Chapter 418: Meeting an Old Flame

Sheng Jiang hurriedly took a red envelope out of his pocket and handed it over: "Here, this is the New Year money from Grandpa."

Shi Ran did not take it, but instead looked at her mother.

Shi Youxuan smiled and nodded, and only then did she say sweetly: "Thank you, Grandpa."

The little girl reached out with both hands, ready to take the red envelope, but unexpectedly, Sheng Jiang suddenly took it back and tucked it into his pocket.

The mother and daughter were stunned; he took it out only to take it back?

Shi Ran's little hand was already outstretched, and now she felt a bit awkward.

The little girl pulled her hand back, and the expression on her face was not very pleasant.

If he hadn't given it at the start, that would be one thing, but to give it and then take it back was just too much.

Sheng Jiang searched through all his outer pockets but couldn't find the red envelope for Shi Ran, and he was so anxious that a layer of sweat broke out on his forehead in the cold weather.

Once he started sweating, he remembered!

He had been afraid the red envelope would fall out, so he had specifically tucked it into his inner pocket.

So he struggled to take the red envelope out from his inner pocket; there was a button fastened, and the more nervous he got, the less he could undo it.

After finally undoing it, it got stuck because the red envelope was too big.

He tugged several times and finally pulled it out, but the outer skin of the red envelope tore, revealing the banknotes inside.

Sheng Jiang felt very embarrassed; he sheepishly handed the torn red envelope to his granddaughter: "This is for you, I took the wrong one just now."

"Thank you, Grandpa." The little girl's smile blossomed once again.

Shi Youxuan:...

She was very moved.

Her father-in-law was an honest man, and the way an honest man expressed love was clumsy, but especially sincere.

Sheng Hanyu stood at the doorway watching the whole process, his throat feeling as if something was stuck in it, unable to swallow or spit it out.

The material of the red envelope was not thin; it wouldn't have torn easily.

He saw that the surface of the red envelope was already old, and there were even frayed edges in some places, which meant this red envelope had been prepared for a long time.

"Let's go inside, let's talk in the house." Shi Youxuan organized, inviting her father-in-law into the home.

Sheng Jiang shifted his gaze from his granddaughter's face and saw his son's smile freeze.

He felt a bit constrained; to be precise, he was afraid of his son.

He was afraid because he felt guilty; Shi Youxuan had called him, and his granddaughter had spoken to him, but his son hadn't said a single word the entire time!

He didn't stop to think that if it weren't for his son's tacit approval, his daughter-in-law wouldn't have been able to bring him over.

"Happy New Year, Dad." Sheng Hanyu offered his New Year greetings, then didn't say another word and turned to go back inside.

"Good... good."

A family of four, three generations of the family, sat around the dining table.

This was what the New Year should look like.

Sheng Jiang handed red envelopes to his son and daughter-in-law respectively; the one he handed to Shi Youxuan was the one he had taken by mistake earlier.

During the meal, because he was happy, Sheng Jiang even drank a little alcohol.

Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Wang Yingzhi, chatting about the children and discussing business, and Sheng Jiang asked when the two of them would hold their wedding.

If there was anything he could help with, they must tell him.

And when would the children start school?

He could be responsible for picking them up and dropping them off, because they might be busy with work...

Everything an elder should do, Sheng Jiang was prepared to do.

As for matters he shouldn't meddle in, he didn't say a single word.

Shi Youxuan thought that if Wang Yingzhi could do even a little of what her father-in-law did, Sheng Hanyu wouldn't treat her the way he did now.

It was dark after the meal.

Although Sheng Jiang couldn't bear to part with his granddaughter, he prepared to go back.

Furthermore, he wouldn't let Shi Youxuan take him; he wanted to hail a taxi home himself.

He said the round trip was too much trouble, and since it was dark and the roads were slippery, he told her not to bother.

Sheng Hanyu had specifically not drunk any alcohol during the meal; even if his father hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have let Shi Youxuan take him, but instead decided to take him back himself.

This time Sheng Jiang didn't refuse; although he didn't want to tire his son out, being able to spend a little more time with his son was something he longed for.

Just as they decided this and opened the front door, they discovered Aunt Wang Yinghao standing at the entrance.

Her hand was raised, still maintaining the gesture of preparing to press the doorbell; their eyes met, and both were stunned.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?"

Sheng Jiang and Wang Yinghao asked almost simultaneously.

"Oh, I came to bring them some food; are you getting ready to go back?" The aunt looked at Sheng Jiang, calm on the surface, but her heart was already churning.

Sheng Jiang was the same, though he didn't handle it as well as the aunt; he was clearly flustered and didn't even dare to look her in the eye.

"Um, yes, I'm getting ready to go back... um, will you come in first? No, you've been doing quite well all these years, haven't you?" After he finished speaking, he wished he could slap himself across the face.

After not seeing her for so many years, seeing Wang Yinghao, Sheng Jiang's heart was still pounding like a deer, and his old face turned red involuntarily.

His flustered and uneasy appearance was just like in the past!

Wang Yinghao, however, was not like she was when she was young, feeling her heart flutter.

She didn't dare to let her feelings stir; love like a moth to a flame was a foolish thing only young people did, and at her current age, she couldn't afford to throw herself into it.

"Yes, I'm doing quite well; you're getting ready to go back, right? Goodbye." She moved aside to make room.

"Goodbye."

The two said goodbye, but Sheng Jiang did not move a single step.

He hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "When are you leaving? How about I wait for you?"

"No need, you go ahead; I'm here to pick up my car."

The car Shi Youxuan had driven that afternoon belonged to her aunt; she had just returned from out of town and arrived home, never expecting that coming to pick up the car would lead to meeting the person she least wanted to encounter.

"Then can you give me a ride?" Sheng Jiang knew this wasn't right, but he simply couldn't control himself.

"Hmm, alright, I'll take you."

Wang Yinghao agreed; she handed the local specialties she was carrying to Shi Youxuan and gave each of the three a red envelope.

They were about the same as the red envelopes Sheng Jiang had packed; the thickest one was for Shi Ran, while the ones for the two of them were of equal thickness, just slightly thinner.

The father-in-law and the aunt left together; once Shi Youxuan closed the door, she couldn't help but gossip: "Hanyu, did you notice anything unusual? Why do I feel like there's something between Dad and Aunt..."

"Don't let your imagination run wild, there's nothing like that."

Sheng Hanyu wasn't stupid; of course, he had noticed it too.

And it wasn't just something he had noticed now; ever since he was little, he knew that every time his aunt saw his father, she would hide, and the look in his father's eyes when he looked at his aunt was a tenderness he had never shown Wang Yingzhi.

……

The two walked out of the elevator, and after getting into the car, they remained silent the whole way.

"Where do you live?" The aunt broke the silence first; she didn't want to be the one to speak, but she had to know the address, otherwise, where would she drive to?

Sheng Jiang said, "Can we find a place to sit for a while? I have some things I want to say to you."

"Heh."

Wang Yinghao wanted to refuse; they had already lived through more than half their lives, what else was there to say?

Although she thought this in her heart, she said, "Alright, where shall we go to sit?"

Usually, at this time, there would be many coffee shops and teahouses open on the street.

But today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and these places suitable for chatting were all closed for the holiday; the two couldn't just park the car on the side of the road and talk there, could they?

"How about we go to Hanyu's Villa? I've been staying there for this period of time," Wang Yinghao said.

"Alright, let's go there."

The car drove back to the Villa, and the Villa was pitch black.

The servants had all gone home for the New Year holiday; if the aunt hadn't just returned from out of town, there wouldn't be a single person here.

She opened the door and invited Sheng Jiang inside.

"Biluochun, is that okay?" She remembered that he used to like Biluochun the most; in the past, the two of them could sit together, brew a pot of tea, and talk all night.

It was truly good when they were young, full of energy.

"That's fine, Biluochun is the best."

He sat on the sofa, watching Wang Yinghao boil water, wash the tea set, take out the tea leaves, and rinse the tea... the entire set of movements was as smooth as flowing water, completed in one go.