Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 196: You’re a Part of Our Family

Chapter 196: You’re a Part of Our Family

Steadily carrying Leslie, Calix brought her to the entryway where Logan placed the wheelchair. They purposely brought the indoor one to be used in the Xu family’s ancestral home.

Old Madam Xu silently followed from behind after gesturing at the staff to disperse, leaving only Butler Gu and her personal maid. Her eyes fell on the back of Calix’s head as he lowered Leslie to the wheelchair.

Well, wasn’t his movement ever so gracefully?

Old Madam Xu was satisfied seeing how carefully her grandson treated her granddaughter-in-law. From his relaxed countenance, it seemed like he was used to this little task.

"Charlene, please make yourself at home," Old Madam Xu spoke to Leslie once she stood in front of the latter, her wrinkly face beaming with a smile, "If you need anything, just tell Grandma, en?"

Old Madam Xu was caught in excitement. She told Butler Gu to remind everyone about keeping Leslie’s appearance a secret. She also repeatedly brought up how they had to make the young lady feel welcome.

Even though Calix reassured Old Madam Xu that Leslie was almost half-recovered, the old lady still felt unsettled. She wanted to give the best welcome to her new granddaughter-in-law despite the time limit.

"Y-yes... thank you, Grandmother," Leslie slightly bowed at Old Madam Xu, her cheeks tinted in a rosy shade. Clasping her hands together, she looked straight at the old lady, "I’m sorry for not properly... greeting you, Grandmother..."

Leslie mourned the fact that she couldn’t stand up yet. She wished to greet Old Madam Xu as how a granddaughter-in-law should do. She was fond of this kindhearted old lady.

Old Madam Xu’s heart softened to see how respectful this young lady was. Slightly bending down, she took Leslie’s hands in her own.

"Don’t be sorry, child. I’m glad to know that you’re getting better. Isn’t it the most important?"

Blinking slowly, Leslie sensed warmth flooding out of her heart, traveling to her entire body. For a moment, Old Madam Xu’s mellow gaze and softly spoken words reminded Leslie of her late maternal grandmother in her previous life.

The only one who treated her well when her entire family despised her presence.

"Well... yes..."

Unable to say more, Leslie simply nodded. She felt embarrassed for almost crying right now. Her glossy eyes landed on their interlinking hands, perceiving how warm the touch was.

Calix sensed the slight change in Leslie’s mood. Putting one hand across Leslie’s shoulders and Old Madam Xu’s back, he jokingly said, "Don’t block the way ah. Let’s go inside and talk."

Old Madam Xu glanced sideways at Calix, complaining, "If you tell me sooner, I can prepare more things for Charlene. Tsk."

"Hahaha! I feel better whenever I surprise you, Grandma. You know what? I initially wanted to just appear today without telling you. But, I don’t want a certain someone to make a trip to the hospi... Ouch!"

Old Madam Xu smacked Calix’s back, annoyed by her dramatic grandson, "You ungrateful rascal! Bring Charlene to the lounge. Don’t keep chattering here."

"Haha... yes, yes."

Leslie clammed her mouth shut, holding back from leaking any laughter out. Tilting her head, she threw a grateful look at Calix, silently thanking him for lightening the mood.

Noticing Leslie’s stare, Calix arched his brows. His smug smile added a mischievous charm to his devilishly good looks.

Calix pushed the wheelchair down the hallway, heading to the Begonia Room. It was one of his grandmother’s favorite lounges. Old Madam Xu slowly tailed from one side, followed by Butler Gu.

"Did Big Brother say he’ll come today or not?" Calix glanced at Old Madam Xu, wondering about Vernon and his family, "Or, did you give excuses to him, Grandma?"

Calix recalled Vernon saying he wanted to bring Lucille and Amelia for a weekend getaway in their family’s group chat. But, the plan might fall through due to unforeseeable reasons.

"Your big brother should be driving now. Your sister-in-law called me after you did this morning. She asked if I want something from their trip."

Vernon brought Lucille and Amelia to visit a farm run by one of his former comrades. The family of three planned to stay there overnight. Surely, they wouldn’t make any surprise appearance when Leslie was still here.

Leslie silently listened to the grandmother and grandson’s conversation. Smiling softly, she couldn’t wait for the day she met Amelia face to face. The adorable little girl reminded Leslie of her precious Calliope.

Once they entered the lounge, Calix carried Leslie out of the wheelchair before placing her in the middle of the three-seater couch. Old Madam Xu couldn’t tear her eyes away from them, once again thinking how comfortable the spouses were with each other.

Butler Gu was not with them. He went to brew some tea for Old Madam Xu, Calix and Leslie. The kitchen was busy preparing lunch.

"Actually, we want to talk about having a meal with Leslie’s family," said Calix while sitting on Leslie’s left side, "It’s about my birthday meal too."

"Leslie?" Old Madam Xu picked the unfamiliar name spoken by Calix, a slight confusion flickered in her eyes, "That name... do you call Charlene that?"

"Yes, Grandmother..." replied Leslie with a sheepish smile. She looked at Old Madam Xu who took a seat on her right side, "I told Calix to call me with... that name. It’s like a... nickname to me."

"Yup, like that," Calix grinned, raising one of his brows, "Leslie likes that name. You should call her that too, Grandma. Oh, I’m the first one to address her with her favorite nickname."

Understanding what Calix meant beneath his playful words, Old Madam Xu nodded once. She patted the back of Leslie’s hands, her gaze mellowing.

"Grandma will call you that. Both Charlene and Leslie sound nice. Leslie, you don’t have to be formal with me. You’re already a part of our family."

Leslie softened the curl of her lips, happy to hear how earnest Old Madam Xu’s voice was. The old lady’s countenance also expressed her sincerity.

"Thank you, Grandma..." Leslie chuckled, her cheeks blushing, "I know that we’ve surprised... you. When I woke up... I asked Calix not to say anything... yet..."

Old Madam Xu nodded in understanding. Calix had explained why they hid the serious matter from both families.

"There’s no need to be sorry, Leslie, my dear," Old Madam Xu squeezed Leslie’s hand, trying to reassure the young lady, "That’s a good choice. You can recover better if with less attention on you."

If Calix announced Leslie’s recovery to the Xu and the Li families, Old Madam Xu was fully certain that the ungrateful ones on both sides would pester the young lady.

Calix had the ability to shield Leslie away from the problematic leeches but, it was better to avoid it altogether. The latter needed to be in a peaceful environment for her to recover smoothly.

"Alright, back to what you’re saying," Old Madam Xu shifted her attention from Leslie to Calix, wanting to hear more, "Does it mean you wanna gather both families to tell them about Leslie?"

"Yeah. But, I wanna change it to Friday. Let’s have dinner. I wanna bring Leslie somewhere on my birthday."

To where their daughter was.