Chapter 306 – Cui Liuxian, Change?
Spring Festival was approaching and Old Man Xian had always been in a good mood ever since Jiang Ruolan had returned. Both Jiang Ruolan and Xian Zihao accompanied the Old Man back to H City and went straight to the Xian Residence.
The moment the car stopped, Jiang Ruolan and Xian Zihao helped Old Man Xian out of the car. On the other side, Zhan An had been waiting for Jiang Ruolan. She was so excited and happy as she walked towards her. Zhan An immediately held her hand tightly, "Ruolan, good child. You've suffered so much. Mom was so sorry about that. It's good that you are finally back!"
"Mom." Jiang Ruolan was emotionally moved as she looked at her loving mother-in-law. Her heart was filled with gratitude.
Jiang Ruolan was finally found a home in the Xian household. There was her caring and loving husband, her caring mother-in-law who treated her like her own daughter, Xian Guiying who could chat with her, and Old Man Xian who loved her so much.
"Silly child, our Xian Family was the one who has wronged you, causing you to suffer so much." Zhan An held her hand and looked at her with a pained expression. She then stroked Jiang Ruolan's head. "Look at you. Although you're not that skinny, your face isn't as good as it was before. You haven't slept well for the past month, have you?"
Women were the most understanding of their gender. Although there was a gap of more than twenty years between them, they still understood each other better.
Jiang Ruolan nodded lightly with a smile in her eyes. "Mom, I have recently been able to sleep soundly. I can sleep eleven to twelve hours a day. Don't worry about me."
"How's the child?" Zhan An pulled Jiang Ruolan's hand as they walked into the Xian Residence. She looked at her stomach with great concern.
Jiang Ruolan's stomach was already starting to show signs of a little bulging, and Zhan An immediately said happily, "Ruolan, mom knows that you won't be able to take away the child in your stomach no matter what. Mom's been worried to death this past month, worried that you might lose your mind, then worried that you'd take the child out in one go!"
"This is also my child. No matter what kind of misunderstanding happens, he will always be my child. How could I let him disappear so easily." Jiang Ruolan lowered her head and gently caressed her stomach. Her eyes were filled with anticipation for the tiny life inside.
"If mom is not mistaken, your womb is almost three months old." Zhan An carefully touched her stomach. Then, as if she could not hide her smile, she asked Jiang Ruolan to sit down, then immediately called Nanny Cheng. "Go call Dr Li here! I want him to check Ruolan's body and ask if she still needs to take Chinese medicine again. This child is too thin. Mom is really worried that your body will not be able to bear the pain when you give birth in the future."
Nanny Cheng also smiled and nodded her head before turning around to called Dr Li.
When the Old Man sat down happily, his gaze swept across the room and paused for a moment. He seemed to have been looking for something. Old Man Xian looked at Jiang Ruolan, then looked at Zhan An, seemingly wanting to speak but then stopped.
At this moment, Zhan An acted as if she didn't notice Old Man Xian's gaze at all. She just smiled and chatted with Ruolan until Nanny Cheng came back and informed that Dr Li would be here in a moment. Zhan nodded her head with a smile.
However, Jiang Ruolan could already feel the subtle atmosphere in the Xian Family. It was as if something happened between Old Man Xian and Zhan An since she (Zhan An) was unwilling to talk with the Old Man.
At the heart of this topic, Jiang Ruolan slowly understood that it must be regarding Jiang Yijun.
Xian Zihao's cell phone suddenly rang, and he smiled faintly at Jiang Ruolan before he got up to answer the phone.
His tall figure was standing by the window, and Jiang Ruolan, who was looking in his direction, suddenly heard someone coming down the stairs. She turned her head and saw Cui Liuxian, who had come down with no expression in her eyes.
She bit her lower lip when she saw the Old Man coming back. Cui Liuxian stood on the stairs, looking at the Old Man, then looked at Xian Zihao, and then at Jiang Ruolan.
"Grandpa, you're back from Beijing." Cui Liuxian's voice was very low and a bit hoarse, as if she was sick. Her face was a bit pale, but she did her best to maintain a vibrant appearance, not wanting to make the Old Man unhappy.
The Old Man folded his hands on his cane and turned around to look at her. He nodded, "Yes, I'm back. I heard you caught a cold? How is it? Are you better?"
Old Man Xian spoke to Cui Liuxian in a tone that was hard to interpret. It was as if he was casually talking about an ordinary family member.
Cui Liuxian had been used to being doted on since she was young. She wasn't used to the Old Man's frosty attitude, but she didn't dare act rashly. She walked down the stairs and headed in his direction.
Cui Liuxian was wearing a snow-white dress today, giving off a very noble, clean, and well-behaved feeling. She walked to the Old Man's side and carefully poured a cup of hot tea. "Grandfather, you've just returned. You must be thirsty. Have a cup of tea."
Seeing Cui Liuxian's obedient behavior, Old Man Xian immediately became pleased with her. He took the teacup and looked at her dressing, then asked softly, "You hadn't been out for the past few days?"
"Grandpa told me to stay at home and reflect on my mistake, so I didn't dare to go out. I just stayed in my room and waited for you to come back." Cui Liuxian lowered her head and whispered. Her obedient and exquisite appearance made Jiang Ruolan look at her.
Thinking back about her wedding a month ago, Jiang Ruolan remembered that she had not seen Cui Liuxian that day. Cui Liuxian may not have gone that day, but when she heard that the wedding was not going well, she definitely must be in a very good mood.
At this moment, Xian Zihao returned to the living room. His gaze stopped on Cui Liuxian for less than half a second before slowly moving away. However, Jiang Ruolan was able to detect it.
Cui Liuxian must have tried to get close to Xian Zihao during her absence. Otherwise, his patience with Cui Liuxian will never run out.
Xian Zihao sat beside Jiang Ruolan and the familiar warmth made her feel sleepy. She looked at his expression and asked softly, "Is it Qin Gengxin?"
She had just seen the name on his cell phone. He gave a barely audible grunt, as if he was thinking of something.
Xian Zihao was used to not showing any emotions, so Jiang Ruolan couldn't guess much from his expression. However, she could feel that it was related to Qin Gengxin and Xian Guiying.
Besides, Jiang Ruolan hadn't seen Qin Gengxin recently, and Xian Guiying didn't seem to be in the Xian Residence either. Xian Guiying's stomach should be big by now, so no matter how she covered it up, people would still find out.
However, since Jiang Ruolan was sitting nearer to Old Man Xian and Zhan An, she couldn't really ask, so she could only turn around and glance at Cui Liuxian.
"Liuxian, grandpa has been worried about you for years and grandpa knows being the wife of my grandson is your desire. But now heaven has sent Ruolan for Zihao, I can't keep watching you live like this. So I want to find a good family for you to get married in the next few years and enjoy a lifetime of blessings. However, you child, don't want to think about it, and seeing you like that always causes a bad feeling in my heart, but now that you've thought it through, grandpa can finally relax."
Cui Liuxian smiled slightly and obediently replied, "It's because I was previously so immature. Grandpa, please don't be angry anymore."
Old Man Xian patted her hand and turned to look at Jiang Ruolan. "Ruolan, last time Cui Liuxian tried to hurt you with a fruit knife but for grandfather's sake, can you please don't take it to heart. We're family, let's have a peaceful Spring Festival, okay?"
Jiang Ruolan may not have been brooding over that matter, but it was a lie to say that she didn't want to take it to heart. But since it had been so long and looking at the Old Man's expression, she reluctantly agreed. "I don't mind. We are family, after all."
When Jiang Ruolan raised her eyes to look at Cui Liuxian, she could see the resentment in her eyes. Old Man Xian wasn't looking at her (Cui Liuxian) at this moment, so he didn't notice it.
It looked like Cui Liuxian was only putting on an act on the surface to regain Old Man Xian's favor.
Jiang Ruolan gently tightened the grip on the hand that Xian Zihao had been holding and spoke in a low voice that he could only hear. "Zihao, after the Spring Festival, are we still going to return to the Greenville Residence?"
Xian Zihao seemed to have noticed her worry and understood that she didn't want to stay under the same roof with Cui Liuxian for too long. Jiang Ruolan's expression clearly showed that she was afraid that something would happen if she stayed by Cui Liuxian's side for too long, so he comforted her softly, "You can stay anywhere you want. The important thing is to make you feel at ease."
Jiang Ruolan also felt a lot more at ease with his words. She still felt that it was best to be on guard against Cui Liuxian to avoid any unnecessary accidents from happening again.
After all, Cui Liuxian had already made too many mistakes and Xian Zihao obviously wouldn't give her any more chances to harm Jiang Ruolan.