novelraw Chapter 1363 - 900: An Unexpected Arrival
Chapter 1363 - 900: An Unexpected Arrival
Updated, more to come from tomorrow.
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Old Lady Zhao looked speechlessly at her husband. This old guy, he was about to pick up the bottle to pour wine, but now he’s sitting there with a teacup speaking so earnestly. Having been sick, nothing else has grown but his thick skin...
"Look at you, watching me like I’m lying, when what I’m saying is absolutely true..." Old Master Zhao said, pointing to the wine bottle he’d moved aside, "I just moved it because it was in the way."
Old Lady Zhao: "..." Alright, her husband’s thick-skinned antics left her at a loss for words...
"Alright, as long as you know you’re wrong, I won’t blame you..." Old Master Zhao said, lifting his teacup to the crowd, "Let’s first toast with tea as a substitute for wine, and once all the dishes are served, we’ll officially celebrate."
"Okay!" Old Master Qi cooperatively responded, standing up, and the others followed suit, picking up their tea to humor Old Master Zhao...
Old Lady Zhao glanced at her self-satisfied husband, shook her head speechlessly, both amused and exasperated. Her old man liked to drink a bit, and since his illness, he hadn’t touched alcohol at all. He must be craving it terribly by now, but here he was shamelessly pretending to seize the chance for a sip...
As the food was served and everyone sat down, Old Master Zhao kept glancing at the wine bottle, his longing gaze finally moving Old Master Qi to sympathy. He looked at Old Lady Zhao: "Sister-in-law, let Brother Zhao have a small cup, it’s fine."
"Thank you, Elder Qi, thank you..." Before Old Lady Zhao could speak, Old Master Zhao hurriedly passed his cup to Zhou Mikang, "Xiaomi, pour me one too."
Old Lady Zhao pushed him angrily: "At your age, getting so tempted by alcohol, aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by the kids? Look around the table, who is as shameless as you?"
"Hehe..." Being granted his wish put Old Master Zhao in a surprisingly good mood. Even when his wife scolded him, he just grinned foolishly without retorting.
Zhao Yulan, feeling sorry for her father, whispered to Old Lady Zhao: "Mom, it’s not easy for Dad to hold back for so long. Since Elder Qi spoke up, it should be okay."
"I know it’s okay, I just can’t stand the way he craves wine, and he keeps saying he wants to save face in front of our great-grandson. If our great-grandson saw him like this, he’d lose face for sure."
"I won’t drink." Hearing what his wife said, Old Master Zhao quickly returned the cup he held, "As an elder, I keep my word. I won’t drink anymore, not even in the future."
"Just drink a little..." Old Lady Zhao shook her head helplessly and waved to Zhou Mikang, "Put the wine in front of him..." Then turned to her husband, "Just make sure you don’t act like you’re dying to drink in the future. Everyone’s happy today, I won’t dampen your spirits. Drink a little, as Elder Qi has spoken, there’s no worry."
"As for the future, you judge for yourself. The doctor did say that a moderate amount is good for you, I won’t stop you. I just can’t stand that desperate look you had just now."
"Fell sick, and now I have no status at home..." Old Master Zhao sighed, pushing the cup away, "Once I said I won’t drink, I mean it, take it away."
Even while saying this, his eyes couldn’t help but sneak glances at the cup, and his nose twitched. Chuxia found it amusing, but also knew her grandpa felt embarrassed enough, so she didn’t pile on. She laughed and pushed the cup back to him: "Grandpa, just have a little. It’s all good wine; drinking it won’t harm you at all. Since it’s just this cup, it’s fine."
After a moment of hesitation, Old Master Zhao moved the wine in front of him, "Since Xia says so, it wouldn’t be right to refuse further, so I’ll drink it then..." He said, lifting the cup to sniff...
"Hahaha..." That did it, everyone who’d been holding back couldn’t help it anymore...
Old Master Zhao himself smiled sheepishly, finding his own defense: "I’m just doing this to make you all laugh, honestly, I don’t crave wine that much, really."
"Sure, sure, we believe you..." Chuxia teasingly eyed her grandpa, "Question is, Grandpa, do you believe yourself?"
"You cheeky girl..." Old Master Zhao gave his granddaughter a glare, then openly admitted, "Yes, I do crave it, but if you guys didn’t let me drink, I could hold back."
"I suppose, as an outsider, I’ll shamelessly lead the way. I propose we all raise our glasses, toasting the reunion of Old Master Wan’s family and also Division Commander Xiao Zhou’s family!" Old Master Qi said, gesturing to Old Master Zhao with his glass, "Brother Zhao, control your intake yourself."
Feeling a bit awkward, Old Master Zhao finally picked up his glass and took a small sip. The rich, clear taste made him instinctively squint, and after a moment, he exhaled a long breath: "This wine, it’s hard to quit!"
"What do you mean by what you just said?" Old Lady Zhao said as she placed a chopstick of greens in front of him, "Don’t just drink, eat some food. If you really want to drink, you should take care of your health first."
"I know, I know..." Old Master Zhao replied, smiling at everyone, "When people get older, they need someone to take care of them. It’s for our own good, we should appreciate it."
Everyone: "..." Old Master, you just want a drink, look at how you’re explaining it over and over, are you trying to cover up your guilt?
But from another angle, a person feeling this guilty represents the importance placed on another’s opinion, and valuing another’s opinion represents the significance of the other party...
Old Master Wan stood up and raised his glass towards Old Master Zhao: "Brother Zhao, for the deep affection between you and Sister-in-law, let’s have one. You take a small sip, I’ll take a small sip, our closeness doesn’t depend on how much we drink, okay?"
Old Master Zhao glanced at his wife, and seeing she had no objection, he said, "Okay, then I also wish you and Xiao Yin get happily married soon, afterwards..." the old master smiled proudly, "you’ll also be taken care of, and you’ll experience what I feel."
Old Master Wan was speechless with a black line, it’s not as if he was getting married for the first time, how could he not know this feeling?
Wan Yuqiong suddenly thought of this, and what surged up inside was the longing and guilt for her biological mother. If not for her past choices, her mother might still be alive today?
Thinking this, tears uncontrollably welled up, and she quickly lowered her head to cover them...
"Mom, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Qian Yan noticed Wan Yuqiong’s discomfort, her face turned pale with fright, and her voice loud, drawing everyone’s attention...
"I..." Wan Yuqiong tried hard to swallow her choking up, but couldn’t manage, so she lifted her head and forced a smile at everyone, "I’m fine, I..." she looked apologetically at her father, "I just feel I’ve made too many mistakes before, causing irreparable regrets in this lifetime, it pains me greatly.
Fortunately, heaven isn’t too harsh on me, bringing our family together now. I promise, I will never commit those presumptuous mistakes again, nor will I hide anything from the family."
Old Master Wan sighed, looking at his daughter: "It’s been so many years, don’t punish yourself with past mistakes anymore. Moreover, to be honest, if you made mistakes, your mom and I also did.
If we had given you full trust and attention, you probably wouldn’t have ended up as you did. It was our lack of care that led you astray.
Now, both kids are back by your side. In the future, just live well and go with the flow. Today, in front of everyone, I assure you, no matter what you do in the future, as long as it doesn’t go against my principles, I will do my utmost to support you."
"Thank you, Dad." Wan Yuqiong raised her glass, looking at Sister-in-law Yin, "Aunt Yin, I toast to you, officially apologizing for everything I did to you before."
"No need, no need..." Sister-in-law Yin quickly stood up, waving her hands repeatedly, "You did nothing wrong to me, that was all for show to others, I know it. Don’t take all the blame on yourself."
Old Madam Qi laughed: "I suggest both of you take a sip, what’s in the past is past, getting along well in the future is more important than anything."
The two future in-laws each took a small sip, and then started toasting each other, the atmosphere at the table livened up...
"Sis, I like it here." Qian Dakun whispered to Qian Yan, "It’s never been this lively at Grandpa and Grandma’s place before, not even during festivals, it was meaningless."
Qian Yan nodded: "I like it here, too."
"It’s really lively..." The sudden appearance of Old Lady Qian silenced the lively scene instantly, "Why is she here?" Qian Dakun grabbed Qian Yan’s hand in fear, "Is she here to... take me back?"
"Don’t panic, let’s see what happens." Qian Yan squeezed her brother’s hand, "Grandpa didn’t come, there’s still a chance."
"Dakun, Yanyan, don’t you recognize Grandma anymore?" At this moment, Old Lady Qian already had her eyes on the siblings, walking over with a smile, Wan Yuqiong quickly went to meet her, "Mom, you didn’t tell us you were coming, we... we could have waited to have the meal together..."
Old Lady Qian laughed, holding her hand and looking her up and down, "Not bad, you’ve recovered well, now I’m relieved..." Then she turned to everyone, "Judging by your expressions, it seems you’re not welcoming my arrival, right?"
"Not exactly..." Old Master Wan sighed lightly, "In-laws, you had agreed earlier, the kids just got out of the hospital, and their bodies aren’t fully recovered yet..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)