Chapter 204 Moving to a Villa for a Short Stay

"Big brother is gone, Aunt Wu is gone, An'an is gone, and in a few days Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai will also be gone. I never thought that one day I would become an empty nest girl."

Jiang Chao, not in the mood to play along with her affected manner as if she could truly feel loneliness, rolled his eyes at her, turned around, and went back into the house with Xiao Bai in his arms.

Meow meow meow! Meow meow meow!

Little Black poked its head out and meowed at someone's back. Knowing it was worried about Little White, I rubbed its triangular ears and put it on the ground. "Go on, or the door to the side room will be locked."

The cat flicked its tail and darted inside. Yunxia looked up at the sky for a while before getting up, patting her bottom, and going back to her bedroom to sleep.

With two fewer people at home, the house felt noticeably quieter. The next morning, Jiang Chao went to Jiang University for school. Worried that the girl would be scared sleeping alone, he would take the bus back to stay every night. Yun Xia said that he was obviously overthinking it, but in order to satisfy his doting brother's feelings, she could only nod and acquiesce.

On the day of returning home, Gao San couldn't get leave, but Jiang Chao happened to have no classes in the morning, so he went back to the courtyard. There's a local custom that on the day of returning home, visitors are not allowed to cook.

Jiang Chao's eyes narrowed slightly, his brows furrowed as he stared at the large and small iron pots, his expression as if he were on the front lines of a battle.

"Ah Chao, how about... I do it!"

She never wanted to see the sight of a shovel breaking an iron pot again.

"No need, you and Uncle Bai go back to your room and rest. Xiaxia taught us a lot last night, this time... we'll definitely do well."

Wu Lifang knew her eldest son He Bingxing all too well. Upon hearing this, she said nothing more, gave a few instructions, and then turned and went back to the main room.

Jiang Chao cautiously looked around, closed the kitchen door, and began his 'cheating': he boiled water in a large pot, placed the pre-cooked vegetables on a steamer, poured chicken soup into a clay pot, and in less than twenty minutes, a table full of dishes was ready...

Putting aside the speed, the fact that there was no oily smell when stir-frying was hard to believe. Wu Lifang and Bai Jie exchanged a glance and, without exposing the lie, praised it while eating.

“These… were all made by Yunxia, ​​we should praise her.”

"Xiaxia is really amazing. Her cooking skills are no worse than those of restaurant chefs. Achao is also amazing. If it were me, I wouldn't even be able to tell if the water is boiling or not."

The self-deprecating remarks completely eased the awkward atmosphere, and overall, the meal was both awkward and harmonious.

That evening, Yunxia led Jiang An home. As soon as he saw his brother, he rushed into his arms and kept praising how wonderful their new home was.

How big is the house? How soft is the bed? How many fruit trees are in the yard? How many canvases are in the studio?

His little mouth kept chattering away, but when she caught a glimpse of someone's increasingly sour face, she quickly covered his mouth and pulled him away. "Kids like to share their feelings with those they're close to. He didn't mean it, don't blame him!"

"hehe!"

Jiang An realized that he was angry from the cold tone. After asking Sister Yunxia for the reason, he immediately went up to her, using all his charm, cuteness and tantrums to torment the sharp-tongued man to no avail.

"That's enough! What kind of man acts like a girl, trying to be cute and coquettish?"

Having spent so much time together, Jiang An could tell which words were sincere and which were just empty threats. "Hehe, brother, don't be angry. An'an knows she was wrong. I've been dreaming about you every night these past few days. I dreamt that you took me to the amusement park, I dreamt that Xiao Hei scratched your face, I dreamt that..."

Each time she recounted a scene from her dream, the sharp-tongued woman's sour face lessened, and by the end, the corners of her mouth even curved upwards, revealing a hint of a smile.

"If you can dream of me, then all my love for you wasn't in vain."

"Brother, we have a three-day holiday for New Year's Day. Why don't you, Sister Xiaxia, Xiaohei, and Xiaobai go stay at the villa for a few days and keep me company? Otherwise, I'll be so bored if I stay in the art studio for three days straight. It's just a few days, please."

Sure enough, as long as you're good-looking, no one can resist your charm and cuteness. Jiang Chao, whose shell was as hard as a rock, didn't hold out for long before nodding in agreement. Jiang An jumped up excitedly and spun around in the main room with the two cats in his arms.

While he was making a ruckus, Yun Xia pulled Jiang Chao into the side bedroom, closed the door, and whispered, "Now that the Jiang family in Chestnut Village has been dealt with, you might as well..."

"Hold on, I know what you're going to say. Staying temporarily at the villa is fine, but moving there permanently is absolutely out of the question. You're a girl, and nominally you're boarding at the Jiang family's house, so it's reasonable for you to move with my mother. An'an is still young and needs someone to take care of her, so no one will gossip about her living with her mother at the villa. But what about me? I'm a junior in college, an adult, and a boy. What would it look like if I moved there?"

“I’m not afraid of what others say about me behind my back, but I’m afraid they’ll talk about my mother and that she’s not doing well in the Bai family.”

These words left Yunxia speechless. Yes, she blamed herself for being misled by the happy fantasy of a family reunion. People are like chicks in a bird's nest. Once their wings are fully grown and their yellow beaks have fallen off, they should spread their wings and fly high to create their own world.

“That makes sense, then I won’t try to persuade you anymore. There’s one more small question: if Huaimin Street is really demolished, are you planning to move to a villa?”

The renovation of old urban areas is an inevitable path for urban development. They will be demolished sooner or later. Therefore, Jiang Chao has thought deeply about this issue. "When that time comes, I will buy a villa next to it."

"Young man, you have guts!"

"Young man, what do you mean?"

Oops, I accidentally blurted out what was on my mind. I chuckled awkwardly and explained, "Oh dear, it was just a slip of the tongue. I mispronounced the word 'young man'."

After saying that, he patted him on the shoulder, made an excuse to leave, and An'an stayed in the courtyard that night. Aunt Wu went back to the villa with Bai Jie. The three of them chatted for a long time before covering their mouths, yawning, and going back to their rooms to sleep.

On New Year's Day morning, a small pickup truck stopped at the entrance of the Jiang family's courtyard. Large cloth bags were stuffed full, one after another, as people loaded them into the truck. Most of the bags were belongings of Aunt Wu and An'an, with some belongings for Yun Xia as well. Jiang Chao... only packed a few clothes and toiletries into his suitcase.

"Good heavens, this is incredible! The whole family is moving there!" the elderly neighbor said sarcastically, leaning on her cane.

"Grandma Tiger, please step back a few paces. If you get hurt, you'll be the one who suffers!"

Yunxia was used to the old woman's sour behavior, and she had even figured out a special skill: the old woman was very... afraid of dying!

Hearing this, she slammed her cane on the ground and retreated directly into her own courtyard. Peeking out, she looked around. Yunxia, ​​with a sweet smile on her lips, delivered the final blow, "Grandma Tiger, when you get old, you should protect your cervical spine. Otherwise, if you accidentally injure it, not only will it hurt, but you might also... become paralyzed!"

"You little girl, why can't you wish people well!" After muttering a few words, she went back into the house leaning on her cane.

After packing everything, carrying Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, we rode in the pickup truck to the Bai family villa. Its style and layout were not much different from Li Chen and Bai Ye's house, and the two communities were very close to each other.