Chapter 985 - Ingratiation
Chapter 985: Ingratiation
Ever since school ended in the afternoon, Huo Xiao and his wife had been waiting for them to get home. They instructed the kitchen to cook Ling Sheng’s favorite food on the dot.
Xiao Hui and Cao Yunxian looked at each other, each feeling more jealous than the other. Wasn’t she just a little brat with an unknown background? Did they really think they were her grandparents just because she called them ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma’?
One look and one could tell that little brat was bad news. When the time came, she would swindle them of all their family assets. That’ll show them! In this day and age, anything could be lacking except for con artists.
When she saw that Huo Xiao even went out the door, Xiao Hui ordered, “Feifei, call your grandpa out for dinner. Look at the time.”
Before the sun had even set and when there was still half an hour before school ended, the Old Master had already run to the entrance to wait for them. Why was he so concerned about an outsider? Why didn’t he know how to use this concern on his biological granddaughter?
In what way was Feifei inferior to that little vixen?! When that little vixen called him ‘Grandpa’, the Old Master got so happy that the grin on his face nearly stretched all the way to his ears!
When Su Xiyin walked out of the bedroom, she saw Xiao Hui ordering her daughter to go outside. She did not say anything either. She did not know what the problem was too. Feifei had been staying at their home for nearly ten years too. She had come over when she was four or five years old. She was only that young.
However, she and her husband just couldn’t like this child. She could not explain why either. Logically speaking, this child was a sweet-talker and was also very sensible. She knew how to talk to please others, just like her mother.
However, her husband had said that this child was too intentional in trying to please them that she didn’t behave like a child. She had been taught to act this way by an adult. He had told Fourth Son’s wife off a few times, but to no avail.
But that child Sheng Sheng was different. She had only been here for two days, and she followed Ci’er to school as well so she had not been at home. However, she already started missing her after not seeing her for a day. She felt very close to her.
Ever since she had gone to school in the morning, she had been worried about whether she had eaten properly in the afternoon and whether Ci’er had taken good care of her. Now that she had entered a new environment, did any of her classmates bully her? Could she understand what the teacher was saying?
When school was about to end, she would look outside again and again, checking the time and calculating when she would be back.
Her husband did not say anything but it wasn’t even time for school to end, yet he had already run to the entrance long ago to wait for her.
“If I had known, I would also have brought a girl back from outside.” Upon seeing Su Xiyin appear, Cao Yunxian spoke sarcastically and deliberately raised her voice. “Don’t you think so, Fourth Sister-in-law?”
Upon hearing her words, Xiao Hui felt quite upset too. Fifth Brother’s wife was a b*tch who was deliberately slapping her in the face. However, in order to let Su Xiyin hear, she deliberately said, “Younger Sister-in-law, you and Fifth Brother should also go to the roadside to take a look one day. If you manage to pick up such a girl, both of you will be blessed in the future. She’s not like our Feifei who’s just not likable.”
How could Su Xiyin not know that the two of them were deliberately saying this for her to hear? However, at home, she would tolerate it if she could. How could she make things difficult for her daughters-in-law?
However, Huo Xiao happened to enter at this moment. He was about to get Su Xiyin to call Huo Ci and ask when he would be home when he heard their jealous words. His face was cold as he said, “That’s right, if any of you have the ability, give birth to a granddaughter for me. If you don’t, go and pick one up. If you pick someone I am fond of, like Ci’er, you can have whatever you want. If you don’t have the ability, don’t shoot your mouth off here.”
Xiao Hui’s chest tightened in pent-up anger. She knew that he did not like Feifei, but she had not expected the Old Master to openly mention it. She looked at Huo Feifei and said, “What are you waiting for? They don’t want us here. Let’s go.”
Huo Feifei ran over hurriedly, not understanding what had happened. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
After Xiao Hui glared at her, she dragged her away and scolded her while walking. “I’m really downright unlucky! How did I raise someone like you, who just can’t read the mood?!”
Huo Feifei was already used to being scolded like this. Even though she felt a little upset inside, she did not dare to talk back. She listened submissively.
Her mother had told her that Sixth Uncle had picked up a girl from outside two days ago. Her grandparents were very nice to her. She even said that the girl knew how to please others and had scolded her harshly, saying that she was useless. Even though she had been in the Huo residence for so long, she still couldn’t win the Old Master’s heart.
She also wanted to meet that damn brat who had been picked off the streets and see if she had three heads and six arms[1]. She had been at the Huo residence for a long time and had done everything according to her mother’s instructions to make the Old Master happy. However, the Old Master just did not like her. How would she know what to do?
Xiao Hui yelled at Huo Feifei as she walked. but she was actually making veiled accusations about others. She said that the two of them were not well-liked at home and were worse off than an unknown brat picked up from outside. The more she talked, the nastier it sounded.
Huo Xiao was so angry that he wanted to lecture her. What was she saying? The young girl was so pitiful; she was all alone by herself. What was wrong with him worrying about her?
Su Xiyin tugged at him, refusing to let him speak. Fourth Son’s family was unforgiving to begin with. Just let it go since she was only talking. But if he were to respond to her now, there might be another huge fight.
When Huo Xiao reached the bedroom, he gritted his teeth in anger. “Do you hear her? When have I ever mistreated Feifei?”
Su Xiyin comforted him. “Don’t be angry. You’ve never treated Feifei badly, but your attitude toward Feifei and Sheng Sheng is different. Fourth Brother’s family is jealous.”
“Different?” Upon hearing this, Huo Xiao let out a cold laugh. “Fourth Son’s family are all the same. Look at their Feifei. Look at how she turned out from her teachings. Is her attitude toward you the same as her attitude toward me?”
Su Xiyin explained, “I’m a step-grandmother after all. You’re the biological grandpa. Look at how the eldest son and the others treat me. Are their attitudes the same as Ci’er’s?”
This was not the way to make such comparisons. There was a difference in the closeness of their relationship.
Huo Xiao was unconvinced. “Then, how was Sheng Sheng able to treat us like her grandparents?”
Su Xiyin smiled, and her voice softened as well. “That child Sheng Sheng is different. Hubby, I keep feeling that we’re fated to meet. She’s like my biological granddaughter.”
Huo Xiao was still being stubborn and poured cold water on her train of thought. “Don’t think that way. Think about what your good son intends to do to her first!”
Su Xiyin hit him. “How can you think of your son that way? What can Ci’er do to her? She already called Ci’er ‘Dad’. Of course, he regards her as his daughter.”
“Daughter? Have you seen a daughter who’s only a few years younger than the father?!” Huo Xiao gritted his teeth. The young lady was a nice girl. He was just afraid that his son, that scumbag, would have other thoughts about the young lady.
“Isn’t your eldest son and I just a few years apart?” Upon hearing him talk about this matter again, Su Xiyin thought that he should not make this comparison even if it was fine for other people to.
While the couple was talking, Uncle Liu shouted from outside, “Sixth Master is back!”
“Sheng Sheng is back.” Huo Xiao’s eyes lit up. He was as happy as a child as he stood up and ran out.
[1] This is an idiom to refer to someone possessing remarkable abilities/powers, like a deity.