"Grandpa, are you angry?"
"I'm not angry."
"When will you come back?"
"I have some things to take care of. I'll be back when I'm done."
"Oh."
After hanging up the phone, Li Xiaoya relayed Wei Xuanming's message to Old Mr. Zhang.
On the other end, Wu Xunyuan had been listening in on the call.
After hearing everything, Wu Xunyuan couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Does this mean the in-laws don't quite approve of us?"
Wu Xunyuan sighed, saying with some sadness, "It's understandable. Their daughter suffered so much, and now she's gone. Then suddenly a boyfriend appears out of nowhere..."
Old Mr. Zhang had already deduced their family situation from Wei Wenyu's attitude earlier.
His mind racing, he said, "No, he's doing this for Xiaoya's sake."
"What do you mean?"
"Their identities make it inappropriate for them to appear in public. It's also not quite suitable for them to stand with me, which is also considerate of the Zhang family. By making this concession, they're hoping we'll treat Xiaoya even better."
Wu Xunyuan listened, completely bewildered. "Could you explain that in more detail?"
"Never mind, let's not discuss it further."
"Then what about the funeral..."
"We still need to hold it. It doesn't matter whether both sets of parents are present or not. Xinian's mother passed away early, and Xiaoya's grandmother is also gone, so we wouldn't have had everyone here anyway. Compared to us old folks insisting on gathering together..."
Old Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "As long as Xiaoya can be there, I'm sure they'll be happy in the afterlife."
"Yes, yes!"
When Li Xiaoya returned to the Zhang house from her grandfather's, she found that it had completely transformed.
"What's this?" Li Xiaoya tilted her head to look.
"Balloons! Do you like them?" Wu Xunyuan asked.
Li Xiaoya turned her head again and saw that even the potted plants had colorful ribbons tied to them.
The courtyard now had a wooden rocking horse, a newly welded slide, and a specially dug sandbox...
In short, what was once clearly a yard for an old man's retirement had been transformed into a fairytale playground.
Those... seemed more like things a three-year-old would be interested in.
But she still nodded, "I like it."
"We also fried some shrimp chips today. We used to love them when we were kids. I'm not sure if your generation still likes them..." Wu Xunyuan said, then looked at what she was carrying in her arms. "What's that...?"
"Mom's ashes."
Wu Xunyuan was stunned.
He looked closely and saw that the exquisite box was still covered with a bit of soil, as if it had just been dug up.
"Oh my, is it heavy?" Wu Xunyuan quickly reached out to take it.
Li Xiaoya avoided his hand and shook her head, saying, "It's not heavy. Grandpa knew about the funeral, so he let me bring Mom."
"Mom's photo is in the backpack."
Wu Xunyuan fell silent, only carefully guarding her side as they walked in together.
He thought to himself that the old man was right. The in-laws weren't rejecting them...
If they were rejecting them, they wouldn't have let the child bring the ashes.
As they stepped inside, Wu Xunyuan realized that Old Mr. Zhang had changed into formal attire at some point.
It seemed he had known all along that Li Xiaoya would bring the ashes back.
"Xiaoya," Old Mr. Zhang stood up and said, "Your father's ashes have always been kept in the Martyrs' Park. I brought them back today. Let's put them together."
Li Xiaoya nodded and carefully placed the box she was carrying on the table.
The news that Old Mr. Zhang was going to hold a long-overdue funeral for his son quickly spread throughout the Jin circle.
Funerals are different from other events.
No one invites you, but if you want to go, they can't turn you away.
So suddenly, countless people were spurred into action...
Even at the An family's dinner table, they were discussing this matter.
"How many years has it been? Why did they suddenly decide to hold a funeral now?" Mrs. An wondered.
"Maybe he's finally able to accept the fact that his son is dead," President An said.
"Only now? I caught a glimpse of that old man once from afar, and he seemed quite at peace. Shouldn't he have accepted it long ago?"
"If he had accepted it earlier, he wouldn't have shown such favoritism to the Qin family just because their young master resembled his son a bit."
"That's true."
"Don't think too much about it. Just prepare your clothes; we need to go."
An Ying's brother suddenly chimed in, "Dad, can we go too?"
President An said, "You? There won't be room for you. All sorts of social elites will be there. Where would we find space for you?"
"As for An Ying..." President An looked at his daughter, somewhat hesitant.
At that moment, An Ying suddenly received a call from Li Xiaoya.
She put down her chopsticks and hurried out.
"I'm back," Li Xiaoya said.
Before An Ying could get excited, she heard Li Xiaoya continue, "But I'll be busy for the next few days, so you'll have to wait a bit."
An Ying had never had friends before, and she wasn't as talkative as Zhou Xiaoshu. She felt a bit disappointed but could only manage a dry "Okay."
On second thought, at least Li Xiaoya had explained that she was busy!
It's just that her brothers and sisters would laugh at her in person, and her father kept asking about Li Xiaoya visiting...
But she wasn't doing this for their approval anyway!
When An Ying returned to the dinner table, she heard President An ask, "Was that Miss Li calling you?"
"Yes."
"Hasn't she come back yet?" An Ying's brother asked.
"She has..."
"So did she ask you to go play? Dad, I don't think An Ying can attend the funeral."
"She said she's busy lately," An Ying said softly.
President An nodded, "Alright, then you'll come to the funeral with us."
Now An Ying's brothers and sisters couldn't hide their disappointment.
"Sir, someone has come to deliver an invitation for Miss An Ying," a servant suddenly knocked on the door and said.
"For An Ying?" Everyone looked at her.
"I'll take it," President An reached out and took it. "...Celebrating the birth of a granddaughter?"
An Ying was a bit upset. How could he look at it before her?
She craned her neck to see, but she too was puzzled.
Because the signature at the bottom was a completely unfamiliar name.
President An returned the invitation to her, and no one paid it any more attention.
Soon, the day of the funeral arrived.
As everyone arrived at the venue, they were each given two pieces of candy as soon as they entered.
The candies even had the character for "double happiness" printed on them.
"What... what kind of arrangement is this?" Mrs. An couldn't help but look up at the sky.
It was quite unsettling in broad daylight.
Every guest was confused until they got closer and realized... it wasn't a funeral for just one person.
It was for two.
The funeral was incredibly grand, almost like a wedding ceremony.
But some people whispered, "Is the bride's name Wenyu or Yuan Fu? Could she have had a courtesy name?"
Li Xiaoya, resting her chin on her hand and sitting behind an umbrella, said softly, "Writing both names ensures that Mom and Dad won't mistake each other..."
Old Mr. Zhang patted her head, "That's right. You're so clever."
The funeral lasted until very late before it ended.
As the guests dispersed, the cemetery quickly returned to a state of desolate silence.
The night gradually settled in.
But someone, leaning on a cane and carrying flowers, slowly approached.
"I agree to your marriage," he said in a hoarse voice, laying down the flowers.