Inextricable

It was already half past nine when Huai Jing got off the plane, and he went directly to Xiangzhuxuan because he had a dinner appointment with his cousin, He Yu. When he entered the private room, he found it full of the fragrance of jasmine, and He Yu was already there, drinking jasmine tea.. 

“I got what you asked for,” He Yu said while handing Huai Jing a paper bag.

Huai Jing sat next to his cousin and took out the document inside the bag. Seeing the content, his eyes twisted slightly. After skimming through the document for a while, he put it back into the paper bag and placed it on the table. Huai Jing looked at the starry sky outside the window, and said lightly, “I’m just waiting for their action.”

He Yu raised his eyes to look at Huai Jing and asked, “What if there is no action?”

Huai Jing turned his head, glanced at He Yu, put down the teacup in his hand, and asked with a smirk, “Don’t you know what kind of people are in the Huai family?”

He Yu looked at the smirk on Huai Jing’s lips and the coldness in his eyes, and said nothing.

…………………………..

After sending off Huai Jing, Xu Xingxing bought oranges and returned home. When she opened the door, she found the house pitch-black except for a light coming from the direction of the kitchen. Seeing this, Xu Xingxing narrowed her eyes slightly.

Hearing the door being opened, Lin Meihui called from the kitchen, “The power is off again at home.”

Understanding the situation, Xu Xingxing closed the door, put the oranges on the coffee table in the living room, walked over to pick up the flashlight from her mother, and said, “Go and rest for a while, I’ll have a look at it.”

Lin Meihui did not refuse and handed over the flashlight, while telling Xu Xingyuan, “Xingyuan, be careful.”

Xu Xingyuan, who was connecting the wires and repairing the circuit, said, “How many times have I repaired this broken circuit, mother? You don’t worry.”

While Xu Xingyuan was repairing the circuit, Xu Xingxing also took a look at the wiring board at home. This house was too old, and this circuit was old too. It was not viable to keep repairing it like this, it would eventually get more dangerous.

Xu Xingxing had two houses in this city— one had been given to Xu Xingyuan, and the other was located far away from Lin Meihui’s breakfast shop. Because it was inconvenient to go back and forth, her mother didn’t want to move there.

As Xu Xingxing was thinking about this, Xu Xingyuan successfully connected the wires and all the lights in the house turned on.

“It’s fixed now. But what if it breaks again during the Chinese New Year? Why don’t we go to the new house for the New Year this year?” Xu Xingyuan proposed to his sister.

The new house that Xu Xingyuan mentioned was the one that Xu Xingxing had given him. After finishing the formalities on National Day, Xu Xingyuan had started to decorate it, with Zhou Tongtong’s father having already bought furniture. 

“Is Tongtong celebrating the New Year at our house this year?” Xu Xingxing asked.

After packing up the toolbox, Xu Xingyuan washed his hands, and said, “Tongtong’s father said she would be celebrating the New Year in our house.”

The custom in Huaicheng was that after getting engaged, the woman would go to her fiance’s house to celebrate the New Year. It would be problematic if Zhou Tongtong were to come to their current house for the New Year.

 “Let’s do that. This is Tongtong’s first New Year celebration with our family, so it shouldn’t be too shabby,” said Lin Meihui, who was listening to her children’s conversation. 

“Okay,” Xu Xingxing agreed. Anyway, the new house had already been decorated, and they would just have to clean it before the New Year. 

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, while Lin Meihui was preparing the things required for the New Year celebration at home, Xu Xingyuan drove Xu Xingxing and Zhou Tongtong to the new home.

The new home was in Liwan District, right at the juncture between the old city and the new city. After driving into the underground parking lot of the Liwan Community, Xu Xingxing got out of the car first, unloading the New Year goods and cleaning materials.

“Sister, I’ll help you.” After Zhou Tongtong got out of the car, she quickly took the bucket from Xu Xingxing.

Zhou Tongtong’s  holiday for New Year’s had just started yesterday, and when she heard that Xu Xingyuan and his sister were planning to clean the new house, she immediately volunteered to go too. The Xu family members were happy after hearing that, because they didn’t want Xu Xingyuan to marry a wife who was head-strong and powerful, but rather, they wanted a kind-hearted, hard-working and cheerful person—words that described Zhou Tongtong well.

Xu Xingxing smiled and handed the bucket to her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

The three of them got on the elevator and pressed the button for the 16th floor. After getting off the elevator, Xu Xingyuan took the key to open the door.

There were three households on this floor, and Xu Xingyuan’s house was the middle one.

Xu Xingxing saw that there were green plant pots on both sides of the doors of the other two houses, indicating that they were occupied. “Are there people living in both of the houses?” she asked her brother. 

Zhou Tongtong and Xu Xingyuan had come several times to decorate the house, so they had met the neighbours already. “Yes, both houses are occupied. We’ve met them. Both families are fine,” Xu Xingyuan replied.

Xu Xingxing was quite relieved on hearing this. When living in this kind of high-rise building, having a good neighbour was very important.

After Xu Xingyuan opened the door, they went inside. There was no strange smell in the house, and the decoration of the living room had been completed. Under the luxurious chandelier lay a whole set of European-style sofas, coffee tables, chairs, and side tables.

Seeing this, Zhou Tongtong was a little embarrassed, and said, “My dad likes this kind of furniture, and… he bought these things…

The furniture and home appliances in the new home were bought by Zhou Tongtong’s father. Looking at the style of the furniture, it could be seen that it was the aesthetic of the elderly. Fortunately, the house was big, so this kind of furniture did not look very obtrusive.

Xu Xingxing’s mind floated to Huai Jing’s house. The decoration of his house was based on minimaliztion, and it was quite beautiful. Nowadays, those who were really rich liked simple decorations. 

It was not an easy task to clean up the three rooms and two halls. The three of them started cleaning the small room first before finally gathering in the living room. The new furniture had just been moved in and none of the covers had been removed, which were now covered with a layer of dust.

Xu Xingxing tidied up the sofas, tables, and chairs. Xu Xingyuan was in charge of the coffee table and the TV, and Zhou Tongtong was in charge of the smaller items. The three of them work nonstop, hoping to finish the cleaning process by today.

Zhou Tongtong was wiping an imitation tulip oil painting when a phone call came suddenly. The little girl clamped the mobile phone to her ear, tilted her head while working, and called out “grandma” sweetly.

Hearing her call “grandma”, Xu Xingyuan also raised his head, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

“Xingyuan, his sister, and I are cleaning the house. Huh? You made lotus roots? Then we’ll come at night if we have time. Um, thank you, Grandma. Okay, goodbye, Grandma.” After speaking, Zhou Tongtong hung up.

Seeing her hang up the phone, Xu Xingyuan hurriedly asked, “What did Grandma say?”

Zhou Tongtong smiled and told Xu Xingyuan, “Grandma said that you liked the lotus root you ate at my house last time. She fried some more, so we can go and get it when we have time.”

The lotus roots at that time had been really delicious. Xu Xingyuan usually ate just to be full and didn’t care about the taste, but his eyes lit up on hearing this. He said with a little pride in his tone to Xu Xingxing, “This is what a real grandma is like, ours is a fake.”

Xu Xingxing smiled helplessly.

Zhou Tongtong, who had heard about the matters of the Xu family, also smiled accordingly.

“By the way, when are you planning to go to Grandma’s house?” Xu Xingxing looked at the young couple and asked.

They were already engaged, and they had to go to the elders’ homes to pay respects during the New Year.

“Tomorrow.” Xu Xingyuan looked at Zhou Tongtong and said, “We’ll go to Tongtong’s grandma’s house tomorrow morning, go home after lunch, and then take something to our grandma’s house in the evening.”

The two grandmas lived in the same city, so they could visit both houses one day.

In fact, Xu Xingyuan didn’t look like he wanted to be going to their grandma’s house at all. “What kind of “grandma” is that even? If it wasn’t for our mother, I wouldn’t bother going.”

Xu Xingxing looked at him, pursed her lips and said, “Just take something worth looking at to her place. As for Tongtong’s grandma’s house, you need to buy more things and spend more time with her.”

Zhou Tongtong was a little embarrassed to hear this difference in treatment, so she hurriedly said, “My grandma said that you don’t need to bring anything.”

Looking at Zhou Tongtong, Xu Xingxing smiled. “Your grandma is so kind to you, you must take more things to show respect.”

Xu Xingyuan then added with a smile, “I never thought that I would gain another “grandmother” at the age of twenty-three.”

“I also have gained an extra sister.” Zhou Tongtong was not going to be outdone. “I have also gotten an extra mother.”

The three of them smiled in unison.