Chapter 54 Don’t You Ever Bully Her!
On the third day, Xia Ning leaves the hospital and goes back to Yi Villa directly.
When hearing that they are going back to Yi Villa, Xia Ning hesitates for quite a while. She knows that her mother-in-law doesn’t like her. She doesn’t know what to say to please her. She is not very willing to go. Yi Yunrui smiles and says that he will take care of everything. She knows that Yi Yunrui has made the decision and he seldom goes back to Yi Villa. Even though her mother-in-law doesn’t like her, she will bear it. Anyway, they are going to C city in two days.
To Xia Ning’s great surprise, she has not entered Yi Villa, while Zheng Yao has come out to welcome her. Zheng Yao smiles cheerfully and grabs her hands at once. She really feels flattered.
Before coming, she has prepared all kinds of strategies to deal with unexpected situations. Now, when meeting her, she cannot but be stunned with surprise.
They walk straight to the second floor. Xia Ning is surrounded upstairs till they put down the luggage. The mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law sit down together. Xia Ning smiles, “Thank you. Mom.”
Zheng Yao is surprised, “What do you thank me for?”
“I…I don’t bring any gifts with me, so…”
“Ah, what are you talking about? We are family. You don’t need to bring gifts. It is enough to have you here.” Zheng Yao holds her hands and pats on them.
Xia Ning is moved, “Mom, I am really sorry. I didn’t dare to visit you. I am really not good enough to be your daughter-in-law.”
“Let’s not mention the unhappy things happened before.” Zheng Yao holds her hands more tightly, “Mom is too suggestive. I heard something not real. It is not your fault. Mom just wants to have all our family here, happy and complete. That is enough.”
Xia Ning smiles and nods. She is going to say something else, when Nanny Huang comes in with a bowl of soup.
“The chicken soup is just done. It is best for health.” Nanny Huang puts the soup down by Xia Ning, “Your Mom knew you are coming today and got it prepared in advance. Let it cool for a while and you may drink it.”
Looking at the hot chicken soup, Xia Ning is moved, “Thank you, Nanny Huang. Thank you, Mom…”
“Well, again. You don’t need to be so polite! You are of the Yi family!” Zheng Yao says, pretending to be angry.
Xia Ning is shy. She glances at Yi Yunrui, who is sitting by her quietly. Suddenly, she is reminded of the familiar feeling. It is not like before. It is stronger, safer and more real.
She has got a home.
The mother and daughter-in-law have a joyful conversation. Nanny Huang gets the dinner prepared and Yi Xian comes back. Seeing that Xia Ning has recovered, he smiles to greet her.
Nine dishes and a bowl of soup are almost all Xia Ning’s favorite. Not waiting for Xia Ning to start, Yi Yunrui and Zheng Yao, as if they are in a PK game, keep picking foods for her, the foods in her bowl pile up like a small hill and rice below can hardly be seen.
Xia Ning is a food aficionado and she eats a lot. So, she finishes all the foods picked by Zheng Yao and Yi Yunrui. She also had a full bowl of rice. She is so full that she burps embarrassedly.
The atmosphere during this dinner time is totally different from that of last time. All the people in the family are happy. In the previous time, when she ate, she tried to please the others. This time, when she eats, other people are trying to please her. She is given the sense of being cared for by everyone.
Ever since her parents passed away, she has lost this feeling. Now, she gets it back again.
After dinner, fruits are severed. Seemingly the fruits plate is Yi Yunrui’s idea. It looks very similar to the previous one he prepared for her.
The family sit around the table for the fruits and tea. They chat leisurely.
“Mom, in fact, we are here today for something.” Yi Yunrui says and holds Xia Ning’s hands.
Aware of what Yi Yunrui is going to say, Xia Ning is a little panic. She lowers her head and puts down the fruit.
Feeling it serious, Zheng Yao frowns, “Any other things happened?”
“No.” Yi Yunrui looks serious, “Ning and I are going back to C city tomorrow and she will stay with me.
Hearing this, Zheng Yao pauses, a kind of sadness flashes in her heart. She doesn’t respond.
“Yao.” Yi Xian knows that his wife is unhappy. He pats on her back, “Rui is working at Military Region in C city. It is natural for Ning to go there too. Army men are to protect the country. They stay in the army and seldom get together with family. All these things, you shall understand.”
Zheng Yao curls her lips and lightly signs.
She doesn’t like it. All her three sons are away. She can hardly remember the last time when the whole family sit together to have dinner.
Seeing Zheng Yao’s sadness, Yi Xian feels his heart aching. He holds her hands and comforts her in a low voice, “We both have experienced much. In the previous war time, every time before I went to the battlefield, I would write down my will. You were strong at that time. Now, it is peaceful time, the kids are just away to work for their future. We as parents shall be easy with it. In addition, they are not leaving forever. They will come back during festivals and holidays and we can get together again.”
When the history is mentioned, Zheng Yao’s heart tightens. Unconsciously, she grabs her husband’s hands. During that time, even parting of life and death was not rare. As a woman, what she could ask for was the safety of her family. Now, her husband and children are around. It is really unimaginable happiness for her back at that time.
What can she ask for? It is good to have the whole family all safe and complete.
Thinking of this, Zheng Yao takes a deep breath. Though it is not what she wants, she smiles, “Rui, Ning, try to come home when you have time. Rui, if it is possible, will you check if you can transfer to B city? C city is near, but it is still away from home…”
“Mom, I know. I will try. When we are free, Ning and I will come home.”
Zheng Yao nods. Tears flash in her eyes. She pauses for a while and suddenly remembers something, “Oh, Ning will go to C city. How is your job in TIME?”
“Mom, I am not working in TIME now.” Xia Ning responds.
“Did you quit?”
Xia Ning is going to respond, but Yi Yunrui goes sooner, “She is fired by Director Ou.”
“Director Ou…” Zheng Yao murmurs, “Do you mean the son-in-law of Mayor Yin, Ou Yixuan?”
“Yes.”
Zheng Yao vaguely realizes something, “Does it have anything to do with the previous incident?”
“Yes. TIME was afraid of taking the responsibility and fired Ning.”
Yi Yunrui responds in simple words, but Zheng Yao senses that it is not that simple. It reminds her that she was impulsive. She turns serious, “What is the truth of this incident? Rui, will you tell me all about it? Don’t hide anything.”
Yi Yunrui slightly pauses and looks at his father. Yi Xian nods.
Yi Yunrui thinks for a while and tells Zheng Yao all the details.
Zheng Yao is shocked by the truth. She thought that Xia Ning used some means to finish her task and brought some troubles to Tingting. Unexpectedly, Tingting set up the whole thing. The last move was really what Tingting deserved.
Till now, Zheng Yao looks at Xia Ning. Her eyes are gentle with care. If Rui did not show up in time, something might have happened to Xia Ning.
However, there is still one thing she wants to get clear.
“Ning, will you tell me honestly. What is the relation between Ou Yixuan and you?” Zheng Yao is serious.
Xia Ning is embarrassed. She curls her lips and glances at Yi Yunrui.
Yi Yunrui looks at her gently, “Don’t worry. You can tell. You did not do anything wrong.”
Xia Ning hesitates for a little while and speaks, “I knew Ou Yixuan when I was in the University of Edinburgh. The same with me, he also lost his father. So…we were getting together. When we came back to the country, I went to work with him in TIME. And then he became the Director and married Yin Jingsi.”
Xia Ning tells in a simple way. Yet, Zheng Yao catches something, “You and Ou Yixuan knew each other before. Why everybody called you the third person?”
Xia Ning feels she is stuck. She curls her lips. She also doesn’t understand. It is kind of a mess and hard to clarify.
She thinks for a while and shakes her head, “In fact, I don’t know why either…”
Aware of that Xia Ning can’t speak to defend herself, Zheng Yao’s heart tightens. Her husband is right. There are many things that are not what they seem to be. We need to distinguish with our hearts.
“Then how did you know Rui?”
Hearing this, Xia Ning feels that her heart is jumping.
Honestly, she doesn’t know how Yi Yunrui got to know her.
“I knew Ning when we were in England.” Yi Yunrui answers, “We knew each other long ago. I also knew the relation between Ou Yixuan and Ning. When Ou Yixuan got married, I came back to ask Ning what happened.”
From what Yi Yunrui says, even a fool can understand what he is telling.
Zheng Yao blinks her eyes. Seemingly her son took the initiative. It means that her son has loved Ning for a long time.
It is not surprising that he protects his wife. It seems that they have built the relation for years. And that is why he can never like Yin Jingyao.
Thinking of Yin Jingyao, Zheng Yao feels greatly released.
The girl looks gentle and polite but did such things secretly. It is lucky that her son doesn’t like her. Or, when she loses her temper someday, who knows what will happen!
Comparing with her, Xia Ning is not so overwhelming. The girl is kind with nice personality, which counts most.
Thinking of this, Zheng Yao looks again at Xia Ning and her eyes get gentler.
He husband is right. They both know their son well. The one he chooses must be good.
She was muddled, but now, after all these, she gets to learn how to be a nice mother-in-law.
Her elder sons Yi Yuntian and Yi Yunyi haven’t got married yet. But she shall not be anxious and must not casually set couples.
Xia Ning sees that Zheng Yao stares at her for quite a while. Her heart almost jumps out of her chest, “Mom, I am not the third person. I am really not the third…”
“Mom knows.” Zheng Yao smiles, “Kid, you were wronged and you did not tell your family. You shall not do that again. No matter who dares to bully you in the future, I will not permit that.”
Yi Yunrui is stunned. Her mother’s words sound somewhere not right…
“Hum. I know. Don’t worry. Mom, I have Rui. No one dares bully me.” Xia Ning blushes and responds.