Mei Fang and Lin Youxi spent their 24th and 25th birthdays together at the grand mansion in Baimei County.
The beautiful two-layered white mousse cake was decorated with three pink hearts, each heart intertwined with the others, symbolizing the everlasting companionship of the three.
Xiao Yuanbao and Xiao Xixi both had bright, clear, and sparkling eyes, each scrambling to blow out the candles and make a wish.
However, this time, Daddy and Mommy did not yield the opportunity to the children.
Watching the babies cry and fuss in front of them, the joys of adulthood were simply beyond what these little ones could imagine!
But after receiving a promise from Daddy that they too would have birthday celebrations in the future, Xiao Yuanbao and Xiao Xixi stopped crying, looking forward to the arrival of their own birthdays.
After that, as the New Year approached, came the busy process of visiting relatives.
In addition to paying a formal visit to his father-in-law’s home, Mei Fang also had to maintain social ties with some relatives and friends.
Although the Xia and Lin families had more or less accepted the relationship of the three and had given their blessings, it was still very difficult for other relatives to comprehend. Thus, they could only claim publicly that Mei Fang had secretly married his own daughter.
Although the relatives of the Xia and Lin families were worlds apart in terms of family background, none of them wanted to offend Mei Fang, this billionaire son-in-law. Naturally, they kept quiet about Mei Fang and his family’s situation, no longer asking too many questions.
As for Mei Fang’s own relatives, aside from his maternal grandparents, the ones he was closest to were actually Mei Yue and her family.
His eldest uncle’s family had a great relationship with Mei Fang’s, and they were also acquainted with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi. When they came over as guests, they happily held Xiao Yuanbao and Xiao Xixi in their arms, while also teasing their own daughter who was still single.
And so, at the end of 2018, as the old year drew to a close, everyone once again gathered at the Mei residence to joyfully welcome the new year.
This time, Xia Yuan’s maternal grandmother had also been brought over from Jiangcheng by Xia Xun, and of course Mei Fang’s elderly maternal grandparents were present as well.
In his previous life, Mei Fang’s maternal grandmother had passed away early due to a cerebral hemorrhage, and not long after, his grandfather also passed.
But in this lifetime, Mei Fang had made arrangements for early medical checkups, so they were able to live longer. Other than some mobility issues, his grandmother was still full of energy; however, his grandfather truly could no longer get out of bed.
Still, the rare occasion of having four generations under one roof, with great-granddaughters accompanying them, was something to be truly happy about.
Compared to Mei Fang’s grandparents, Xia Yuan’s maternal grandmother appeared much more energetic.
She was already past sixty, but could still find endless topics to chat about with grandmothers of Xiang Xiaoxia’s generation. Xiao Yuanbao was also very fond of Grandma, playing with her the entire day without getting tired.
As for Xiao Xixi, her personality was quieter. Lately, when spending time with the family, she had shown unusual attachment to Grandpa Xi—Lin Guochuan—just sitting there watching him practice calligraphy for a long time without getting bored.
But compared to Xiao Yuanbao’s lively and outgoing nature, Xiao Xixi was still extremely clingy, needing to look for Daddy every now and then.
Not to mention anything else, this feeling of being needed was still pretty awesome for Daddy Mei Fang.
“However happy you are now, that’s how much it’ll hurt when your daughter gets married.”
Lin Youxi casually teased Mei Fang with this line, instantly shattering the blissful state of the Mei Fang who was cuddling Xiao Xixi with joy:
“Hey, hey… let’s not let that kind of thing happen, okay? At least wait until after I’ve closed my eyes—”
“Pah, pah, pah, it’s the New Year, don’t say such unlucky things, wipe that off right now!”
As Xia Yuan spoke, she rubbed at Mei Fang’s mouth. This action, however, made Xiao Xixi unhappy—she tugged at Xia Yuan’s arm and let out little grumbling noises, making everyone laugh.
After the family finished the New Year’s Eve dinner, Mei Fang took the children out to set off fireworks.
Brilliantly colored fireworks bloomed like beautiful flames in the courtyard, their dazzling hues the very light of happiness.
Afterward, Mei Fang lit some sparklers and handed them to Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi. The mothers crouched down beside their curious children, holding their tiny hands, and together they waved the sparklers, drawing streaks in the air.
Xiao Yuanbao and Xiao Xixi felt the warmth of the glowing light.
As the old year faded and the new one began, after the busy movements of New Year’s visits, Mei Fang picked a time for the family of five to visit Tiantang Cemetery.
They were going to pay respects to a very important loved one who had passed away.
Mei Fang held Xiao Yuanbao’s hand with his left, and Xiao Xixi’s hand with his right. The two little ones were particularly well-behaved today—when they arrived at the cemetery, they neither cried nor fussed, which Mei Fang found rather curious.
“The fourth row over here… found it, it’s this one.”
Xia Yuan walked a bit faster and had already reached the front, “Mom’s grave is over here.”
So, Mei Fang handed the children over to Lin Youxi to hold, and began preparations to clean the grave of Lin Youxi’s biological mother.
He placed a new stack of yellow paper on the gravestone, then lit three sticks of incense.
Xiao Yuanbao stood dazedly in front of the tombstone, curiously patting the crouching Lin Youxi who was arranging the offerings.
“Xi Mama, what is this?”
“This is… the place where Xi Mama’s Mama is.”
“But… Xi Grandma, isn’t… at home?”
Xiao Yuanbao’s mind was still filled with thoughts about Grandma.
“Not the same Grandma.”
Lin Youxi said softly, “This is… a very special Grandma…” Fresh chapters posted on novel-fire.net
“A special… Grandma.”
Xiao Yuanbao stood before the tombstone of Lin Youxi’s birth mother, looking at the yellowed photo. She suddenly puffed up her cheeks and then shouted out loud:
“Ahhh, Xiao Yuanbao, keep your voice down, shouting like that is disrespectful to those here.”
Lin Youxi smiled and said: “They would probably love seeing children come to visit.”
“She’s… playing hide and seek with you.”
Xiao Yuanbao giggled happily.
She then softly said to the photo on the gravestone:
“Mom, did you see? I brought the kids to visit you.”
“Sorry we haven’t been back for two years, things have really been busy lately.”
“This is Ah Fang, this is Yuan Yuan, the ones you know… they’ve come almost every year.”
A gentle smile appeared on Lin Youxi’s face. “Now, they’re all my family.”
“And these two… are my children.”
As she spoke, Lin Youxi nudged Xiao Yuanbao and Xiao Xixi forward. At their young age, they still didn’t understand what it meant for someone to pass away. This outing might have just seemed like a novel experience to them.
But for Lin Youxi, it carried profound significance.
Even though she had never felt maternal love from her birth mother—
Lin Youxi had always believed that her mother had deeply loved her.
So, she had always worked hard—worked hard to live a happy and joyful life.
To her, this too was a form of response to her mother’s love.
Because the name engraved on the tombstone—You Wanying—was a name she would remember for the rest of her life.
She was grateful to her mother for bringing her into this world.
Grateful that she met Mei Fang and Xia Yuan.
Grateful that she had Xiao Xixi and Xiao Yuanbao.
And amidst everyone’s blessings and expectations, accompanied by the chiming of the bell and the crackling of firecrackers—
The New Year had officially arrived.