Chapter 20: Sister-in-law, Why Didn’t You Call Me When the Tea Was Brewed
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sky was already dark by the time they returned to the Yuan Family Mansion.
When Yuan Xuan arrived home, his face seemed distant and emotionless. He said nothing as he changed his clothes before immediately leaving again.
Mu Chenyan did not know where Yuan Xuan ran off to. After taking a bath and changing her clothes, she went into the small tea room and made herself some Pu’er tea.
Ah Fu was afraid that Yuan Xuan would reprimand him if the Young Mistress only drank tea without having dinner, so he quickly placed her dinner on a small dining table and brought it into the tea room.
“Young Mistress, before Young Master headed out, he left instructions for you to finish all this...”
Only after looking at the small dining table Ah Fu carried in did Mu Chenyan remember that she had not eaten anything the whole day. She had been so pissed off by Yuan Xuan that she had even forgotten that she was hungry!
‘Even good tea can’t be drunk on an empty stomach.
‘Yet, there is so much food. Am I supposed to finish all of this?’
It seemed like Yuan Xuan was bent on looking after her as though he were rearing a pig...
Chenyan picked up the chopsticks to taste some of the food and immediately found it to be rather appetizing.
Having tasted the savoriness of the food, the greedy worms in her stomach were revived. They growled and clamored, prompting her to actually follow Yuan Xuan’s instruction and wipe up all the food on the small dining table...
After she ate and drank to her fill, Mu Chenyan belched and felt somewhat better.
After a while, she looked up at the sky outside. It seemed that Yuan Xuan would not be returning any time soon, so Mu Chenyan picked out a book from the bookshelf and began to read attentively.
“Sister-in-law? Why didn’t you call me after the tea was brewed?”
A gentle voice suddenly called out, its sweet-sounding tone traveling through the wooden door of the tea room.
Mu Chenyan was startled, and she quickly spotted a pretty little face coming through the door. She was so surprised that she blurted out, “Tian Tian!”
Yuan Tian frowned and pouted playfully. “Although sister-in-law’s back, big bro wouldn’t let me come to disturb you, claiming that your body’s weak and that you need a good rest. Yet, here I see sister-in-law drinking tea. You seem to be doing just fine!”
Yuan Tian approached Chenyan as she spoke. Her previously girly appearance, after a three-year-growth period, now gave off an exceptional glow.
Yuan Tian was the daughter of the Yuan Family’s third son, Yuan Tangshuo, and the youngest among the Yuan Family’s third generation. Everyone usually called her Fifth Miss.
Because she was roughly the same age as Mu Chenyan, back when Mu Chenyan mingled with the Yuan Family to pursue Yuan Xuan, Yuan Tian had seized the opportunity to acquire a bestie.
“Tian Tian, don’t simply call me sister-in-law! Where’ve you been these past few years? I thought that... I’d never see you again...”
Mu Chenyan began to sob. She got very emotional upon seeing Yuan Tian.
After holding Mu Chenyan’s hand, waves of warmth began to fill Yuan Tian’s heart.
“Am I not back now?”
Yuan Tian was gentle as she tugged at Mu Chenyan’s sleeves. Her delicate expression was extremely adorable!
To Mu Chenyan, even if she and Yuan Xuan got divorced, the one in the Yuan Family whom she would always fondly recall would be Yuan Tian.
They were of the same kind – both of them were daughters who were not doted on by their families.
Hence, the two girls had been exceedingly appreciative of each other since young.
Mu Chenyan was slightly older, and as such, the carefree Yuan Tian was secretly rather attached to the well-mannered and courteous Mu Chenyan!
During the years when Mu Chenyan studied abroad, this little girl would constantly go overseas to visit her. It was during the years that she was preparing to marry Yuan Xuan that Yuan Tian suddenly disappeared from the Yuan Family.
The Yuan Family kept mum regarding the whereabouts of Yuan Tian, and although Mu Chenyan asked around, she could never get any concrete information. She was extremely apprehensive, but Yuan Xuan remained tight-lipped about the matter.
After Mu Chenyan was caught in that tragic mess, the two did not see each other again, so this reunion was three years in the making. Because of this, Mu Chenyan could not suppress her excitement, regardless of how upset she had been beforehand.
“Tian Tian, where’ve you been these past few years?”
After calming down, Mu Chenyan poured a cup of tea for Yuan Tian, and the two slender girls sat back on the tatami mat.
Yuan Tian sipped the cup of Pu’er tea and sighed. “Chenyan, honestly, I can’t remember anything surrounding the past three years!”
Mu Chenyan’s eyes widened when she heard this.
“I only remember the things from the past. Whenever I try to recall the events that happened during the past three years, my head would ache badly and I would have to stop. “Not to mention, my family wouldn’t tell me anything, so I simply give up asking!” Yuan Tian found it strange that she lost three years worth of her memory, but her family simply told her that she was ill and that the condition was a result of her sickness.
“I heard from my brother... that he put you in prison for two years...”
Suddenly, Yuan Tian carefully whispered while observing Mu Chenyan’s expression.