Xue Zhen was disappointed with Xia Wan’s marriage. He really didn’t like the idea of his grandson being in this marriage. He had hoped his precious grandson would have lived a pampered and carefree life, not getting involved with the messy affairs of the Huo family.
However, something changed when Huo Yu instinctively protected Xia Wan by placing his hand on Xia Wan’s head while they sat together in the car. It provoked a subtle emotion in Xue Zhen’s heart.
Seeing the genuine happiness in Xia Wan’s eyes as he looked at Huo Yu, Xue Zhen couldn’t help but soften a bit. Maybe this marriage wasn’t as bad as he thought.
After all, if his beloved grandson had found something special in Huo Yu, who was he to stand in the way? The affectionate glances and the evident joy in Xia Wan’s eyes made it hard for Xue Zhen to hold onto his initial disapproval. Love had its own mysterious way of changing hearts.
“Grandpa Xue.” As soon as Xia Wan got into the car, he immediately called Xue Zhen sweetly. He was very confident in his ability to coax people.
In the past, his grandfather, parents, and elder brother all ate this trick, but now even with Huo Yu and Xia Chengzhang, he was pretty successful.
So, even if the old man’s face appears to be serious and stern , Xia Wan was still very affectionate and warm, and he was not afraid at all. Fear was a stranger to him, especially when dealing with someone as uncertain as Huo Yu. After all, what did he have to be afraid of?
Sure enough his charm works like magic. Xue Zhen seemed to like his trick too, and immediately responded with a smile.
“Do you want to hear about Tangtang?” Xia Wan tilted his head to think for a moment, then he couldn’t help laughing, “Tangtang is a bit mischievous, but he strikes a perfect balance of warmth and love. In his studies, he’s adorable, and almost no one can resist his charm.”
Xue Zhen found amusement in Xia Wan’s tactics. “Su Tang would blush if he heard your praise,” he laughed.
“That’s true,” Xia Wan replied, lips pursed in a smile. He then pulled out a pack of small twists and dried plums from his backpack, handing it to Xue Zhen. “Grandpa, which one do you like?”
Xia Wan thought, elders are not so different from children, especially when it comes to enjoying snacks. So Grandpa Xue would really enjoy eating snacks.
Xue Zhen looked at the snacks in Xia Wan’s palm, momentarily stunned.
The smiling young man in front of him instantly overlapped with the snow-white milky, chubby little dumpling holding two candies in his memory.
“Grand tke.”
Sharing one gummy, one toffee – even if the child couldn’t speak clearly, he knew to share his joy with Xue Zhen.
Seeing that Xue Zhen hadn’t moved, Xia Wan unknowingly moved closer: “Grandpa, you can choose as many as you want, I still have more of them in my bag.”
As Xia Wan moved closer, Xue Zhen smelled the scent of the shower gel with a faint milky fragrance on him.
In that moment, a wave of emotion hit him, a bittersweet sensation tingling his nose, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
He slowly stretched out his hand and tightly gripped the bag of small twists in his hand.
Xue Zhen seldom eats these things. When he was a child, his family was so poor that eating was a problem. So, where can he have money to eat these types of things? Back then, the idea of enjoying snacks like these was a distant dream.
Later, when he became an adult, he caught up with the good times and successfully seized the opportunity to found the Xue family and carry it forward. But he was so busy all day that he didn’t even have time to sit down and enjoy such food, let alone touch them.
Afterwards, As the years passed by, he got older and more wealthy, his focus shifted to a pursuit of quality in food and clothing. By the time he was free from responsibility, he was too old to eat these things.
In the past few years, it was almost the first time someone had offered him these seemingly simple and humble snacks. Yet, these two small treats stirred more emotion in him than anything he had experienced in recent years.
Silently, he unwrapped the package, revealing a small twist about the size of his little finger. Without a word, he popped it into his mouth and took a thoughtful bite, savoring not just the flavor but the unexpected flood of memories and emotions that accompanied it.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“It’s delicious,” Xue Zhen said with a smile.
Xia Wan had also unwrapped the plums. Instead of indulging first, he extended the bag of plums to Xue Zhen.
“Eat this. It’s really good,” he said with a smile, “All organic, no additives. Give it a try.”
Xue Zhen took one and popped it into his mouth. The plum was a perfect blend of sweet and sour, the flesh firm. Even with that small fruit in his mouth, he couldn’t help but return Xia Wan’s smile, a simple exchange that spoke volumes.
“Appetizers?.” Xue Zhen asked.
“Yes,” Xia Wan responded, pinching one and popping it into his mouth. His cheeks bulged slightly, resembling like a kid savoring a candy, “They’re good for when your appetite isn’t great or your digestion is not good .”
Seeing that Xue Zhen likes to eat, Xia Wa took out another pack from his bag and handed it to Xue Zhen.
Xue Zhen accepted it, carefully placing it on his lap. As if he was afraid of someone snatching this treasure.
When the two of them were doing these childish exchanges, Huo Yu, who was occasionally glancing back through the rearview mirror happened to see this. When he was growing up, he had seen Mr. Xue only a handful of times, but he never had a chance to have a conversation.
It’s just that both in his own impression and in his peers, Mr. Xue’s image was consistently serious, which made the younger generation intimidated. However this doesn’t look the same as it was now.
Mapping a chance to witness a side of Mr. Xue that defied the stern image he had held in their collective memory Huo Yu couldn’t help but hook the corner of his mouth and lower his eyes.
Huo Yu sat quietly, listening to the two people behind him chatting with curiosity. They were discussing innocent and pure topics, and he didn’t feel confident enough to join in.
Xia Wan and Xue Zhen were having a lively conversation until somehow, the focus shifted to him.
“Su Tang said your online shop was doing great,” Xue Zhen inquired, “Did you sell food too?”
Xia Wan hesitated, unsure if Xue Zhen meant his online store or his live broadcasts.
“At first, yeah,” he admitted with a hint of embarrassment, “I started it because I love food, and made it my starting point.”
“Eating is a blessing.” Xue Zhen raised his hand, as if he wanted to stroke Xia Wan’s black hair, but stopped halfway.
“You have such a good character,” Xue Zhen said, “You must be a blessing to your parents.”
Xia Wan smiled and took a moment before replying “My father is also very good, and it is my blessing to have him.”
Even though Xia Chengzhang was poor and ill, Xia Wan still loved him so much. It wasn’t something to shy away from or feel inferior about.
Xue Zhen looked at Xia Wan with mixed feelings. As an old man who has lost his lovely grandson for 18 years, he should naturally hate Xia Chengzhang. But looking at Xia Wan, who loves Xia Chengzhang so much that he doesn’t dare to hate that person. and he can’t figure out how to tell the truth quickly so that he can bring his little grandson back soon.
The Xue family’s home was just up ahead, and from a distance, Xue Zhen could see Zhou Qi waiting at the door.
The car stopped, and Xia Wan quickly hopped out. He rushed to the other side, opening the car door for Xue Zhen.
“Huo Yu fell asleep?” Xue Zhen finally noticed Huo Yu in the co-pilot seat.
Huo Yu tilted his head back a bit in the seat, his lashes resting on his lower lids, and he stayed silent. Even in sleep, his lips were pressed tight, hinting at some unspoken emotion.
“Has he been drinking a lot?” Xue Zhen asked in a low voice.
“En.” Xia Wan replied quietly as he assisted Xue Zhen out of the car. Zhou Qi had already joined them.
“Grandpa,” Xia Wan whispered, “Huo Yu works very hard, I won’t wake him up.”
“It’s okay,” Xue Zhen said, “let him sleep.”
“Thank you, Grandpa.” Xia Wan nodded, just about to say goodbye to Xue Zhen.
Xue Zhen didn’t want to say goodbye, reluctantly he raised his hand and gently touched Xia Wan’s hair, “If you have time in the future, come over to my house with Tang Tang, It’s been such a long time since I had a chat like today. I miss moments like these for ages.”
In the starlight, the old man’s eyes held a bit of loneliness and hope, making him look really alone. The lines on his face, usually a bit sharp, now seemed like medals of loneliness.
Xia Wan felt surprised for a moment, then nodded with determination.
“When my dad gets better,” Xia Wan promised, “I’ll make sure to visit you often.”
In Xue Zhen’s smile, there was a slight movement behind him, Xia Wan turned his head to look over, and saw that Huo Yu had also gotten out of the car.
“It’s Grandpa who likes to chat,” Xue Zhen teased with a grin as Huo Yu woke up. “I also woke up Huo Yu.”
“No, Grandpa Xue,” Huo Yu responded, moving forward to hug Xia Wan’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“He loves you.” Xue Zhen said on behalf of Xia Wan.
“Really?” Huo Yu lowered his eyes and took Xia Wan’s arm slightly, “Do you feel bad for me?”
Xia Wan looked up at Xue Zhen in embarrassment, raised his hand and pinched Huo Yu’s waist.
At that moment, both Huo Yu and Xue Zhen burst into laughter.
“Thanks for taking me back,” Xue Zhen said, smiling. “It’s getting late; go rest early.”
“Goodbye, Grandpa,” Xia Wan waved and got into the car with Huo Yu.
As the car started, it swiftly drove away. Xue Zhen gazed at the two fading tail lights, he couldn’t help but to take a half step forward as if wanting to chase after them.
“Eldest Master, are you still sleeping?” After driving for a while, Xia Wan moved toward Huo Yu. He raised his hand and patted his shoulder, “I can lend you my shoulder, you can sleep on it till we reach to the hospital.”
Huo Yu tilted his head to look at Xia Wan’s slightly thin shoulders. He leaned back in his seat, corners of his mouth lifting: “You and Grandpa Xue had a good chat?”
“Yeah,” Xia Wan nodded. “Grandpa Xue is really nice.”
“Is there anyone you think is not nice?” Huo Yu said with a half-smile.
“Well there might be.” Xia Wan looked at Huo Yu, deliberately pretending to hesitate before speaking.
Huo Yu snorted and lazily closed his eyes.
“Hey, eldest master.” Xia Wan nudged Huo Yu, “Don’t you want to cooperate with the Xue family? Why didn’t you play the charming host earlier?”
“Didn’t you take care of that?” Huo Yu teased Xia Wan. He does want to collaborate with the Xue family, but he’s not in a rush. And who is this old man?
If he’s too business-minded in front of him, it might not work out well.
In fact, Huo Yu hadn’t expected that Xia Wan and the old man would have such a strong bond.
Closing his eyes, memories of Wen Yunzhi’s look toward Xia Wan in the hospital room resurfaced. He felt a stirring inside but pushed down the rising doubts.
Xia Wan was living a good and happy life, and Huo Yu doesn’t want any unnecessary complications in Xia Wan’s life. He understood that any twists and turns could significantly impact Xia Wan’s career and destiny. Which he doesn’t want.
“I’m not courteous,” Xia Wan whispered, “I was respecting the elderly and loving the young.”
“Really?” Huo Yu opened his eyes, wearing a half-smile. “Then, why don’t you show respect for me?”
“I offered you my shoulders, but you didn’t take them,” Xia Wan replied, turning his head away. His slender neck highlighted a graceful line.
“Is it too late to regret now?” Huo Yu asked after a brief pause.
Xia Wan pursed his lips and forcibly smiled: “It’s too late.”
The next moment, Huo Yu put his head back on Xia Wan’ shoulder
Xia Wan bit his lip, as he felt the weight on his shoulder.
“What did Grandpa Xue say to you when you stepped out of the car?” Huo Yu’s voice was close, his warm breath brushing against Xia Wan’s collarbone, carrying a faint smell of alcohol.
“Weren’t you asleep?” Xia Wan asked. feeling a bit distracted. They were so close that he could almost lower his head and kiss Huo Yu’s head.
“I didn’t fall asleep, but I was lost in thoughts for a while.” Huo Yu said, and then said, “I’m asking you a question, don’t change the subject.”
“You keep talking to others in secret, why do you want me to tell you?” Xia Wan was just thinking. The tenderness that arose was quickly dispersed by Huo Yu’s words.
Huo Yu sat up, tilting his head to gaze at Xia Wan for a moment, and with a half-smile, he asked, “You mean Shen Yan.”
“Yeah,” Xia Wan replied, feeling a bit awkward.
At the reception, Shen Yan pulled Huo Yu aside and talked for a long time, clearly avoiding him. At first he didn’t think much about this, However, his indifference shifted when he noticed how Shen Yan sneaked glances in Huo Yu’s direction then towards him, giving an air of secrecy that unexpectedly heightened his concern.
Initially, Xia Wan didn’t pay much attention to it, but after that incident he started to care about it.
Huo Yu’s gaze stayed on Xia Wan for a moment, and a realization seemed to dawn upon him. His eyes underwent a subtle transformation, his eyes seemed to grow deeper and brighter. It was as if an internal spark had been ignited by the alcohol coursing through his veins, creating a radiant glow in his eyes.
Huo Yu, this bad thing, seems genuinely pleased with this situation.
Xia Wan was about to defend himself, but Huo Yu suddenly looked at him, smiled lightly, and said, “If you want to know, I can tell you.”
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