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Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Are you Xiaohui?
"City folks are really rich, even the stairs are made of cement. If they were to be ruined, wouldn’t it cost a lot to repair?" Niu Airong carefully stepped on the stairs, each step making her feel jittery as she was scared to damage them.
Song Wenhua replied, "Need you even ask? This is Kyoto, it’s not like the small places we’re used to." There were only the two of them on the stairs, so he spoke more freely.
The two hesitated a long while before reaching the third floor. Niu Airong stared at the door number for a while and asked uncertainly, "Is this the place Tong Yao mentioned?"
Song Wenhua took out the address Tong Yao had given him and examined it before nodding, "Yes, it is."
"You can’t even read, why are you pretending?" Niu Airong glared at him.
Song Wenhua defended himself, "Even though I can’t read, I still know numbers! It does say 301 here."
Listening to her husband, Niu Airong felt relieved and urged him to knock on the door. But Song Wenhua felt embarrassed to do so, thinking that since both Si Xiaohui and Lin Fengying were women, it would be more appropriate for his wife to knock.
However, Niu Airong was also hesitant as she had previously scolded Lin Fengying. How could she have the face to knock on their door now?
Honestly, her mother-in-law had been too rash back then and now they were paying the price.
The two of them kept pushing responsibilities onto each other. They had yet to decide who should knock when the door suddenly opened. Both of them were startled and instinctively looked at the doorway.
"Who are you looking for?" Si Xiaohui saw two strangers standing at the door and immediately took a step back with a look of disdain.
Ever since she arrived in Kyoto, Si Xiaohui had completely adopted the persona of a city dweller. Not only did she deny her rural roots, but she often acted condescendingly towards people from the countryside.
Niu Airong and Song Wenhua exchanged a glance, and then Niu Airong asked tentatively, "Are you Xiaohui?"
Suddenly hearing her name called out in a familiar Li City accent, Si Xiaohui’s complexion changed slightly. An ominous premonition surged in her heart,
"No, you’ve got the wrong house," she said, reaching out to close the door. Niu Airong quickly blocked the door with her hand, preparing to ask Si Xiaohui to verify the address Tong Yao had given them. Just then, a voice sounded from inside the house.
"Xiaohui, is it your cousin?"
Upon hearing these words, Niu Airong clung harder to the door and hastily pleaded, "Xiaohui, don’t be afraid, we’re not bad people. I’m Song Yu’s sister-in-law, Niu Airong. And this is Song Wenhua."
Hearing this, Si Xiaohui’s face immediately turned pale. She tried harder to close the door, "I’ve already told you, you’ve got the wrong place, I don’t know you."
Lin Fengying, hearing the commotion, came over. Seeing what was happening, she thought they were being robbed and her legs went weak with fear. She tremblingly asked, "What are you doing?"
"Is that you Aunt Lin?" Niu Airong quickly called out, "Aunt Lin, I’m Song Yu’s sister-in-law, Niu Airong."
In this foreign city, hearing the familiar Li City accent instantly put Lin Fengying at ease. Especially when she heard that the person before her was Song Yu’s sister-in-law. Regardless of the circumstances, she couldn’t just shut them out after they had come all the way here.
Lin Fengying quickly pulled Si Xiaohui away, "Xiaohui, what are you doing? You’re not yet divorced from Song Yu, she’s still your sister-in-law. How can you turn her away?"
"Mom, I’m divorcing Song Yu, why are you still associating with them?" Si Xiaohui stamped her foot in frustration.
"As long as you’re not divorced, she’s still your sister-in-law."
Lin Fengying was determined to let them in, much to Si Xiaohui’s dissatisfaction. At last, Xiaohui simply returned to her room, out of sight out of mind.
"Come in and have some tea."
Lin Fengying ushered them in and offered two cups of brown sugar water, leaving Niu Airong and Song Wenhua feeling somewhat at a loss. They were still stuck in the awkwardness of Si Xiaohui’s cold-faced refusal.
They couldn’t quite comprehend the mother-daughter pair’s reactions.
But then again, they hadn’t had anything warm since they left home in the morning, except for some steamed buns they brought with them. Now, having something to drink, she didn’t want to put down the teacup.
Kyoto was much colder than Li City, and they were not accustomed to the weather here. Their hands and feet were nearly numb from the cold.
Lin Fengying sat next to Niu Airong, and asked, "When did you guys get to Kyoto? It’s almost New Year, why would you choose this time to come?"
While everyone else was rushing to get home for the holidays, these two were heading in the opposite direction, which was strange to say the least.
Song Wenhua, after taking a sip of the sweet water, responded in a hurry upon hearing this, "Aunt, we came here this time to look for Song Yu. He hasn’t been in touch with home for a while. We wanted to check on him."
Lin Fengying blurted out, "Hasn’t Song Yu returned home long ago?"
"...."
Upon hearing this, both Song Wenhua and Niu Airong’s faces fell. Everyone said Song Yu had returned home, but Song Yu never did. A perfectly fine young man, how did he simply vanish in a large city?
"Aunt, could you please call Xiaohui here? We need to ask her about her relationship with Song Yu, why they suddenly want a divorce, and when was the last time she saw Song Yu."
Before Lin Fengying could answer, the door was opened from outside. Si Weimin entered and upon seeing two strangers in the room, he looked at Lin Fengying in puzzlement, "Sister-in-law, do we have guests?"
Lin Fengying stood up, pointed towards Niu Airong and her husband, and introduced, "Weimin, you’ve come just in time. They are Song Yu’s brother and sister-in-law, they just arrived from Li City today. They are looking for Song Yu; they said that he hasn’t returned to Li City and he hasn’t been in touch with home for a while."
Niu Airong and Song Wenhua also awkwardly stood up. They had heard from Song Yu that Si Weimin was a wealthy businessman, fond of Si Xiaohui, and even wanted to help her open a shop.
The two of them, both in their seventies, had never met any officials beyond the village secretary. Upon meeting Si Weimin, they were so nervous that they couldn’t utter a word.
However, Si Weimin frowned upon hearing their story, "Xiaohui’s going to divorce Song Yu. What has Song Yu’s matter got to do with us?"
After saying this, he opened the door to show them out, "If you’re looking for someone, go find him elsewhere. Song Yu’s not here, he’s a grown man with legs, who knows where he might have gone?"
Song Wenhua and Niu Airong blushed in embarrassment. Both of them were honest and down-to-earth individuals and at loss for words at this point.
Niu Airong gathered enough courage to say, "Could you please call Xiaohui? We would like to speak with her."
They at least needed to find out something so that they could explain to the family back home!
They had come such a long way, they couldn’t just return empty handed. Besides, if they did, wouldn’t they be scolded to death by the family?
And besides, without locating Song Yu, they themselves felt uncomfortable!
