Xu Nian’an lowered his eyes, blinking away the shimmer at the bottom of his eyes. He tipped his head back slightly and said, "It’s nothing, I’m fine. Nothing happened. My little sister came to see me yesterday, brought a lot of tasty things."
Xu Nian’an tried to make his voice sound normal, even joyful, for fear that Ji Ying would notice something amiss.
"Is that so? That’s good. As long as you and your sister are fine, I’m relieved," Ji Ying breathed a sigh of relief. She asked, "Nian’an, shouldn’t you be in class at this time? How come you have time to call me?"
"Mom, I don’t have classes now, I have classes in the afternoon."
Xu Nian’an explained, stammering, at a loss for what to say.
Ji Ying asked, "Is it because you’re short on money? I’ll go to the post office and send you some later."
"Mom, I accidentally broke the school’s equipment, it’ll cost a thousand yuan." Xu Nian’an’s guilty voice came through the phone.
Ji Ying asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I’m fine." Xu Nian’an felt deeply moved listening to her, feeling even guiltier. He had kept the situation with his younger sister a secret from the family. Would they beat him when they found out?
But having his parents come all the way would only add to the worries.
Rather than having his parents go to the trouble of coming, he would rather go home to get beaten or scolded. He said cautiously, "Mom, I’m sorry, you can scold me."
Xu Nian’an resigned himself to being punished.
Ji Ying said very understandingly, "Nian’an, it’s not your fault. Paying the money will get peace of mind, it’s good that you’re not hurt."
"Just wait, I’ll go to the post office right away to get the money for you to compensate the school." Ji Ying said and then hung up the phone, immediately discussing the matter with Zhou He. Zhou He said, "Mom, is a thousand enough? Should we add another hundred?"
Zhou He spoke and went back to her room to get the money but was stopped by Ji Ying, who said, "Xiaohe, I just wanted to tell you about this. Your father and I have the money; we’ll pay for it."
"Mom, if Nianji were at home, he’d agree as well." Zhou He returned to her room and handed over the two hundred yuan in cash the family had left for expenses. "We only have a little over two hundred yuan for household expenses, let this two hundred be Nianji’s gesture as the eldest brother."
Zhou He had always remembered how Xu Nian’an and Xu Nianhua’s earnings from selling Mung Bean Jelly were used for their wedding.
"Good, good child," Ji Ying said, clutching the two hundred yuan, very pleased to have such a daughter-in-law.
That evening, Ji Ying specifically mentioned the incident to Xu Qinghe and Xu Nianji.
Xu Qinghe said, "Nian’an has always been careful about things since he was young. He must have had no other choice but to ask us for money."
"We are a family. If Nian’an has a problem, how can I, as the eldest brother, not take care of it? Xiaohe did the right thing." Xu Nianji gently held Zhou He’s hand, grateful for her understanding.
Hospital, the timeline goes back to the morning.
After Xu Nian’an left, Pei Yining was also persuaded to leave. After learning that Xu Nianhua was out of danger, Lou Fan planned to take the contract back to the factory.
"Leave the contract here." Pei Yicheng suddenly spoke up.
Lou Fan paused, glanced at the file bag in his hand, and said, "Nianhua is hurt . I can’t possibly still ask her to translate the contract for me, can I?"
"I’ll do it," Pei Yicheng said, pursing his lips, his dark eyes glancing at him as if to say: Who are you going to have translate the contract if you take it back?
"You will? You know how?"
Lou Fan’s eyebrows almost shot up to the ceiling. Would he have to endure Pangxin’s nonsense again?
He had even complained about it to Pei Yicheng before.
"No good?" Pei Yicheng raised an eyebrow.
Fine, why not? To help his beloved, he really is... going to great lengths!