Reborn in the 80s: My Whole Family Secretly Hears My Thoughts and Goes Wild with Success! - Chapter 47

Early in the morning, Yue Guohuai was wiping sweat after his martial arts practice when he heard a car approaching from a distance. It stopped right next door.

“Oh, looks like someone’s finally moving in,” Wan Jiayin said as she stepped out of the house, peering toward the neighboring yard.

Yue Guohuai waved at her. “Come on, let’s go see who it is. Maybe we know them.”

“Lao Yue!”

Recognizing Huo Yingnian’s voice, Yue Guohuai and Wan Jiayin quickened their pace. As they opened the gate, they saw Huo Yingnian standing by the car, holding Huo Jiusi’s hand and laughing as he waved at them. “Hahaha! Looks like we’re neighbors again!”

“Jiayin, quick—tell Xiao Wang and Xiao Li to set up the net! Warn the old apricot tree that the apricot thief is back!” Yue Guohuai grabbed Wan Jiayin’s hand, pretending to rush back inside.

Huo Yingnian shook his head, exasperated. “You old rascal, still hung up on that? It’s been decades! It was just a few apricots!”

“A few?” Yue Guohuai shot back. “You nearly stripped the whole tree bare! My Jiayin didn’t even get to eat any!”

“Xiao Yue was pregnant and craving something sour!”

“Cut the nonsense. Since when was it for Xiao Yue? If she’d wanted them, I wouldn’t have held a grudge this long. You devoured them all yourself! Who’d have thought you were the one with the cravings? People would’ve thought you were pregnant!”

“Enough already!”

Even now, the memory made Huo Yingnian flush with embarrassment.

Back in the old revolutionary base, he and his wife, Yue Fenglan, had lived next to Yue Guohuai and Wan Jiayin. A lone apricot tree grew in Yue Guohuai’s yard, right by the shared wall.

That year, both Yue Fenglan and Wan Jiayin were pregnant. But while most expectant mothers suffered from morning sickness, their household was the opposite—Yue Fenglan was perfectly fine, while he was the one vomiting uncontrollably.

Desperate for something sour, he’d sneak over to steal apricots. At first, he only took the ones hanging on his side of the wall. But once those were gone, he ventured into Yue Guohuai’s yard—and got caught red-handed.

That one misstep became a lifelong joke. Yue Guohuai never let him live it down.

Some mistakes really do haunt you forever.

“Jiusi, have you had breakfast yet?” Wan Jiayin gently tapped Yue Guohuai’s hand, signaling him to stop teasing. She walked over to Huo Jiusi, stroked his cheek, and led him inside. “Come with Grandma. I’ll get you some steamed buns—freshly made by Grandma Zhao. They’re delicious!”

“Grandma, is Yaya awake?” Huo Jiusi asked eagerly. “Can I go see her?”

Wan Jiayin glanced upstairs just as Yue Mingyuan and Shen Zhiqiu emerged from the bedroom, carrying Yaya. “She’s awake.”

“Yaya!”

Huo Jiusi’s face lit up. He dashed upstairs, stopping beside Yue Mingyuan and standing on tiptoe to peek at the baby. “Yaya, I’m here! We’re neighbors now! Aren’t you happy?”

Yaya lazily waved a tiny fist, as if to say, Leave me alone, little troublemaker.

But Huo Jiusi took it as a cheerful reply. Beaming, he grabbed her hand. “Yaya, I’ll go pick some crabapple flowers for you, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, he sprinted off—nearly colliding with Huo Yingnian and Yue Guohuai as they entered.

“Jiusi, slow down!” Huo Yingnian called after him.

“Okay!” came the distant reply.

“That kid—always in such a hurry!” Huo Yingnian sighed.

Yue Guohuai chuckled. “He’s much better like this. Before, he was too serious for a child.”

Huo Yingnian nodded in agreement, then mused, “It’s being around Yaya that’s changed him.”

That was why he’d decided to move next door. He could see how much Jiusi adored Yaya—and honestly, so did he. That little girl was pure sunshine, with an almost magical charm.

After the full-moon banquet, he’d called Jiusi’s foreign father to inform him the boy wouldn’t be returning abroad anytime soon. To his surprise, Jiusi had already made that decision himself before coming back.

Maybe Yaya was the reason.

Huo Yingnian’s gaze softened as he looked at the baby. He reached out to Yue Mingyuan. “Xiao Yuan, let me hold her.”

“Get lost! I haven’t had my fill yet—no turns for you!” Yue Guohuai shoved Huo Yingnian aside and took Yaya into his arms, his entire face alight with joy. “Yaya, Grandpa’s precious girl! Come, give Grandpa a kiss!”

He leaned in, then suddenly pulled back. “Ah, forgot—I haven’t washed up yet.”

Handing Yaya back to Yue Mingyuan, he hurried off to scrub his face and shave meticulously. A few days ago, he’d forgotten to shave before kissing her, leaving her cheeks red and earning a scolding from Wan Jiayin.

“Okay, Yaya, Grandpa’s ready now!”

He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. Yaya responded by patting his face with her tiny hand, sending him into delighted laughter. “Aiya, Yaya loves Grandpa so much!”

Yue Mingli and Meng Fang stepped out, the former yawning as he draped an arm over his wife. “Look how happy the old man is. I’ve never seen Dad like this. Yaya’s really a little bundle of joy.”

Meng Fang only murmured, “Mm.”

“Fang’er, are you feeling okay?” Even Yue Mingli’s usual obliviousness couldn’t overlook her unusual quietness. He pressed a hand to her forehead.

She brushed him off. “I’m fine.”

“You seem off. Is it… that time?” he whispered.

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Knowing he’d pester her until she answered, Meng Fang shrugged. “Maybe it’s just the heat lately.”

“It has been sweltering. Look at this sun—it’s barely morning and already blazing.” Fanning her with his hand, he suggested, “Should we buy an electric fan for our room?”

“Sure. Let’s get one for Mom and Dad’s room too, and Xiao Yuan’s. Babies run hot—they feel the heat more than we do.”

As she spoke, her gaze lingered on Shen Zhiqiu and Yaya, eyes brimming with quiet longing.

When will I have a child of my own?

“Fang’er, you’re the best.” Yue Mingli kissed her cheek loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. Blushing furiously, Meng Fang punched his arm in mock outrage.

Yue Mingyuan stole a glance at Shen Zhiqiu, wondering when they’d share such easy affection.

With only two days left of his leave, he dreaded being apart from her and Yaya.

Unbeknownst to him, Shen Zhiqiu was thinking the same thing—her heart heavy with the same unspoken ache.