Xia Guopeng looked at them with relief, "Sit down, sit down. Sister Wang, make a cup of tea. Dabai, what would you like to drink?"
Time and identity are both equally scary things. Now that the father and daughter meet again, they feel a little more unfamiliar. Perhaps it is because after knowing that she is not his biological daughter, he feels more guilty about the past.
Xia Dabai shook his little head and said, "I drink whatever Dabao drinks."
Xia Guopeng said to Sister Wang: "Then let's have two cups."
Sister Wang turned and went to the kitchen.
"Why did you think of coming here today?" Xia Guopeng was quite surprised. In fact, they rarely contacted each other. When he was a father before, he was not fulfilling his duties. Now that she has recognized her biological parents, they contact even less.
Xia Xingchen glanced at the gift beside her and said, "I'm here to wish you and grandma a happy new year. I wanted to come here earlier, but something delayed me. I just got married to Ye Qing today, so I came here to tell you.
At this time, she didn't just inform him of her marriage over the phone, but told him in detail face to face. Xia Guopeng was still deeply touched.
"I've read all the news about you recently. I also know that he resigned. I can see that he really loves you. You suffered so much in the past, and it's only natural that you have a good ending now."
When Xia Guopeng said this, he thought of Xia Xingkong and Li Lingyi who were in prison.
He sighed heavily, "Dad was too indulgent in the past, which is why the mother and daughter made mistakes again and again and caused you so much trouble."
"Those things are in the past." Xia Xingchen didn't want to mention them anymore.
Xia Guopeng nodded, looked at her, and wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Xia Xingchen guessed what he wanted to ask her, and if he didn't ask, she wouldn't take the initiative to say it.
After a while, Xia Guopeng said, "How about you and Dabai stay for dinner? We haven't eaten together for a long time. Besides, the old lady is still sleeping upstairs and won't wake up for a while."
Xia Xingchen glanced at the time. It was already past 3 o'clock. It was only about two hours until dinner time.
She lowered her head and glanced at Xia Dabai beside her. Xia Dabai shrugged and said, "I don't care."
The house hadn't been lively for a long time. Xia Guopeng was very happy and turned around and said, "Sister Wang, cook a few more dishes tonight!"
Xia Dabai couldn't sit still for two hours, especially in such a cold environment, so after sitting for a while, he ran to the backyard to play. Xia Xingchen reminded him from behind not to run around, and ran up to him to put a scarf around his neck before letting him go out to play.
Xia Guopeng stood up and walked over. Xia Xingchen looked up and met Xia Guopeng's eyes. She said, "Will you accompany me for a walk?"
"good."
Xia Xingchen followed him out of the villa.
The villa park was very quiet. The trees on the street were all bare. Xia Xingchen noticed that he had a few more white hairs on his temples than the last time he saw him.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Is Shen Min okay now?"
Two people asked the same question at the same time.
They smiled at each other, and Xia Guopeng said, "Very tough."
She also replied: "My mother is also very good."
“…” Xia Guopeng nodded.
"What do you want to say?"
"... Can you help me make a phone call and ask your mother to come over for dinner?" Xia Guopeng finally expressed his thoughts.
"Why don't you fight yourself?"
"Me?" Xia Guopeng smiled bitterly. "I went to Liangcheng to look for her, but she ignored me. Later, I found out that she was spending the New Year here, so I asked the old lady to make many phone calls, but..."
When he said this, his eyes darkened. The ending is predictable.
Xia Xingchen shook his head, "You are too insincere."
"No sincerity?"
"How can you ask grandma to make the call? If you really want to, you should call yourself anyway. If she refuses once, you can call again; if she refuses twice, you can call twice more. If you really want to, one day mom will agree."
"Really?" Xia Guopeng looked at his daughter inquiringly.
"Yeah." She nodded, casually took off the dead leaves that fell on her head, paused, and said, "If mom really didn't have any feelings for you, she wouldn't have stayed single for so many years. I heard from the aunts next door that in these years, there were many people who pursued her or introduced her to potential partners. Those people were not bad. However, she not only rejected them one by one, but also refused to meet them. I think... she hasn't completely let you go in her heart."
Xia Guopeng was a little excited, "Xingchen, are all of what you said true? But she told me that she is still single now, and she is not lying to me. It's because her previous boyfriend has passed away. She is still single because she can't forget him."
Xia Xingchen sighed, "There is a grave in my heart, and a widow is buried there. I think this is probably my mother's current state of mind."
so…
What this means is, do I still have a place in Shen Min's heart
Thinking of this, Xia Guopeng seemed to be greatly encouraged, and turned around and walked towards the villa. After walking two steps, he turned back, as if he remembered that he had left his daughter behind.
Xia Xingchen smiled, "Go make the call quickly. The air outside is good, I'll take a breath of fresh air."
"I'll come back and tell you the results later."
Xia Guopeng went in hurriedly. His previous depressed mood had changed and he was now full of energy and vigor, as if a door had suddenly opened and sunlight was shining in.
Xia Xingchen looked at the back and felt very emotional. She just didn't know when her mother would be able to let go again.
Just as I was thinking about it, the phone rang.
I picked it up and saw it was Bai Yeqing’s call.
"Are you there yet?" he asked as soon as he picked up the phone.
"Yeah. We've been here for quite a while. Aren't you busy?"
"We just had a meeting. They didn't give you a hard time, did they?"
Xia Xingchen smiled, knowing that he couldn't see it, but still shook her head. As she spoke, "Maybe it's because of our backgrounds, we are a little bit unfamiliar now. But, it's also strange, now we are more relaxed when we get along. Before, when I was with Dabai, I was always worried about this and that. Now, everything is different, I am much more calm. Do you think it's because we both got the red book?"
"Why bother about the reason? Just make sure you feel relaxed. If you feel like you can't get along, just come back early. You'll always feel more relaxed at home than outside."
Xia Xingchen looked up at the sky.
It rained two days ago, and now the sky is a romantic blue, which is very heart-warming.
However, his last words made her feel even more moved.