Chiang Xiao just smiled and didn’t say anything.
"Come on in, everyone’s waiting for you. Right, you knew Chu Liang from before, right?"
"I know him, seen him a few times."
Chen Yin still had a bag in his hand, and as soon as he entered, he hurriedly greeted Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao, handing the bag over to Ge Liutao.
"Grandma, this is a handmade wool scarf I bought when I was on the grasslands, very warm. There’s one for you and Grandpa each."
Ge Liutao was a bit at a loss, "It’s good enough that you came, why bring a gift? No need, no need, please don’t stand on ceremony."
And why was he also calling them Grandpa and Grandma?
This made Ge Liutao somewhat uncomfortable.
"I’m coming over for New Year’s and bothering you; if anyone should feel embarrassed, it’s me. If Grandpa and Grandma don’t accept, I’d be too embarrassed to stay and have hotpot."
"Grandma, just accept it," Chiang Xiao said, lifting the box in her hand, "I have a gift too, and I already accepted it."
Only then did Ge Liutao repeatedly thank him and accept it.
"However, Chen Yin, I’ll have to give a return gift later, and you’ll have to accept it too," Chiang Xiao said, turning back to Chen Yin.
Chen Yin didn’t stand on ceremony, "A gift from Sister-in-law, I’d definitely accept it without a second word." He then looked at Chu Liang, "Liang Brother, I didn’t prepare a gift for you, so you don’t need to look at me with longing."
Chu Liang darkened his face, "If there’s no gift then there’s no gift; no need to say it outright, making me silently upset by myself for a while, is that too much to ask?"
Everyone couldn’t help but start laughing.
The laughter spread outside, coupled with the lights, making this evening, close to New Year’s, seem even warmer.
In an alley outside, a tall figure slowly passed by, seemingly cold as he pulled his collar a bit.
The coat collar covered his chin and nose.
Under the dim light, the eyes that were revealed were full of bloodshot, showing signs of lacking sleep for a long time.
He heard the laughter inside the house and seemed unable to move his feet.
Yet, the danger lurking somewhere prevented him from even having the courage to turn his head for another look.
He knew very well that the girl had just been standing there in the half-open door.
But he only swept a hasty glance, only seeing her feet in cotton slippers.
Those cotton slippers must have been hand-sewn by Grandma, right?
He remembered her mentioning them in a letter, saying it was her design, drawn on a paper, and Grandma could make them.
Thinking of this, a flame was burning in his heart, filled with irritation.
A year apart, a year of longing, and there she was, right before his eyes, yet he couldn’t even afford himself a proper look at her.
He wondered if she had grown a lot taller.
He wondered if her once childish features had matured.
He really couldn’t help wanting to see her, yet feared that once he saw her, he’d long for a second look, and after the second glance, he might never be able to take his eyes off her.
If he lingered in that place just a little longer, it might give those two damned beasts a chance to find him. They had been following him for so many days, weren’t they just hoping to find his weakness to choke him and torment him?
Pain shot through his calf in waves, but Meng Xinian took each step very, very steadily.
Even so, one could faintly detect a daunting sharpness about him, giving off the impression that he was not someone to mess with, as if getting too close might result in having one’s head twisted off.
He had been wandering around here for two days, and today he finally got to see her and hear her voice. Now it was time for him to find a place to properly deal with those two men.