CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19: DINNER

Yue Ning and Huo Yan only went downstairs when one of the maids came to inform them that it was time for dinner.

"I didn’t know that you were staying for dinner," Huo Yan commented.

Yue Ning smiled. "Grandmother insisted."

"That’s weird. I thought Grandmother didn’t like you," Huo Yan muttered—though her voice was loud enough for Yue Ning to hear.

"Don’t get me wrong, sister-in-law. But Yue Chen has met grandma several times, and she made sure she bad-mouthed you."

Huo Yan sensed that Yue Ning heard her words, so she quickly explained.

"I’m not surprised," Yue Ning chuckled mirthlessly.

They finally reached the dining table, and they noticed that it was filled.

"I thought we would have to wait for the queens for a very long time," Huo Fei muttered, but they could hear the sarcasm in her words.

Huo Yan leaned back leisurely, her sly grin mocking Huo Fei. "Then it isn’t my fault you were born to wait for me. You’ll just have to deal with it, Feifei."

Yue Ning naturally sat on the empty seat beside him.

Note: There were two empty seats beside him.

Huo Fei glared at her, and was about to give her a retort when Old Madam Huo spoke up.

"That is enough between you both. It is rare for us to have a family dinner where each member is present, so let’s cherish that moment," she instructed.

"Yes, Grandma," they mumbled at the same time.

"Great, now let’s eat. Yue Ning, do you like it here?" Old Madam Huo suddenly turned the attention to Yue Ning with her words.

Yue Ning smiled generously, "absolutely magnificent."

"I’m guessing this is Feng’s wife. Sister-in-law, I am Mingjie, Feng’s and Yan’s cousin," the man bearing Mingjie introduced himself.

Yue Ning politely nodded her head. He seemed to be the same age as Huo Feng.

"System, these new characters weren’t in the book. Anything I should know?" Yue Ning reached out inwardly.

She was right. Perhaps, because of her presence, people who weren’t mentioned in the book began to appear. It could be as the system said, butterfly effect.

’Huo Mingjie is the same age as Huo Feng, just a few months apart. You have to be careful of him, he might have a smile on his face now, but he is worse than the devil.’

Yue Ning furrowed her brows, stealing glances at Huo Mingjie. His expression was perfectly gentlemanly—too perfect.

Just as she had thought, the ones with the most innocent look were the worst ones.

’Huo Fei, on the other hand, is his sister. You don’t need to worry too much about her, she is bitter about the life Huo Yan lives, she isn’t a threat. You also have to be wary of their parents, they are scheming,’ the system advised.

"Thank you, System," Yue Ning showed gratitude.

’It is nothing. You are my host, and I don’t wish anything bad happened to you,’ the system answered with a proud voice while Yue Ning rolled her eyes due to the pride emanating in its voice.

Yue Ning briefly glanced at the parents, and she nodded softly. She could sense the bad vibes coming from them, and she concluded that the system was right.

They didn’t even welcome her, or perhaps, they were trying to maintain etiquette.

The clatter of chopsticks filled the silence. No one dared to speak, and the air grew heavier until the dinner finally ended.

"We should do this more often. It will be good for my health if I see my grandson and his wife daily," Old Madam Huo was the first person to speak while she tapped her table lightly.

"Mom, you should be aware that Huo Feng doesn’t like staying here. You are wishing for something impossible," Zhang Yuxiu pointed out calmly.

"And I believe Auntie knows why I can’t stay here," for the first time since the start of the dinner, Huo Feng spoke.

His eyes were fixated on the older lady who swallowed. Only she and Huo Feng knew what he was referring to.

Yue Ning noticed the way Zhang Yuxiu’s fingers trembled as she gripped her chopsticks. Whatever past lay between her and Huo Feng, it wasn’t something trivial.

"What are you talking about? Everybody knows you decided to leave the ancestral home, why are you saying my wife has an idea?" Huo Hapieng lashed out instantly.

"Why are you lashing out at me? Your wife is seated beside you, you should ask her. You might find out the truth if you pester her."

"Grandma, my wife and I will be leaving now. Thank you for dinner, we will visit you often," Huo Feng turned to Old Madam Huo as he spoke respectfully.

Yue Ning sighed inwardly. She wondered what must have happened which caused Huo Feng to move out. It was a pity the book didn’t mention it, now it caused her to have various guesses.

"Let’s go," Huo Feng said to her which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Brother wait, I also want to come with you." Huo Yan announced. She turned to Old Madam who had a horrible expression on her face. "Grandmother, I’m sorry, but I can’t stand the air in this place, I’ll visit you often, okay?"

"Shall I follow them?" She carefully asked seeing that Old Madam Huo didn’t make a sound.

"You can. Isn’t that what you want?" Old Madam Huo snapped, rising from the table in a fury.

"Great! You have angered Grandmother," Huo Fei sneered.

Huo Yan ignored her. "Sister-in-law, I’ll get a few of my necessities, and I’ll go with you. Is that fine with you?"

Yue Ning scratched her head awkwardly. "It is best to ask your brother, he is the owner of the house." She pointed to Huo Feng.

Huo Yan scratched her hair awkwardly. Regardless of the good relationship between both of them, she was aware that Huo Feng didn’t like her staying over at his place.

"Brother, can I stay at your place?" Huo Yan asked while blinking cutely.

Huo Feng looked at her before nodding. The reason was that Yue Ning had subtly given him a small smile.

Huo Yan had a bright smile on her face as she hurriedly rushed to her room.

A few minutes later, she rushed back with a small backpack. In the brief minutes she was gone, the silence between both sides thickened, heavy with unspoken words

"I’m ready, shall we leave?" Huo Yan asked with a smile as she stood beside Yue Ning.

"Let’s go," Huo Feng said, and they all turned to leave.

"Sister-in-law, please wait," Huo Mingjie called out, causing the three to stop on their tracks