Chapter 489: Reunion Dinner

After the meal, everyone went home.

Upon arriving home, Shi Youxuan threw herself onto her big bed, feeling so comfortable she didn't want to move a muscle.

She had already showered at the hotel, so she fell asleep without even changing her clothes.

She had a good sleep and didn't even dream.

She was woken up by the "tee-hee" laughter coming from above her head and the ticklish sensation on her face.

She didn't need to open her eyes to know it must be her daughter teasing her with her little braids.

Shi Youxuan reached out and grabbed with her eyes closed—and so the naughty little girl couldn't run away and was caught red-handed.

"Mommy, I was wrong, I didn't mean to." The apology was very prompt, but the attitude was problematic.

Saying she didn't mean to tease her—only Shi Ran could say such a thing with such righteous confidence.

"You little rascal, let's see how I deal with you."

Shi Youxuan tickled her daughter's ticklish spots, and the little girl laughed "giggle" and begged for mercy: "Mommy, Mommy, I was wrong, don't bully me, it's so ticklish!"

"Who was wrong?"

Shi Ran: "I was wrong, Mommy, I was wrong."

Shi Youxuan let go of her daughter; after being stirred up by the little one, her sleepiness was chased away.

"What time is it?" She looked out the window; the sky was already dark.

"It's eight o'clock. Hurry up and get up to eat; Grandma already finished making dinner and is just waiting for you to get up and eat."

It's eight o'clock at night?

She had slept for a full six hours, and during the day at that; sleeping at home really is wonderful.

During the month Shi Youxuan was away, she hadn't had a single sound sleep, let alone slept this deeply.

She got up, washed up, and went to the dining room.

Bowls and chopsticks were set on the dining table, and her mother-in-law and Sheng Hanyu were chatting.

Sheng Jiang was sitting on a small stool in the corner of the kitchen, looking at the two of them with a smile; he refused to sit on the two rows of chairs by the dining table and insisted on sitting there, as if someone had given him a hard time.

Shi Youxuan smiled embarrassedly: "Sorry everyone, I made you all wait for me."

"It's fine, it's fine. You're pregnant, so it's normal to be sleepy."

Her mother-in-law was understanding and didn't mean to blame her in the slightest; she even expressed her understanding.

Sheng Hanyu came over to help her sit down at the dining table, her mother-in-law served the dishes, and her father-in-law helped.

This meal was a reunion dinner.

It should have been eaten long ago, but it was intercepted by Lady Jian, who insisted on holding some "welcome banquet," only to end up losing face and being counterproductive.

The proper reunion dinner was changed to dinner.

Braised pork ribs, sweet and sour fish, stewed chicken with mushrooms, cucumber salad with old vinegar and jellyfish, radish skins in aged vinegar, vinegar-glazed pork slices, braised prawns, tiger-skin eggs with braised pork, fried eggplant boxes, beef brisket with tomatoes...

The table was packed full, and most of it was made according to Shi Youxuan's taste, with a focus on sour dishes.

The old saying goes—sour for a boy, spicy for a girl.

This saying was verified in Shi Youxuan's case.

When she was pregnant with Shi Ran, she really liked eating spicy food, but now she likes eating sour!

She could even hold a whole lemon and gnaw on it.

Wang Yinghao made only home-cooked dishes, which of course couldn't compare to the mountain of delicacies from noon, but the two of them ate with immense sweetness.

This is the taste of home, the taste of Mom's cooking, so naturally, it's different.

They chatted while eating at the table.

Shi Youxuan discovered an interesting phenomenon—Sheng Jiang appeared reserved and didn't move his chopsticks much, but he just kept looking at his son with a happy smile!

Wang Yinghao picked food for him and urged him to eat instead of just looking at his son and smiling.

Now that his son is back, he will never leave them again, and there will be plenty of opportunities to look at him!

Sheng Jiang agreed submissively, but his gaze remained unchanged.

So Wang Yinghao stopped talking and just kept picking food for him, as if afraid he wouldn't get enough to eat.

Sheng Jiang finally withdrew his gaze, picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, removed the bones, and put it into Wang Yinghao's bowl: "You eat too, you've been tired all day."

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan both saw it, but neither of them said a word; they pretended not to notice because they were afraid of making them both awkward.

However, Shi Ran spoke up.

Not only did she speak up, she also stirred the pot: "Grandpa is so warm, peeling fish bones for Grandma..." But this wasn't a compliment.

She changed the subject: "Grandma, you should still be careful when eating fish; Grandpa didn't peel it clean, it's easy to get stuck in your throat."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

Wang Yinghao blushed.

After dinner, it was already late.

Sheng Jiang had to go back; the Apartment wasn't big, and there wasn't enough room for everyone to live there.

Besides, there were quite a few chickens, geese, and pigs being raised at the Villa, all of which needed feeding, and they had great use for them too.

Sheng Hanyu only found out after returning that his Villa was being used to raise chickens and pigs, but he didn't say anything. Let them raise them; as long as they didn't cause any trouble, let alone building a pigsty outside the Villa, he wouldn't even mind if they raised them inside the house, he wasn't going back to live there anyway.

Sheng Jiang said goodbye: "I'm going back." But he winked at Wang Yinghao, meaning for her to follow him out to see him off, as he had something he wanted to say to her.

As it turned out, everyone saw the wink, but Wang Yinghao still didn't react.

She stood at the door and said to him: "Drive slowly, goodbye."

"Mm."

Sheng Jiang's eyes were full of disappointment, and he prepared to leave, dejected.

There was only a thin layer of window paper left between the two of them, but neither would poke it through; even Shi Youxuan felt anxious watching them.

She was prepared to poke through this layer of window paper, and just as she was about to speak, Sheng Hanyu cut in before her: "The two of you should be together."

Sheng Jiang was overjoyed, with smiles written all over his eyes and brows.

Yet he shook his hands incessantly: "No, no, that's not what I meant."

Shi Youxuan:...

She was speechless.

She thought to herself, is this even possible?

Isn't this the thing you've dreamed of?

You were too embarrassed to say it yourself, Hanyu helped you say it, so just take the step down the slope and be done with it; what is there to explain at a time like this?

Besides, what is there to explain? Can you even explain it clearly? The more you describe it, the darker it gets; it will only be counterproductive.

Sometimes working with an honest person can make you die of anger.

Wang Yinghao had been hesitant to begin with, but now, after being "explained" to by Sheng Jiang like this, she was no longer hesitant and hurriedly denied it: "Don't talk nonsense. We're both at such an old age, why talk about these things? People will gossip, and it won't be good for you all."

The smile on Sheng Jiang's face vanished, and he went back to squatting at the doorway, dejected.

He didn't say he was leaving, but he wouldn't go inside either; he just squatted at the doorway, looking pitiful!

Shi Youxuan felt both angry and amused, but she still had to help him.

She stepped forward to state her position: "No matter how old you are, you have the right to pursue love. Whoever dares to gossip, I'll beat them to death!"

Wang Yinghao:...

Sheng Hanyu chimed in: "That's right, who dares to gossip? Unless they don't want to make a living in Jiangzhou anymore."

With her son and daughter-in-law supporting them so domineeringly, although Wang Yinghao did not explicitly express her agreement, she blushed with shyness once again.

This matter was considered settled.

The very next day, Sheng Hanyu had the two of them take their ID cards and household registration booklets to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificates!

Two bright red booklets were placed together, with the two of them's photos on them.

Sheng Jiang was so excited that he started crying the moment he left the Civil Affairs Bureau; anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had gone to register for a divorce.

"Dad, please don't be like this. It's a joyous occasion, you should be smiling, why are you crying?" Shi Youxuan urged.

It would probably have been better if she hadn't said anything.

Her consolation not only failed to have an effect but actually caused the opposite result; Sheng Jiang simply squatted on the ground and wailed, attracting quite a few onlookers.

"Good grief—"

Shi Youxuan left; she hurried away, pretending not to know him—she couldn't afford the embarrassment of having a father-in-law like this!

Wang Yinghao tried to pull him up: "Please don't be like this, mind the impression you're making."

He wouldn't get up; he just kept on crying.

It wasn't enough for him to cry by himself; he even hugged Wang Yinghao's legs while crying, dragging her into the embarrassment as well—no one was getting away.

Sheng Hanyu neither hid nor tried to persuade him; he just watched him cry quietly.