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When we arrived at the Xiao Family Ancestral Home, it was already past six in the evening.
The courtyard was bustling with activity; Xiao Minxing's brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law had all returned, along with a dozen children.
Xiao Minxing took two boxes from the car and handed them to me, saying, "The blue one is for Dad, and the red one is for Mom."
I had no idea when he had prepared the gifts; I didn't know about this at all and just followed him without thinking.
As soon as we entered, everyone in the courtyard stopped what they were doing.
His eldest sister spoke up first, saying, "Xiao Minxing is back! I heard you were hospitalized recently. I didn't expect you to remember Dad's birthday even while you were sick. If we're talking about filial piety in our family, you're definitely number one."
His sister-in-law immediately interjected, asking, "Xiao Minxing was sick? What was wrong? I didn't hear anything about it."
Upon meeting his older brother Xiao Minfeng's gaze, the woman promptly fell silent and did not pursue the matter further.
I linked my arm with Xiao Minxing's and walked through the crowd with him. Neither of us spoke; we both acted as if we saw nothing and headed straight into the house.
The saying "a person is influenced by their surroundings" is not without reason. During my time with Xiao Minxing, I had actually picked up many of his bad habits, such as treating people as if they were invisible—neither looking nor listening.
For instance, showing no kindness when encountering someone they dislike.
Even during meals or other small actions, I found myself mirroring his behavior.
I actually heard the quiet discussions behind me and knew those words were unpleasant. I even thought that if Xiao Minxing stopped to reason with them, he wouldn't be able to say anything sensible and would only make things worse. He always knew how to gauge people's feelings, and treating them as transparent at this moment was the best explanation.
It was the mistress of the old house, my Mother-in-law, who, upon seeing Xiao Minxing enter, had red-rimmed eyes. She walked over a few steps, grabbed his hand, and asked, "Xiao Minxing, are you okay?"
Xiao Minxing had no smile on his face as he looked at her and said, "Am I not fine? What could possibly be wrong?"
I hurriedly handed over the red box in my hand and said, "Mom, this is a gift for you."
My Mother-in-law didn't even glance at the box; she reached out to take it and said, "Today is your father's birthday. It's just a family gathering. Don't always have a stern face; it will upset him."
Xiao Minxing didn't say anything more and led me upstairs.
I had seen Old Master Xiao a few times, but we had spoken no more than ten sentences in total.
Overall, his expression was even more unpleasant than Xiao Minxing's. He never smiled at anyone, and since I didn't like him either, I naturally wouldn't try to please him like I did with Xiao Minxing. It was normal not to speak.
The door to the Study Room was open. When Xiao Minxing reached the entrance, he bent his fingers and gently knocked twice on the door. Upon seeing Old Master Xiao look up, he led me inside.
I hurriedly presented the gift in my hand and said, "Dad, happy birthday."
Old Master Xiao nodded slightly; his gaze swept past me without stopping as he said to Xiao Minxing, "I need to talk to you alone."
I understood what that meant—it was to send me away.
I pulled my hand out from Xiao Minxing's arm and softly said, "I'll go check on Mom."
He didn't say anything, but his gaze sent me to the Entrance.
I actually breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped through that door. This family had their eyes on the top of their heads, never looking at anyone. I wondered if they could see the road normally and if they weren't afraid of falling into a pit when going out.
I slowly walked down the second-floor corridor, not in a hurry to go downstairs. It wasn't that there was anything interesting up here; I just really didn't want to see that group of people below.
Old Master Xiao's Study Room was at the very end of the second floor, so it took some time to walk over from that end. Plus, I tended to move slowly, and by the time I reached downstairs, more than ten minutes had passed.
There was no Mother-in-law in the Living Room; I didn't know what she was busy with. Only two small children were playing and making noise.
In fact, I had seen very little of the younger generation in the Xiao Family. Since they were all around the same age, I could hardly tell who was who.
The only one slightly older was now in middle school and looked like a good girl. She spoke nicely, and I had chatted with her a few times, but she mostly lived at school and rarely came back. She wasn't present on occasions like today.
I found a corner to sit down where I could see the older siblings chatting outside as well as the playing children. If Xiao Minxing came down from Upstairs, I would be able to see him right away, which made me feel quite at ease.
However, this peaceful moment didn't last long. It seemed that the people outside noticed me, so Xiao Minfeng's wife entered the room first and called out to the two children, saying, "You two go play outside; your dad said he has something good for you."
As soon as the children heard this, they immediately ran outside.
This woman glanced outside again before walking toward me.
I knew her name; it was Li Ru. At that moment, I could only smile and call her "Sister-in-law."
Li Ru smiled happily as well and gently took my hand, saying, "I've heard that Xiao Minxing treats you very well. Although you two are a normal married couple with a certificate, he keeps you like a treasured possession, making everyone envious."
I may be foolish, but I can tell this isn't a compliment. However, since the person is smiling while hiding a knife, I can't just turn against them.
I can only smile back and say, "He is indeed quite pampered; at least I don't have to worry about him hiding a beauty in a golden house outside."
Li Ru's expression darkened slightly, but she quickly suppressed it and responded, "That's true. Xiao Minxing is a good man; he has always been like this since childhood. If it weren't for his illness, he could probably turn Hai City upside down by now."
Although I also wanted to know what illness Xiao Minxing had, I had known since childhood that his siblings were not kind to him. Coupled with their attitude during our marriage and the barbs in their words today, it was clear they held no goodwill toward Xiao Minxing.
After all, he is my husband, and being ill is already distressing enough without them mocking him. So I didn't give this Sister-in-law any face: "So what? He isn't Nezha; he doesn't have to turn the world upside down for anyone. As long as he can protect me, that's enough."
The reason I clung to this point was that Xiao Minfeng had a notorious reputation and had made headlines several times for entanglements with some third-rate celebrities and flat models.
Li Ru had certainly caused a scene over this before, even running back to the Xiao Family Ancestral Home in tears to complain, but it was of no use, so this became her Achilles' heel.
Now she came to pick at my relationship with Xiao Minxing. Although I had no feelings for the Xiao Family, I couldn't allow anyone to slander him behind his back.
Li Ru sat there with a mottled face for a while, realizing it was pointless, then got up and walked outside.
Seeing her like that made me unable to suppress a cold laugh. When I looked up, I saw Xiao Minxing standing at the corner of the stairs. From his position, he could just see me, and at that moment, he was looking over with a heavy gaze.
Aside from the slight curve of his lips, I couldn't discern any particular expression.
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