He Jian Country looked a bit dejected. "Have you forgotten what Third Sister-in-law said before? We havenât even paid back the previous money yet. If we open our mouths again, weâll just be asking to be humiliated."
Gao Yumei disagreed. "Didnât you hear? The two of them now each have their own businesses, they donât care about that little bit of money we borrowed from them at all.
You and Third are real brothers. We canât just watch them eat meat while we canât even drink the soup, right?"
He Jian Countryâs gaze was full of gloom. He knew he shouldnât be greedy, but whenever he thought of his brothers, he was the one doing the worst. Then, hearing what Gao Yumei said, he couldnât help feeling off-balance inside.
The two kids could probably also sense that their parents were in a bad mood, so after coming back they curled up in the small room that had been partitioned off for them.
Only, He Jia Ming was still young. When no one was paying attention, he knocked a toy off the bed onto the floor, making a loud "bang."
Gao Yumei had originally wanted to scold him, but for some reason she suddenly thought of something and forcibly hit the brakes. "Jian Country, should we let Jiahui go over and try?"
He Jian Country lifted his head. "What do you mean by that?"
Gao Yumei leaned in to his ear. "Third Sister-in-law has always been really good to all the kids in the family. I was thinking, if Jiahui âaccidentallyâ lets slip our situation at home to the two of them, do you think they might, for the childâs sake, give us a hand?"
He Jian Country didnât agree outright. "Let me think about it some more."
On the other side, Xinyan and He Jinxuan didnât drive after going out, but strolled along the street instead.
Xinyan felt something cold fall on her face, so she tipped her head back and looked up at the sky. "Jinxuan, itâs snowing."
He Jinxuan also looked up. "Yeah, good thing we came back a day early."
After he spoke, he reached out to pull her scarf up a bit. "Are you cold? If Iâd known, I wouldâve driven over."
Xinyan suddenly laughed. "Didnât you just say it only takes ten minutes to walk? Donât be such a delicate flower."
Ever since the two of them met, theyâd always been busy, and really hadnât had many moments like this to just leisurely enjoy themselves. "With you walking with me, itâs pretty nice."
Since Xinyan liked it, he didnât think too much more about it. He took her small hand, held it tight, and tucked it straight into his coat pocket.
They hadnât gone far before the snow got heavier. Watching the snowflakes swirling all over the sky, she said, "With this kind of weather, itâd be perfect if we could have hotpot."
He Jinxuan took her words to heart. "Okay, then letâs have hotpot tonight."
Xinyan turned to look at him. "I was just saying. Donât go to all that trouble."
This wasnât Beijing; back there, if they wanted hotpot they could just head to Donglaishun. She wasnât familiar with this place, didnât know if there were any hotpot restaurants, and it was already the end of the yearâ even if there were, who knew if theyâd still be open.
Seeing that He Jinxuan was taking it seriously, she felt a bit regretful for what sheâd said just now.
Of course He Jinxuan could see what she was thinking. "Itâs fine. Haibo knows this place better than we do. Just leave it to me."
While they were talking, they had already reached the hotel.
As soon as the two of them walked into the lobby on the first floor, Ye Silai and Ye Siyan rushed down. "Auntie, weâve been waiting for you forever."
Xinyan caught the two little ones. "How did you get downstairs so fast?"
Ye Siyanæąçé:"Weâve been sprawled at the window watching down below the whole time."
Chatting as they went, they headed up to the third floor.
Mr. Ye was already waiting. Xinyan walked over with a gentle smile. "How is it, have you gotten used to it?"
Mr. Ye laughed. "As long as Iâve got my sons and grandsons with me, itâs all the same wherever I am."
After a few words of small talk, Xinyan spoke up. "Letâs get ready. Todayâs acupuncture will take a bit longer."
Mr. Ye naturally had no objection.
Seeing that Xinyan was about to get busy, He Jinxuan stood up. "Yanyan, you go ahead. Iâll go downstairs and make a phone call."
Xinyan nodded at him. "Okay."
He Jinxuan hadnât been gone long before he came back up. "Haibo says there really is a place. He said it tastes pretty good, just opened not long ago."
Ye Liyan walked over. "What are you talking about?"
He Jinxuan looked at Xinyan. "Your sister-in-law wants hotpot. I havenât been back in a long time, so I asked a friend."
At this moment, Ye Liyan gave a look to the person standing at the door, and that person slipped out.
After Xinyan finished inserting the needles, she heard Ye Liyan say, "Itâs really coming down out there. Letâs not go out. Iâll have someone send it over here in a bit."
Xinyan lowered her head to look at Mr. Ye. Something occurred to her, and she suddenly laughed. "What, are we going to sit here eating and make the old gentleman just watch?"