An hour later, Qin Siye returned with the three sweaty children.
The two games of chess played by Shen Xi and Xu Zhilan had just concluded.
Just as Shen Xi was about to take the children and leave, she suddenly remembered the purpose for bringing them. She quickly said, “Shuosuo, come here quickly. Great-Grandma is very interested in the Rubik's Cube. Can you teach her how to play?”
“Okay.” Shuosuo happily ran forward.
“Shuosuo is so young, and he already knows how to play the Rubik’s Cube?” Xu Zhilan looked at them in astonishment.
“Great-Grandma, Shuosuo brother plays the Rubik’s Cube incredibly well. Yesterday, Aunt Yifei and Uncle Jian at our house, you saw them, right? They were both defeated by him,” Yanyan said, her voice soft and sweet as she swayed her ponytail.
“Is that so? Then he’s truly amazing,” Xu Zhilan said with admiration. She then looked at Shen Xi, “Xi Xi, the Rubik’s Cube tutorial you gave me last time, wasn’t it Shuosuo’s?”
“Yes,” Shen Xi replied softly.
At that time, she didn't want her grandmother to know she had children, so she told her she bought it online. A pang of guilt arose in her heart.
Xu Zhilan smiled dismissively and looked at Shuosuo, “Then Shuosuo, come and teach me quickly. Great-Grandma can’t wait any longer.”
Just then, Sister Li came over with freshly squeezed juice. “Sir, Miss Shen, please have some juice to quench your thirst.”
“Okay.” Qin Siye took the tray from her and placed it on the coffee table.
He first handed a cup to Xu Zhilan. The three children each took a cup. Qin Siye picked up the remaining two cups, one in each hand, and offered one to Shen Xi.
Although he said nothing, his gentle gaze conveyed more than a thousand words.
Shen Xi glanced at him, felt as if she had been electrocuted, and quickly lowered her head, replying softly, “Thank you!”
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Butler Liu walked briskly to open the door, and Qin Si Yue appeared at the entrance, wearing a long dress and sunglasses, looking a bit disheveled from her journey.
“Grandma, Brother, you…” When she took off her sunglasses and saw Shen Xi and the three children in the hall, her voice abruptly stopped.
She ran forward quickly and circled the three children, looking them over. “Sister Xi, Brother, what’s going on? Why are there suddenly three children?”
The two exchanged glances, unsure where to begin. Xu Zhilan looked up and smiled at her, “These three little treasures are all your Sister Xi’s children.”
Hearing this, Qin Si Yue’s eyes widened in even greater astonishment. She looked at Shen Xi, “Ah? Impossible. Sister Xi, are you married?”
“They are not her biological children,” Xu Zhilan said, pausing her actions. “Didn’t you notice who these three children resemble?”
Qin Si Yue heard this and her gaze fell back on the children’s faces. She scrutinized them carefully again.
Especially when she saw Yanyan, she exclaimed, “Schoolmate? Grandma, why do they look so much like Sister Yin Xi?”
“Auntie, my mommy is indeed Yin Xi, and Shen Xi is my maternal aunt. My mommy is no longer here, and my maternal aunt is now raising us,” Yanyan said, tilting her head up and speaking in a childlike voice, her beautiful eyes blinking.
Maternal aunt? So Shen Xi was Yin Xi’s older cousin.
Qin Si Yue straightened up, her gaze complex as she looked at Shen Xi.
Shen Xi said with a guilty expression, “Si Yue, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it from you; it was for a reason.”
“Brother, you knew about this long ago?” Qin Si Yue didn’t answer Shen Xi, instead fixing her sharp gaze on Qin Siye.
Qin Siye replied lightly, “Not that long ago. Just earlier than you found out.”
Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Qin Si Yue’s eyes. She walked over and took Shen Xi’s arm, saying, “Sister Xi, Schoolmate, Schoolmate, she was so young, how could…”
Shen Xi thought she would be angry about her hiding the children, but to her surprise, Qin Si Yue didn’t utter a single word of complaint and instead shed tears of sadness for the passing of “Yin Xi.”
“That’s enough,” Qin Siye suddenly said to stop them. “Let’s not dwell on the past anymore. Why did you suddenly come here without telling me beforehand?”
Qin Siye had brought Xu Zhilan to live at Hu Ban Li and only told Qin Si Yue. His father and uncle only knew he had brought his grandmother to a place close to Shen Xi’s residence; they didn’t know the exact address.
The purpose was to prevent her aunt and Jiang Jie from finding out and affecting Shen Xi and the children’s lives.
“I… I want to move here to be with Grandma too,” Qin Si Yue mumbled, pouting. She really didn’t want to stay at the Qin family anymore.