Si Wen blurted out, "An apartnt complex? Why not a villa?"
She believed that with Lin Xi’s status, her next ho should at least be a villa. Instead, Lin Xi had told her she was renting a re three-bedroom apartnt. Now that she has her identity back, is she still afraid to revert to her old lifestyle in front of Xue Yang?
"Si Wen, I seem to recall you still owe a gift to celebrate our relationship," Lin Xi reminded her.
"I know, I know. A villa. I’ll arrange it," Si Wen replied.
After hanging up, Lin Xi was all smiles.
Xue Yang couldn’t help but ask, "What was that about?"
"Rember how Si Wen owed us a gift? I just had her make good on it," Lin Xi explained.
Xue Yang’s brows lifted slightly. "You didn’t... ask Si Wen to give you a villa, did you?"
Lin Xi’s eyes curved into crescents. "Yep, that’s right."
Xue Yang thought for a mont before saying, "That’s a rather expensive gift."
Although a villa was nothing to Si Wen, for most ordinary people, it was sothing they could never afford in their lifeti. No, not even in several lifetis.
Lin Xi took Xue Yang’s arm and shook it playfully like a Xiao Naimao. "Anyway, she wants to get a cat, so buying a villa is perfect for that. Hmm, but she can only have one."
Lin Xi had no intention of letting animals take over the ho she shared with Xue Yang. Even occupying a single balcony was out of the question.
When Xue Yang didn’t respond, Lin Xi lowered her head and asked softly, "Xue Yang, was it wrong of to do that?"
It occurred to her that she had made the decision without discussing it with him at all. What if he didn’t want her to do it?
Seeing her cautious expression, Xue Yang felt a pang of sympathy. She was always so careful to protect his pride. The gap between them was just too vast, and she was constantly afraid that one wrong move would hurt him.
Xue Yang gently stroked her soft hair. "No, you can do anything you want. You don’t have to worry about ."
Starlight twinkled in Lin Xi’s smiling eyes. "Then we’ll go choose a location for the villa together."
It was clear Lin Xi intended to take Si Wen for all she was worth.
Xue Yang silently shook his head. This girl... when it ca to matters concerning him, she was as clueless as a blank sheet of paper. But when dealing with others, she was as cunning as a sly fox.
"As you wish."
Once they decided to move, Xue Yang and Lin Xi returned to their old apartnt and began the arduous process of moving. The vast majority of the belongings were Lin Xi’s; Xue Yang’s things made up less than a third of the total. They completely filled Xue Yang’s Audi, in addition to a large truck they’d hired from a moving company.
Before they left, they ran into the elderly couple from next door. The old woman had seen them moving boxes and bags out earlier and had been wanting to ask what was going on. She finally had her chance now that she saw them.
"Young ones, are you moving away?" she asked.
"Yes, Grandma, we’re moving," Xue Yang replied.
The old woman was stooped with age and her eyesight was failing. All she knew was that two very young, good-looking people lived next door. They were always quiet and, unlike other young people, never made much noise, which made life much more pleasant for her and her husband. She was genuinely sad to see them go.
"After you’re gone, who knows what kind of people will move in next," she said with a sigh of helplessness.
Xue Yang gave her a slight nod. "We have to go now, Grandma."
"Ah, alright. You’re both good children. I wish you peace and happiness in the future."
"Thank you, Grandma!" Lin Xi said warmly. "We wish you health and a long life!"
"Yes, yes, good children."
Lin Xi took Xue Yang’s arm, and they started down the stairs. Before descending, she glanced back at the apartnt she had lived in for over three months.
She wouldn’t let anyone else rent this place. It held too many beautiful mories of her and Xue Yang.
The two of them got into the Audi and drove toward their new ho. They had already arranged for an hourly cleaning service, so the new apartnt was spotless by the ti they arrived. Since they had hired a moving company, they didn’t have to do any of the heavy lifting themselves. They just directed the workers on where to place everything.
As they were giving instructions, Xue Yang’s WeChat went off. He glanced at his phone and saw it was a call from Zhong Hailan. Ever since getting a daughter-in-law, his mother seed to wish she could call eight hundred tis a day.
"Where’s my daughter-in-law?" Zhong Hailan’s chilly voice ca through the mont he answered.
"Mom, don’t you have anything to say to first?"
"Shoo, shoo, get out of the way. I have nothing to say to you. I want to speak to my daughter-in-law."
Speechless, Xue Yang had no choice but to hand the phone to Lin Xi.
The mont Lin Xi took it, Zhong Hailan’s tone switched on a di, becoming warm and affectionate. "Ah, Xiao Xi!" Her expression changed faster than a mask in a Sichuan opera.
Lin Xi politely greeted her, "Hello, Auntie."
"Yes, hello, hello!"
"Auntie, was there sothing you needed?"
"Your uncle and I are thinking of renovating the second floor, and we wanted to ask what kind of decorating style you like."
Xue Yang froze. The second floor is being renovated? How did I not know about this? Wait, when was this even decided?
"I was just thinking, that way you’ll feel right at ho when you co to stay," Zhong Hailan continued.
"Mom, my floor is perfectly fine. There’s no need to renovate it."
"You be quiet. Let Xiao Xi talk. Xiao Xi, hurry and tell what style you like."
"Auntie, it’s really okay. Whatever you and Uncle like is fine with ."
That simple sentence made Zhong Hailan beam with delight. "Our Xiao Xi has such a wonderful personality! What did that brat Xue Yang ever do to deserve a girl as good as you?"
Xue Yang stood by, bewildered. Was he out fighting on the front lines, only for his own base to be attacked from within?
"Auntie, how about we add each other on WeChat? We can discuss things more easily that way," Lin Xi suggested.
"Wonderful, wonderful! That’s a great idea. That way, I won’t have to go through an extra step just to talk to you."
Xue Yang’s eye twitched. So he had just been reduced to a procedural step, huh?
Seeing their conversation veering further off course, Xue Yang quickly interjected, "Mom, Xiao Xi has her college entrance exams soon. She doesn’t have that much ti to worry about renovations. If you have any ideas, you can just tell , alright?"
He had a feeling that if he really let these two continue their discussion, Lin Xi wouldn’t get any studying done at all.
Zhong Hailan paused. "Oh, Xiao Xi has her exams coming up? Of course, studying is the priority. How thoughtless of ."
"It’s okay, Auntie. The exams are soon, and they’re easy. I’m confident," Lin Xi said.
"Xiao Xi, I believe in you. I might not understand much about academics, but I know that scores don’t lie, right? So, I still hope you’ll focus on your studies. Just tell that brat Xue Yang what style you want. Then, I’ll make sure it gets decorated just the way you like it."
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