CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210: DOUBLE HAPPINESS

At the dinner table, Mother Han’s gaze on Xia Liang was one of a mother-in-law finding more to like about her son-in-law with every glance. She frequently had Han Mengyu serve Xia Liang more food.

At seven in the evening, after dinner was finished, Xia Liang stood up to take his leave. Mother Han knew that although his company was in Qingyun City, his home was here, so she didn’t insist he stay.

"Mengyu, dear, see Xia Liang off," she said.

Han Mengyu nodded, ready to escort Xia Liang out, but he politely declined.

"There’s no need, Auntie. I can see myself out. If Mengyu walks me down, even just to the first floor, I won’t feel at ease about her coming back up alone at night. I’d only have to walk her back."

Hearing Xia Liang’s considerate words, Mother Han was even more pleased. Handsome, wealthy, and so composed. He completely lacks the impulsive nature of a typical man in his twenties.

She beamed. "Alright, alright, I know you care for our Mengyu, so we won’t see you out. Be careful."

"Okay. Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Mengyu."

Han Mengyu, ignoring her mother’s presence, replied, "Goodbye, my dear."

Waving one last time, Xia Liang left. As soon as he was gone, Mother Han turned to her daughter with a knowing smile.

"Well, now! You’re already calling him ’my dear’."

Han Mengyu’s face flushed red as she grabbed her mother’s arm. "Mom..."

"Okay, okay! I won’t say another word, I get it," Mother Han chuckled, knowing her daughter was just feeling shy.

「...」

Meanwhile, Xia Liang drove home. The first thing he did was notify Luu Qi that he would be returning the next day. Luu Qi, who had grown thoroughly bored staying at home, was thrilled. Returning meant she could hang out with Qingxue and Xi Yiqian. It couldn’t be helped; Xia Liang had been going out every day without her, leaving her with nothing to do but supervise the renovations with Luu Juan.

He then called Shi Qiang, got his ID number, and immediately bought a plane ticket for the following day.

After washing up, Xia Liang had just settled into bed when his phone buzzed with an incoming WeChat video call. He opened it to see Qingxue, who was looking at him with an adorable pout.

Seeing her expression, Xia Liang couldn’t help but tease her. "What’s wrong?"

"You’ve been ignoring me," Qingxue grumbled, clearly a little miffed that he hadn’t contacted her in two days.

Xia Liang got comfortable. "I told you I was busy handling something, didn’t I?"

He then used Shi Qiang’s situation as a convenient shield, naturally omitting any mention of Han Mengyu.

"Your friend’s story is so sad! That woman is just awful!" As expected, Qingxue’s attention was immediately diverted, and she began to rail against the injustice Shi Qiang had suffered. Seeing he had successfully changed the subject, Xia Liang played his final card.

"By the way, I’m coming back tomorrow."

"Really?" Qingxue’s face lit up with excitement. "What time does your flight land? I’ll come pick you up."

Xia Liang thought for a moment. "Around one in the afternoon, I think."

"Okay, perfect! I’ll be there to get you," Qingxue said with a wide smile.

"Great." Xia Liang didn’t refuse her offer. Noticing the fatigue on her face, he added, "Since you have a flight tomorrow, you should get some rest."

Xia Liang nodded. "Right. You get some rest too."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

「...」

After hanging up, Qingxue snuggled comfortably into her bed, hugging her Pink Panther plushie. "Stinky Xia Liang is coming back tomorrow," she mumbled to herself. "We’ll go pick him up together." She had just returned today and was exhausted from the long flight and journey. Still, she had called him because he hadn’t reached out and she missed seeing him. With that final thought, Qingxue closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

「...」

After ending the call, Xia Liang opened his WeChat conversation with Xi Yiqian. The most recent message was from her at eight o’clock, a simple check-in to say she was safe for the day.

"Are you asleep, you little rascal?" he typed.

A reply came back almost instantly. "Not yet."

Xia Liang immediately initiated a video call, which was quickly accepted. In the glow of the screen, her face was bright with joy. They chatted about recent happenings, with Xi Yiqian mostly listening while Xia Liang did most of the talking. After they had rambled on for a while, Xia Liang saw it was getting late and was about to tell her to get some rest. But before he could end the call, he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

"I’m coming back tomorrow."

"Oh!"

Although her reply was just a single word, he could see the excitement sparkling in her eyes. Just as Xia Liang was about to say, "You should get some sleep, then," Xi Yiqian spoke up.

"Then... can I come pick you up tomorrow?"

What the fuck?

Xia Liang froze, stunned that she would offer to pick him up. His expression must have looked strange because Xi Yiqian immediately thought she had said something wrong. She hastily looked down, no longer daring to meet his gaze on the screen.

"Um... did I say something wrong?"

Her pitiful tone snapped Xia Liang back to his senses. His expression softened, and his eyes filled with affection. "Of course not. I was just surprised, in a happy way."

"Really?" Xi Yiqian finally dared to look at the screen again.

"Of course," Xia Liang confirmed with a nod. "But my flight is pretty late. You can just come around six o’clock in the evening."

"Mhm." Xi Yiqian didn’t ask any more questions, simply nodding obediently.

Xia Liang breathed an inward sigh of relief, glad she didn’t ask for the flight number. He quickly moved to end the conversation. "Okay, go to bed early. You’ll need to be well-rested to come pick me up tomorrow."

"Okay," Xi Yiqian nodded, never one to disobey him. She waved at the screen. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

After ending the video, Xia Liang felt his scalp tingle. He had just mentioned his return casually, never expecting her to suddenly offer to pick him up. Thankfully, he hadn’t blurted out his actual arrival time from the start. If he had told her he was arriving at one in the afternoon, there would have been real fireworks when Qingxue and Xi Yiqian ran into each other at the airport. What a scene that would be! Luckily, he had staggered the times. As long as he managed it carefully, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Letting out another sigh of relief, Xia Liang’s thoughts turned to Su Yi. He remembered she was still competing in the Feiyu Star PK. He wondered how she had fared today. Since Su Yi hadn’t reported how much she’d raised, Xia Liang was in the dark about the results. He took out his phone and logged into her livestreaming channel.

He saw that the PK in Su Yi’s stream had already ended. Her opponent had surrendered prematurely. The audience in the chat was audibly disappointed.

[Is that it? That’s how she gets into the finals?]

[These semifinals are so anticlimactic.]

[Seriously! The opponent surrendered before Summer God Hao even had to show up!]