"Grandpa’s getting dizzy, no more spinning." Mr. Xie held the little guy and gave his bottom a light pat. "Xiao You, you’ve gotten thinner."
The little fellow didn’t care a bit about being thin or fat. He just hugged Mr. Xie’s neck. "Grandpa, I missed you."
Mr. Xie’s heart softened, and he pressed his face against the boy’s tender cheek. "Grandpa missed you, too."
Xu Chunyan stepped forward, her way of addressing Mr. Xie unchanged. "Dad, Xiao You said he missed you, so I brought him over to see you."
Mr. Xie looked at the haggard Xu Chunyan. He knew what kind of person his former second daughter-in-law was. She had given the Old Xie Family a son, so he had granted nearly every request she made. Now she and Jing Er were divorced. She still called him "Dad," but he could no longer call her Second Daughter-in-law Jing.
"Chunyan." Mr. Xie trailed off, unsure of what to say to his former daughter-in-law.
Xu Chunyan’s heart sank at Mr. Xie’s distant tone. She had planned to use this chance to complain and stir up trouble, but seeing his attitude, she quickly abandoned the idea. She was no longer his daughter-in-law, but Qin Mei was. Complaining now would only backfire.
For now, her best strategy was a tactical retreat. Xu Chunyan’s eyes reddened as she patted the little boy’s back. "Xiao You, you’ve seen your grandpa. It’s time for us to go home, or we’ll miss the bus."
"I don’t want to! I want Grandpa!" Jie You clung to Mr. Xie’s neck, refusing to let go.
Xu Chunyan tried to coax the boy but made no move to actually take him from Mr. Xie’s arms.
Watching from the car, Mrs. Xie saw right through the act. ’Xu Chunyan is using Jie You to cause trouble. If this continues,’ she thought, ’I have no doubt Old Jie will end up taking them home with us.’
Mrs. Xie elegantly stepped out of the car. When Jie You saw her, he hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Grandma."
Mrs. Xie was a little moved to hear him call her Grandma. She reached out and patted the boy’s head. "Such a good boy, Xiao You."
Jie You ignored her, hugging Mr. Xie’s neck tightly and resting his little head on his grandfather’s shoulder.
"Aunt Qiao," Xu Chunyan said.
"Mm," Mrs. Xie replied coolly. She never had much to say to Xu Chunyan, and she had even less now. She looked at her husband and said, seemingly considerately, "Old Jie, you should take them home."
"Yan Qiu." Mr. Xie grew flustered. ’She’s angry.’
"Xiao Wang, drive slowly," Mrs. Xie said to the driver, ignoring her husband.
"Of course, Doctor Qiao." Xiao Wang nodded with a smile.
Mrs. Xie started walking, not once looking back.
"Yan Qiu," Mr. Xie called after her.
"Grandpa," Jie You pouted. "Don’t you want to take me home?"
Mr. Xie paused, looking from Xiao You to Xu Chunyan. "Get in the car."
Xu Chunyan was overjoyed. Fearing Mr. Xie might change his mind, she scrambled into the car. ’With Qiao Yanqiu gone,’ she thought, ’this is the perfect chance to tell him my side of the story.’
Mr. Xie placed Xiao You in the car and shut the door, but he didn’t get in himself. Xu Chunyan was confused, but then she heard Mr. Xie instruct the driver, "Xiao Wang, you can take them."
’The director isn’t going with them?’ Xiao Wang thought, but he just nodded. "Right away, Director."
"Dad," said Xu Chunyan.
"Grandpa," said Jie You.
"Be a good boy, Xiao You. Grandpa is busy, so I’ll have Xiao Wang take you home," Mr. Xie said with a smile to Jie You. He didn’t want to say anything more to Xu Chunyan.
Jing Er had been very busy lately, both with his job and with planning the wedding banquet for him and Yaru. He didn’t have time to look after Xiao You, so letting Xu Chunyan take the boy for the holidays saved him some trouble. Jing Er would pick Xiao You up once the holiday was over.
"Grandpa, I want *you* to take me home," the little boy protested.
Mr. Xie pulled some money from his pocket and pressed it into the boy’s hand. "Here, Xiao You. Buy yourself whatever snacks you want."
Xu Chunyan’s eyes lit up when she saw the money in her son’s hand. It was several ten-yuan bills. ’This trip wasn’t a waste after all,’ she thought.
Mrs. Xie hadn’t gotten far when Mr. Xie caught up to her. "Yan Qiu."
Hearing his voice, Mrs. Xie stopped and turned around. A flash of surprise crossed her lovely eyes as she saw him. "You didn’t take Xiao You home?"
"I had Xiao Wang take them," Mr. Xie said, smiling at his wife as they began to walk side-by-side.
Mrs. Xie gave her husband a sidelong glance and asked curiously, "And Xiao You didn’t make a scene about you not taking him?"
"Honey, you’re more important than Xiao You." Mrs. Xie was very pleased to hear that.
Xiao You was easy to placate; his wife was not. Mr. Xie had no desire to go home and be forced to kneel on a washboard.
Qin Mei was sitting under a tree, waving a cattail fan. Seeing her parents-in-law return, she quickly stood up to greet them. "Dad, Mom. Welcome back."
"Mm," Mr. Xie grunted as he headed into the house.
"Xiao Mei, what are you doing out in the courtyard?" Mrs. Xie raised an eyebrow. Qin Mei hated the heat; if she could stay indoors, she would. And she would never choose a manual fan over an electric one.
"It’s cooler out here," Qin Mei said with a strained smile. ’Could I really admit that Jie Jingchen is inside and I’m hiding from him?’
Mrs. Xie looked at Qin Mei, whose forehead was beaded with sweat. "It only cools down in the courtyard after dark. It’s still hot out right now. Xiao Mei, where’s Jing Si?"
"He’s in the room," Qin Mei blurted out.
Mrs. Xie shrewdly sensed something was wrong. She took Qin Mei’s hand and asked with concern, "Did you two have a fight?"
"No," Qin Mei denied immediately.
"Really?" Mrs. Xie was clearly skeptical.
Qin Mei felt a pang of guilt. ’It’s true we didn’t argue. A fight? It wasn’t really a fight, either. I just... almost crippled Jie Jingchen with a kick. No matter how good our relationship is, I can’t just tell her that. The bond between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is nowhere near as unbreakable as the one between a mother and her son.’
Mrs. Xie glanced in the direction of their room, a complicated and troubled look in her eyes. She took Qin Mei by the hand and led her out of the courtyard. Confused, Qin Mei followed her mother-in-law to a large tree a short distance away.
The two of them sat down under the tree. Mrs. Xie looked at Qin Mei, but she seemed at a loss for words.
"Mom, if there’s something on your mind, please just tell me," Qin Mei said, noticing the mix of worry and faint sadness in her mother-in-law’s eyes.
Mrs. Xie composed herself, offering an elegant smile. Her voice was soft. "You and Jing Si have been married for a year now."
"Yes," Qin Mei nodded, waiting for what would come next.
"Have you considered having children?" Mrs. Xie asked.
Qin Mei was taken aback for a moment before answering honestly. "We’re not planning on having children for now."
Mrs. Xie wasn’t old-fashioned, but she believed marriage and children were a natural progression. ’If you don’t have children, what’s the point of marriage?’ she wondered. ’Is it really just for something as fleeting as love?’
’Love is important, of course, but how long can it really last? Children are the most dependable support, an unbreakable bond.’
"Xiao Mei, tell me the truth," Mrs. Xie said, her expression serious as she gripped Qin Mei’s hand. "Are you two choosing not to have a child right now, or is it that you can’t have one?"
Qin Mei was stunned, her eyes wide with surprise. She squeezed her mother-in-law’s hand back. "Mom, who’s been spreading rumors to you?"
’If I find out who it was, I’ll beat them to a pulp!’ she fumed internally. ’How dare they make up such a rumor? Having a baby is between me and Jie Jingchen. We’ll have one when we want one, and not a moment sooner. Right now, we just want to enjoy our life as a couple. What’s wrong with that? Who did we possibly offend?’
"It’s Jing Si, isn’t it? He can’t have children." It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
"No," Qin Mei denied, shaking her head.
Mrs. Xie seemed not to have heard her. She sighed and muttered to herself, "Jing Si hurt his back. It would be normal for there to be... side effects."
"Mom." Qin Mei touched her forehead, looking at her mother-in-law with exasperation. "Mom, I already healed his back injury."
’Ever since I healed his back, he’s been wearing me out. I’ve begged for mercy, but he refuses to let me go. There have been times I’ve regretted healing him so quickly. I should have taken the ’boil the frog slowly’ approach and dragged out the treatment for a year or two.’
The truth was, Mrs. Xie had eavesdropped on the young couple. When she saw that Qin Mei still wasn’t showing any signs of pregnancy, she had grown anxious and, on a whim, secretly listened in at their door.
An unnatural expression crossed Mrs. Xie’s stunning face, and she coughed awkwardly. "Jing Si’s... stamina... is certainly impressive. But stamina is one thing. Being vigorous doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fertile."
Qin Mei was rendered speechless. Looking at her mother-in-law’s earnest expression, she said tentatively, "Mom... have you ever considered that maybe... I’m the one with the problem?"