Louis and Song Xuanhe’s expressions grew solemn when they thought of this.
Only Xiao Yuanmu still looked calm. Seeing their worried expressions, he even pulled up a smile and said, “it’s alright.”
Song Xuanhe frowned. How could it be alright?
Xiao Baicong’s move couldn’t be considered brilliant, and it was easy to find loopholes in it if one thought about it deeply. However, Xiao Baicong wasn’t the only one who was aware that even if Xiao Lin and his wife was aware of this point, they would never gamble with Xiao Baicong’s safety. Song Xuanhe and the others knew it too. Once they chose to agree with the requirents of these so-called ‘kidnappers’ and let Xiao Yuanmu go in alone in exchange for Xiao Baicong, then the distance that had originally existed between them and Xiao Yuanmu would be exposed out into open, under the sun.
Could a son who had obviously been removed from their orbit could really take care of his younger brother and manage Xiao Family without any hostilities or grudges? Once the seeds of this doubt was planted with Xiao Lin, who was the current head of the Xiao Family, then Xiao Yuanmu’s position in the family would beco very awkward. When that happened, Xiao Baicong would have achieved his goal.
A son who wasn’t weak and who could be trusted completely compared with a son who was powerful but unpredictable. When the choice had to be made, many people would choose the forr.
Therefore, that was why Xiao Baicong’s move couldn’t be considered brilliant, but it was definitely the most effective way of dealing with Xiao Yuanmu.
Xiao Yuanmu knew what Song Xuanhe and the others were worried about, but he didn’t say much about it. He just curved his lips in a brief smile, rubbing his fingers along the skin of Song Xuanhe’s neck, his gaze deep and bottomless.
One hour later, their plane arrived in Y City.
After getting off the plane, soone from the Xiao Family fa to take Xiao Yuanmu to the Xiao Family’s residence in Y City. Because the situation was urgent, they didn’t try to avoid Song Xuanhe and even brought him along with them.
Mada Xiao’s face was haggard. Her eyes grew red when she saw Xiao Yuanmu, and she opened her mouth, about to say sothing, then froze for a mont upon seeing Song Xuanhe behind him. She pulled up a smile and said, “Xuanhe ca, too. Take a seat and have a cup of tea first.”
It was as though the previous quarrel had never happened at all.
Song Xuanhe went with the flow and called out ‘Aunt’, then sat down and settled himself in calmly. After getting seated, he even smiled and said, “Aunt, I’m glad to see you again.”
Mada Xiao forced out a smile. It didn’t have her previous elegance and indifference, but she still behaved appropriately “I’m glad to see you, too.”
“Xiao Yuanmu used to always say that you liked flower tea.” Song Xuanhe took out a box of beautifully packaged tea canisters from his luggage and handed them over with a warm smile, “So we brought so back for you this ti when we ca back to the country. I don’t know if it suits your tastes.”
Mada Xiao accepted the canisters and handed it to the housekeeper who was attending to them from the side. She asked him to bring over a tea set so that they could make a cup of tea and give it a try.
Song Xuanhe smiled slightly, one hand interlaced with Xiao Yuanmu’s as they waited for the water to boil. Dried flowers blood into bright colors in the water, but they all remained silent throughout.
Mada Xiao took a sip from the porcelain cup, the scent of flowers entering her nose. She could tell that it was high quality tea as soon as it entered her mouth. The gloom lingering at the bottom of her heart dissipated slightly, and she thanked Song Xuanhe sincerely, “It’s very delicious. Thank you for choosing it.”
“Yuanmu picked it.” Song Xuanhe chuckled, “He’s been very busy, but because I went to the forest to collect inspiration, he ca back to China in a hurry because he was afraid that sothing might happen to . I heard that the routes had to be approved via an express channel, which made feel a little guilty. Originally, I wanted to take him to relax around Nan City since it was rare for him to take a rest, but unexpectedly, ti was very tight and I could only accompany him to Nan City’s tea gardens to pick tea. Many of the teas there are good, and he picked them all himself. However, because ti was short, I only brought this box with . Later, I’ll have soone send you the rest.”
There was a smile on Song Xuanhe’s face as he spoke, and his words ca at a leisurely pace. If this was any ordinary ti, then this would definitely be a comfortable pace of conversation, but at this ti, Mada Xiao’s heart was filled with anxiety. Song Xuanhe speaking so slowly made her feel like her heart was being roasted over a fire again and again. She wanted to open her mouth to interrupt him several tis, but her inherent upbringing ant that she could only choose to smile and listen even while anxiety burned her heart.
Now, hearing that Song Xuanhe had finished speaking, Mada Xiao felt a mont of relief and picked up the thread of the conversation, “You two are very thoughtful. This ti, we were in a hurry to call Yuanmu back because sothing has happened at ho. Aunt didn’t an to disturb your ti together.”
Song Xuanhe smiled like a fox, “I know.”
When Mada Xiao saw that Song Xuanhe seed to be very agreeable, the vigilance at the bottom of her eyes relaxed slightly. She turned her head to say to Xiao Yuanmu, “Yuanmu, Mother has sothing to discuss with you. Can you go upstairs with Mother?”
Xiao Yuanmu put aside the smile at the bottom of his eyes and nodded, his expression calm. He spoke to Song Xuanhe before getting up, “The pastry chef here is good at making desserts.”
Song Xuanhe watched as Xiao Yuanmu and Mada Xiao went upstairs, then smiled at the housekeeper to the side, “I heard that your desserts are excellent. I wonder how your Napoleon is?”
The housekeeper bowed slightly and said, “Le Goff’s Napoleon is very popular with Mada.”
Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows. He was very interested, “I wonder if I could have the honor of tasting it.”
“Of course.”
The housekeeper left to order the pastry master to make the dessert, and the smile on Song Xuanhe’s face faded. He sat downstairs alone, looking out at the carefully trimd flowers and plants in the garden as he waited for Xiao Yuanmu to finish his discussion and co back downstairs.
About half an hour later, Xiao Yuanmu and the others ca back downstairs. Most of the anxiety in Mada Xiao’s eyes had dissipated, and she even showed a real smile. It appeared that she was very satisfied with the results of their conversation.
“Have you finished your discussion?”
Song Xuanhe was smiling as he asked Xiao Yuanmu this.
“It’s finished.” Xiao Yuanmu ca up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder as he suggested, “We can leave now.”
Mada Xiao was also smiling slightly, “Xuanhe, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long for us.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Song Xuanhe’s smile showed no discontent at all. He then said, “I’ve always heard Yuanmu say that the Napoleon made by your French pasty chef here is very authentic, so I just took the liberty to ask the housekeeper for so dessert. I hope you don’t mind, but it’s also because I’ve been looking forward to it all the ti. After all, the wait ti for delicious food is never too long.”
Mada Xiao’s smile changed slightly, “Napoleon?”
“Yes.” Song Xuanhe didn’t seem to have noticed the change in Mada Xiao’s expression. He smiled, “I’m really looking forward to it now.”
Mada Xiao looked at Xiao Yuanmu. She was justa bout to speak when she heard Song Xuanhe continue, “You said that there was sothing urgent that you needed Yuanmu to co back for. Has the matter been solved now?”
“It’s been solved.” Mada Xiao’s smile faded slightly, “Thank you for your concern.”
Song Xuanhe smiled slightly, “It’s good that it’s been resolved. Yuanmu was very anxious on the way back, but when I asked him what it was, he didn’t want to tell . He doesn’t hide most of the things that happen in the company from , so I thought that it was likely sothing to do with the affairs of the Xiao Family. I was originally worried, but now I’m relieved to hear that it’s been dealt with.”
Mada Xiao nodded, then turned to the housekeeper and said, “Go to the kitchen and check.”
The housekeeper nodded and turned to go.
Song Xuanhe was still smiling, “In fact, I’m not in a hurry. I was a little agitated and unhappy due to so things last ti we t, so I’ve always wanted a chance to talk to you again.”
“ as well.” Mada Xiao glanced at Xiao Yuanmu, and the smile on her face faded a bit further. She seed to be trying to explain herself as she said, “What I said last ti didn’t actually an anything in particular, but I wasn’t clear with how I expressed myself. As a mother, I’m actually very happy that you protect Yuanmu like this.”
Song Xuanhe’s expression was apologetic, “I was too aggressive at the ti. Later on, I kept feeling regret when thinking about how you are Yuanmu’s mother. No matter what, you should be the one who loved him the most, and made the most plans for him. They all say that mothers are willing to give everything they can for the sake of protecting their children, so how could you treat him badly? I was impulsive to have said anything.”
For so reason, although Song Xuanhe clearly looked sincere, and spoke in an earnest tone, Mada Xiao always had the feeling that he was implying sothing. When she thought about her younger son, the hand she had in her lap clenched, and she looked subconsciously at Xiao Yuanmu. However, after seeing Xiao Yuanmu’s calm expression, she felt that she may have overthought it. Song Xuanhe couldn’t know that Xiao Baicong had been kidnapped. After all, she’d only told Xiao Yuanmu about it after he ca back. Song Xuanhe couldn’t be mocking her with this.
With this thought, a trace of guilt crossed Mada Xiao’s heart. Her eldest son and youngest son were naturally both in her heart. However, her youngest son was now in danger and needed her eldest son to take risks to save him. Even if she was unwilling as a mother, she still had to have her eldest son take this risk, and couldn’t ignore her youngest son who was already facing a crisis due to the possible danger to him.
What’s more, her youngest son had only just beco an adult and had been well protected by his family since childhood. He may not be well-rounded enough to deal with the kidnappers, and may already have suffered too much by now. He had to be rescued as soon as possible. If the worst happened and her eldest son was kidnapped, then at least he had lived alone outside for so many years, and knew how to deal with such things. He could protect himself, and then hold on until the Xiao Family could send people to save him.
Everything had its own priorities. Even though Mada Xiao was very worried and unhappy, she felt that this was the best solution.
While Mada Xiao was still thinking about this, the housekeeper had already returned from the kitchen. He whispered in her ear, “It will take another hour or so.”
Mada Xiao was stunned for a mont. Thinking about her younger son whose life and safety was in imminent danger, she couldn’t help looking up at her eldest son and hoping he would say sothing.
However, Xiao Yuanmu didn’t notice her gaze. He was still whispering sothing to Song Xuanhe. There was a trace of fatigue between his quiet eyebrows and eyes, but he was very serious.
Mada Xiao was stunned by the sight. She suddenly recalled that when her eldest son had heard that her youngest son had been kidnapped and he needed to go save him, he hadn’t hesitated to promise. He’d only put forward one request, saying, “Since the kidnappers are targeting , it’s difficult to ensure Xuanhe’s safety. I must first send him to Louis, then go save Baicong.”
At the ti, she’d wanted to refute. How could Song Xuanhe’s safety be more important than his younger brother’s?
However, when she saw the determination at the bottom of Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes, she couldn’t say a word. She knew without asking that in Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes, family might be very important, but it beca less important when compared with Song Xuanhe.
Xiao Baicong was his younger brother, and it already wasn’t easy for him to agree to save him regardless of his own safety. Song Xuanhe was the person he loved, and it was a legitimate and reasonable requirent for him to only agree to do other things after ensuring his safety.
However, it would take a lot of ti to send him over to Louis before going to save Xiao Baicong, so Mada Xiao had said, “It’s also very safe here. Let him stay here, then.”
Xiao Yuanmu had smiled and shook his head. There was a trace of helpless doting at the bottom of his gaze, “He doesn’t like staying in strange places. If he’s here, he’ll feel very uncomfortable.”
Was Song Xuanhe’s comfort more important than your younger brother’s life and safety?
This sentence had stuck in her throat, because she knew that if she asked, then there would really be nothing left of this mother and son relationship between her and Xiao Yuanmu.
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