1265 Arrive 2Along the way, the husband and wife talked about university matters and nothing else. They went to get some things from the shopping mall before fetching Mu Zirui from school.
Meanwhile, on the other end, when Xi Xiaye returned to Maple Residence, it was only slightly past 2 p.m.
Maple Residence was extremely lively with Shen Yue, Mu Yinan, and Mu Lingshi around.
When Xi Xiaye walked into the living room, she already heard Mu Lingshi’s laughter. Then came her son’s familiar mumbling.
The little fellow seemed to be learning how to speak now, but he could not speak clearly. Sometimes, he would mutter words to the point that they were unsure if he was calling ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ or just spitting bubbles.
As she listened to the little guy, Xi Xiaye’s heart subconsciously tightened. She quickened her pace and walked in, looking toward the sound.
She saw her son clutching onto the sofa with both hands and walking ahead wobbly. They were afraid that the little guy would fall, so his father had hired people to cover the floor with a layer of soft anti-slip carpet so the little guy would not get hurt even if he did.
Mu Xiaocheng cried out and spoke in ways that only he understood as he walked shakily along the sofa. That little figure of his was looking more and more like his father’s. He was very cute.
He walked a few steps before the little guy keenly noticed someone watching him. He looked over, and when he saw Xi Xiaye standing not too far away, the little guy wobbled as if he was trying to search for an important memory. After a while, his amber eyes lit up and his soft little face was immediately filled with a smile. He flapped his hands and then fell forward before crawling towards Xi Xiaye at a speed that could be compared to an agile little dragon while he called out to her!
Xi Xiaye felt her heart melt and turn warm. She quickly put aside her handbag and squatted down to call out to him with longing, “Baby, come to Mother! Do you still remember me?”
Then, Mu Xiaocheng crawled up to Xi Xiaye and hugged her arm. He stood up to mumble before leaning into her embrace.
Xi Xiaye’s heart went as soft as cotton while she quickly carried him up to tease him.
At this moment, Mu Lingshi noticed Xi Xiaye and could not hide her joy. “Sis-in-law! You’re back!”
Xi Xiaye lowered her head and planted a kiss on Mu Xiaocheng’s cheek. Then, she smiled and looked towards Mu Lingshi. “Mmm, thanks for your trouble. Where are Grandfather and the rest?”
“He’s busy in the backyard. Wash your hands and have some food. You should be hungry. Mother and Sis Wang have gone out to buy ingredients. Father’s only coming over at night,” Mu Lingshi said.
The servants quickly came up with a warm wet towel and served delicious snacks.
Xi Xiaye nodded as she put Mu Xiaocheng down on the sofa. “It’s been a few days, but he feels sturdier!” Then, she took the towel to wipe her hand.
“It’s a good thing you’re back. He seems to be able to recognize people now. He can recognize yours and Brother’s voice. When you and Brother called home, the little guy paid attention and listened on the side. When Mother hung up the phone, he even crawled over to hold the phone. How cute!”
“Has he been obedient? Isn’t it quite tiring taking care of him?” Xi Xiaye smiled and picked Mu Xiaocheng up again.
“Not too bad. He never stops in the day. At night, he falls asleep by 9 p.m. He’s pretty easy to take care of. Mother’s said that he’s much easier to care for than me and Brother. He’s quite good and will fall asleep after he’s fed, right, Xiaocheng? Call me Aunt!”
Mu Lingshi smiled as she looked at Mu Xiaocheng’s cute little face, and subconsciously touched her own baby bump. Her eyes filled with anticipation.
Soon, she would have a cute child of her own!
“That’s good then. Your brother was worried that you guys wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was planning to stay for a few more days, but then I thought about how I missed this little guy, so I came home. Right, where’s Ah Mo? Why don’t I see him?”
“He’s gone to City B. He might be there for a few days before returning,” Mu Lingshi responded.
“City B? Is it about the Movies and Television development base? Isn’t that being taken care of by VP Liu? Your brother seems to have delegated him a new project, right?” Xi Xiaye was a little puzzled.
Mu Lingshi sat down and poured Xi Xiaye a cup of flower tea. “VP Liu’s been overwhelmed recently. Since Qi Lei is done with Qi Qiming’s end, they are now preparing for the new company. Brother’s really hidden this whole thing quite well. Since when did he collaborate with Qi Lei? No wonder Qi Lei seemed quite close to Brother before this. If Ah Mo hadn’t told me about this, I wouldn’t have known. I just thought it was because of Qi Kai and Glory World’s past collaboration.”
“Your brother didn’t even tell me at first, but this was probably worked out late last year,” Xi Xiaye explained.
“Mmm, things haven’t been too peaceful lately. Without Brother around, quite a lot of work has piled up at the company. City B seems to be dealing with something. there are some disputes with the local residents over there, and Ah Mo’s worried that it won’t be handled well, so he went over himself. Coincidentally, CEO Li has some things to discuss too. VP Liu couldn’t pull away.”
“When your brother’s back, tell him to promote some people from the Human Resources Department. There are quite a lot of projects at the company, especially in recent years, and it has been quite busy. Later, Ah Mo won’t be able to find time to accompany you either. Right now’s a critical time.” Xi Xiaye frowned and looked at Mu Lingshi.
Her situation before had not been too bad. When she had been pregnant with Mu Xiaocheng, Mu Yuchen would always be by her side. After that, she knew how important it was to be accompanied by her husband.
“Don’t worry, Sis-in-law, I can take care of myself.”
“You can take care of yourself? I think you’ve suffered quite a bit.”
“I’m just not feeling too well, but, Sis-in-law, you look great. It looks like Brother must have given you lots of care on this holiday.”
…
The two of them spoke for a while, then Zhuang Shurong returned from grocery shopping with Sis Wang. Xi Xiaye let Zhuang Shurong watch Mu Xiaocheng while she went down to the kitchen with Sis Wang.
At about 6 p.m., Xi Mushan and Shen Wenna returned with Mu Zirui and Mu Tangchuan. The family gathered in harmony to share a sumptuous dinner.
During dinner, they talked about everything that happened recently and about the children’s interesting anecdotes. Everyone seemed quite happy.
Xi Xiaye did not speak much as she mostly listened to them talk. She watched as Xi Mushan and Mu Tangchuan, the two old men, speak. While she noticed the smiles on their faces, she felt genuine contentment.
What a wondrous feeling this was. The happy laughter of the family made her miss the man who was still abroad. With the combination of longing and warmth, this was what home felt like.
If he and Ah Mo were around too, it would have been perfect.