Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Just Be Together
"I was held up with something just now and couldnât leave, making you wait, Mr. Song. Iâm truly very sorry."
Before anyone could recover, He Wenbai rushed in hurriedly, and upon seeing Song Xiaodong, he began to apologize.
Song Xiaodong smiled and said, "Vice President He, you are a busy man, and here I am troubling you with such a trivial matter. I feel quite embarrassed."
He Wenbai responded, "Itâs no trouble at all, no trouble at all. Is everything arranged to your satisfaction? If there is anything unsatisfactory, just mention it, and Iâll make sure itâs taken care of properly."
"Everything is fine, Vice President He. Please, donât fuss over it here; I wouldnât want to frighten my relatives."
"Look at what youâre saying. Iâm just a little vice president, not some extraordinary person, haha... Well then, I wonât disturb you any longer, Mr. Song... Later you..."
"I will find you later." Song Xiaodong nodded.
"Great!" He Wenbai was delighted, gave a quick instruction to the special nurse in the room, and then hurried off.
It took nearly half a minute for everyone to come back to their senses, and Second Uncle excitedly said, "Xiaodong, you are so influential! I... I donât even know what to say."
Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "Itâs nothing really. Just stay here and take good care of my sister-in-law and my eldest nephew."
Second Uncle grew even more excited and said, "Xiaodong, you really are capable! I am so delighted. If Elder Brother knew about this from beyond the grave, he would be incredibly happy."
Second Auntie busily added, "Dongzi is truly a capable person now, amazing indeed."
Listening to Second Uncle and Second Auntieâs praises, especially the mention of his father, Song Xiaodongâs resentments were suddenly dispelled. He said, "Second Uncle, Second Auntie, we are not strangers to each other, we are family. Letâs not talk as if we are from different households."
Second Uncle felt even more remorseful as he said, "We didnât take good care of you both in the past, and now that you still... I really feel ashamed."
In the past, when Second Uncle said such things, Second Auntie would certainly jump in with a few words about how their own household also had difficulties, but now she awkwardly said, "Xiaodong, itâs not your uncleâs fault; itâs all because your Second Auntie has long hair but short sightedness. Donât be angry at your uncle for not taking care of you. If youâre upset, you should express it at me, not your uncle."
Although Second Auntie was a rural woman, she still handled the situation quite well by taking the blame. Song Xiaoru quickly said, "Second Uncle, Second Auntie, what you said... Let bygones be bygones. We all had our difficulties back then. Now we are all looking forward to better days, so who still dwells on the past?"
Song Xiaodong chuckled and said, "Enough; if we continue like this, Iâll appear petty. Letâs let the past be the past."
Song Xiaoru also hurriedly added, "Uncle, Auntie, Xiaodong really isnât like that; you shouldnât worry too much about it."
Third Aunt stood to one side, extremely embarrassed, wanting to say something, but though she opened her mouth several times, she couldnât utter a word, her face flushing red.
Finally, she plucked up her courage and blurted out, "This... Xiaoru, Xiaodong, I... Third Aunt really had a poor view of you, I..."
Song Xiaoru was startled and said quickly, "Third Aunt, you really shouldnât say such things, how could we younger ones bear that?"
Third Aunt rushed to say, "Thinking about it just makes me blush. I always looked at Xiaodong with old eyes and looked down upon her. I said I wanted to find you a good family to marry into, but I just wanted to bask in your glory. Now that Xiaodong is so capable, youâll definitely have a good life too. No wonder Xiaodong dislikes me."
Song Xiaoru nudged Song Xiaodong and gave him a meaningful look. Song Xiaodong sighed softly and said, "Third Aunt, you can just blame me for being rude to you the last couple of times."
Third Aunt hurriedly replied, "Not at all, not at all. It was right for you to scold me. As long as you donât hold a grudge, itâs fine."
Song Xiaodong feigned a smile. He said he didnât mind, but honestly, he really didnât like this Third Aunt much. However, she was still a relative and had admitted her mistakes on her own initiative, and being an elder, what could he really do to her?
With that said, the atmosphere suddenly became much better. Everyone also became curious about how Song Xiaodong was so influential in the hospital.
Song Xiaodong merely mentioned vaguely that he had some connections with Vice President He Wenbai and didnât elaborate further.
Song Xiaoru and Lin Suâer saw that Song Xiaodong didnât want to talk more, so they didnât either. The others also stopped asking questions, and without realizing it, Song Xiaodongâs status in the family suddenly became dominant.
This made Song Xiaodong somewhat uncomfortable. He said, "Alright, now that everything here is arranged, Iâll go to Vice President He first."
Lin Suâer quickly followed him out. She wasnât a nurse in this department. A quick exit was okay, but staying out too long would lead to criticism.
After lingering around the child for a while, Song Xiao Yunâs wife fell asleep. Song Xiao Yun stayed in the hospital room, and Song Xiaoru and the others came to the corridor.
The three of them again praised Song Xiaodong, making Song Xiaoru very happy. She said, "My biggest wish now is to find him a wife soon, so he can settle down. That would set my mind at ease."
Second Auntie laughed and said, "Xiaodong is so capable now; finding a wife should be easy. Just look at that nurse earlier, she obviously had a thing for Xiaodong."
Third Auntâs eyes shifted, and she said, "What nurse? I think it would be better if Xiaoru and Xiaodong were together."
"What?" Song Xiaoru was stunned for a moment, and said, "Third Aunt, Xiaodong and I are already together. Once Xiaodong gets married, I wonât be able to be with him anymore or else his wife wouldnât be happy."
"Yes, yes, Xiaoru is right." Third Uncle quickly agreed, then gestured with his eyes repeatedly to Third Aunt.
Third Aunt said, "Second Brother, we canât keep this secret forever. I think itâs pretty reliable. Why let outsiders benefit from our family matters? If Xiaodong and Xiaoru end up together, they will truly be part of the Song family, which would make us united in purpose, wouldnât it?"
"This..."
Third Aunt continued, "Besides, we canât keep this a secret forever. Theyâre grown up now, they should have the right to know, donât you think so, Second Sister-in-law?"
Second Auntie hesitated for a moment and said, "Iâm not sure what to do about this. Whatever you guys decide is fine with me."
Second Uncle, however, frowned and said, "Everything is fine as it is now, why stir up trouble? That would only add to the worries."
The more Song Xiaoru listened, the more wrong it felt. It seemed like a major secret was being hidden, and it was related to her and Song Xiaodong. Her expression became anxious involuntarily, and she stuttered, "Uncle, Auntie, what... what exactly is going on?"
Thanks to the patrons, Innocent Little Rascal and another, for their support. Also, starting from today, the update schedule will change to 8 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm daily, with occasional additional Chapters. Starting in January, the frequency of updates will increase, and I will notify you then about the new schedule.