Chapter 55
Zhou Xinyi disregarded her sadness, picked up the basin and hot towel, and quickly left the ward.
She walked through the corridor, opened the sliding door to the stairwell, and hid behind it. Only after she was hidden behind the door did she dare to relax.
From the moment she heard Zhou Chengze tell Xiang Wan not to tell her, her heart felt like it was in her throat, and her body felt as cold as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.
Perhaps because she was so sad, even her body was trembling slightly.
Zhou Xinyi put the basin she was holding on the ground, sat down, and silently hugged herself with her arms.
She didn't understand why her brother didn't want to tell her after waking up, nor did he want to delve into what the answer meant. At that moment, she just wanted to be a coward.
On the cold hospital steps, Zhou Xinyi squatted down, letting tears stream down her face...
Inside the ward, after hearing Zhou Chengze's request to keep his awakening a secret, Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow at him, feeling a strange unease in her heart.
She felt that the two siblings seemed to have changed somewhat from their previous life, but she was still not sure whether their unpredictability was a good thing or a bad thing.
But she wasn't one to play peacemaker, nor did she want to be a bridge between the two siblings, so she agreed to his request without hesitation: "Okay."
"But before that, you need to undergo a doctor's examination." It wasn't that Xiang Wan was particularly concerned about his health; it was mainly because Zhou Chengze was someone she had brought from Bei Yi, and she couldn't afford any mistakes in his care.
He readily agreed: "Okay."
*
Although Xiang Wan promised Zhou Chengze not to tell Zhou Xinyi, the trio visited him frequently, so everyone knew about his awakening the next day.
Strangely, Zhou Xinyi, who had stayed at the hospital for two days, didn't arrive until the third day. Everyone knew she had stayed at the hospital for the first two days, so they assumed she had been catching up on sleep.
Xiang Wan was discharged from the hospital on the third day, so everyone was gathered in Zhou Chengze's ward.
The group of eight were talking about what happened while he was unconscious, while Zhou Xinyi just huddled in a corner, quietly peeling an apple, as if she didn't exist at all.
Xiang Wan sat in the middle of the group, but her gaze would occasionally sweep over Zhou Xinyi's face. Looking at the always quiet and reserved Zhou Xinyi, Xiang Wan was really a little puzzled.
After the two siblings became her constant accomplices, she inevitably came into frequent contact with them. Although she felt a slight aversion to them, she would still observe them from time to time.
Xiang Wan agrees with the saying "old habits die hard". Logically speaking, the two siblings grew up in Lijia Village for the first ten years of these two lifetimes, so their personalities probably wouldn't have changed much.
Why did Zhou Xinyi, who was lively and outgoing in her previous life, become quiet and reserved now?
Although her extreme brotherly love remained unchanged, she could clearly sense the enormous difference between Zhou Xinyi's past and present lives. In her previous life, her sister-in-law harbored some subtle hostility towards her, but in this life, Zhou Xinyi's eyes held none of that; they were filled only with the bitterness of life.
She didn't feel much sympathy for her, but Xiang Wan also harbored no hostility towards her. Since she liked Zhou Chengze, she would let him have her.
Xiang Wan lowered her eyes, her thoughts returning to the trio beside her. Jiang Zhuochun had just told a joke that had everyone in stitches.
In the afternoon, staff from the Nordic ski resort came to the hospital ward in person.
They brought flower baskets and handwritten apology letters, and the accompanying translator explained in broken Chinese that it was because someone was skiing off-piste above the mountains outside the ski resort.
The snow in that area happened to be unstable, causing the snow layer to sink and triggering the avalanche. The translator also said that the people skiing off-piste had been caught, and the ski resort would represent them in a lawsuit.
That area is off-piste skiing prohibited, and there are warning signs all around, but there are still reckless people who go in to ski off-piste.
Although they were in danger because of an avalanche, Xiang Wan knew that in the end it was because the mastermind behind it all wanted her dead, and Chen Yan and Zhou Chengze were just implicated by her.
Despite being the most seriously injured, Zhou Chengze didn't make things difficult for the ski resort staff. He simply told them to file a lawsuit against the other party according to the rules and regulations and then let them go.
A few days after Zhou Chengze was discharged from the hospital, the snow in Northern Europe became heavier and heavier, and the snow layer became thicker and thicker. Before he knew it, it was Chinese New Year's Eve in China.
This is not only a big day in China, but also Chinese families in Northern Europe put up Spring Festival couplets, and even the Xiang family's villa halfway up the mountain was filled with red lanterns.
Because of the previous minor incident, and the recent heavy snowfall in Northern Europe, Li Xia wouldn't allow them to go skiing, so they could only stay in the villa and do whatever they wanted...
On New Year's Eve, everyone except the trio got up very early.
Li Xia and Chen Yan drove to a nearby supermarket to buy New Year's goods. The roads had been closed due to continuous heavy snow for half a month, and the snow had only just subsided today, so they were only able to buy New Year's goods on New Year's Eve.
Zhou Chengze went to the yard to shovel snow. Although Li Xia had already shoveled it earlier, the snow kept falling and the snow kept accumulating, so he went to shovel snow again.
Zhou Xinyi, Jiang Nan, and Xia Yueshen were sitting by the fireplace cutting paper snowflakes.
The trio didn't get up until almost noon. All three were either young masters or young ladies, and when they weren't in school, they usually slept until late morning. Even though they were staying at Xiang Wan's house, they still didn't get up until almost noon.
Jiang Zhuochun has recently enjoyed spending time with Zhou Chengze, so after asking Xia Yueshen and learning that Zhou Chengze was shoveling snow in the yard, he went back to his room to get a coat and then went to shovel snow with his good friend.
As for Shen Feiyang and Che Nanbei, they looked at each other awkwardly on the stairs, then searched for Wanwan's whereabouts. Only when they saw Xiang Wan in the open kitchen did they breathe a sigh of relief, as if they had found their pillar of support.
Che Nanbei looked at Xiang Wan, as if making conversation: "Wanwan, where are your uncle and aunt? Why aren't they home?"
Xiang Wan was watching Wang Yidong make dumplings and didn't turn around when she heard their voices: "There was a blizzard a few days ago, and the roads were closed for several days. It's only today that they're open again. I guess they've been working on company matters all night."
Although it's Chinese New Year's Eve in China, it's not a holiday in Northern Europe.
Che Nanbei was just making conversation, but upon hearing this, she looked at her with pity. Xiang Wan blinked when she saw the pity on her face, and then found it somewhat amusing: "Last New Year's Eve, the three of us spent it at the company. They were in Northern Europe, and I was in China."
Both of them clicked their tongues in amazement after hearing this: "No wonder they're a family of workaholics."
Wang Yidong was making dumplings when he heard this and complained to the two of them, "Last year, I had to bring her a lunchbox to the company before she would eat. Otherwise, she would just eat a cold lunchbox by herself in the office."
Xiang Wan didn't think much of it; it was called New Year's Eve dinner, but ultimately it was just a meal. She chuckled and teased Wang Yidong, "So, I guess I've made progress this year."
Three people: "..."
Wang Yidong was rolling out dough, and next to him was a stainless steel bowl containing the prepared filling.
She hadn't originally intended for the three young ladies to make dumplings, but faced with their expectant eyes, although she wanted to pretend she didn't understand and didn't want them to waste the dumplings, she still failed when faced with their three adorable little faces.
She was filled with resistance, but what came out of her mouth was: "I need to wash my hands first."
The three obediently washed their hands. After they put on aprons and sat on stools watching her, Wang Yidong sighed inwardly and began to teach them how to make dumplings, albeit with a heavy heart.
Once they got started, she couldn't help but give them some instructions:
"Don't put in too much filling."
"Press it tightly when you open it."
"..."
Later, she simply gave up, thinking that out of sight, out of mind, she secretly went upstairs to the kitchen and started rolling out the dough again.
The dumplings the three of them made, while not all of them perfect, were at least decent. It wasn't until Jiang Zhuochun returned from shoveling snow in the yard that Che Nanbei couldn't stop showing off the dumplings she had made.
Then things gradually spiraled out of control, turning into a bizarre dumpling-making competition between the two of them.
From the moment Jiang Zhuochun sat down, Xiang Wan and Shen Feiyang exchanged a glance, both having a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the two began their open and covert struggles.
"Jiang Zhuochun, you put in too much filling." As if afraid that the other party would be dissatisfied, Che Nanbei even brought up Wang Yidong, "Sister Yidong said that if you put in too much filling, the dumplings will crack when you cook them."
But as the other two expected, Jiang Zhuochun was also indignant: "I have a thin crust and a lot of filling, okay?"
Che Nanbei had been waiting for him to say that, but before he could finish, she retorted, "Then where did the filling come from with the leftover dumpling wrappers?"
Jiang Zhuochun was truly speechless upon hearing this, and began to nitpick: "Look at the dumplings you made yourself, and these shrimp soldiers and crab generals are criticizing me!"
"..."
The conflict between the two escalated again. Che Nanbei turned to look at Shen Feiyang beside him, his eyebrows raised high:
"Feiyang, tell me, who wrapped it better?"
Jiang Zhuochun also looked at her, preemptively sowing discord: "We can't favor her."
Master of Balance Shen Feiyang is online: "You two wrapped it up very well."
"..." Upon hearing this, both of them expressed their dissatisfaction and insisted that she choose the best steamed bun.
Shen Feiyang was annoyed by the two of them, so he casually replied, "I'm not suitable to be a referee, otherwise you can ask Shu Han."
"..." Xiang Wan, who had been called out, looked at the two hot potatoes in front of her and gave Shen Feiyang a cool glance from afar.
'Is this your solution?'
"Wanwan, I need your help urgently!"
'……'
The two were still arguing, and the whole kitchen was filled with their bickering, until the sound of a video call came from Jiang Zhuochun's phone, which brought a brief respite to the farce.
The two exchanged a glance, their meaning clear:
'truce'
'good'
Seeing that the two of them tacitly shut up, Xiang Wan and Shen Feiyang both breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Zhuochun's phone was on the dining table. Xiang Wan was nearby and subconsciously glanced at it. It was a video call from Jiang Juncang, the eldest son of the Jiang family...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
