"Then come for dinner," he said as he walked out of the room.
Xia Sanghuan didn't move. Instead, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Her heart was pounding so fast.
For a moment, she couldn't tell if it was because she was suddenly woken up or because her second brother had gotten too close just now.
It was not until her mood had completely settled down that she got out of bed.
To avoid others noticing anything amiss, she washed her face before going out.
When she reached the dining room, she found that Mother Leng had also returned.
Lin Shan was sitting next to Leng Wanqing, distributing chopsticks and bowls to everyone.
Seeing her, Mother Leng showed a smile.
"Huahua, come and have dinner quickly."
"I cooked a few of my signature dishes myself today."
She walked to the dining table and sat down in her place.
"Auntie, why are you home today?"
"Me?" Mother Leng passed her a bowl of chicken soup.
"Jingzhan said he wanted to eat the dishes I made today.
"So I came back to cook a meal for you all. I'll take Jingzhan's portion to the hospital later."
She seemed to be in a good mood today. She even talked more than usual.
"Just thinking that Huahua will be having the New Year's Eve dinner with our family this year gives me the motivation to cook," she said with a smile.
Hearing this, Xia Sanghuan paused for a moment while holding her chopsticks.
After much thought, she finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Auntie.
"I'll be going back to the Fu family in a few days.
"And I've also promised my father that I'll go home for the New Year."
She looked up and smiled apologetically at them.
Leng Shan obviously was stunned for a moment.
After a while, she said disappointedly, "Can't you really have the New Year's Eve dinner with our family?"
Looking at Mother Leng's expression, Xia Sanghuan suddenly felt quite reluctant.
"Mom," Leng Chuanjin suddenly said. "Sanghuan also has to go home for the New Year. After all, she's someone else's daughter."
"Let's eat," he picked up his chopsticks. "Stop making things difficult for her."
Even Leng Wanqing on the side chimed in.
"That's right. No one would stay at someone else's house during the New Year."
Mother Leng gave her a look, and she pouted and buried her head in her food.
However, Xia Sanghuan didn't care about Leng Wanqing's attitude. Instead, she secretly glanced at Leng Chuanjin.
What did his words just now mean?
Did he actually not want her to stay at the Leng family?
"Huahua?" Mother Leng reminded her when she saw that she hadn't moved her chopsticks for a long time. "The soup will get cold if you don't drink it."
She quickly came back to her senses and started eating.
After she turned her gaze back, Leng Chuanjin also looked up at her.
If someone asked him whether he wanted her to go back, he would definitely say no.
But since she herself had said that she wanted to go home for the New Year, he couldn't stop her from leaving.
Moreover, a short separation would also allow him to sort out his own feelings.
He was already twenty - four years old this year, while Xia Sanghuan had just come of age.
The six - year age gap between them seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
He didn't know what kind of position he held in her heart, but for now, he could only get close to her under the guise of being her "brother".
He was always in full control of everything, but he would be at a loss when facing her.
Over the years, apart from Jingzhan's illness, he had never been so unsure about a person.
Moreover, he was also approaching the age of marriage.
His mother didn't have many requirements for his marriage, but as the current head of the Leng family, he was destined to marry a woman who would be beneficial to the family.
At least that's what he used to think.
Because he never thought that he would fall in love with someone.
But after meeting Xia Sanghuan, he hesitated.
After the meal, he drove his mother back to the hospital.
At first, they just talked about some things regarding Leng Jingzhan and Leng Wanqing, until his mother suddenly asked him, "What's going on between you and Huahua?"
"What do you mean?" There was a stir in his heart, but he still chose to play dumb.
"What else could it be?"
"Neither of you have said a single word to each other since she sat at the table."
She frowned, looking at her unpromising son.
"Don't talk during meals or while in bed. Isn't that what you taught us?"
Lin Shan was taken aback by his words, and then changed the subject.
"But when she said she was going back to the Fu family, you didn't even try to retain her."
"Look at you..."
"Mom," he interrupted her. "We're here."
He unlocked the door for her.
Mother Leng turned to look out of the window. Sure enough, they were already in front of the hospital.
She sighed, picked up the thermos bucket, and got out of the car.
Before leaving, she said to him, "You should think it over carefully. You can't chase a girl like this."
He watched silently as his mother walked into the main entrance of the inpatient building before turning the car around and driving away.
He wasn't deaf to what she said.
It was just that he had too many concerns.
In fact, he hadn't revealed a single thought about Xia Sanghuan to his mother.
But for some reason, she was firmly convinced that he liked her.
When he got home, he unexpectedly saw the girl waiting for him in the living room.
She folded her arms and looked cold.
"Let's talk."
He first took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and then sat down opposite her.
"This is the information about Wei Linjun that you asked me to investigate.
"His information was well - protected. It took me a long time to find this, so it took a while..."
"I don't want this," she interrupted him.
"I don't want to talk about this..."
Her voice dropped, but her tone was still sharp.
She was silent for a moment, and then, as if mustering up the courage, she looked up at him and said, "Why have you been so cold to me recently?
"If I've done something wrong, you can just tell me directly."
Her eyes were bright, as if filled with tears.
Looking at her, his heart ached sharply.
He had been busy recently, and with something on his mind, he had deliberately kept a distance from her.
He didn't expect her to react so strongly.
Seeing that he didn't say a word, she couldn't help but start crying "patter - patter".
"Just tell me what's wrong. I don't know what I've done."
She was a strong girl and rarely cried like this in front of others.
But when facing the person she liked, she seemed especially vulnerable.
Looking at her pitifully crying face, he walked over to her.
He took out his handkerchief and began to gently wipe away her tears.
Unexpectedly, the girl cried even louder.
Her cries attracted the attention of the butler and the servants. Leng Chuanjin quickly blocked in front of her to prevent her from making a fool of herself.
"Be good. Let's go back to the room to cry, okay?"
He looked at her helplessly and unconsciously softened his tone.