"So..."
Xu Ke Xin glanced at the screen amidst her busyness and asked, "Are you two already together, or are you preparing to propose?"
Qiao Xi Xi didn't speak but shifted the camera back a bit, tilting her face to deliberately expose her ear.
She wore an expression of anticipation for a revealed secret, delicate and charming.
However, Yu Wen Li and Xing Jia He stared for a long time and understood nothing.
Wen Ting Xue and Xu Ke Xin, as her sisters, instantly got it.
"Impressive! What did he do to win you over so quickly?" Wen Ting Xue asked curiously. "Didn't you say you'd make him wait another three years? It's only been a little over a year since then!"
"Not even a year yet," Xu Ke Xin corrected meticulously.
Wen Ting Xue gave a thumbs up. "As expected of the little CEO."
Xu Ke Xin nudged her head with her index finger. "Stop flattering him."
"Oh, come on! Don't you two flirt in front of me!" Qiao Xi Xi pouted enviously. "I'm the protagonist today!"
"Alright, alright!" The two immediately looked at her seriously and said in unison, "Please, protagonist, continue."
Qiao Xi Xi: "..."
"Hmph," she pouted stubbornly, then moved her phone closer, resting her head on her arm. "Actually, I didn't intend to agree so soon, but..."
But no one expected that Mu Chen, who had fallen in love, would be willing to shed his pride.
Back then, Qiao Xi Xi's pursuit of Mu Chen was quite the sensation.
Both of them were well-known figures in Jiang Cheng.
Especially Qiao Xi Xi, whose social circle from a young age was different from others.
While girls her age were playing with dolls or studying, she was already frequenting various social venues.
In this relationship, he was the one doing the pursuing.
In front of everyone, he knelt on one knee and asked her to be his wife.
This was the most outrageous thing Mu Chen had ever done, and the most out of character for him.
But he had no regrets.
"In front of everyone, it was indeed difficult to refuse," Xu Ke Xin said understandingly.
Qiao Xi Xi, however, said, "That's not the point. The point is, he went to my house with betrothal gifts that very night to propose."
"?!" All of them froze simultaneously.
The Qiao family wasn't particularly famous in Jiang Cheng.
But Qiao Xi Xi's six elder brothers were quite formidable.
And they were all doting brothers.
When Qiao Xi Xi was chasing Mu Chen all over Jiang Cheng, the six Qiao brothers wished they could skin and bone Mu Chen, that oblivious fool.
Even now, the six Qiao brothers still held a deep grudge against Mu Chen.
They completely refused to acknowledge him as their brother-in-law.
Going to propose with betrothal gifts at this time was like asking for a beating, wasn't it?
In fact, Mu Chen was indeed looking for a beating.
He prepared everything needed for a proposal according to Jiang Cheng's customs, along with all his savings from the years, just to show his sincerity to Xi Xi.
As for the sincerity of the proposal, it was naturally to appease the elder brothers.
Then, he was beaten quite badly.
He was directly hospitalized.
Qiao Xi Xi wasn't home at the time and heard about it from others.
When she rushed to the hospital in a panic, Mu Chen had already come out of surgery and was smiling and talking with the six Qiao brothers.
The attitude of the six Qiao brothers towards him had softened considerably, and they had accepted him as their brother-in-law.
Therefore, Qiao Xi Xi wore the earrings.
It had been over three years now.
Mu Chen bought them in Meng Cheng after her high school graduation. At that time, her hand was injured, and their relationship was not good.
So, she had never opened that small box.
It wasn't until her freshman military training that she accidentally found it and discovered it contained a pair of earrings with the letter 'x'.
Coupled with his previous confession, the meaning of this gift was obvious.
He wanted to make amends.
He wanted the past to be over.
But Qiao Xi Xi was still holding a grudge at that time, so how could she forgive him?
Even after they got together, Qiao Xi Xi never touched those earrings.
To put it bluntly, she still cared about those past events.
Mu Chen knew this, so he never rushed her.
But this did not mean he didn't care.
"What a pity," Wen Ting Xue could only sigh after hearing the whole story. "I didn't get to witness your proposal."
"It's okay," Qiao Xi Xi said with a smile. "He'll propose again in front of you all."
Several people: "Huh???"
You can play it like that?
Qiao Xi Xi said righteously, "He himself said he'd help me regain all the face I lost! I confessed to him five times, and he's only proposed three times. He's getting off easy."
Everyone chuckled. "Okay, okay."
"Kids, stop chatting and come eat dinner," Grandpa Yu called from the kitchen.
Qiao Xi Xi raised the cup she had filled with water. "Alright then, I'll see you in a few days. I'm going to take care of the patient."
"Okay, bye."
Wen Ting Xue waved goodbye to her.
...
Everything was fine in Hawaii, but the food didn't suit the appetites of the two elders.
Eating for a couple of days was fine, but after a week, their stomachs started to rebel.
So, Grandpa Yu had been cooking lately.
"What dishes do you want tomorrow? Xiao Fang and I will go shopping later."
"We'll go," Yu Wen Li said. "You and Aunt Fang can rest. Jia He and I will do the cooking for the next few days."
"Okay," Xing Jia He nodded.
Grandpa Yu chuckled and asked, "Are you disliking my cooking?"
"How could we!" Wen Ting Xue quickly said. "We're cherishing your cooking and don't want you to get tired."
"Haha, I appreciate the thought," Grandpa Yu said with a hearty laugh.
But he still insisted, "However, I'll still do the cooking. You don't understand; when you get old, you just can't sit still. You busy yourselves with your work, and as for the kitchen, I'm used to it, I can't let go."
Aunt Fang frowned. "If you ask me, you should listen to the children and rest for a few days. Your health..."
"What's wrong with my health?" Grandpa Yu interrupted. "My health is perfectly fine!"
Yu Wen Li's face darkened. "Grandpa, is there something you're hiding from me?"
Realizing something was wrong, the others also put down their chopsticks.
"What could I possibly hide from you?!" Grandpa Yu instinctively raised his voice. "I..."
"Aunt Fang."
Yu Wen Li didn't want to listen to Grandpa Yu's excuses anymore and turned his gaze directly to Aunt Fang.
His suddenly grave tone made it impossible to lie.
"..." Aunt Fang hesitated and glanced at Grandpa Yu.
Grandpa Yu winked at her, telling her not to say anything.
"Grandpa!"
Yu Wen Li's brow furrowed even tighter, and his tone grew colder.
Grandpa Yu immediately lowered his head.
Aunt Fang hesitated for a few seconds and then truthfully said, "I've seen Old Master Yu clutching his chest and looking quite pained several times. He must be feeling unwell. I've advised him to go to the hospital, but he won't listen..."
Hearing the latter part, Yu Wen Li's face had already turned completely dark.
Grandpa Yu looked at the sky and the ground, but not at him.
Finally, Yu Wen Li got up first and pulled him, intending to go to the hospital.
"Oh, oh, oh! Let go of me!" Grandpa Yu refused to go, no matter what. "I know my body best, I have no issues! I don't need to go to the hospital and waste money!"
Yu Wen Li ignored him. "Whether there's a problem, an examination will tell."
Seeing that his resolve was firm, Grandpa Yu got angry. "I'm not going to the hospital!"
He suddenly broke free. Yu Wen Li turned back with a cold face and suppressed his temper, asking, "Then what do you want?"
"I'm not going to a hospital run by foreigners, anyway." Grandpa Yu stood stubbornly in place. "Even if I die, I'll die in my own country."
"What death, what death!" Aunt Fang spat three times. "Don't say such unlucky things."
"Grandpa," Wen Ting Xue stepped forward and gently held Grandpa Yu's arm, coaxing him. "Since you don't like hospitals run by foreigners, why don't we go back to the country for the examination, okay?"
She wished she hadn't agreed so quickly.
-
At the same time, in Jiang Cheng Hospital.
As Qiao Xi Xi came out of the pantry, her eldest brother stopped her and asked, "Do his parents know about your relationship?"
Speaking of which, Mu Chen had been in the hospital since last night, and it had been over ten hours.
Yet, his parents had not appeared.
Qiao Xi Xi knew she couldn't hide it and nodded obediently. "They know, but they don't approve."
The Mu family was, after all, a prominent wealthy family in Jiang Cheng. The daughter-in-law they would approve of must be a young lady of similar standing,
Not someone like her, who had grown up roughing it in the streets.
"How can that be?" Qiao Xi Xi's eldest brother frowned. "Can't he even handle this small matter?"
Although they didn't subscribe to the idea that 'a marriage without parental support is unhappy.'
They only had this one sister, so they naturally wished for her marriage to be happy and smooth from the bottom of their hearts.
"Brother!" Qiao Xi Xi glared at him unhappily. "You beat him up and hospitalized him, yet you're still talking about him like that."
"Oh, oh, oh! You haven't even married him yet, and you're already defending him?" Qiao Xi Xi's eldest brother teased, crossing his arms.
"Besides, we were careful. He wasn't seriously injured, and it won't affect your conjugal bliss."
The eldest brother added with a smile.
"Huh?" Qiao Xi Xi blinked in confusion.
Then she realized, her face flushed slightly, and she stomped her foot, then walked into the ward.
Mu Chen's injury wasn't serious, but it wasn't minor either.
He would need to be in bed for a few days.
"What's wrong?" Seeing her unusual expression, Mu Chen asked with a slight frown. "Do you have a fever?"
The weather had been unstable lately, and many people had caught colds and fevers.
He thought Qiao Xi Xi was one of them, especially since she had stayed by his bedside all night.
"No," Qiao Xi Xi handed him the water cup.
Mu Chen looked at her but didn't take it.
"I just said a couple of things to my eldest brother," Qiao Xi Xi explained helplessly.
Only then did Mu Chen take the water cup, take a shallow sip, and ask, "What things?"
"..."
How could she explain?
Mu Chen looked up, staring at her intently.
Qiao Xi Xi huffed in annoyance and was about to spill everything when there was a knock at the door.
Turning around, Mu Chen's parents had entered with fruit.
They probably didn't expect her to be there, and their expressions changed slightly.
Especially Mu's mother, who looked as if she wanted to brand 'dissatisfied' on her forehead.
Qiao Xi Xi frowned almost imperceptibly.
She then withdrew her gaze and stood up, saying, "You all talk. I'll step out to reply to a message."
Mu's mother immediately forced a perfunctory smile. "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Qiao."
The title "Miss Qiao" immediately created distance,
Implying they didn't acknowledge the engagement.
Qiao Xi Xi knew she couldn't show disrespect to elders, but she really couldn't smile.
She forced a smile and turned to leave.
But her wrist was firmly grasped.
Qiao Xi Xi looked down, and Mu Chen's parents frowned.
"Xiao Chen," Mu's mother said, signaling him to let go.
Mu Chen ignored her completely, his gaze fixed only on Qiao Xi Xi, and asked, "Where are you going?"
Qiao Xi Xi was happy with his protection, but she couldn't ignore the elders' feelings.
"It's not appropriate for me to stay here while you all talk."
She smiled and patted his hand.
But he tightened his grip, his voice growing colder. "What's inappropriate? You are my fiancée. If anyone doesn't acknowledge that, then there's no need to talk."
These words were directed at Mu Chen's parents.
They gave them virtually no face.
Just like when they entered the room, he hadn't even spared them a glance.
To him, Qiao Xi Xi was more important than his parents.
It wasn't that he was unfilial, but rather that he couldn't be filial.
"Ahem," Mu's father tried to ease the atmosphere. "Xiao Chen is right. We're all family. Little Qiao, you don't need to leave. Your mother and I are just here to see him."
After their last encounter, he personally was satisfied with Miss Qiao Xi Xi.
But Mu's mother was not. She always felt her son deserved someone better.
This time, they had come to discuss the marriage.
But looking at the situation... it was probably no longer necessary to discuss it.
Mu's father subtly nudged Mu's mother. Mu's mother reluctantly nodded. "Yes."
"Then please sit."
Mu Chen released her hand, his expression indifferent.
If one didn't know, they'd think they were strangers.
There was a sofa in the ward, but no chairs.
The two sat on the accompanying bed. Qiao Xi Xi sat further away, on the sofa.
However, before they could sit, Mu Chen called out to her, "Baby, I want some water."
"..."
Qiao Xi Xi came over and handed him the water cup.
Mu Chen didn't take the cup but grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit beside him.
Mu's mother, who was still unwilling and wanted to probe further, finally gave up completely.
After a brief inquiry about Mu Chen's injuries, the two prepared to leave.
But before leaving, Mu's father took out the household registration book from his briefcase and placed it on the bedside table, saying, "When you get married, let us know. Your mother and I will be there."
-
The next day, the plane landed in the capital.
Yu Wen Li was worried about Grandpa Yu's health.
He arranged for his hospitalization that same evening. The next afternoon, the results of the gastroscopy came back: Stage II esophageal cancer, and the tumor had already invaded the esophageal muscle layer.
Wen Jin Yan, who returned a step later, almost couldn't stand.
Yu Xiu Xiu supported her. "It's okay, it's okay. It's mid-stage."
Although this was a poor attempt at comfort, it was the truth. The most feared thing about cancer was the late stage.
"Doctor!"
Wen Jin Yan grabbed the doctor's sleeve, her eyes red, and asked, "My dad... can my dad be cured?"
She was trembling with fear.
The doctor, who was on good terms with Lin Wan Qing, looked troubled.
Wen Jin Yan's heart sank, and tears fell. "You can't?"
"It's not that you can't," the doctor quickly said. "It's just that your father's condition is rather complicated. For his situation, surgical resection is best, but his lung function is not very good, so further observation is needed."
He paused, then sighed. "But the most troublesome thing is that Mr. Yu is not cooperating."
Doctors hated uncooperative patients the most.
When he first arrived at the hospital, he had asked routine questions, but the answers Mr. Yu gave were purely misleading.
As a result, he hadn't even considered esophageal cancer at first.
If Yu Wen Li hadn't insisted on a gastroscopy, it might not have been discovered so easily.
Even now that it was confirmed, the old gentleman was still insisting on returning to Jiang Cheng, and he refused to cooperate with anything they said.
Holding the examination results, Yu Wen Li, who had been silently leaning against the wall for a long time, suddenly asked, "If the surgery is performed in Jiang Cheng, it should be okay, right?"
In terms of medical care, the capital was undoubtedly the best.
But Grandpa was insisting on returning to Jiang Cheng.
If his wish wasn't granted, it might affect his mood, and thus the outcome of the surgery.
"Of course!" the doctor nodded. "The medical technology in Jiang Cheng is also excellent, and the cure rate is no less than here."
After a moment of silence, Yu Wen Li straightened up. "Then that's settled."
-
The next evening, Grandpa Yu was transferred to Jiang Cheng.
Mu Chen heard about it and specially came to visit, despite his injuries.
"Is everything arranged?" he asked.
Yu Wen Li leaned against the window, smoking with weary eyes. "Mm."
The Yu family's connections were all in Jiang Cheng, so of course, everything was arranged to the best of their ability.
But he was still worried.
"Looking at you, you don't plan on leaving for a while, do you?"
Mu Chen understood him.
In Yu Wen Li's heart, Grandpa Yu's status was perhaps higher than his parents.
Now that Old Master Yu had been admitted to the hospital, he would definitely stay by his side.
"Mm."
"Then what about those resources you've negotiated? Are you just giving them up?" Mu Chen felt it was a pity.
But there was nothing he could do.
After all, family was more important.
"Mm..."
Just as Yu Wen Li answered, You You's phone call came through.
This was the twentieth call of the day.