Chapter 129 - 119: Having a Meal
Chapter 129: Chapter 119: Having a Meal
The moment Gu Shaojun returned to the Provincial Military District, he received a call from Tang Qingyun. After chatting briefly about this year’s inter-district military competition, Tang Qingyun learned that Gu Shaofeng was also in town. He invited Gu Shaojun to bring his two younger brothers over for dinner that night, saying he wanted to meet Gu Shaozheng, who was visiting from Beijing, and hear the latest news about their relatives and friends there.
Gu Shaojun hung up the phone and frowned slightly. ’Now that Aunt Wu and Xuanxuan have transferred back to the provincial city from Wancheng, my already limited free time has become even tighter. I have to visit them every few days, and if I don’t, the phone calls are relentless. I just had dinner at their place last night, and now I’m going again today. Aren’t these visits a bit too frequent?’
Gu Shaofeng hated socializing and flatly refused the moment he heard they were going to someone’s house for dinner. Gu Shaozheng had already gone with his eldest brother last night and really didn’t want to go again today, but under his brother’s cold stare, he could only nod in agreement.
Gu Shaojun first finished up a few matters at hand. At 7:30 p.m., he and Gu Shaozheng arrived punctually at the residential compound provided by Wu Xiaowen’s work unit.
When Wu Xiaowen was first assigned to a post outside the capital, she worked as a teacher. She was gradually transferred up, eventually joining the Bureau of Education. Now in the provincial city, she was still in the education system and had been assigned a three-bedroom apartment. The master bedroom was for the couple, the two children each had a room, and the nanny had to sleep in the living room. But those were the conditions, so they were making do for the time being.
For the duration of his term, Tang Qingyun had to remain in Wancheng, but Tang Haocheng had been allowed to move from Beijing to be with his parents. Tang Qingyun had been pleading for this for years, and it was only granted because Old Mrs. Tang in Beijing had suffered a serious illness earlier that year, leaving her too weak and frail to manage. Otherwise, she never would have let her grandson go to be raised by Wu Xiaowen.
The boy had been sent over, but Old Mrs. Tang still called to give Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen a thorough scolding. She mocked their reasoning about the child "lacking parental love" and "fears of him being psychologically unhealthy"—words that were clearly Wu Xiaowen’s. Old Mrs. Tang had sneered, ’How dare you question me? I think he’ll be the unhealthy one in *your* hands!’
But she was ill and lacked the energy to argue, and her husband was still occupied with matters of state, so they let Tang Haocheng go for now. They would bring the boy back to Beijing once she had recovered.
At this moment, the family of four was immersed in the joy of their reunion, and the atmosphere was warm and cheerful. Tang Qingyun sat on the sofa with an arm around each of his children. He asked them about their studies, listened to their fun stories from school, and patiently answered their questions. The three of them chatted and laughed, filling the room with a sense of joyous harmony.
Wu Xiaowen was in the kitchen helping the nanny, stepping out from time to time to check on them. She would remind her children not to tire out their father, a gentle, sweet smile on her face and her eyes shimmering with happiness.
Steaming dishes were brought to the table one after another, and the lid was lifted from the soup that had been simmering all afternoon. Finally, three light knocks sounded at the front door. The guests had arrived.
Tang Yaxuan immediately leapt up from the sofa, bounding toward the door like a nimble young gazelle to open it.
Everyone in the room laughed. Wu Xiaowen took a couple of steps after her, chiding affectionately, "Oh, slow down, my darling. Don’t fall and give Brother Gu a reason to laugh at you."
Tang Haocheng huffed in discontent. "She’s certainly never that fast when she’s opening the door for me!"
Tang Qingyun smiled and patted his son’s head. "You’re the younger brother. And what are younger brothers for? They’re supposed to look out for and protect their older sisters, hm?"
"I know."
Tang Haocheng was not yet nine years old, a cool, handsome little boy with an arrogant air. He had every reason to be proud: with his high IQ, he was considered a child prodigy, was already studying a high-school curriculum, and could easily tutor Tang Yaxuan in her foreign language and math classes.
As the door opened, a tall, strikingly handsome young man walked in. It was as if a brilliant ray of sunshine had entered the room, making it feel even brighter and warmer. Tang Qingyun rose to greet them. Gu Shaozheng stepped forward and bowed, while Tang Yaxuan immediately latched onto Gu Shaojun’s arm, her soft, girlish voice as sweet as honey.
"Brother Shaojun, you’re finally here! Was the trip okay? Are you tired? Do you want to sit and rest for a bit before we eat?"
Wu Xiaowen smiled at Gu Shaojun and said, "If you’d been any later, Xuanxuan was about to run to the compound gate to wait for you. This silly girl, she’s run back and forth a dozen times in the last few minutes, opening and closing the door, so worried you’d be late and the food would get cold and not be to your liking. And those few dishes you love—she helped make them with her own hands!"
Gu Shaojun looked down and smiled at the girl, whose face was tilted up toward him like a sunflower. "I’m sorry, Xuanxuan," he said apologetically. "That thing you asked me to do for you... I forgot."
"Ah? How could you forget? There were two books of reference material that I need for next week." After a moment of shock, Tang Yaxuan pouted and shook Gu Shaojun’s arm coaxingly.
"Xuanxuan, be good now," Wu Xiaowen said. "Shaojun was in Wancheng on official business. It’s understandable he got busy and forgot. It’s no big deal. You can just have your father bring them back next time."
Gu Shaojun said, "That’s what I figured, so when I remembered partway here, I didn’t turn back to get them. I’m sorry, Xuanxuan. I apologize. Oh, and here’s your drawer key."
Tang Yaxuan blinked, hiding her disappointment. She didn’t take the key, which was adorned with a pair of soft, pink satin roses. "You keep it," she said. "Next time you go to Wancheng, you can bring the books back for me then!"
"I don’t have any trips to Wancheng planned for the near future. You should have Uncle Tang bring them for you so it doesn’t interfere with your studies." Since Tang Yaxuan wouldn’t take the key, Gu Shaojun offered it to Wu Xiaowen.
Just as Wu Xiaowen was about to accept it, Tang Yaxuan called out, "Mom!" Mother and daughter exchanged a look. Wu Xiaowen let out a soft "Ah," drew back her hand, and said with a smile, "I’ll go serve the soup. Shaojun, come and sit. Dinner’s ready."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Tang Yaxuan took the key from Gu Shaojun’s palm and stuffed it directly into his jacket pocket. "Brother Shaojun, you promised you’d get them for me, so I insist that *you* bring them back!"
"But I..."
"It’s okay. Whenever you go is when you can get them!"
Gu Shaojun was confused. ’Didn’t she say she needed them urgently?’
Tang Qingyun led Gu Shaozheng and Tang Haocheng to the dining table and sat down, calling for Gu Shaojun to join them. Tang Yaxuan pulled Gu Shaojun to his seat and took the spot right next to him.
"Brother Shaojun, look..." Tang Yaxuan clung to Gu Shaojun’s arm, motioning for him to lean down as she whispered a few words in his ear.
Gu Shaojun glanced at the dishes on the table and nodded at Tang Yaxuan with a smile. "Thank you, Xuanxuan."
The several dishes placed in front of him were all his favorites.
Seated across from them, Tang Haocheng snorted in disdain. "So childish!"
Tang Yaxuan tilted her head and gave Tang Haocheng a sweet smile. "Hao Hao, you need to eat up, too. No picky eating! Look, your big sister had the nanny make you steamed egg custard. You have to finish it all!"
"I won’t. I don’t like it."
"You have to! If you don’t, Big Sister will feed it to you!"
Tang Haocheng: "..."
He silently picked up his spoon, took two bites of the steamed egg custard, and then pushed the bowl toward Wu Xiaowen.
Wu Xiaowen’s eyes crinkled as she smiled. Looking at Tang Qingyun, she said, "This is already progress. When he first arrived, he wouldn’t even take a single bite. I don’t know what Old Mrs. Tang was thinking, letting him get so picky. How could he get a balanced diet? I can finally relax a little now. With his sister here to urge him on, Hao Hao is eating properly. Look, he’s even getting some healthy color in his cheeks."
Tang Qingyun gave Tang Yaxuan a look of pure approval, then smiled and raised his glass to Gu Shaojun. "This daughter of mine has been sensible and well-behaved since she was a little girl. She’s a truly rare and wonderful child!"
Gu Shaojun nodded. "Yes, Xuanxuan has always been very lovely."