Chapter 210 Song Ni Pleases the Elders

Song Ni never liked the smell of smoke. Old Xi's tobacco was unprocessed and extremely pungent. Song Ni coughed so hard she couldn't stop for a while. Aunt Xi immediately opened the window. "The little girl is here, what are you smoking? You smoke every day, will it kill you?" Uncle Xi frowned, glanced at Song Ni, and seeing her tears streaming down, reluctantly stubbed out his cigarette. "Delicate." Song Ni wiped her eyes. She wasn't wearing makeup, her face was clean, and her eyes were naturally beautiful. Now, with tears welling up and her eye rims red, she looked like a little deer. Aunt Xi's heart softened with pity. "You drove here alone?" Song Ni nodded obediently. The elders didn't know how far Xingcheng was from Yancheng, so they asked again. "How long did you drive?" Song Ni answered truthfully. When Aunt Xi heard that Song Ni, a young girl, had driven six hours by herself, she kicked Uncle Xi. "You always wear a sour face, are you tired of living with me?" Uncle Xi: ???????? Song Ni: ... So this is a possible way of getting along? Song Ni's parents had always been harmonious and spoke kindly, never like Xi Jinjiang's parents. However... Song Ni had a strange premonition that when she and Tan Zheng got old, their way of getting along might be like Uncle and Aunt Xi. She was agile, and Tan Zheng was also a chain smoker. She had even been known to physically discipline Tan Zheng. Song Ni twitched her nose and smelled the aroma of food. Her stomach suddenly rumbled. "..." Aunt Xi, who was still scolding Uncle Xi, stopped abruptly and looked at Song Ni. "Is the little girl hungry?" Song Ni touched her nose and nodded obediently. "Auntie, I drove all the way here and haven't even had lunch yet." Song Ni's words were true. She had left home in the morning, bought things at the mall, and then rushed on her way. Because of the rain, the sky wasn't very bright, so she didn't dare to stop to rest, fearing it would be dark by the time she arrived. Hearing this, Aunt Xi immediately got up and walked towards the kitchen. "Auntie, let me help you!" "Little girl, you just sit here." "Auntie, you can call me Nini. I don't know how to cook, so let me learn." Aunt Xi couldn't really drive Song Ni out of the kitchen, but after three minutes, she regretted it. Song Ni wasn't unskilled at cooking; she seemed to have never done any chores. Washing a scallion, she managed to snap off the entire head. Peeling garlic, she ruined her nail polish. She didn't even know to remove the stem when washing a chili, let alone handle a knife. Seeing her posture, Aunt Xi, despite her age, was startled. "Nini, why don't you sit outside for a while? The kitchen is smoky, don't get choked, and it's a bit messy here. Be careful not to ruin your clothes." Song Ni was smart and understood Aunt Xi's implied meaning. She wasn't here to help; she was more like a troublemaker. "Then I'll sit here and keep Auntie company." Hearing Song Ni say this, Aunt Xi smiled and asked, "What, are you afraid of my old man?" How could Song Ni be afraid? She was just going along with their moods. Seeing Aunt Xi say that, she nodded. Aunt Xi smiled and explained, "He just likes to put on a stern face. Besides his bad temper, he's actually very kind-hearted and a good person." Song Ni nodded but still moved a chair and sat obediently in the kitchen. Seeing Aunt Xi's genuine pity in her eyes, Song Ni began her attack. "Auntie, does Uncle really hate Tan Zheng?" Aunt Xi's chopping motion paused, and she didn't answer for a moment. Song Ni spoke again. "Uncle must really hate Tan Zheng, otherwise why would he dislike me so much? As the saying goes, love me, love my dog. If he hates Tan Zheng, he naturally hates me." Aunt Xi's eyes drooped, and she put down her knife. The elderly couple liked to eat food cooked over an open fire, so they used a stove for cooking. In the past, Uncle Xi would stoke the fire. Now that Song Ni was in the kitchen and Uncle Xi wasn't coming in, Aunt Xi stoked the fire herself. After a long while, Aunt Xi finally spoke, sighing. "Actually, it's not hate. In the past, both of us, especially your Uncle, liked Xiao Zheng very much. We treated him like a second son." "This child is also filial. When this house was being built, he came and helped." "He was a child who grew up in the city and didn't understand rural construction. He started with manual labor, and later, after the workers had been here for a few days, he learned how to do it himself. He's a very smart boy." "Before, Xiao Jiang..." Aunt Xi's eyelashes trembled slightly. "When Xiao Jiang went to compete, he specifically came to pick us up to watch. Sometimes, when we got sick, this child would take us to the hospital." "Your Uncle and I really liked this child." "Unfortunately, something happened five years ago." At this point, Aunt Xi's voice began to choke. "Xiao Jiang was about to get married and have children. We had already bought the house, but then the accident happened." "At first, we blamed Xiao Zheng. If he hadn't let Xiao Jiang represent the team in the race, something like this would never have happened." "But if you think about it carefully, if Xiao Jiang didn't want to race, Xiao Zheng wouldn't have forced him." "Your Uncle and I just can't get over that hurdle." After all, their healthy son suddenly became disabled, lost his career, and his fiancée ran away, not to mention their unborn grandchild... Aunt Xi wiped away tears. "These past five years, Xiao Zheng has come every year to tell us about Xiao Jiang's situation. Every year he's not well-received, but he still helps us with New Year's shopping and fixing things in the house." "When we wanted to go to America to see him, Xiao Zheng wouldn't let us. I know Xiao Jiang's situation must be much more serious than he says, and he doesn't want us to come." "Every time we see Xiao Zheng these past five years, we think of Xiao Jiang. The hatred in our hearts is hard to dispel, yet we long for him to come." "Actually, when you first arrived, we heard the car and thought it was Xiao Zheng." "He used to come a few days earlier in previous years. This time he's a few days late, and we don't dare to call him." Hearing this, Song Ni stepped forward and gently patted Aunt Xi's shoulder. She was not surprised that Mr. and Mrs. Xi Jinjiang harbored resentment towards Tan Zheng. What surprised her was that Tan Zheng and they had such a good relationship before. But the better the relationship, the deeper the inner turmoil. Song Ni finally understood Tan Zheng's pain. Mr. and Mrs. Xi Jinjiang treated him as a second son, but because of him, their own son had ended up in such a state. Song Ni's eyes welled up. She stepped forward and hugged Aunt Xi. She so wanted to hug Tan Zheng.