, and I’ve been waiting for so long—why aren’t they here yet?”

The old man was frantic with worry now. He blew his mustache and glared, scolding angrily as if settling accounts with Shen Liang.

Unfairly scolded, Shen Liang felt wronged. Dad, your grandson is driving here, not flying. It takes time. What good does scolding me do?

But no matter how helpless she felt inside, she still had to put on a gentle smile and soothe him softly. “Dad, this time they really are almost here. Look, it’s already mealtime. They said they’d make it back around then. Please calm down just a little.”

She poured the old man a cup of hot tea, hoping it would help him settle down. If he was this anxious, she felt anxious too.

At that moment, Zhang Huaqing and Su Heng arrived. The moment they heard that Su Ruo would be bringing Xi Zi home, how could they possibly sit still? Judging that the timing was about right, they grabbed a few things and hurried over. They didn’t care whether it was inappropriate to eat lunch at Zhengjia Courtyard—anyway, the two of them had already called Su Feng and told him that he could either figure out lunch himself or come to Zhengjia Courtyard, since Ruo Ruo was bringing Xi Zi back there.

As soon as they walked in and saw the old man looking anxious and flustered, and Shen Liang beside him with a strained expression, they knew that the old man must be in a bad mood again.

“Grandpa, we came to see you!” Su Heng called out brightly.

Shen Liang secretly shot Su Heng a look. Understanding the Empress Dowager’s signal, Su Heng immediately plastered a beaming smile on his handsome face and shouted cheerfully.

The old man turned at the sound of his voice. Seeing Zhang Huaqing and her son, his mood improved a little. Smiling, he said, “You brat—have you forgotten about me? It’s been so long since you last came.”

“Uh…” Su Heng broke into a sweat. “I’ve been a bit busy lately, so I thought I shouldn’t disturb you. My mom says I’m too noisy. Hehe.”

Su Heng quickly found an excuse to cheer the old man up. At present, the old man and Xi Zi were the two most important figures in the household—one big, one small, equally heavyweight. How could he dare make the old man even slightly unhappy?

Fortunately, the old man didn’t bother to pick apart his sweet talk. His heart was completely focused on the grandson who still hadn’t arrived.

“So now that you have children and grandchildren, you don’t even notice me anymore,” Zhang Huaqing said with a laugh, pretending to be aggrieved though her eyes were full of amusement.

“Listen to what you’re saying,” the old man scolded her jokingly, finally smiling broadly. “At your age, you’re still so glib.”

“Well, seeing how energetic you are makes me feel a bit younger too,” Zhang Huaqing teased as she walked over.

Seeing the old man finally smile, Shen Liang relaxed and cast a grateful look at Zhang Huaqing and Su Heng.

“You didn’t have to bring so many things,” Shen Liang said, frowning at the bags in Su Heng’s hands.

The two of them were regular visitors here, so as soon as they came in, the staff poured tea according to their preferences.

“Well, we’re here to mooch a meal, so it’d be rude to come empty-handed,” Su Heng replied, grinning shamelessly.

“You sure know how to talk,” Shen Liang said with a laugh, tapping Su Heng lightly on the forehead. For a fleeting moment, she thought of her youngest son, and her heart dimmed slightly.

Yue Hui had been gone for so long without coming back—he must be very busy. Of course, going down to the grassroots level was never easy. She wondered whether he had adapted, and knew his life must be hard.

The old man, however, was only cheerful for a short while before sighing again. Turning to Su Heng, he said, “Heng, why don’t you call your sister and ask? We’ve waited so long and they’re still not back—I’m worried.”

Shen Liang heard this and felt helpless. She looked at Zhang Huaqing and smiled, giving a small shrug to show her distress.

People said that the older one got, the more one became like a child. Their emotions changed rapidly—one mood one moment, another the next—and they were stubborn to boot.

Zhang Huaqing immediately understood from Shen Liang’s expression why the old man had been unhappy when she first arrived, and couldn’t help feeling amused and exasperated.

Su Heng obediently nodded at the old man’s request, pulled out his phone, and called Su Ruo.

The call didn’t last long. As soon as he hung up, the old man anxiously asked, “Where are they now? How long until they get home?”

“My sister said they’re almost here—less than half an hour,” Su Heng replied, sounding a bit excited himself. After all, he hadn’t seen his precious little nephew in a long time.

“What? Half an hour?”

Xi Jian’an happened to walk in just then. Hearing Su Heng’s words, he asked curiously.

“Uncle,” Su Heng stood up quickly and answered, “It’s my sister and them. I called to ask where they were, and she said they’ll be home in about half an hour.”

“Oh, that fast?”

Xi Jian’an was a little surprised. He had thought they wouldn’t arrive until the afternoon. Then he felt pleased—truth be told, he missed his precious grandson terribly too. His phone was filled with the child’s photos, which he often took out to flip through and show off to others: Look, this is my grandson.

Everyone who heard this was shocked. Wasn’t Minister Xi always cold and aloof? Was he switching to a more down-to-earth image now? This level of warmth was hard to process!

But hearing the pride and delight in Minister Xi’s voice, no one dared not play along. They gathered around to look and showered him with praise—Oh, he’s so adorable! He’ll definitely achieve great things when he grows up, and so on—until Xi Jian’an was practically blooming with joy.

He had known since yesterday that his son and daughter-in-law would be bringing his grandson home. Though he had been waiting impatiently, he had prepared himself for the idea that he wouldn’t get to hold the child until after work in the evening.

He hadn’t expected his grandson to arrive by noon instead, so even his usually stern face carried a trace of a smile.

“Grandpa still thinks it’s too slow,” Su Heng said with a grin, teasing the old man.

“The distance is quite far—coming back a bit late is normal,” Xi Jian’an said, looking at the old man and speaking up for his late-returning son.

“Hmph, I’m just anxious from waiting,” the old man snorted, realizing he might have been pushing too hard. Then he changed the subject. “Shen Liang, go check how the dishes are coming along. Make more of what Yuechen and Ruo girl like today.”

Shen Liang couldn’t help but laugh helplessly at the reminder. She had already arranged everything—how could she possibly forget Yuechen and Ruo Ruo? Today, those two were the stars.

“Dad, don’t worry. I’ve already told them to prepare the dishes they like. I won’t forget.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Huaqing chimed in, “Yuechen and Ruo Ruo don’t come back often. Having the staff cook always lacks a bit of warmth. Why don’t the two of us cook ourselves? We’re free anyway.”

“Exactly, exactly—Shen Liang, go take a look,” the old man cut in eagerly before Shen Liang could reply, urging her on.

He knew his daughter-in-law’s cooking was quite good, so he felt more at ease with her in charge.

“Alright, I’ll go right away,” Shen Liang said with a smile as she stood up. “I’ll also make a few dishes you like.”

In the kitchen, the ingredients were already mostly prepared. Shen Liang sent the others away and got ready to work together with Zhang Huaqing to cook a good meal for her son and daughter-in-law.

“Huaqing, it’s been a long time since the two of us cooked together,” Shen Liang said, glancing at her with a look of nostalgia.

“Isn’t that so? In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed,” Zhang Huaqing sighed. “Those things from back then feel like they just happened yesterday—so vivid.”

“I only made a casual remark and you’re already reminiscing. Hurry up and wash your hands and help me,” Shen Liang laughed, cutting off her trip down memory lane. “They’ll be here in half an hour—where’s the time to reminisce?”

“You’re the one who started it,” Zhang Huaqing complained, glaring at Shen Liang as her sentimentality vanished.

“Alright, alright, my fault, okay?” Shen Liang rolled her eyes, looking as if she couldn’t be bothered to argue.

The two women bantered back and forth as they worked, surprisingly in sync. Before long, dish after dish—full of color, aroma, and flavor—came fresh out of the wok.

“Mom, you usually cheat when you cook, don’t you?”

Drawn in by the aroma, Su Heng wandered over and stared at the spread of dishes, swallowing hard. Thinking about how the Empress Dowager never cooked so elaborately at home, he suddenly felt that his mother must have pulled out all her skills just for his sister.

“Go away—don’t get in my way,” Zhang Huaqing said dismissively, not even looking at him as she waved him off.

“Auntie Shen, look—my mom doesn’t love me at all. She even abuses me sometimes. Just look at cooking—I’ve never seen her work this hard for me.”

Even being shooed away didn’t make Su Heng sad. Instead, he complained to Shen Liang, his eyes still fixed on the lavish dishes as he secretly swallowed again.

“You glib-tongued boy,” Shen Liang scolded with a smile. Her hands kept working as she spoke. “Today’s meal isn’t just made by your mom. Don’t put all the credit on her alone.”

“So Auntie Shen, you’re just like my mom—your eyes only see my sister.”

Su Heng put on a deeply wounded expression, like a frostbitten eggplant. Used to his antics, Shen Liang and Zhang Huaqing ignored him and let him amuse himself.

Just then, a noise suddenly sounded at the door.

Su Ruo and the others had arrived!

“My sister’s here!”

Almost instantly, Su Heng lit up. His earlier dejection vanished as he turned and dashed straight for the front door.

The two women in the kitchen were just as excited. They didn’t even have time to take off their aprons before hurrying toward the entrance.