Wealthy Beauty in the 60s-Chapter 667 - 669: Live for Yourself for Once

"Prospects." Gao Jiaxing’s mouth twitched when he heard Xia Xiao say that Shitou was calling for help.

"Did Mr. Si call you?" Xia Xiao asked.

Gao Jiaxing hummed softly, "The call came to me."

Xia Xiao looked on with disdain, thick with scorn in her words, "What kind of man—he’s even worse than Sister Li; I would have kicked him out long ago."

Yet although Xia Xiao said this, she also knew it wouldn’t be right to just kick him out! Gao Jiaxing smiled faintly, "I also think it’s so unmanly of him, his woman runs away from home, and instead of looking for her himself, he comes to complain and report it."

At this, Gao Jiaxing said, "As for Feiyang, you leave him alone, let him toughen up a bit, Mr. Si knows what he’s doing."

"I think I’ll talk to Sister Li anyway, it would be good for her to go back and visit; I always feel like I’ve lured Sister Li away, and now that she’s become a volunteer, always running outside, it worries me." Xia Xiao was truly afraid something would happen to Elder Mrs. Wang—if Elder Mrs. Wang were just at the orphanage, it would be one thing, but she was also going to disaster areas.

When Xia Xiao found out that Elder Mrs. Wang was going to the disaster areas, she was genuinely startled; if anything happened to Elder Mrs. Wang, Xia Xiao would definitely have some trouble.

Speaking of which, Xia Xiao told Gao Jiaxing about Elder Mrs. Wang’s situation and about the matters between Mr. Si, Elder Mrs. Wang, and that other person involved—naturally, it was not anyone else’s place to comment on their feelings.

But from the look of it, Mr. Si cared for Elder Mrs. Wang at least to some extent,

"Don’t worry, someone from the Si Family has been covertly watching out for her, you don’t have to worry right now, let Si Yuanchang fret over it. Otherwise, if you persuade Elder Mrs. Wang to go back, she’ll just run off again in a while." After Si Yuanchang had called, Gao Jiaxing had already gotten the lowdown on the Si Family’s situation from Feiyang, and now, hearing Xia Xiao mention it, Gao Jiaxing was even less concerned.

Xia Xiao nodded; after Elder Mrs. Wang had left, she seemed entirely too content to consider going back—she would surely find ways to leave now and then anyway.

After spending a day with Gao Jiaxing, who then returned to the military, Xia Xiao began to work on transforming Zheng Xianghong’s experiences into a book.

Over the years, Zheng Xianghong had spoken daily into Xia Xiao’s ear, which Xia Xiao remembered well. As Zheng Xianghong got older, her memory wasn’t as good, but sometimes she would recall something and tell Xia Xiao.

And when Zheng Xianghong’s memory faltered, Xia Xiao took careful note of what was said and later checked it against medical texts for confirmation.

With regard to Elder Mrs. Wang’s matter, Xia Xiao wasn’t in any rush now, but Si Yuanchang was—while Elder Mrs. Wang was there, he never realized just how indispensable she was, but once she left, and several months passed without returning home, Si Yuanchang began to feel quite unsettled.

No one was there to nag in his ear, no one to offer warm inquiries, no one to bicker and squabble with him—Mr. Si felt out of sorts everywhere.

Hearing that Elder Mrs. Wang was off doing charity, showing care for others, Si Yuanchang didn’t take it well; Elder Mrs. Wang had directed all her warmth toward others.

One day, Elder Mrs. Wang asked Xia Xiao to go shopping, and Xia Xiao agreed, only to unexpectedly encounter Mrs. Jiang and a woman in her early seventies at the mall, looking somewhat similar to Elder Mrs. Wang.

That must be Mrs. Jiang’s mother, Xia Xiao thought, noticing the resemblance.

"Academician Xia," Mrs. Jiang greeted Xia Xiao with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Elder Mrs. Wang and Elder Mrs. Wang locked eyes, both narrowing their eyes slightly, then in unison, with forced smiles, said, "What a coincidence."

"Mom, do you know this lady?" Mrs. Jiang asked.

"I do, how could I not? She’s your Uncle Si’s wife, and it was your Uncle Si who got Xiao Jiang his job. You should thank Aunt Si right now."

Had this occurred in the past, Elder Mrs. Wang would certainly have taken offense to Elder Mrs. Wang’s words.

But times had changed, and even though she knew this issue had caused a rift between her and her husband, Elder Mrs. Wang now replied with a smile, "That’s not necessary; it was a mere trifle. The Wangs seem to have lost their former prowess—unable to handle even a trivial matter."

With that, Elder Mrs. Wang shook her head and sighed, then looked at Elder Mrs. Wang and said, "Sister, we’ve known each other for so many years now. If your family is in difficulty, we certainly can’t just stand by. If we can help, we certainly will. I’ve always asked Elder Si to look out for you. You’ve been a stepmother in the Wangs for many years, childless; it’s not easy for a woman. Elder Si is acquainted with you, so helping you is not objectionable."

This statement, coming from Elder Mrs. Wang’s mouth, instantly soured in Elder Mrs. Wang’s ears; Elder Mrs. Wang’s complexion darkened visibly as she glared at Elder Mrs. Wang. The atmosphere between the two elderly women changed, brimming with tension, like a confrontation ready to erupt.

Mrs. Jiang, sensing the tension, turned to look at Xia Xiao, who shook her head blankly, certainly not about to explain to Mrs. Jiang, and feigned ignorance.

The grievances between the two elderly women were deep and long-standing.

"Mom, let’s go shop," Mrs. Jiang suggested, pulling away her mother, Mrs. Wang, whose face betrayed her upset.

Elder Mrs. Wang’s smile faded; she didn’t feel particularly happy, nor did she feel victorious.

"Let’s go have some tea at the hotel, I’ll call Ning Hui out," said Xia Xiao, seeing Elder Mrs. Wang’s current mood and sensing her disinterest in shopping.

"Alright," Elder Mrs. Wang nodded promptly, readily agreeing.

Xia Xiao immediately called Ning Hui, then heard Elder Mrs. Wang say, "She surely isn’t having a good time, feels unhappy in her marriage, yet often tried to vex me. I had my suspicions before, now I’m even more certain."

Xia Xiao was silent, unsure what to say, as the affairs of the heart were certainly not for outsiders to comment on.

"We’ve been adversaries for so many years, and though we’ve hardly met a few times, we know each other well. She married on a whim back then, but she still had Elder Si on her mind, unwilling to let go," Elder Mrs. Wang grew angrier as she spoke.

That anger was obviously directed toward Si Yuanchang, "It’s all the old man’s fault, not letting me remarry back then—damn him."

Elder Mrs. Wang was indeed hard to console; after all, a husband’s heart occupied by another woman, especially a first love, was like a thorn in the side for any wife who cared about her spouse—it was impossible not to mind.

Although there’s a matter of who came first, Mr. Si, having married Elder Mrs. Wang, shouldn’t have kept up ties with Elder Mrs. Wang—it hurt Elder Mrs. Wang’s heart.

It was fortunate there were some bounds of status restraining them, otherwise, without such constraints, things might have really gone awry.

Or if Si Yuanchang had been even more of a scoundrel, fooling both women inside and outside the home, that would have been a true disaster.

"Sister Li, if you have time, go back and visit; that is your home, too. Even if you’re upset, you can still visit when Si Yuanchang isn’t home."

As Xia Xiao spoke, Elder Mrs. Wang sighed, "I just want to live the rest of my life in peace, without worrying for anybody else, living solely for myself in my remaining years."