Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Xiao Hongli doted on his daughter in his own way. The Xiao Family members were strict with their children, especially Xiao Hongli, who wouldn’t allow his children to become dandies, but he knew Tang Xi was not the kind of girl who could be easily bullied. Xiao Hongli smiled at Tang Xi and then said to Xiao Sa, “Drive carefully. Don’t take the road as a racing track, okay?”
“Dad, I’ve always been a careful driver, okay?” Xiao Sa replied, looking at his dad with dissatisfaction. “Can’t you stop treating us differently?”
Xiao Hongli hummed in response and turned to leave. Tang Xi said goodbye to Xiao Hongli with a smile and wished him a good day, and the latter went out with a smile.
After Tang Xi finished eating, Xiao Yao came up to her with her backpack and handed it to her. His voice was cool as usual, but it had a hint of gentleness. “There’s only half an hour left before class begins, so be quick.”
Smiling, Tang Xi took her bag and called Xiao Sa to go. Xiao Sa took a piece of bread and walked out, saying, “Waiting for me at the door. I’ll go drive the car.”
Tang Xi nodded, said goodbye to her brothers and mom and turned to leave. After going out of the door, she looked back with a complicated look. She didn’t know how to deal with those feelings that she saw in Xiao Yao’s eyes just now. She only wanted to view him as her brother and didn’t want to let him know that she was Tang Xi, but she had to explain her relationship with Qiao Liang to them.
Well, just let it be.
Xiao Yao stood at the entrance of the hall and gazed at Tang Xi’s receding figure with soft eyes. Unexpectedly, she had become his sister. In the past, he would wait at her at the school gate, but now he would send her out or take her to school from home. He simply didn’t expect her to become his sister.
Seeing that Xiao Yao continued staring at the door, Yang Jingxian raised her eyebrows as she took a look at Xiao Jing and then asked in a low voice, “What is your brother looking at?”
Xiao Jing turned to look at Xiao Yao and curled his lips, saying, “Maybe the sky is especially blue today.” Then he frowned and wondered aloud, “What’s wrong with our neighbor? I could hear the noises of renovation from their house even at midnight. I’m going to complain to the Property Management Office. I can’t sleep at night!”
He had been tormented by Qiao Liang all day yesterday, and it was already 9 PM by the time he came back from work. He wanted to have a good rest only to be disturbed by the renovation noise from the villa next door all night. Damn it!
Yang Jingxian drank a mouthful of milk and raised her eyebrows nonchalantly as she said, “I didn’t hear it. We didn’t hear any sounds last night. How did you hear it?” Then she continued, “But the villa next door is really being renovated. It seems the new owner is going to move in.”
Xiao Jing frowned. “Wasn’t the house not for sale?”
He didn’t know why. Their house was so well soundproofed that they wouldn’t be able to hear sounds from the outside if they didn’t open the door. Had he forgotten to close the window last night?
Glancing at the clock, Yang Jingxian shook her head and replied, “I don’t know. It’s not my house.” She stood up to clear the table. “Go to work. You’ll be late.” Then she called out to Xiao Yao. “Xiao Yao, come and have breakfast. I made you bird’s nest porridge.”
Xiao Yao hadn’t fully recovered and was too weak to eat cold bread or deep-fried dough sticks like them, so she had specially made him bird’s nest porridge.
Xiao Jing shouted loudly, “Mom, why do you treat us differently?”
Yang Jingxian ignored his complaint and went to the kitchen with the plates, saying, “Get out and go to work!”
“Look!” Xiao Jing sank into his chair as he looked at his mom with sad eyes. He cried out, “We only get cold milk and bread or a bowl of soybean milk and a fried dough stick, while Yao can enjoy bird’s nest porridge! It’s unfair! And you just told me to get out! You’re telling me to get out!”
Yang Jingxian rubbed between her eyebrows and laughed as she said, “I don’t have time to talk with you. Get out of my face.” She had always treated her children the same, not favoring any of them since they were kids, and she always took care of them herself when they were sick. She knew Xiao Jing was trying to amuse her by saying what he did. She actually enjoyed it.
“No, I won’t! You can’t do this to me!” Xiao Jing yelled. “You all bully me! Qiao Liang enslaves me and you look down upon me. I’m so sad!”
Xiao Yao came up to kick him, and Xiao Jing stared at Xiao Yao with widened eyes. The latter then pulled out a nearby chair and sat down. Xiao Jing screamed, “Yao, did I offend you? Why did you kick me?”
Xiao Yao shot a chilly glance at him with a frown and replied coldly, “You’re being too noisy.”
“Mom!” Xiao Jing shouted. Yang Jingxian came out with two bowls of bird’s nest porridge. She said, “Alright, alright. Even your sister isn’t as childish as you. Look at you! You behave just like a three-year-old kid. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
Xiao Jing curled his lips. “By the way, Rourou didn’t eat bird’s nest porridge?” He took a bowl of bird’s nest porridge from Yang Jingxian’s hand and began to eat it.
Xiao Yao also began to eat. Yang Jingxian watched the two of them eating, smiling as she said, “I didn’t know Rourou would go to class today. Since she’s gone to school, I’ll send her lunch at noon.”
Xiao Jing nodded and started to drink the bird’s nest porridge in his bowl. After finishing it, he set about going to work contentedly. Yang Jingxian shook her head. “You could have just told me you wanted bird’s nest porridge too. It’s really childish for you to make such a fuss.”
Xiao Jing raised his head arrogantly and exclaimed, “Yao can’t get privilege!” Then he trotted off to work.
Yang Jingxian sat opposite Xiao Yao, cupping her chin in her hands and watching Xiao Yao gracefully eating the bird’s nest porridge in his bowl with a faint smile on her face. Xiao Yao was fine with that in the beginning, but when he felt that her eyes were growing increasingly hot, he couldn’t help but to look up at her and say, “Mom, I’ll get indigestion if you keep staring me like that.”
Yang Jingxian smiled at Xiao Yao and said, “I’m happy to see my son enjoy the food I made. I often watched you eat when you were young.” She then paused before continuing, “Your grandpa asked for you to go over to the Yang Family in a few days. Would you like to go?”
Xiao Yao nodded with a smile and his eyes were firm as he said, “I’ll take Rourou to meet Grandpa and my cousins. If it wasn’t for Rourou, I would have died.”
Thinking of the miracle that had happened to Xiao Yao, Yang Jingxian nodded and replied, “Okay, I’ll tell your grandpa you agreed. Rourou is my daughter. Of course she should go back to see your grandpa.” Then she asked with a smile, “Are there any female soldiers in your army?”
Xiao Yao looked up doubtfully and Yang Jingxian smiled. “You know your grandpa’s 80th birthday is coming soon, and he’ll surely urge you to get married at his birthday party. Won’t you bring one home?”
