Chapter 753: Chapter 502: Reunion
The first watch of the night had arrived.
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“Sigh…” With a sigh, Aunt Liu’s voice became even lower, “Little Jing, I definitely wouldn’t say this if it weren’t for your own good.”
“For my good?” Little Jing looked at Aunt Liu, puzzled, “You’re saying this because you don’t believe me, right? How could it possibly be for my good?”
“If I don’t say it, you’ll keep hesitating about not wanting to marry, and if you miss this opportunity, you’ll surely regret it later. Little Jing, I really treat you like my own daughter; otherwise, why would I bother with such a thankless task? What benefit would it be to me?”
Little Jing remained silent, then after a long while, she smiled gratefully at Aunt Liu, “I know what to do now. After dinner, I’ll talk to the old lady about this and ask her to make a decision for me.”
“That’s the right thing to do.” Aunt Liu smiled reassuringly, “I’ve watched you grow up, silly child. In time, you’ll understand.”
“Aunt Liu…” Little Jing’s voice choked up a bit, “I understand now, it’s just… it’s emotionally difficult to think about leaving the Zhou family.”
“It might not necessarily be…” After pondering for a while, Aunt Liu then said, “It’s Zhang Jun who fancies you; he was the one who initiated it. You could discuss it with him and ask for his opinion.”
“If he agrees for you to continue staying with the Zhou family, then he definitely’ll have a way to persuade his family. If he doesn’t agree, then let it be.”
“But Mrs. Zhang was so clear in saying that Zhang Jun’s parents look down on maids, and they definitely wouldn’t accept a maid as their daughter-in-law.”
Aunt Liu gently comforted her, “Humans make their own destiny, and it all depends on how much you mean to Zhang Jun. You can tell him about your background and your feelings for the Zhou family. If he truly likes you a lot, he will try to convince his family for you.”
“Actually, even from the perspective of helping his career, staying with the Zhou family is definitely better than going somewhere else. He should understand that.”
“Aunt Liu…” Hesitating a moment, Little Jing’s brows furrowed, “Do you think… could it be that Zhang Jun is only interested in me because I work for the Zhou family, and that’s why he wants to marry me?”
“You child…” Aunt Liu let out an exasperated laugh, “If that were the reason, Mrs. Zhang wouldn’t have said those things to you, right?”
“That’s true.” Little Jing scratched her head, conflicted, “Growing up is really bothersome. When I was little, I never had to think about these things. As long as I did my work well, I didn’t have to worry about anything else. Those were good times.”
“How can one always stay a child? However, speaking of which, you’re still young and don’t need to rush into finding a husband’s family, but…” With a sigh, Aunt Liu patted Little Jing, “opportunities like this don’t come along every day. You should seize this chance.”
“Hmm.” Little Jing nodded, “Aunt Liu, I know what you mean.”
By then, everyone else had also started to get up, so the two quickly stopped their discussion and busy themselves with work.
The first ones to come out were Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, the couple. They were always diligent and used to waking up at set times, and once awake, they’d actively help with the housework, a habit they couldn’t break no matter what anyone said.
Zhao Yulan headed to the kitchen, and Lin Baohe went to tidy up the courtyard.
Knowing her parents’ habits, Chuxia got up early to join Zhou Mikang in greeting them. The sudden return of their son-in-law brought them nothing but joy.
Chuxia had been visibly down these past few days, which had scared them. They had wanted to ask what was wrong but feared it was some issue with Zhou Mikang. Now that they saw him whole and well, all they felt was happiness.
Given previous experiences, Zhou family members weren’t surprised by Zhou Mikang’s sudden appearance. They interacted with him as if they saw him every day. Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou merely nodded at him, while Lin Yanqiu showed a bit more enthusiasm, punching her son in the chest and calling him a “stinky boy.”
As for Zhou Xikang and Zhou Huakang, the brothers exchanged knowing glances with him, then went off to wash up together.
Zhou Mikang cast a casual glance at them and then looked at Old Master Zhou, “Grandfather, do they normally get up at this time too?”
“Not at all…” Zhou Huakang rushed over anxiously, “Yesterday was Little New Year, and I stayed up late chatting with my brother, so I slept in. Normally, we get up at six to exercise. You can ask my dad if you don’t believe me.”
Zhou Shanping had moved out after marrying Wang Lei, and Zhou Huakang had gone with them, which is why he was so eager to explain.
“Why are you so scared?” Zhou Mikang looked him up and down, “Is there something you don’t want everyone to know about?”
“No, no…” Zhou Huakang looked pleadingly at Old Madam Zhou, “Granny, Third Brother is always so suspicious; how can this be right?”
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, what are you afraid of?”
Zhou Huakang, “…Third sister-in-law…”
Chuxia shrugged helplessly, “I don’t know the details; I have no say.”
“Dad, come on, back me up…” Just then, Zhou Shanping and Wang Lei came downstairs, and Zhou Huakang rushed to seek his help.
“Good morning, Uncle Three, Aunt Three.”
Zhou Mikang and Chuxia greeted them almost in unison.
“Xiaomi is back?” Zhou Shanping looked him over with a chuckle, “You’ve lost weight and got tanned. During these New Year days, you should eat well and recover.”
“You’re back?” Wang Lei felt somewhat awkward, simply nodding her head and asking vaguely, unsure of how to address Zhou Mikang.
Zhou Xikang had already finished washing up and came out, poking Zhou Huakang, “What exactly are you hiding from us, just for Laosan’s few words you’ve been explaining for so long.”
“Nothing, nothing…” Zhou Huakang sneaked a glance at Zhou Mikang with a guilty conscience and quickly went off to wash up.
“No, that’s definitely not right.” Zhou Xikang frowned and thought for a while, then looked at Zhou Shanping, “Third Uncle, has Xiaohua been acting strangely lately?”
Zhou Shanping thought for a moment, shook his head, “Nothing.” He said, then looked at Wang Lei, “What do you think?”
“I don’t think there’s anything either.”
Zhou Xikang rolled his eyes, “You ask third sister-in-law, would she feel comfortable saying anything?” Looking at Zhou Mikang, “Laosan, right?”
Zhou Mikang glared at him, “What ‘right’? Better you go look after your sister-in-law, a pregnant woman shouldn’t be left alone.”
“It’s different now, isn’t it? Everyone’s learned to care about others….”
Listening to Zhou Xikang’s muttering as he went upstairs, Zhou Mikang looked at Lin Yanqiu, “Mom, has my brother also got ‘pregnant’? He wasn’t this chatty before.”
“You rascal!” Lin Yanqiu looked at him both crying and laughing, “Do you even speak about your own brother like that?”
Luo Xiaoqiong and Wang Jing were the last to get up and come down, seeing everyone had already gotten up, they felt a bit embarrassed. When greeting everyone, they were too embarrassed to even look up.
When Luo Xiaoqiong saw Zhou Mikang, she nearly died of shock. After finishing her greetings, she pulled Chuxia to the side, whispering, “When did he come back?”
“In the middle of the night.” Chuxia whispered back, “I asked, and my brother won’t be able to return for another two days, so don’t worry.”
Luo Xiaoqiong raised an eyebrow, “Who’s worried? I’m just curious, did Commander Zhou not find anyone when he went back there and ran here instead?”
Everyone had spent the night of Chinese New Year’s Eve at the Zhou family’s old house, hence they all stayed the night there. Chuxia hadn’t even realized this until Luo Xiaoqiong asked. Hitting her forehead in realization, she said, “I forgot to ask. I’ll definitely inquire later, hehe…”
“Look at you, delighting in others’ misfortune…” Luo Xiaoqiong rolled her eyes contemptuously at her, “Forgot who was frantic like a dead dog yesterday?”
“Who are you talking about?” Chuxia glared back at her and, noticing Wang Jing standing not far from them, looking uncomfortable, she quickly stepped forward and pulled her over, “Sit down, what are you standing there for?”
Wang Jing smiled embarrassingly, “I was afraid it would be inconvenient to come over while you two were whispering.”
“There’s nothing inconvenient about it. Luo Xiaoqiong just saw Zhou Mikang return and was concerned about when my brother would be back. You haven’t forgotten she’s my cousin-in-law, have you?”
“I haven’t, but as someone who doesn’t have a boyfriend, I’d feel awkward crowding around you guys.”
“There’s nothing in that. Matters of fate, why make a fuss about it?” Luo Xiaoqiong said, looking at Chuxia, “Right, before the New Year, let’s find a time to have a meal with our old classmates, shall we?”
Chuxia nodded, “Sure, I have no objections, you organize it.”
Hesitating a moment, Wang Jing said, “Don’t think I’m meddling, but I’d advise you better not.”
Luo Xiaoqiong was taken aback, “Why? What’s wrong with that?”
Chuxia looked at her too, not understanding either.
“Lin Chuxia, you married the famous Commander Zhou, and Luo Xiaoqiong, you might follow Director Xu to the bureau. What about the others? Apart from being intern nurses or intern doctors, do I need to say more?”
Luo Xiaoqiong scratched her head, unsure, “Are you saying people would think the two of us are showing off?”
“What do you think?”
“I…” Luo Xiaoqiong looked to Chuxia, at a loss for words.
Chuxia then explained for her, “She thought that since everyone couldn’t go home for New Year, we might as well gather together.”
“Others probably won’t see it that way.” Wang Jing sighed, “I’m advising you as someone who has been there. We also used to be a big group of apprentices together, but now, there are very few friends left to me, all because I followed Director Song.
Of course, maybe I’m being cynical, but sometimes, it’s easy to offend someone unintentionally, and not so easy to please them. You’d better do less of such thankless tasks.”
“Got it.” Chuxia nodded, then looked at Luo Xiaoqiong, “We’ll wait until everyone has settled down before discussing this again. For now, let’s forget it.”
“Okay.” Luo Xiaoqiong nodded disappointedly, “Growing up is really not a pleasant thing.”
At this point, breakfast had already been served. Zhou Huakang craned his neck and called out, “Third sister-in-law, bring your friends over to eat.”
“Let’s go, time to eat, I’m going to be on the operating table today, and nothing else matters. Let’s get this done first,” Chuxia said as she took a deep breath, “Your mission now is to amuse me. No more talk of troubling matters.”
“We can’t do that, let Commander Zhou handle it,” Luo Xiaoqiong swiftly sat next to Zhao Yulan, sneaking a wink at Chuxia—the empty seats were only beside Zhou Mikang. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian () to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to to read.)