"Si Ye, come here," Qin Xiuzhi said with a kind smile, beckoning to Qin Si Ye, who stood before him.
Qin Si Ye exchanged a glance with Yin Xi, met her gentle gaze, and took two steps forward, asking, "Dad, what do you want to say?"
"I want to say that regarding you and Xi Xi, I was deaf and blind and almost made a grave mistake. Just now, I already apologized to her."
Qin Xiuzhi looked at Yin Xi warmly and continued, "Xi Xi, she's a good child. After my surgery and recovery, I want to personally arrange your wedding."
Upon hearing this, Qin Si Ye excitedly took Yin Xi's hand and replied with a smile, "Yes. Thank you, Dad."
Thank you? These two words from Qin Si Ye were rare indeed.
Qin Xiuzhi couldn't recall how many years it had been since he had last heard them spoken to him.
A mist began to form before his eyes.
Yin Xi was startled, not expecting Qin Xiuzhi to announce this news publicly. Amidst her joy, she quickly added, "Thank you, Uncle."
"You don't need to thank me," Qin Xiuzhi said, his lips spreading into a grin. "It was your persistence and true feelings that moved me and changed my views."
Everyone present, except for Jiang Jie whose expression was a little unnatural, wore smiles of blessings and understanding.
Qin Xiuyi glanced at Mei Yun and unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand.
Mei Yun smiled at him, then turned to Qin Xiuzhi on the sickbed and said, "Big Brother, Si Ye and Xi Xi haven't even gotten engaged yet. How did we jump straight to marriage?
Although Xi Xi's parents are no longer around, I consider myself part of her family.
Marriage is a major life event. Not only do we need to pick a good date, but the process in between cannot be skipped."
"Yes, yes, yes. You're right, I overlooked that," Qin Xiuzhi said with a hasty smile. "Si Ye, prepare yourself these next few days. After I'm discharged, we'll hold your engagement ceremony with Xi Xi, and the recognition ceremony for the three little ones.
Then, I'll discuss the details of the formal wedding with your Aunt Mei."
"Okay," Qin Si Ye replied, his eyes full of smiles, his grip on Yin Xi's hand tightening.
Yin Xi turned her head to meet his loving gaze, and her heart skipped a few beats.
Once everything was settled, everyone left the room.
Inside, only Qin Xiuzhi and Jiang Jie remained.
"Xiuzhi, you must be thirsty. Have some water," Jiang Jie poured a glass of water and offered it to him.
Qin Xiuzhi slowly took it, but instead of drinking, he placed the glass back on the bedside table and looked at her sternly.
Jiang Jie's heart skipped a beat. "What's wrong? Xiuzhi, why are you looking at me like that? Did... did I do something wrong?"
"What do you think?" Qin Xiuzhi retorted irritably. "You've been whispering in my ear a lot about Si Ye and Xi Xi's affairs during this time."
"I... I was just afraid Si Ye would be deceived," Jiang Jie quickly explained. "Yin Xi initially wore a mask, had three children, and yet maintained an ambiguous relationship with Si Ye.
She's so clever and intelligent, who knows what her intentions are."
Staring intently at her, Qin Xiuzhi finally said after a long moment, "Then how do you explain your close association with Lu Yushan and Meng Qi?
Is it really a case of birds of a feather flocking together, that you have common goals?"
Hearing this, Jiang Jie's body stiffened, and then her eyes turned red, her voice choked as she said, "Xiuzhi, how can you say that about me?
Even if I was close to them, it's because they have special identities and unusual connections to Si Ye.
I wanted to improve my relationship with Si Ye through them.
You know, over the years in the Qin family, Si Ye has never shown me any affection."
"Oh?" Qin Xiuzhi raised an eyebrow. "But haven't you noticed that Si Ye dislikes them?
If you truly wanted to please him, you should have tried to get closer to Yin Xi.
Isn't what you did the opposite?"