Chapter 131: An Inexplicable Sense of Familiarity and Warmth

Xiao Shan fell silent for a few seconds, then continued: "Both kids have gotten their certificates, they themselves want to be together, everything's been settled, we're just waiting for tomorrow's wedding banquet. We've come this far—why make things difficult for the two kids?"

"Heh, what are you saying? Just because my niece is young and clueless, you want to save money and trouble? Where's there such a good reason?" Wang Yuling, Song Huihui's aunt, said displeased.

"What a poor, sour look—no money and still want to marry a wife? My niece doesn't have to marry into your family; plenty of people like her. In town there's a guy named Pan Lian'an who's always liked her, and he's come to propose several times already."

"They said outright they want eight hundred thousand as betrothal gift, plus a car and a house. If you're not willing, I think we should just call off the marriage."

"Aunt, what are you saying?" Song Huihui felt her face burning hot, tears streaming down helplessly.

Song Huihui's aunt's family clearly looked down on the Xiao Junrong family for being too poor; everyone present could tell. Xiao Junrong couldn't bear to see his family humiliated because of him, nor could he bear to see his beloved girlfriend upset, and he fell into endless anguish.

He was angry, but besides enduring, he had no other recourse.

The couple exchanged a glance, seeing Xiao Junrong's forced composure; Wang Yuling felt a sudden sense of triumph, she lifted her chin and said: "Hah, anyway, I've laid out my terms for you."

"As for the betrothal gift, you've given it—we have nothing to say about that. But the scale of the banquet still needs to be mentioned; add ten more tables. With so few booked, wouldn't that let our relatives and friends come and see us as a joke?"

"Also, regarding jewelry, it needs to be proper—gold set, and the total price must be over two hundred thousand; we can't shortchange my niece."

"Also, the wedding procession must at least have a Maserati; otherwise, you'd be embarrassed to marry, and we'd be embarrassed to face our neighbors."

"The other cars also need to be Mercedes or Land Rover types; altogether, they'd have to be at least twenty vehicles."

"And as for cigarettes and alcohol, don't put those cheap, classless stuff on the table—it would be embarrassing..."

Seeing Wang Yuling's conditions keep coming one after another, the Xiao family seethed with anger—but since this concerned the two children's happiness, they really couldn't bear to see the kids upset, so they had to swallow their fury.

"Aunt Huihui, since you've laid out your demands like this, our Xiao family will also state our position: we'll try our best to meet your conditions, and we'll certainly make this wedding banquet lively and bustling, okay?"

Xiao Shan was also helpless; he could only grit his teeth and agree to the other side's demands.

Every member of the Xiao family felt furious to the extreme; they never expected that a perfectly fine celebration would turn out like this.

"Hmph, what do you mean by 'try'? It must be done, otherwise we absolutely won't let our daughter marry into your family. To be able to marry our Huihui is a blessing cultivated over several generations..." Upon hearing Xiao Shan's words, Song Huihui's aunt immediately objected and shouted.

Before she finished speaking, a burst of footsteps came from outside, causing everyone in the room to instinctively look toward the door.

Xiao Junrong went out to see what was happening; he stepped out and just happened to see a man leading a large group of people walking into his courtyard. When he saw the leading man's appearance, he froze.

That man was very handsome and had a very strong aura, but what surprised Xiao Junrong was that the man gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness.

"Hello, is this Xiao Shan's home?" Xiao Ming asked tentatively.

"Yes, this is Xiao Shan's home. Who are you?" Xiao Junrong nodded, confused, and carefully sized him up.

"Junrong, who's come to our house?" Xiao Shan asked as he stepped out the door.

Seeing Xiao Shan, Xiao Ming froze on the spot. He had imagined countless scenes of meeting his uncle, but when the moment actually arrived, his emotions were so tangled he couldn't utter a word.

His uncle was old, his hair and beard turned white, his voice carried the vicissitudes of age; after more than twenty years apart, he finally saw this relative who was like a father to him.

Upon seeing Xiao Ming, Xiao Shan also froze.

The current Xiao Ming was no longer the naive child in his eyes; he couldn't recognize Xiao Ming at a glance, but the blood‑bond between kin still gave Xiao Shan a different feeling, and he stared at Xiao Ming in astonishment.

"Uncle, it's me, I'm Xiao Ming, your nephew." Xiao Ming said, his voice trembling.

"Xiao Ming?" Upon hearing Xiao Ming's words, Xiao Shan's aged body swayed, and he trembled as he slowly walked toward Xiao Ming.

In his eyes were surprise and joy, mixed with a hint of sorrow.

He stepped before Xiao Ming, his trembling hands struggling to reach out, to confirm he wasn't dreaming—that it was truly his long‑awaited nephew Xiao Ming returning. The usually steadfast Xiao Shan suddenly had tears spill down.

He fiercely embraced Xiao Ming, as if, should he let go, the nephew would drift away again.

"Am I not dreaming? Is my nephew really back?" Xiao Shan asked repeatedly, tears streaming.

"Yes, you're not dreaming, uncle—I've come back." Xiao Ming clung tightly to Xiao Shan and replied.

For a moment, Xiao Ming's heart also ached to the extreme.

Besides a few children, his uncle was the closest person to him in this world; now being able to reunite, Xiao Ming was indescribably happy—even though he never cried, his eyes instantly reddened.

"What's going on?" At that moment, Xiao Shan's only son, Xiao Xinran—also Xiao Junrong's father—noticing that Xiao Shan and Xiao Junrong hadn't gone inside yet, came to the courtyard to see what was happening.

The instant he saw Xiao Ming, Xiao Xinran also froze in shock, staring at Xiao Ming; after several attempts to speak, he finally exclaimed, "Brother? Are you Ming brother?"

Xiao Xinran recognized Xiao Ming.

Seeing Xiao Ming nod, Xiao Xinran rushed forward and hugged him, his eyes reddening.

"Brother, where have you been all these years? You made our whole family worry sick; we thought, we thought…" After the embrace, Xiao Xinran spoke in a reproachful tone, patting Xiao Ming's shoulder, but the words of blame he wanted to say just wouldn't come out.

"Haha, Xinran, I'm back." Xiao Ming also patted his shoulder; the two brothers shared a smile, wordless, speaking more than a thousand words.

Xiao Junrong, meanwhile, looked bewildered; he was only twenty‑one, a year younger than Xiao Yunzhe and the others, and as for Xiao Ming's existence, he had only occasionally heard his father and grandfather mention it.

He never expected that this man was the nephew his grandfather had long yearned for—his uncle.

No wonder, upon seeing this man he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness; it turned out they were blood‑related kin.