CHAPTER 649: CHAPTER 45: A STUDY ON THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW PROBLEM

Approaching 4:30 PM, the sky began to flutter with nagging snow.

The snowfall made the already awful urban traffic even more chaotic, adding a few more degrees of irritability to the hearts of passersby eager to get home.

The modest snowflakes that landed on one’s face didn’t hurt but made it seem as if one had grown a layer of plush mustache, which looked somewhat comical. Many people buried their heads into their winter coats, shivering as they rushed home.

Zhou Ziang held a straight-handled umbrella in his hand, shaking off the water at the stairwell entrance. He fumbled in his wool coat pocket for keys, only to find his wallet and the cold air. This morning, his mother, Xi Lijuan, insisted him to swap out his thin windbreaker for the thick coat, leaving the keys in the pocket of the windbreaker.

Now, he was left with no choice but to ring the doorbell. He lifted his hand and pressed the bell several times.

The door did not open immediately; his mother was likely in the kitchen cooking dinner. As he was about to press again, the door opened. The person standing at the doorway, however, caused his mind to go blank in an instant. His hand remained poised to press the bell, with the umbrella dripping snowy water.

Xiao Xian, with her misty eyes and cheeks reddened from embarrassment, didn’t notice Zhou Ziang’s nearly stiff expression. Upon learning that Xiao Xian was looking for suitable antiemetic medicine for her aunt, Xi Lijuan insisted that both guests stay for dinner.

Zhou Qiang had an abundance of social engagements at the end of the year, and his son was also busy with who-knows-what lately, often leaving Xi Lijuan alone at home facing an empty dining table, and consequently, she ate without much appetite. Xiao Xian’s heart was set on leaving, but she couldn’t resist Zhuo Feng’s medicine, and Xuerou, who was by her side, egging her on, said that since they were already here, they might as well wait for Dr. Zhou to return.

Xi Lijuan was helping in the kitchen, while Xuerou and Xiao Xian discussed the matter of traditional medicine in the living room. Although the fact that Zhou Ziang worked on improving medical formulations was somewhat beyond their reach, upon closer analysis, it turned out to be more advantageous than not. Zhou Ziang was a cultivator too; hence, he didn’t need much explanation to understand the results that Xiao Xian and Xuerou were aiming to achieve.

As soon as Xuerou heard the doorbell, she nudged Xiao Xian to go answer it.

The doorbell rang continuously, while the sound of spatula against the pot showed no sign of stopping in the kitchen. The short cashmere on the sofa seemed to have turned into prickly steel needles.

Still, Xuerou sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, showing no intention of getting up.

Walking to the entrance, Xiao Xian opened the door, feeling her blood rushing all over her body. Zhou Ziang’s surprised gaze also made her feel uneasy.

It had been over half a year. As her breathing and consciousness gradually returned, Zhou Ziang placed the umbrella on the rain rack in the vestibule, removed his snow-covered coat, slipped into his house slippers, and entered.

"Dr. Zhou, long time no see," Xuerou thought even more highly of Zhou Ziang since he had saved her life and she had learned today that he was indeed the same person who had helped them out on the forum.

Watching the strange aura between the two upon opening the door, Xuerou giggled to herself.

"Ziang, you’re back. Help me attend to Xuerou and Xiao Xian," Xi Lijuan seemed to hear the bell, poked her head out of the kitchen wearing an apron, and said to Ziang.

"Mhmm, got it. Come in quickly; the meal is about to burn," watching him casually remark, Xi Lijuan let out an "oh no" and dashed back into the kitchen.

"Auntie, let me help you. My grandma always says I’m particularly good at chopping vegetables," Xuerou winked at Xiao Xian, ignored her plea, and slipped into the kitchen, from where laughter could be heard.

"Zhou..." Xiao Xian pondered how to address Zhou Ziang. Call him Dr. Zhou? He clearly wasn’t a doctor. So what should she call him? It didn’t seem right to follow Xi Lijuan’s lead and call him "Ziang." Decided it was better to act as if it was their first meeting, she would call him as one ordinarily would.

"Zhou Ziang,"

"You’ve come."

After the exchange of three words each, both were stunned simultaneously.

Ziang’s slightly pale lips formed a straight line, clearly unimpressed with Xiao Xian’s form of address.

"You’ve come." Hearing that tone of voice, not even as a question but as a statement, it sounded as if he had known she would arrive. Xiao Xian didn’t understand the meaning behind Zhou Ziang’s words, and in that moment, the living room fell into awkward silence again.

"Call me Ziang," Zhou Ziang said as he walked over and took a seat on the sofa.

The feeling of being scrutinized from head to toe from a higher position was genuinely uncomfortable; Xiao Xian too took a seat.

"I heard that you transferred to the Huake Institute," the air conditioning inside made the room somewhat dry. Zhou Ziang picked up a kumquat coated in sugar, leisurely peeling it. His fingers were long and his movements gentle as he peeled; the golden rind came off, followed by the white pith, leaving the orange completely bare.