All the problems had shifted to Lin Xiang’s side, and Boss Wang’s issues had been "whitewashed," leaving him to breathe a sigh of relief. But even then, his face was cloaked in darkness as he ordered his men, "Bring Wang Yong to me, or just get rid of him. Damn it, if he dares to screw me over, I haven’t suffered such a big loss before. No matter what method you use, Wang Yong must not live."
Boss Wang thought that his troubles were over, but little did he know he had already been marked, and Li Yu’s actions were swift. The relevant inspection departments quickly began investigating Boss Wang.
The news of Boss Wang being investigated was also leaked online, and as someone involved in all kinds of illegal activities, including drugs, gambling, and even murder, it wasn’t going to be an easy escape for him now that he was under scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Wang Yong, having been found by Boss Wang’s men, was severely injured in an attack but was fortunately saved by a bodyguard, otherwise, he would have been dead for sure.
"Deliver all this evidence to Li Yu," Gao Jiaxing said.
Boss Wang was being investigated and sued. With the emergence of all the evidence, he was swiftly sentenced to life imprisonment.
With Boss Wang in trouble, all his assets were seized. To Lin Xiang’s utter shock, even the house and cars Boss Wang had given her were implicated, and it turned out the cars had not been obtained legitimately.
Just like that, Lin Xiang was left with nothing.
Old Xia and He Fang, who had not heard from their son, reported him missing, only to discover that Wang Yong was in hospital with severe injuries.
Despite their previous disappointment in their son, Old Xia and He Fang still felt a pang of heartache for him now.
Thanks to Gao Jiaxing’s help, they were able to reclaim their old house, but the two apartments connected to Boss Wang naturally had to be returned as well.
Xia Xiao didn’t visit Old Xia, He Fang, or Wang Yong in the hospital. Any lingering resentments from her past life had long since dissipated.
She bore no deep grudges against them and had never considered revenge; she merely wanted to know how they were faring.
She had once resented Old Xia and He Fang for their favoritism and loathed her domineering brother Wang Yong, who often tattled on her and got her beaten up.
Seeing their current state, Xia Xiao didn’t offer much help, only assisting in reclaiming their house. As for their future, she wouldn’t pay any more attention, and deep down, she hoped that after this ordeal, Wang Yong would improve as a person.
Xia Xiao sighed and said to Gao Jiaxing, "Let’s go."
"Sure," Gao Jiaxing had been eager to leave this place.
"I want to go to S City," said Xia Xiao.
"Sure," Gao Jiaxing responded, ready to follow wherever Xia Xiao wished to go.
So the two of them went to S City. Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao’s arrival naturally called for a gathering with friends and family.
Liu Yuanchao, Yu Shijie, and Gao Jiaxing, all former military men, were now in their seventies.
While the men discussed their own matters, Xia Xiao, Yang Xuehua, and Mu Xingzhi engaged in their own chatter. The three grandmothers sat together, with Mu Xingzhi enviously admiring Xia Xiao, "You still look so young. It’s like there’s a generation gap between us."
"Really," agreed Yang Xuehua as she pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose with a chuckle, "We’ve all aged, but you haven’t changed much."
"That’s true. I’ve even spent a fair amount of money at beauty salons over the years, which did have some effect. Old Liu, however, didn’t like it, saying I was being frivolous," Mu Xingzhi said, resigned.
Yang Xuehua nodded, "Old Yu was the same. He used to dislike it whenever I wore makeup, a wide-collared dress, or a shorter skirt. He wouldn’t let me wear those things out."
Xia Xiao laughed, "Cousin and Yu Shijie are just worried that you’ll dress up too beautifully and make them jealous."
"Gao Jiaxing is really good to you, Sister Xingzhi. Among all of us, Xia Xiao’s life is the best," said Yang Xuehua and Mu Xingzhi, both looking at Xia Xiao with envy.
Xia Xiao’s face turned slightly red, and she waved her hands at them, "Stop talking about me, there’s nothing noteworthy to say about me and Brother Gao."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xuehua said, "Xingzhi, listen to this, Brother Gao, oh my, that nickname sure sounds sweet."
"Sister Xuehua, you’re making fun of me," Xia Xiao protested. After calling him that for so many years without a change, she had gotten used to it.
Mu Xingzhi also smiled and said to Xia Xiao, "Didn’t the advertisement say, ’Stay young at heart, and you’ll stay healthy’? Xia Xiao, you’re doing that quite well. I always feel that if you keep saying you’re old, then you truly become old."
"You should come dance with us in the square sometime," Xia Xiao suggested.
Mu Xingzhi and Yang Xuehua both nodded in agreement, "We go there every day."
After retiring, Yang Xuehua and Yu Shijie settled in S City, and Liu Yuanchao and Mu Xingzhi returned here too, so everyone started meeting up together. The two of them, along with Gao Jiazhi’s wife, Li Xiaoting, often clustered together in the park.
That evening, Mu Xingzhi, Yang Xuehua, and Xia Xiao made plans with Yang Xiaoting to go dancing in the park.
Gao Jiazhi joined them as well, and a few other men also strolled around the park, but unlike the women, the men just chatted, and chatted some more.
However, their conversation at the moment was about Xia Xiao and those other old ladies, as well as their children and grandchildren, while their gazes drifted toward the direction where Xia Xiao and the others were, naturally eying each one’s respective wife.
When the ballroom dance music began to play, Xia Xiao and Yang Xuehua, along with Mu Xingzhi and Li Xiaoting, started to dance together.
The steps were simple and relaxed slow three and slow four movements; they just needed to follow the rhythm of the music.
"Do you want to dance some ballroom?" Gao Jiaxing suddenly asked.
Then there was a moment of silence before everyone’s gaze turned to Gao Jiaxing. It was Gao Jiazhi who stood up and said, "Let’s dance. I know this one too."
"Can you guys dance?" Gao Jiaxing asked Liu Yuanchao and Yu Shijie.
"This is so simple. Who wouldn’t know how to?" Liu Yuanchao and Yu Shijie declared in unison, also standing up.
The park was large, and at this time around eight o’clock, this central area was full of people dancing ballroom style, with quite a crowd. Some skilled dancers passed by, took their partner’s hand, and joined in.
So when Mu Xingzhi and Yang Xuehua saw the men approaching, they all smiled naturally, placed their hands into the hands of the men who had come to join, and started to gracefully dance to the music.
After a while, everyone started to sweat and soon moved aside to rest.
Having exercised and sweated, they all felt a bit thirsty and hungry.
Nowadays, people generally eat well in the morning, eat enough at noon, and eat lightly at night.
Mu Xingzhi suggested, "Let’s go make something to eat, then stir-fry some peanuts to serve as a side dish for your drinks."
As soon as she said this, Liu Yuanchao and the others unanimously nodded in approval.
Back at the Lius’, Mu Xingzhi stir-fried pig’s ears and peanuts, made a soup with three kinds of delicacies, Xia Xiao cooked a pot of purple and regular sweet potato porridge, Yang Xuehua prepared a dish of sautéed bamboo shoots with meat slices, and Li Xiaoting made braised eggplant.
By then, it was exactly nine thirty, and the eight of them gathered around the table for a late-night snack.
Liu Yuanchao and Mu Xingzhi were living together, and their kids, along with their grandchildren, were elsewhere, so this gathering of old men and women eating and drinking together had a special flavor of its own.