Chapter 62
Dusk seeped in through the gaps in the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a gentle afterglow on the dining table.
Tang Ximian and Tang Li were cleaning up the dishes side by side. The porcelain plates made a crisp sound when they collided with each other, and Tang Ximian was humming a tuneless song.
Tang Li suppressed a smile as he took the soup bowls from his brother's hand. With trembling hands, he put them one by one into the dishwasher and started the washing mode.
In the kitchen, Delish was helping Grandma Tang wash the fruit.
While Grandma Tang was washing cherries, grapes and other fruits that didn't need to be peeled, Delish squatted next to the trash can, patiently peeled the fruits, cut them into pieces and placed them in an exquisite fruit plate.
After everything was done, Tang Li and De Lixi sat on either side of grandma on the sofa in the living room, and the familiar melody of the news broadcast came from the TV.
Grandma wore reading glasses and listened carefully to the anchor's report on current affairs, sighing from time to time.
Tang Li picked up the remote control and turned up the volume so that the old man could hear more clearly.
Tangxi slept in the single sofa, with the soft pillow wrapping him up completely.
A light grey blanket was casually draped over her legs, revealing a pair of dangling slippers. She listened to the warm conversations around her, occasionally chiming in.
Suddenly, Tang Ximian felt the phone in his pocket vibrate.
He took out his cell phone and the moment he saw the screen, Si Yankai's name jumped into his eyes with a familiar warmth. He subconsciously pursed his lips and the tips of his ears turned slightly red.
"What are you doing? Did I disturb you?"
The sound of the electric current was wrapped in a smiling ending, like the first breeze in spring that broke the ice.
Tang Ximian rubbed her burning earlobe with her fingertips and raised her voice towards the sofa: "Grandma, you guys chat first. I'm going to make a phone call."
Before he finished speaking, the man was already running up the wooden stairs.
"Okay, slow down, don't fall." Grandma's instructions followed him back, with the same doting that had lasted for decades. Tang Ximian responded randomly.
The muffled sound of the bedroom door slamming shut almost scared away the sparrows outside the window.
Tang Ximian threw herself into the fluffy duvet, and the pillow still had the scent of lime from the laundry detergent.
The phone was pressed against my cheek, and the sound of breathing coming from the receiver gradually became clearer.
"Hello, are you still there?" Si Yankai's voice was filled with a chuckle, as if one could see the curved eyebrows in his eyes.
Tang Ximian buried his face in the pillow and muffled his voice: "Of course." His fingertips unconsciously tugged at the corner of the quilt, drawing fine wrinkles on the fabric. "What were you doing just now?"
"I just finished dinner and am chatting with grandma and the others. How about you? Have you had the New Year's Eve dinner?" He turned his head and looked at the moon outside the window.
From the other end of the line came the soft scraping sound of a porcelain spoon scraping the bottom of a bowl. Si Yankai's muffled voice, laced with laughter, spilled over the receiver: "Eat! My mom makes these three-fresh dumplings. When you bite into them, they're all soupy and tasteless."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a female voice suddenly raise its tone, "Who are you talking bad about me to again, kid?"
This was followed by the dull thud of the tabletop vibrating, as if someone had deliberately bumped his elbow.
"I'm wrong, I'm wrong, Mom. How can that be considered bad words? I'm already very touched to be able to eat the dumplings you made, really."
Mrs. Si nodded in satisfaction, "Tell me quietly, who is it?"
"It's Ximian."
When Si's mother heard that it was Tang Ximian, she immediately grabbed the phone and started chatting and greeting him enthusiastically.
Si Yankai showed an expression of "I knew it" and looked at his father who was sitting opposite him. Si Yankai gave him a look.
Father Si looked up at the sky and down at the earth, but not at him. There was nothing he could do. His wife was the most important. It wasn't that Dad didn't want to help him, but that Dad really couldn't do anything.
It was an hour later when Tang Ximian and Si's mother finished their conversation.
Tang Ximian repeatedly emphasized that he would come to play with his aunt in a few days. Only after he said a lot of nice things did Si's mother reluctantly let him go and handed the phone back to Si Yankai.
Mrs. Si stretched herself, asked Aunt Wang to clear the table, and then gave everyone a big red envelope, saying Happy New Year and other blessings in advance, and told them that they could go back to celebrate the New Year after finishing their own work, and come back to work on the ninth day of the first lunar month.
Everyone nodded and agreed. After all, Si's family was nice and easy to serve, and the conditions they offered were good. Who wouldn't like such an employer? So, all they could hear were blessings.
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