Chapter 453 - 451: Can You Speak Less
However, the peace didn’t last long before she started up again.
After looking around and still not seeing Lin Xi at the entrance, Xue Yuanxia said loudly, "Oh, the banquet is about to start. Why haven’t Xiao Xi and the others arrived yet? Don’t tell me they’re not coming?"
"No one will think you’re mute if you just keep your mouth shut," Father Yang glared at her.
"Mom, you should really talk less. Don’t you see what kind of occasion this is?" Yang Xiaozhi couldn’t take it anymore and chimed in.
Sometimes, he really wished he didn’t have to bring his mother anywhere. It’s just too embarrassing.
Chen Fang didn’t dare say more and simply lowered her head to sip her tea. Her baby bump was already showing, and she was expected to give birth around the end of the year. Lately, she had stopped running back to her parents’ house, content to stay at home with Yang Xiaozhi. She even pretended not to hear whatever Xue Yuanxia said. Gradually, she had finally learned to remain silent.
Perhaps this is the price of growing up. But it’s too late for any of that now. Just as my parents said, this is the path I chose, and I have to see it through, even if I have to crawl. If I really can’t go on, then I’ll just have to find another path and start over. That path would be difficult, but there’s no other choice. I can’t wrong myself for my entire life just for the sake of a child. I know I can’t do that.
Stroking her belly, Chen Fang’s thoughts drifted far away.
Hearing Xue Yuanxia’s words, the others grew curious as well. Everyone had arrived, but the guest of honor was late. It was hard not to let one’s imagination run wild.
Did they have a fight? Are they thinking of breaking up?!
Zhong Hailan was also getting anxious. "Xue Yang, have you asked Xiao Xi what’s going on?"
"Mom, don’t worry. She’s already on her way. She was just held up by something and will be here soon," he replied.
Hearing Xue Yang’s words, Zhong Hailan’s anxious heart finally settled a bit. "As long as she’s coming, that’s all that matters." So long as Lin Xi came, she wouldn’t care what anyone else said.
After a few more minutes, even Xue Yang’s grandmother was getting restless. She stood up shakily, about to say something, when a sweet, charming voice called out from the entrance, "Xue Yang~"
At the sound of that voice, the noisy banquet hall fell silent as all eyes turned to the entrance.
The people here had all seen Lin Xi on television and were already stunned by her beauty then. They were all incredibly curious to see how devastatingly beautiful she would be in person. When her slender figure appeared in the doorway, everyone froze.
She was wearing a light tea-colored, printed chiffon long dress that revealed a sliver of her fair calves. On her beautiful feet were a pair of crystal high heels. Her long hair draped softly over her back, and as she walked in against the light, her entire figure seemed to glow, as if she were a fairy who had suddenly descended to the mortal realm.
Without a doubt, everyone who came today had carefully dressed up, but the moment Lin Xi appeared, they all seemed plain in comparison. It was as if they were from two different worlds, instantly outshone.
At that moment, a single thought surfaced in everyone’s mind: Does Xue Yang really deserve a girl as ethereal as a fairy?
The moment he heard Lin Xi’s voice, Xue Yang had already started walking toward the entrance. Upon seeing her, he naturally took her hand and smiled. "You’re here."
"I’m here. I’m sorry to have kept everyone waiting."
When the two of them stood together, the feeling in everyone’s hearts instantly changed.
A golden couple! That was the unanimous thought in their minds. It seemed that besides Xue Yang, no one else was a better match for this fairy.
"It’s alright." Xue Yang led Lin Xi over to Xue Yuanqing and Zhong Hailan. "Hello, Uncle, Auntie. I’m sorry for being late."
"It’s good that you’re here. Where’s your father?"
"He’s in a meeting on the fifth floor. He’ll be down in a little while."
"He knows today is Xue Yang’s housewarming and he still goes to a meeting? That’s clearly a sign of disrespect," Xue Yuanxia’s ill-timed voice cut in.
Her words suddenly made everyone else realize it too. That’s right. He knows it’s his future in-laws’ housewarming, and he was specially invited. Logically, he should have pushed back any matter, no matter how important. What kind of meeting could possibly be more important than this?
Hearing this, Lin Xi’s face paled slightly. She lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong, not knowing what to say.
"Xiao Xi, it’s okay," Xue Yang soothed her gently. "It’s already a great honor that Uncle Lin agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to attend. I don’t mind at all."
"Xiao Yang, I hate to be the one to say it, but with Xiao Xi’s family showing such disregard for yours, I’m afraid you won’t be happy even if you do get married. If you ask me, Xiao Yang, maybe you should just call it off."
Hearing Xue Yuanxia’s words, Lin Xi’s eyes suddenly turned red. "Xue Yang, it’s not like that! Let me explain, my dad didn’t do it on purpose."
"Even if he didn’t do it on purpose, shouldn’t you have arrived earlier? You’re so late, am I wrong for pointing that out? Xiao Xi, if your family looks down on our Xue Yang, you should make it clear now. Don’t wait until after you’re married to complain about incompatible values and needlessly give people a reason to gossip about us. For country folk like us, divorce is not an honorable thing."
As Xue Yuanxia said this, her gaze flickered toward Chen Fang. Although she was speaking about Xue Yang and Lin Xi, she was actually taking the opportunity to make a veiled jab at her own daughter-in-law.
She’s already pregnant, yet she still spends her days worrying about this and that, as if she’s afraid she won’t succeed in driving a wedge between my son and me. My son came from my own womb; of course his heart lies with me, his mother. A wife is just an outsider. What right does she have to compare herself to me? I’d bet my life that if both Chen Fang and I fell into the water, my son would definitely choose to save me.
Xue Yang had wanted to avoid arguing with a relative, but she was clearly pushing her luck. If that was the case, she couldn’t blame him for getting hostile.
"Auntie, today is my family’s housewarming, and I’m very grateful that you and your family took the time from your busy schedules to be here. However, if you continue to sow discord between Xiao Xi and me, then I’m sorry, but our family does not welcome you."
"You ungrateful boy! Isn’t your aunt just looking out for you? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. What good can a father-in-law who doesn’t know respect possibly be? You’ll understand once you’re married."
This statement was also a thinly veiled complaint directed at her own situation. Weren’t her in-laws unwilling to let their daughter marry her son? The last time they went to propose, they had been brutally snubbed. The mere thought of it made Xue Yuanxia fume.
If I had known, I never should have agreed to let them be together in the first place. Now that Xiao Zhi is so successful, any other wife would be a thousand, even ten thousand times better than the current one. If he found a better father-in-law, a meteoric rise would be guaranteed in no time.