The next day was New Year’s Eve, and Jiang Xue got up early to start getting busy. There were many people at home, and it was her first time celebrating the New Year with everyone, which made her a little excited.
The only regret was that Mu Qiancheng wasn’t there, making this family reunion day feel somewhat incomplete.
Jiang Xue spent an entire morning finally preparing and cutting all the dishes for the evening, and then she began to make lunch.
After an hour, she finished preparing lunch. The family gathered around the table, ready to eat, when the doorbell rang.
"Who could it be at this time?" Mu Siwu and Father Jiang exchanged a glance and asked.
"I’ll go take a look!" Father Jiang, unable to guess who might come at this time, put down his bowl and chopsticks to open the door.
When the door opened and he saw who was outside, Father Jiang was momentarily startled before he said, "Old Sir, why are you here?"
Father Jiang never expected that Mr. Mu would come at this time.
"Little Jiang, what, am I not welcome?" Mr. Mu laughed, his hearty voice reaching the ears of Jiang Xue and the others.
As soon as Mu Siwu heard Mr. Mu’s voice, his expression changed instantly. Bai Yuhua sensed the change in her partner and gently grasped his hand.
That grasp served as both a reminder and comfort. No matter what, Mr. Mu was Mu Siwu’s father, even if he had made mistakes before, even if Mu Siwu was unwilling to acknowledge him, the blood bond could not be changed.
"How could that be? Please come in!" Father Jiang replied with a smile, then turned to Jiang Xue and the others inside the house and said, "Xue’er, Xiuhua, in-laws, Mr. Mu is here."
By then, Jiang Xue had already stood up and went out to greet him. Seeing the old man rush in covered in dust, Jiang Xue took the things from his hands while inviting him inside.
"Grandpa, it’s cold outside, please come in."
"Okay!" Mr. Mu replied with a smile and followed Jiang Xue into the house. As soon as he entered, he immediately saw Mu Siwu sitting at the dining table, not moving.
Seeing his son, Mr. Mu felt a pang in his heart but quickly suppressed it.
Bai Yuhua, on the other hand, stood up upon seeing Mr. Mu enter and greeted him with a smile, "Old Sir, you’ve come. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll get you a set of bowl and chopsticks." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
Saying this, Bai Yuhua headed straight to the kitchen, while Jiang Xue, Father Jiang, and Mrs. Jiang ushered Mr. Mu to the dining area.
Mr. Mu didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down across from Mu Siwu. He even deliberately looked at him twice, which made Mu Siwu a bit annoyed, and he turned his head away.
The old man looked at his awkward son, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
"Let’s eat, let’s eat!" Jiang Xue chimed in with a smile, breaking the awkwardness between her father-in-law and Mr. Mu.
Although there was some tension between Mu Siwu and Mr. Mu, the meal turned out to be quite harmonious. After eating, the elderly folks moved to the living room to chat and drink tea, while Jiang Xue and Mrs. Jiang stayed behind to tidy up.
Once they finished tidying up and came out, they saw that Father Mu Siwu had gone somewhere, while Mr. Mu and Father Jiang were having a conversation.
Jiang Xue sat down among them and then looked at Mr. Mu and asked, "Grandpa, how come you came alone this time? Where’s Housekeeper Lin?"
"Oh, I gave him a vacation to go home for the New Year’s." Mr. Mu said with a smile, as in previous years, Housekeeper Lin always accompanied him in Beijing for the New Year.
This year, he didn’t want to spend such a lonely New Year anymore, so he came to Xu City. As for Housekeeper Lin, he had given him a vacation yesterday to reunite with his family.