Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Afraid the Engagement Banquet Would Become a Joke
After hanging up on Gu Jiaojiao, Mu Ziquan eagerly called his fiancée.
This was the first time he had ever taken the initiative to call Xiao Jiyan, and the first time he had ever dialed the Xiao Family’s number.
Although they both lived in the same residential compound, he hadn’t seen his fiancée very often.
Before his injury, he was often on the frontier battlefields. Afterward, he was paralyzed and bedridden, refusing to see anyone.
This was especially true after numerous famous doctors reached the same conclusion: he would be paralyzed for life.
He fell into despair, unwilling to even take a single step out of the Mu Family’s gates, let alone walk around the compound.
He nervously dialed the Xiao Family’s number. It had only rung three times when someone picked up.
He heard a girl’s crisp, clear voice on the other end. "Hello, who are you looking for?"
"Hello, this is Mu Ziquan. I’m looking for... Xiao... Yan," Mu Ziquan said, his voice full of apprehension.
The moment he finished speaking, a brief silence fell on the other end of the line. He could even hear the deep breaths of the person who had answered.
He had originally wanted to say he was looking for Xiao Jiyan, but felt calling her by her full name was too formal. On the other hand, calling her Little Yanzi felt too intimate, and he worried the Xiao Family would think him frivolous.
He also wondered if calling his fiancée out of the blue would be a pleasant surprise.
Clutching the phone, he suddenly realized the voice on the other end had sounded somewhat familiar.
But he couldn’t be sure it was his fiancée’s voice, as they had never spoken on the phone before.
Just as his heart was pounding with uncertainty, a surprised cry came from the other end. "Ziquan? You’re my Ziquan."
Her excited voice was so full of joy that he could feel it even through the phone line.
He could also hear the laughter of other members of the Xiao Family teasing her in the background, but she paid them no mind, calling out his name repeatedly.
"Ziquan, Ziquan, is that really you, my Ziquan?"
"Mm, it’s me." Mu Ziquan’s deep voice held a slight tremor, as if her excitement was contagious.
"Ziquan, have you eaten? Where are you right now? Hehe, I’m so silly. Of course you’re at home at this hour."
Xiao Jiyan was so excited she was rambling, her tone filled with unmistakable delight.
Hearing the joy and excitement in her voice, Mu Ziquan’s mood lifted, and a smile spread across his face.
He couldn’t help but soften his voice as he replied, "We were just about to eat. I just wanted to ask if you’d made it home yet. Have you eaten?"
"Ziquan, I just got home, and my family is about to eat too! Ziquan, this is the first time you’ve ever called me! I’m so happy, so excited! Can I come see you after I eat?"
Xiao Jiyan asked cautiously, as if afraid he would refuse.
Her question made Mu Ziquan’s heart ache slightly. "Why don’t you come eat at our place? Grandpa and I will wait for you."
"Okay, okay! I’ll come over right now, this instant! Ziquan, you and Grandpa don’t have to wait for me. Go ahead and eat. I’ll just have a little bit."
"No, we’ll wait and eat with you." ’Does she have to be so excited?’
’It seems I’m getting a little excited myself!’
"Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes! Have some soup first to tide you over. I don’t want you to get hungry."
After Xiao Jiyan finished speaking excitedly, she hung up with a CLICK. Anyone could tell she was worried about him going hungry.
Mu Ziquan stared blankly at the receiver. Only after hearing the dial tone—BEEP BEEP BEEP—did he dazedly put it down.
"Ziquan, were you on the phone with Jiaojiao? You’ve been smiling this whole time. Come and eat," Grandpa Mu’s voice called from the dining room.
"Grandpa, can we wait a little longer? The young lady from the Xiao Family said she’s coming over to eat with you."
"Really? Ziquan, you don’t mean you were just on the phone with that girl?" Grandpa Mu asked in disbelief.
’His own grandson was actually smiling because of the Xiao girl? This is too surreal!’
After hanging up, Xiao Jiyan immediately sprinted back to her room at the speed of a hundred-meter dash to change her clothes.
If her clothes hadn’t gotten wrinkled from her fight with Bao Tingting, she wouldn’t have even bothered to change, so worried was she that her Ziquan would get hungry while waiting for her.
Once changed, she didn’t even bother with makeup and rushed downstairs, again sprinting toward the Xiao Family’s main gate.
"Sister Yanzi, we’re about to eat! Where are you running off to?"
"Oh, her? She’s going to her dear Ziquan’s house for dinner. We shouldn’t waste any of her precious time."
"Haha... She’s completely under Mu Ziquan’s spell. One phone call is enough to make her go crazy."
"Oh my god, if Mu Ziquan gave her a kiss, would our Sister Yanzi give him her life?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... People in love are terrifying."
Xiao Jiyan completely ignored the laughter coming from the living room. She had already run into the courtyard, hopped on her bicycle, and vanished from sight in a flash.
Watching Xiao Jiyan’s retreating figure, Mr. Xiao sighed. "Ai, that child. She’s liked that boy from the Mu Family since she was little. Today, she got a call from him for the first time and ran off to the Mu household like a madwoman."
Xiao Jiyan’s eldest aunt chimed in, "That’s right. The girl has been obsessed with Ziquan her whole life. She’s finally seen the clouds part to reveal the moon and got her wish to be engaged to him. I’m truly happy for her."
"Our Yanzi has liked Ziquan since she was a child. I thought it was just a one-sided crush, but it turns out that boy has some feelings for her too."
The Xiao Family’s Third Aunt—who was also Xiao Jiyan’s mother—spoke with unconcealed excitement, her eyes brimming with tears for all to see.
"What’s so surprising? Our Yanzi is beautiful, well-behaved, and sensible. She’s also filial and considerate. If you ask me, that boy from the Mu Family must have been blind to reject our Yanzi before."
The Xiao Family’s Third Uncle said with a look of disdain. Most fathers-in-law are never quite satisfied with their sons-in-law, and he was no exception.
"Haha, Third Uncle, you don’t get it. That Mu Family boy was most likely just playing dumb. Always acting all cold and aloof, as if he didn’t have an ounce of romantic feeling for our Sister Yanzi. Wasn’t that just an act?"
"Hehe, Little Six is absolutely right. But Mu Ziquan really did fool all of us in the Xiao Family," the Xiao Family’s Second Aunt said with a smile.
"Hmph. If I’d known he liked our Sister Yanzi too, I would have given him a harder time at the engagement banquet today."
"Haha, forget giving him a hard time. I saw you eagerly sucking up to him today!"
"Hey, what can I do? He always used to ignore our Sister Yanzi. I was just afraid he’d get upset and leave."
"Little Nine, you read my mind. I was also terrified he’d get upset and leave, breaking our Yanzi’s heart."
"Haha... Never mind you all. Even this old man was on pins and needles today, afraid the engagement banquet would turn into a joke."
Listening to his children and grandchildren gossip about their new grandson-in-law over dinner, Mr. Xiao couldn’t help but smile and join in the teasing.
