Chapter 117: Those who have been bullied have developed psychological trauma.
Xia Yuhuan had no idea how devastated Chi Yanzhou was by her words.
After she finished muttering to herself, she lay down on him and fell asleep.
My neck ached in the middle of the night, so I changed my position and continued sleeping.
When she woke up the next day, she rubbed her sore neck, which was almost stiff from lack of sleep, and stared at Chi Yanzhou with a hint of resentment.
"I still can't lie on you and gossip next time. I fell asleep while we were talking yesterday, and my neck is almost ruined today."
Chi Yanzhou: "..."
What does my wife mean by that?
She stopped chatting with him before going to bed.
No!
What he looks forward to most each day is the time he spends chatting with his wife.
She spoke, and he listened.
She said her piece, and he responded in his mind.
Although he couldn't communicate with her directly, he found it quite interesting to listen to her and respond to her in his mind.
If his wife stops chatting with him, how boring will his life be?
If Chi Yanzhou could speak, he would definitely protest right now.
Even if... the protest is ineffective.
After Xia Yuhuan finished packing, she left the room and went downstairs.
Downstairs, He Xiaojie was playing by himself when he saw Xia Yuhuan come downstairs. His eyes lit up and he ran up to Xia Yuhuan.
Xia Yuhuan picked up He Xiaojie and kissed his cheek.
Zhang Xianya was off today, and seeing this, she smiled and said, "This kind of relationship really takes time to develop. You've only been married for a few months, and Xiao Jie is already so close to you. He's not this close to us."
Xia Yu smiled and said, "Maybe it's because I spend a lot of time at home and always talk to him and bother him. He gets impatient with my noise and starts to get closer to me. That way, I won't bother him so often."
People treat each other with sincerity, and children are especially sensitive, able to directly sense when someone likes them.
She had been very attentive in her interactions with He Xiaojie during this time, and her protectiveness of him a couple of days ago must have moved him, which is why he had become genuinely close to her.
Zhang Xianya scolded him, "You're just talking nonsense. Xiao Jie is only so close to you because he genuinely likes you. Do you think I can't even see that?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuhuan gave He Xiaojie a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Wouldn't it be even better if Xiao Jie really liked me? Hehe."
He Xiaojie's eyes sparkled with shyness as she kissed him.
But he still obediently hugged Xia Yuhuan's neck and leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
Zhang Xianya laughed when she saw this: "Oh, he even takes the initiative to kiss you. It seems that Xiao Jie has truly accepted you from the bottom of his heart."
Xia Yuhuan could naturally sense He Xiaojie's approval of her.
She didn't continue the topic, but instead asked Zhang Xianya, "Mom, shall we bring Xiaojie to the dinner party tonight?"
Zhang Xianya glanced at Xiao Jie and asked him, "Do you want to go?"
He Xiaojie hugged Xia Yuhuan's neck and shook his head repeatedly, looking resistant.
Xia Yuhuan could feel He Xiaojie shrinking into her arms, his posture full of resistance.
"Okay, if our Xiao Jie doesn't want to go, then he doesn't have to go. It's fine."
Xia Yuhuan gently raised her hand and patted He Xiaojie's back, her voice full of tenderness.
Because of her comforting words, He Xiaojie quickly calmed down, gently nuzzled her cheek, and showed a look of affection.
Seeing that the two got along well, Zhang Xianya felt relieved.
Before their marriage, they were worried that Xia Yuhuan would be unhappy if she knew about He Xiaojie's existence, so they deliberately kept it from her.
Unexpectedly, Xia Yuhuan not only did not dislike He Xiaojie, but also got along well with him.
Perhaps they share a destiny as mother and son.
Xia Yuhuan cheered He Xiaojie up and then put him on the ground.
"Xiao Jie, go play by yourself. I'm going to talk to Grandma for a bit."
He Xiaojie nodded obediently and ran off.
Xia Yuhuan pulled Zhang Xianya aside and asked, "Mom, why doesn't Xiaojie want to go to the old house? Is it because of something that happened before?"
When Zhang Xianya saw her asking, she didn't hide anything from her and whispered, "We took Xiao Jie back to the old house for a gathering before, but your great-uncle's grandson knew that Xiao Jie couldn't speak, so he always bullied him."
“Xiao Jie was bullied, but he didn’t complain. Every time he came back, he was covered in injuries. You couldn’t get anything out of him. After going twice, he didn’t want to go with him anymore.”
They only found out later that Xiao Jie was being bullied.
Xia Yuhuan narrowed her eyes slightly: This person has psychological trauma.
She asked Zhang Xianya, "What's the situation with your great-uncle's grandson? How old is he?"
Zhang Xianya also intended to tell Xia Yuhuan the specific details of the Chi family's internal affairs so that she would have a general understanding, so she explained it to her in detail.
Besides what Xia Yuhuan asked, she also said a lot of other things that she felt Xia Yuhuan should know.
After hearing this, Xia Yuhuan had a better idea of what to expect at the family dinner she would be attending that evening.
The word "family dinner" implies a sense of home, and it's meant to be a gathering of friends and family, a chance to happily share their lives.
In the beginning, everyone got along very well, and the atmosphere was great.
However, once the time and frequency became fixed, problems gradually arose.
Although everyone shares the surname Chi, they each have their own families, so gradually, feelings of comparison and sarcastic remarks will arise one after another.
In crowded places, problems are bound to arise, so Xia Yuhuan could understand it.
She frowned and asked, "Since everyone knows there's a problem, why do you still insist on holding these family dinners?"
All she wanted to say was, "Are they just bored and have nothing better to do? Why can't they just enjoy their lives and have to create trouble and make things disgusting?"
Zhang Xianya said, "It's a habit I've had for many years, and I can't change it in a short time. It's mainly to make the two old men happy."
"Both of the old men are getting on in years, and no one knows how many more years they can live, so everyone tacitly accepts the existence of the family banquet."
"Moreover, appropriate comparison is not a bad thing. It can even inspire some ambitious people to be more ambitious."
Xia Yuhuan was speechless upon hearing this.
That's it?
She frowned. "Mom, can I not go?"
“Not this time,” Zhang Xianya said.
"Because this is your first family dinner after your marriage, you have to go."
“You argued with Grandpa on your wedding day, which already displeased him. If you don’t go this time, you’ll be treated as a bad example and it will be brought up repeatedly, so you have to go.”
"But you don't need to feel too much pressure. When you get to the old house, just find a place to sit down, eat and drink for free, and we'll leave when it's time."
"If someone comes to talk to you, you can chat for a bit if you're willing, or just give a perfunctory reply if you're not. As long as you can keep up appearances, that's fine."
Xia Yuhuan replied helplessly, "Alright then."
What else could she do after her mother had put it that way?
I had no choice but to bite the bullet and participate.
Fortunately, she wasn't someone who could be bullied and manipulated without being able to fight back.
Afterwards, Zhang Xianya took Xia Yuhuan out to buy some canned fruit, saying they would take it to the old house later.
Time flew by, and soon it was evening. Chi Shaokang came back to pick up Zhang Xianya and Xia Yuhuan, and the three of them went to the Chi family's old house together.
When Xia Yuhuan and her family of three arrived at the Chi family's old house, the house was already brightly lit.
The hall was filled with laughter and chatter, and the once noisy scene fell silent the moment the family of three arrived.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
