RYEY -Chapter 397 This Son-in-Law Is Far Too Clingy

As soon as the carriage door opened, Cheng Qiao was the first to get off. She walked to the window and had Cheng Liguo pass the luggage out through it while she received it from outside.

The moment Li Huan spotted Cheng Qiao, he rushed over excitedly and wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind. Catching the familiar scent she hadn’t smelled in a long time, Cheng Qiao felt a surge of joy in her heart and quickly turned around as well.

They embraced and looked at each other, both seeing the intense longing reflected in the other’s eyes. Li Huan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down; though he had a bellyful of things he wanted to say, he suddenly didn’t know where to begin.

“You’ve lost weight. Haven’t you been eating properly lately?”

Cheng Qiao noticed that Li Huan’s eye sockets were sunken, yet his eyes seemed larger than before. His whole demeanor had undergone a dramatic change—he no longer looked like a mud-legged country bumpkin, but rather like someone immersed in the system.

“Qiao, I missed you… I…”

Cheng Qiao gently twisted her body, signaling for Li Huan to let go. This was the train station, bustling with people. Even though they were husband and wife, they still had to be mindful and not be overly affectionate—otherwise, if the elderly men and women with red armbands saw them, it would only bring trouble.

“I missed you too. I also missed the children, Mother, Master, and Lele and the others.”

“Qiao, have you been well?”

Looking at Cheng Qiao—still as beautiful and youthful as ever—Li Huan suddenly felt a bit inferior. In just half a year, following Zhao Hui, he had learned many things about officialdom he’d never encountered before, and only then did he realize how unworthy he felt of Cheng Qiao.

“Of course I’ve been well. Every month I receive letters from Uncle, telling me how much progress you’ve made. But Li Huan, you must be yourself. There’s no need to learn from my uncle—you’re two different kinds of people, understand?”

“You won’t think I’m stupid, will you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? The man I chose is naturally the best—otherwise, I wouldn’t have wanted him at all.”

The inferiority that had just begun to surface in Li Huan’s heart was instantly driven away by Cheng Qiao’s words, wiped out completely. The slightly confused look in his eyes cleared at once.

“Qiao, we—”

“Dad, hurry up and come hold little brother!”

Before Li Huan could finish, he was interrupted. It turned out Cheng Li was leaning out the window, already a bit impatient. Little Li Chen wasn’t very cooperative, and he was struggling to manage.

At the same time, Cheng Qiao heard the voice she had missed the most:

“Mom, you’re back.”

That was Li Ming’s voice.

“Mom, welcome home.”

That was Ye Jing’s voice.

“Mommy… waah… Mommy, I missed you so much… Mommy…”

No need to guess—that was her little padded jacket. Cheng Qiao could no longer hold back. She turned around and scooped up Xiaonuan, who had thrown herself at her, pressing cheek to cheek with her affectionately, making Li Ming and Ye Jing feel a bit jealous.

The two boys felt a little regretful. They had clearly wanted to do the same in their hearts—so why had they insisted on acting like little men? Hesitating and dawdling like that, they had missed the chance entirely.

Li Huan also snapped back to his senses. Now wasn’t the time for longing. He quickly raised his hands and lifted little Li Chen out through the window.

“Giggle, giggle…”

Little Li Chen thought Li Huan was playing a lifting game with him and laughed happily. Li Huan, however, frowned and looked at Cheng Qiao.

“Qiao, where’s my eldest brother? And where’s this kid’s mother?”

“We’ll talk about it after we get back. Cheng Li, come down first and watch your brother. Your grandpa and I still need to move the luggage.”

Little Cheng Li helped someone down. Mother Li, who hurried over to receive Cheng Li, froze for a moment.

“Oh my—Guoqing, what happened to your hand?”

She hadn’t expected Guoqing to come as well—wasn’t he supposed to have no leave? Seeing the snow-white bandage on his hand, worry immediately showed on her face.

“Mom, I broke a bone in my hand. It’s actually already healed, but Second Sister-in-law told me to keep it wrapped, said it’d be fun to scare Lele later.”

“You naughty child. Is it really fine now? Can you move it?”

“Yes. Not only can I move it, I can even shoot a gun. I wanted to help carry the luggage, but Uncle Cheng wouldn’t let me—what a stubborn old man.”

“Shh, if your second brother hears that, he’ll beat you.”

Mother Li laughed happily, especially when little Cheng Li threw himself into her arms. The surging longing in her heart was finally satisfied, though sadly, with her age, she could no longer hold her increasingly grown grandson for long.

“Grandma, eat.”

A soft, glutinous little voice rang out. Mother Li lowered her head and her eyes filled with surprise.

“This is little Chengcheng, isn’t it? He’s grown so big. Grandma hasn’t taken care of you even for a single day—what a sin.”

“Grandma, eat.”

As Mother Li bent down, a piece of candy was stuffed into her mouth. Sweetness filled her mouth—and her heart. Unable to resist, she picked the little fellow up. He was quite heavy—clearly well fed.

“Good child, call Grandma again.”

“Gra… grandma… okay, I… like… Chengcheng.”

With candy in his mouth, Li Chen struggled a bit to speak.

“I know—you like Grandma’s grandson, little Chengcheng.”

Li Chen giggled again. Mommy had told him that as long as Grandma smiled, he should smile too—only then would Grandma like him.

The group carried their big and small bags outward. Ye Jun’s car was parked outside, but with so many people—and so many packages—how could it possibly fit everyone?

Cheng Qiao decisively began to give instructions. Grandma and Dad would take the twins and little Li Chen in the car. She and Cheng Li would take a tricycle instead. Somehow, at some point, many passenger tricycles had appeared near the train station.

Li Huan was a bit reluctant, but he knew this was the most practical arrangement. Seeing Li Huan’s unwilling expression, Cheng Liguo couldn’t help sighing—his son-in-law was truly far too clingy. No wonder they’d managed to have four children.

“Cheng Qiao, you take Nuan Nuan and get in the car. I’ll take Cheng Li on the tricycle. Don’t worry—I know Beijing well.”

Under Cheng Liguo’s insistence, Cheng Qiao sat in the passenger seat, little Li Xiaonuan still clinging to her and refusing to let go.

As soon as the car arrived at the entrance of the courtyard house, Ye Jun was already standing there. Cheng Qiao hurried over, and seeing Ye Jun’s somewhat aged face, she immediately began to complain.

“Master, I told you not to keep being the dean. Look how tired you’ve made yourself—your forehead wrinkles are out, and your back is hunched too.”

Ye Jun: “…”

Hunched? Was it really that serious?

With one hand holding Xiaonuan and the other supporting Ye Jun, Cheng Qiao walked inside. As soon as they entered the main hall, she began taking things out of her backpack.

Listening to Cheng Qiao’s grumbling, warmth spread through Ye Jun’s heart. This disciple was truly considerate. It was just that now the secrets she carried had been exposed—her road ahead would only be harder.

“Here—this is my fortuitous encounter.”

Cheng Qiao took out two porcelain bottles and handed them to Ye Jun. His brow twitched. A fortuitous encounter? Had she found some qilin grass or some other rare medicinal herb again?

He quickly opened one bottle and brought it to his nose. A fragrant, sweet scent wafted out—sweet but not cloying, and it even sharpened his mind.

Then he opened the other bottle. A somewhat nauseating smell rushed out. Thankfully, it didn’t completely overpower the earlier sweetness—otherwise, Ye Jun really might have vomited.