At Song Family house, the guests were still mingling around with the voices of chattering and laughter floating around. Surprisingly, hardly anyone noticed that Song Xin'ai's own children were not around. They had been sitting in a far corner trying to avoid the hustle and bustle.
Seeing how Xiang Wai yawned for the third time in the past ten minutes, Xiang Weimin asked, "Tired?"
"Ge, you're the one who is more tired right now," Xiang Wai pointed out. "And you're still a patient. There is no need to act like a superhero. You're supposed to rest on your bed right now after taking your meds. But we are stuck here." She frowned deep in thought and stood up, "Give me a minute. We're gonna get out of here."
Xiang Weimin couldn't even say anything to dissuade her when she ran off to get the job done already. She found their mother standing with several madams of scholarly families and only greeted them with a polite smile before telling her mother in a straightforward way, "Ge is taking me back home now."
Song Xin'ai didn't react to it but their First Aunt couldn't help saying, "How can that be? All the guests are still here. Besides, you and Weimin had been just sitting in the corner. It's rude enough that you didn't want to greet anyone, now you don't want to even stay until the end?"
"The guests aren't mine," was Xiang Wai's response. But she knew she was being rude and in the end, didn't really want to ruin her mother's day. So, she added, "I had gotten into an accident on my last mission. The injury hasn't recovered yet. I'm not allowed to move around much. And Ge was accompanying me so that I don't feel lonely."
"Oh, sweetie, how are you now?" asked one of the madams.
Xiang Wai smiled good-naturedly at that kind woman who sounded sincere and replied, "Thank you for asking, I'm doing well now. Just can't walk much for now."
"Then you should hurry home and rest," suggested another woman.
Xiang Wai nodded at her mother as a form of goodbye but unexpectedly, Song Xin'ai said, "I'll walk you both out." Xiang Wai opened her mouth to say something but closed it when Song Xin'ai had already started striding in the direction of Xiang Weimin.
Reaching Xiang Weimin, Xiang Wai helped him up while Song Xin'ai asked, "How are you now, Weimin?"
Xiang Weimin glanced at his mother and nodded, "I'm doing better."
Song Xin'ai nodded her head and added, "Rest well. And get well soon."
Xiang Weimin didn't reply to that and Song Xin'ai wasn't really expecting an answer from him either. She knew her son barely said a couple of sentences of her. It had always been like that. No, once upon a time, it was worse when he wasn't even willing to say a word to her.
As Xiang Wai took her brother out, Song Xin'ai walked behind them. Just a couple of steps away from them. She looked at their tall and strong backs realizing how her children were grown-ups. They were strong enough to take on a storm. No, they had always been stronger than most children in her Song family. She believed this aspect of their theirs was all due to the blood of the Xiang family in their veins.
She smiled as she saw Xiang Wai helping Xiang Weimin inside the car. She watched the whole process in silence. She was actually envious of the relationship these two shared. Clearly, it was Xiang Weimin who was injured but Xiang Wai didn't even hesitate before calling herself the injured one. All because she never wanted anyone to see her brother's weakness.
On the other hand, Xiang Weimin hated these parties and yet he came. She knew he didn't come for her. She wasn't narcissistic enough to believe that he came for her. Neither was she delusional. Her son only came because his sister asked him to do so. And this brother was even willing to offer his life for his precious sister.
Xiang Weimin had a strong presence in Xiang Wai's life and Song Xin'ai knew that too. But Xiang Wai's presence in Xiang Weimin's life couldn't be denied either.
As Xiang Wai fastened the seatbelt, she heard the knocking at the windowpane. She rolled it down and looked at Song Xin'ai who offered a bottle to her and said, "Massage your brother's legs with this. It'll shorten the time of recovery."
Xiang Wai wasn't an idiot who would throw away anything that came from her mother's hands. Mind you, Song Xin'ai was a renowned researcher for a reason. So what if she barely had a standing in the Song family? She was already on a pinnacle of her own in the world of biochemistry and medicine!
"I will, thank you," was Xiang Wai's response. And this had to be the sincerest words she had spoken to her mother tonight. No, Song Xin'ai couldn't even remember the last time she had heard such sincere words coming from her daughter.
So, in return, she smiled at her and Xiang Weimin before saying, "No, thank you both for coming!"
Xiang Wai didn't know how to react to her mother's sincere words and cleared her throat saying, "You should get back to your guests. We're leaving now."
Song Xin'ai nodded and stepped back. However, she didn't leave just yet. She just stood there as she saw their car driving out of there. Even when Xiang Wai looked in the rearview mirror, she found her figure standing there, alone.
She could only shake her head, not knowing how else to react. Neither did she know nor did Xiang Weimin. They both had more complicated feelings towards this mother of theirs. Sometimes, it couldn't be denied that she loved them a lot. But it was a pity that her love was often misunderstood. And they both were guilty of this misunderstanding.
It didn't mean they loved her, but they neither hated her.. As it was said, their feelings were just complicated.