I Deserve A Second Chance - Chapter 263

“I heard that your in-laws are here?”

Shao Yan was walking along the office corridor when a hand suddenly draped over her shoulder. She glanced to the side and saw Risa was grinning from ear to ear; could not wait to tease her. Shao Yan was teased for several days by Mandy; had grown immune to the words “in law” no matter how much she felt embarrassed from hearing it.

“En,” Shao Yan nodded, “The Lunar New Year is in a few days, right? They will be here for two weeks, and then they will go to Australia for vacation.”

“Hmm…” Risa nodded while humming, “I see. Then dinner with our family will be next week?”

“Yes, Xiqing has arranged everything. I only need to trouble you to pick up Grandma.”

Risa patted her arm, “Don’t worry, leave everything to me. Also, Grandma has prepared first meeting gifts for them, so you don’t have to do anything.”

“Mmm…,” Shao Yan pursed her lips as she nodded, “Then, Sis, do you have any plans for the holiday? We will have one week off because of this Lunar New Year.” Both women were standing in front of the elevator; waiting for it to come to their floor.

It was after lunch time, so the traffic in their building had started to pick up. Risa calmly looked at the screen in front of her; her eyes were following the numbers that were counting up. “Grandma and I are going to a tea plantation for a short break,” She glanced at Shao Yan, “We will also bring Kei along with us. Fresh air may be doing good for his health.”

Shao Yan was reminded of her cousin in law who was still unconscious.

“Sis,” She paused for a while. Shao Yan blinked as she hesitated to say her next sentences.

“You see.. Uh..”

“As you know Mandy jie used to study to become a nurse, so she knew some names in that field,” She started to say slowly, “Xiqing tried to get hold of some people that may be able to give us a second opinion.”

Shao Yan hurriedly added, “We don’t mean to be nosy, Sis.” She extended her hand and placed it on top of Risa’s arm, “I just thought … We are family, and so, we really want to help. I hope you don’t get offended.”

Looking at Shao Yan’s flustered face, Risa slowly released a smile, “Yan Yan, I am not offended at all.” She patted her in return, “Thank you.”

And she gave a little squeeze on her arm, “At this point, I will try anything to bring him back to me. No second opinion is harmful; at least by trying, I have nothing more to lose.”

———-

“Remember, Yan Yan, tomorrow is already the second day before Lunar New Year. That means you can’t sweep the floor anymore. Don’t clean the house anymore, just wash what is necessary.”

Shao Yan chuckled, “Yes, Grandma, I know.”

“Are you still working? Tomorrow night, you will come over for dinner, right?”

“Yes, Grandma. Xiqing and I will have lunch with his parents, and then in the evening, we will be there for dinner.”

Shao Yan paused as she changed her hold on the phone from her left ear to her right, “And, no, today is the last day of work. We will be having a one week holiday before going back to work.”

Shao Yan heard Grandma hummed softly, “En, that’s good. Alright, let’s talk tomorrow. It’s getting late now, don’t stay up too late.”

Shao Yan nodded to the phone. Even though she knew Grandma Wu would not be able to see, she still did it out of habit, “En, I will sleep soon. Please take care of yourself, Grandma. I will see you tomorrow.”

Shao Yan had just hung up the call when Li Xiqing stepped into the bedroom.

“Oh, you’re back?” Shao Yan looked up to greet him from the bed. She was sitting on the bed while leaning on the headboard, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t join the dinner earlier. I had to wrap things up before the long holidays.”

Li Xiqing nodded, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it, they did not mind at all.”

“En,” She got up from the bed, “Go shower now, I’ll make some tea for you?”

Li Xiqing shook his head, “No, I just had a lot of them just now. I’m very full.” He saw the mobile phone in her hand, “Grandma called again?”

Lately, Grandma Wu has been calling Shao Yan more frequently; mostly to give her advice on some etiquette that she needed to do during Lunar New Year. Shao Yan had been growing up without a mother figure for a few years, so Grandma Wu was worried if she still remembered some of the tradition.

To add on that, with Father Li and Mother Li around, the elderly was even more worried if her granddaughter would be doing well. So, Grandma Wu had been checking in more frequently in the past few days.

“En,” Shao Yan nodded, sliding back into her blanket, “She reminded me not to clean the house. It is the traditional belief that cleaning the house during New Year is sweeping the luck away,” She shrugged, “And she believes in these things, so I just agreed along to show my respect.”

“En,” Li Xiqing nodded, “It’s fine. I’ll shower first.” And after he said that, he entered the bathroom right away.

———-

“Xiqing.”

Hearing the bathroom door was opened again, Shao Yan quickly called him without raising her eyes from the bedsheet. Li Xiqing saw that she was spreading money bills on the bed sheet, and some red envelopes were placed on the side. The gold letters that were embossed on the red envelope were glittering under the lights and the paper money was new, clean and crisp.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he walked closer.

“I was thinking about the amount of money I should put inside the envelope to give to Grandma and your parents.”

Li Xiqing sat on his side of the bed, “You don’t have to give a red envelope to my parents.” Shao Yan looked up from the money in her hands, “Why? I have earned my own money, I think I need to give it to them to pay my respect. I am merely sharing my blessings and wishes for good luck.”

He chuckled, “I know, but we are not married yet, you don’t have to pay that kind of respect to my parents.” Li Xiqing looked at the red envelope in her hands, “Just give it to your Grandmother.”

His hand reached out to take one of red envelopes from the stack on the bed, “I will have to give one to Grandma.”

Shao Yan watched how his hands reached over and took one envelope away, “Wait, Xiqing, how come I don’t have to give one to your parents, but you are giving one to my Grandmother?”

Li Xiqing turned around to take his wallet from the bedside drawer, “Because, I have considered myself as her grandson in law,” He looked back and glanced at Shao Yan, “Have you considered yourself as my parents’ daughter in law, then?”

Shao Yan was speechless at his surprise attack. She pursed her lips as she thought of a good answer.

“Exactly!” Looking at her flustered face, Li Xiqing smirked triumphantly, “Don’t consider yourself that way yet. I have not proposed to you.” And then he nonchalantly looked away; leaving the already blushing Shao Yan, even more blushed; she had successfully turned into a cooked tomato.

( ･ั﹏･ั)

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