Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 418 - 418 413 Its a Big Deal Now

Chapter 418: Chapter 413: It’s a Big Deal Now Chapter 418: Chapter 413: It’s a Big Deal Now Xie Yanfen was five years older than Xie Yanhai and was the eldest son of Xie Chenhua, the second son of Grandpa Xie.

When the Xie Family met with disaster, Xie Chenhua was studying abroad. Grandpa Xie took out all his savings to pull some strings and contact his younger brother overseas, urging him to stay there and never come back if possible.

It was an emergency situation, and they needed to leave some hope for the Xie Family.

Xie Chenhua didn’t return for those two years, but after several years, when he thought the situation had calmed down, he wanted to come back for a visit. However, he couldn’t get the paperwork done, and he was unable to return.

Later, after making some inquiries through others, he heard that there was no one left from the Yunzhou Xie Family; the dead were dead, the rest had fled, and the Xie Family was completely ruined.

“My father heard back then that Third Uncle had been beaten to death, and he assumed the same had happened to Eldest Uncle… He lost all hope and was in despair for a year before he picked himself up, saved some money, and started a business with a friend. He thought there was no one left from the Xie Family, so he didn’t think about coming back. But half a year ago, when my father went to a music performance, he happened to meet a childhood friend’s son from Yunzhou. He couldn’t help but approach and ask because the young man looked like his childhood friend when he was young.”

“The man said he heard from the Yang Family that two years ago, there was a top scholar from Yunzhou City, the granddaughter of Xie Chenyang…”

While Xie Yanfen was speaking, he looked outside with a hint of emotion. Mu Jiawen and Jiang Yan were sitting under the pomegranate tree chatting. The setting sun’s afterglow bathed the finely featured girl in light.

Truly the descendant of his great-uncle, indeed exceptional.

Regarding this, Xie Yanhai did not offer much explanation. His father had indeed treated Jiajia as his own granddaughter while alive, painstakingly teaching her calligraphy and painting—it wasn’t inappropriate at all to say she was his descendant!

“And how is Second Uncle now…”

That was the question Xie Yanhai had wanted to ask since earlier. Was the man still alive?

Xie Yanfen understood his meaning, “My dad’s still around, it’s just that he’s not in good health. He worked himself to the bone during the years he was starting the business and inflicted injury upon himself. Last month he returned to Haishi. Perhaps it’s a case of feeling daunted upon nearing home, he fell ill as soon as he got off the plane. The two of us brothers have been taking care of him while also settling company matters. It wasn’t easy finding some free time these past couple of days, so I came to find you right away.”

Worried, Xie Yanhai asked, “Is Second Uncle better now?”

“Much better, but the doctor advised against him leaving the hospital. I had to make repeated promises that I would definitely find you all for him to finally agree to stay there,” replied Xie Yanfen.

Speaking of which, Xie Yanfen then asked, “Yanhai, could you bring Sister-in-law, Xiaolin, and Jiajia to Haishi with me? My father longs to see you all, but his physical condition isn’t strong enough to endure the journey, so…”

“There’s no issue with that. Even if Second Uncle wasn’t sick, it’s only right for us to visit him,” Xie Yanhai said.

At that, Xie Yanfen breathed a sigh of relief. To tell the truth, he’d felt uneasy about suddenly turning up to claim kin. Although they were cousins, they hadn’t been in touch for many years and didn’t really have strong emotional ties. If they had refused, he wouldn’t have known what to say.

Fortunately, it wasn’t just his father acting overzealously. This cousin held a great deal of respect for his father.

Still, he felt a touch of regret, “Big Sister left in such a hurry. I really wanted her to come with us. We’re just two brothers in our family, and you also have only a brother and sister. All counted up, our generation of the Xie Family only comes to us four. I think my father would very much like to see her.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Yanhai was silent for a moment and then responded, “You’re right; she should go. I’ll call her again to persuade her.”

Xie Jingying had a very difficult year, not in terms of livelihood, but mentally, and she looked ten years older than when she met Mu Jiawen last year.

She already knew that Song Xiwen had inherited the old man’s property and had even bought her and the third Song brother a separate villa. He had also deposited a sum of money into their accounts.

But how could she possibly accept it?

For the first time in her life, she had slapped Song Xiwen, furiously accusing her of being ungrateful and heartless. She had forgotten how dearly her grandparents had loved her when they were still alive, how desperate for money must she have been to take from that bastard!

Though she didn’t say anything about severing their mother-daughter relationship, she was clearly utterly disappointed in Song Xiwen.

The blow was undoubtedly huge for Xie Jingying, and it took her nearly a month to rise from her sickbed. Not to say her spirit had died, but she seemed to have lost all her vitality. It wasn’t until Li Yun and Xie Yanhai took turns to come and console her that she gradually began to recover.

She might have been back to normal, but she was clearly different from before, gloomy and silent like an old lady in her sixties. Sometimes, you’d think she could pass away while just sitting there.

Xie Yanhai was very worried about this. When he called her, without waiting for her refusal, he said, “You know, when dad was around, he treated you like his own daughter, as a part of the Xie family. So your second uncle is also your real uncle. He’s sick now, and as his niece, wouldn’t it be inappropriate not to visit him?”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and after a while, Xie Jingying finally said, “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

After hanging up the phone, a sudden inspiration struck Xie Yanhai. Right, he could use this as an excuse to take a leave of absence!

His second uncle was sick, and as his nephew, he ought to attend to him by the bedside and keep him company for ten days, half a month, or perhaps even twenty days or so. That wouldn’t be excessive… right?

It was certainly better than some fracture or broken leg. What if colleagues came to visit at home and accidentally exposed the lie?

However, Xie Yanhai didn’t call in for sick leave immediately; he was planning to do it when the vacation was almost over.

When he called Xie Jingying, Xie Yanfen had gone to the yard to talk with Mu Jiawen and Xie Lin and only left to return to Yunzhou after dinner.

Since the holiday was only a few days, to avoid interfering with work and school schedules, they had agreed that he would drive over early the next morning to pick them up.

Actually, Xie Yanfen had come to Yunzhou with a driver, but upon finding the old Xie family mansion still standing, for some reason, it hadn’t been demolished, he sent the driver to inquire about the situation to see if it was possible to buy it.

But he didn’t tell Xie Yanhai any of this, knowing that they had always lived in the countryside and had limited family means. He figured that although they desired the ancestral Xie mansion, they probably lacked the capability to acquire it.

That night, Jiang Yan stayed with Xie Lin while Mu Jiawen stayed in her old room. Li Yun had kept it exactly as before, untouched.

With the house tidied up and the kids each in their own rooms, the living room soon returned to a state of quiet.

Xie Yanhai looked towards Li Yun, who after freshening up was sitting on the bed reading a book. She had her head slightly lowered, an expression of indifference on her face, seemingly completely unaware of his gaze, or perhaps intentionally ignoring it.

It was just like tonight, although she had busied herself preparing a table full of dishes, from the moment he arrived home until now she hadn’t given him a single glance of acknowledgment. She only refrained from showing him a cold shoulder because of his cousin Xie Yanfen’s presence.

Although they had quarreled and even gave each other the silent treatment before, they would make up immediately whenever there were guests at home, with no need for words.

But this time was clearly different from the past; things had gotten serious.