Free Web NovelChapter 249: Chapter 247: Parents Return Home
Mr. Xie glanced over at Xie Changning. Seeing a daughter who so strongly resembled his younger self, he couldn’t help but ask happily, "You must be Changning?"
’She’s so beautiful!’
’Even more beautiful than we were when we were young!’ fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Xie Changning nodded. "Hello, I’m Xie Changning."
Xie Changning’s voice was a little strained. She was unaccustomed to situations like this. With Xie Changyi and Mrs. Xie crying beside them, Xie Changning’s calm expression made her seem completely out of place.
Mr. Xie knew they had left Xie Changning with his younger brother right after she was born. ’The child has never had an easy life,’ he thought, sighing as his eyes reddened.
Noticing that people around them were staring, Xie Changning spoke up. "Let’s get in the car. We’ve already booked a guest house. We can eat first, and then go there to rest afterward."
"Yes, yes, of course. We’ll do as you say, as you say."
Xie Changning helped carry their luggage and headed toward the parked car.
She walked quickly. Following behind with Xie Changyi, Mrs. Xie watched her younger daughter carry so much luggage without the slightest difficulty and couldn’t help but choke up. "She must have suffered a great deal."
’It’s all my fault...’
’We should have sent her abroad with us back then. That way, our daughter would have received a good education, instead of...’
"Mom, Changning is amazing. Don’t blame yourself so much. It’s not your fault." ’The fault lies with her uncle and his family. Mom and Dad did everything they possibly could.’
’No one could have known something like this would happen.’
’After all, he was Dad’s own brother.’
Mr. Xie helped put the luggage in the car. Xie Changning thoughtfully took the front passenger seat, leaving the back for Xie Changyi and their parents.
Xie Changyi understood Xie Changning’s intentions and said nothing.
However, a flicker of disappointment showed in her parents’ eyes. They had thought their younger daughter might show a little more warmth toward them.
In the car, Xie Changyi asked her parents if they would have to go back again.
"Our work is more or less finished," Mrs. Xie said, shaking her head. "We’ve come back this time to retire for good."
Hearing this, Xie Changning looked up in surprise.
As if sensing her gaze, Mr. Xie explained, "Your mother and I are getting older. Our health won’t permit us to continue with any more projects, so we’ve retired."
Xie Changning didn’t know that her parents were already around seventy years old.
Mr. Xie, in particular, was already seventy-five.
Mrs. Xie was seventy-three. They’d both been in their thirties when they had children. As for their younger daughter... she had been an accident.
When the pregnancy was discovered, she was already more than four months along.
Taking everything into consideration, they had decided to keep the baby.
Even though Mrs. Xie was already in her late forties, approaching fifty.
"Did I not mention it? Mom and Dad are in their seventies now. Their retirement is timed perfectly. They can help look after people at home."
Actually, Xie Changyi meant that their parents could go with Xie Changning and help look after her children.
Xie Changning blinked. She didn’t seem to mind the idea.
’They are my biological parents, after all,’ she thought. ’They were forced by circumstances back then, and they did make proper arrangements. The part that went wrong was how unpredictable people can be.’
That was why Xie Changning held no resentment toward her parents.
"I do have a spare house," Xie Changning said, not refusing the idea. "They could also live with my parents-in-law, who just bought a small house with a courtyard."
Seeing that Xie Changning hadn’t refused, Mrs. Xie happily squeezed Xie Changyi’s hand.
’This is wonderful! My younger daughter isn’t pushing me away!’
The car arrived at the restaurant the sisters had booked. The family of four entered a private room, and once they were seated, Xie Changning called a waiter over to take their order.
"Chuncheng has changed so much," Mr. Xie remarked with a sigh.
When he and his wife were here back then, it looked nothing like this.
Xie Changyi smiled and nodded. "The economy has improved, and the entire Lin Province has become more prosperous..." As she spoke, she began telling her parents about what Xie Changning had accomplished over the past two years.
The couple had heard about Xie Changning from their older daughter during their previous correspondence.
They knew Xie Changning was a capable young woman, but they never imagined she was *this* capable. To think she had boosted Lin Province’s economy so much in just over a year!
’That was a billion US Dollars!’
’That’s no small sum!’
’Think of all the problems a billion US Dollars could solve!’
"We’re so proud of both of you," Mrs. Xie said, tears of happiness welling in her eyes.
Xie Changyi wiped her mother’s tears. "You have your daughter back, and she’s such an incredible person. You should be happy, not always crying. We have a long future ahead of us."
"I heard... you’re married?" Mr. Xie turned to Xie Changning and asked. His tone sounded a little cautious.
He only had a partial understanding of this matter. Xie Changyi hadn’t said much in her letter, only that Xie Changning was married, her husband was a regimental commander, and he had a very promising future.
And that you have two bright, adorable children—fraternal twins, a boy and a girl.
Xie Changning didn’t hide anything. "Yes, for over a year now. I only came to Lin Province to join my husband after we got married." ’If I hadn’t married, I wouldn’t be in Lin Province.’
At this, Mr. Xie nodded.
The rest of the meal was spent with her parents asking about Xie Changning’s life. Xie Changyi wasn’t the least bit unhappy about it. On the contrary, she was delighted to see her sister growing closer to their parents.
Xie Changning answered all their questions openly, showing no intention of keeping them at a distance.
Xie Changning’s openness made her parents very happy.
They were thrilled to see her acting this way.
After the meal, Xie Changyi took her parents and Changning to a nearby guest house. frёeωebɳovel.com
Naturally, with her parents there, Xie Changyi didn’t go home for the night either. She decided to stay with them, sharing a room with her sister while their parents took another.
"Changning, your sister mentioned there were... unusual circumstances surrounding your marriage?" Mrs. Xie was very perceptive.
The way Xie Changyi had phrased it made her realize that Xie Changning must have been wronged in some way.
So, after they returned to the guest house, she couldn’t resist sending her husband off to bed and then coming to the adjacent room to question her daughter.
Xie Changning glanced at Xie Changyi before turning to her mother. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding. I’d had too much to drink..." Then, Xie Changning recounted the whole story to Mrs. Xie. In this matter, Yue Yihan was also a victim. Xie Changning had no complaints about it.
Mrs. Xie was very upset to learn that her daughter had been innocently dragged into the situation. But since it had already happened, there was nothing she could say.
’One could only say it was fate.’
’If it weren’t for this, her daughter would never have been reunited with them.’
"My child, you’ve truly suffered." Mrs. Xie’s heart ached. Ever since learning how much hardship her daughter had endured, she had been filled with endless regret, wishing she had chosen to stay behind back then.
If she had stayed, her daughter would not have experienced these hardships.
