Chapter 186: What Does Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Mean?

Chapter 186: What Does Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Mean?

After the discussion with Mei Lixiong and Mei Lijun, they came up with the final plan. Considering that their daughter, Mei Yue, had already started working and that Mei Lixiong and his wife had retired, it was time for them to return to their hometown in Baimei County to spend their later years. Mei Lixiong would inherit the compensation money from the demolition of their ancestral home.

As for Mei Lirong, their younger sister who was still in Xingcheng and couldn’t return home, the two brothers discussed and planned to provide her with some money later.

After the plans had been confirmed, the two brothers drove back to their hometown together with their families.

The journey from Baizhou to Baimei County took only two hours. Before Mei Fang arrived, he sent a message to the group chat, and soon after, he was back in his hometown of Baimei County, which he had missed so much.

Due to the approaching Lunar New Year, the traffic in the county was congested, and taxis were everywhere. Mei Ya bounced excitedly at the car window, prompting Mei Fang to pat her on the buttocks.

“Sit down properly.”

“Brother, aren’t you excited at all? We’ll be able to meet Sister Yuan Yuan and Sister Youxi soon.”

“What’s there to be excited about? It hasn’t been that long since we last saw each other.”

Mei Fang pulled his sister away from the car door.

Xiang Xiaoxia glanced at Mei Fang through the rearview mirror and said, “By the way, Ah Fang, since you’ve been taken care of by your Aunt Liang Meijuan all this time, have you ever called her ‘Mom’?”

Mei Fang shook his head. “I still call her Aunt, but now it’s Aunt Meijuan. I feel it’s a bit closer this way.”

“Yeah...”

“After all, she’s not my real mom. It’s awkward to suddenly call her ‘Mom’, isn’t it?”

Mei Ya interjected from the side, “Um, if Mom were to pass away——”

(TN: Bruh, this kid. Lmao)

“Ah Fang!”

“Got it!”

With a command from Xiang Xiaoxia, Mei Fang immediately restrained his sister, holding her face and turning it towards their mother. Xiang Xiaoxia then slapped Mei Ya’s mouth.

“You dare talk nonsense during New Year! Watch me clean your mouth!”

“Huhuhu... Sorry, Mom... Mmm... I promise I won’t talk nonsense again!”

In the Mei family, there was no such thing as “children’s words are innocent,” especially during New Year when it was even more important to avoid saying anything out of line.

The Mei family arrived at the residential neighborhood of their old house. Mei Fang gently knocked on the door, which was promptly opened by Xia Yuan wearing an apron. When she met Mei Fang’s gaze, her eyes flickered for a moment.

However, she only smiled faintly at Mei Fang and quickly shifted her gaze to the adults behind him.

“Uncle Mei, Aunt Xiang, you’re back!”

“Mhm... We’re back.”

Xiang Xiaoxia hadn’t seen Xia Yuan for a long time, and upon seeing her, she was filled with joy. “It’s been half a year, Yuan Yuan, you’ve changed so much. You’re looking different every day.”

“Haha... I’ve been eating a lot this year, so I might have gained some weight.”

Xia Yuan scratched her head in embarrassment.

“You’re not fat. Girls should be a bit plump to look prettier!”

“Oh, by the way, Youxi and I cleaned the house yesterday, so it should be quite clean.”

“Aiyah... I’m sorry for bothering both of you to do such things. This kid Mei Fang is really something.”

“No, no, it was our own decision to do it! Please don’t blame Ah Fang.”

Mei Fang escorted Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi downstairs. In the elevator, the three of them suddenly fell into silence, as if in unspoken agreement.

Xia Yuan awkwardly adjusted her hair while looking at her reflection in the elevator, while Lin Youxi kept brushing her hand against Mei Fang’s back.

...They’re clearly hinting at me.

So Mei Fang spoke up, “Um, would you like to stay at the pavilion for a while and talk?”

“Sure!”

Xia Yuan immediately agreed.

The pavilion in the residential area was the place where Mei Fang and Xia Yuan routinely replenished their “super energy.” Spending some time in the pavilion was essentially the same as recharging their energy.

However, for Lin Youxi, it was her first time recharging her super energy at this location.

On the bright afternoon of the Lunar New Year holiday, vehicles came and went in the residential area. Fortunately, the pavilion was not very noticeable, so there was no real need to be discreet. Lin Youxi sat beside the pavilion, first watching Xia Yuan hug Mei Fang, and then going over to hug him herself. Only after the three of them did this were they fully satisfied.

“It feels like Ah Fang has an especially abundant amount of super energy today.”

“Maybe it’s because we haven’t recharged in so many days.”

“Speaking of this state, it’s like that... that saying... absence makes the heart grow fonder——”

Xia Yuan suddenly closed her mouth and stopped talking. She felt embarrassed.

“What does ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ mean?” Lin Youxi tilted her head and asked Xia Yuan.

“N-Nothing!”

Xia Yuan lowered her head and pushed Lin Youxi forward, then blushing, she said to Mei Fang, “I’m going home to eat! Ah Fang, please escort Youxi back.”

“Okay, sure.”

Translator's Notes:

I won’t explain all the nuances (that I found on the internet :D) but here are the basic differences in the context:

— Uncle (Shushu) and Aunt (Ayi) are more flexible and can be used for non-relatives of the same generation as one’s parents.

— Uncle (Dabo) and Auntie (Daniang) are specific to one’s father’s elder brother and his wife, and are used to show respect within the family hierarchy. ↩︎



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