The Clouds Resort was located east of Zhonghai, being the only resort that spanned across the sea.
All sorts of hotels, shops, supermarkets and recreation facilities were found in the resort. The resort was open to people with medium to high socioeconomic statuses. It was a place for them to relax.
A year ago, the resort still belonged to the second top clan in Zhonghai, the Liu clan. However, the ownership of this resort had changed to the An clan.
Other than cute cartoon dolls in the children theme park, there were also rides for children, such as the bumper cars and merry go rounds.
Most of the families who came with their kids could leave the kids in the amusement park as they rest in the cafe nearby, playing cards while chatting.
The sun shines bright in the morning, the golden rays of sunlight gleamed on the wooden balcony of a cafe.
Even though it wasnât that cold during winter months in the South, the guests still dressed warmly.
Lin Ruoxi was wearing a pair of sunglasses with white frames that covered half of her face as she sat by a white table near the fences. Her hair was tied up and she was wearing a light brown windbreaker paired with a blouse. A pair of blue jeans wrapped around her slender legs and the colourful sport shoes she was wearing added a splash of colour to her outfit.
While holding onto a hot cup of cinnamon latte, Lin Ruoxi waved at someone downstairs.
Lanlan was playing with Tangtang at the area where the bumper cars were located. Since adults and children could ride the bumper cars together, Tangtang seized the opportunity and joined Lanlan in the ride.
Seeing how excited Lanlan was, Lin Ruoxi smiled while shaking her head.\nShe was finally able to spend time with her daughter and family now that she had quit her job.
An Xin was planning to invite Lin Ruoxi, Lanlan and Wang Ma to the resort as a way to thank her since Lin Ruoxi helped with her earlier crisis.
However, Yuan Hewei and Yang Jieyu also planned to hang out with Lin Ruoxi and Lanlan, now that Lanlan was on school break.
In the end, after being persuaded by An Xin, they all gathered at the resort together. After all, they were in one family, so there was no need to reject her invitation.
Yuan Hewei and Yang Jieyu knew that things would be different for Lanlan since Yang Chen and Yang Gongming had acknowledged her as a member of the Yang clan.
Regardless of what had happened, they had to get close to Lanlan as her great-aunt and great-uncle.
âThis kid, itâs rare of her to play till the extent that she forgets about eating.â Lin Ruoxi said.
âMaybe itâs because she never played with bumper cars before. Thatâs how kids are, itâs normal for them to enjoy playing.â Yang Jieyu smiled.
Yuan Hewei patted his sonâs shoulder teasingly, âYuan Ye, you need to control Tangtang. Look at her, sheâs already an adult and sheâs still playing in a bumper car with a kid.â
Yuan Ye and Tangtang joined them for fun, and when he heard his fatherâs teasing, he responded in a joking manner, âI canât control her, not even her mom can do it.â
âDonât you have a backbone? I should have given birth to another child.â Yang Jieyu shook her head with a bitter smile. As if reminded of something, she turned to Lin Ruoxi and asked, âRuoxi, have you talked to Yang Chen? When are you guys going back to Beijing for Chinese New Year?â\nLin Ruoxi nodded, âHe said heâll be back in a week, so there are five more days. Weâll go there when heâs back.â
âOh, thatâs great. Weâll be in Beijing by then too, things will be merrier with everyone around.â Yang Jieyu beamed.
Lin Ruoxi felt more relieved knowing that they were also returning to the Yang clan for Chinese New Year. She would feel more at ease with familiar faces around her.
âYou have to be prepared, celebrating a festival is different from working, especially when we have to visit relatives. Not just the Yang clan, you guys have to visit the Guo clan from your mother-in-lawâs side. Itâll be tiring.â Yang Jieyu reminded her.
Lin Ruoxi felt slightly nervous, âAre there a lot of people in the Guo clan?â
âOur clan is pretty small but most of the older clans in Beijing have big families. Guo clanâs fine, but some of them are hard to deal with. Anyways, just be mentally prepared, even if youâre annoyed, just ignore it!â Yang Jieyu spoke from experience.
Lin Ruoxi couldnât really understand it so she just nodded.
While they were chatting, Tangtang came back with Lanlan hand in hand.
From the looks of it, they were arguing about something. Lanlan was even pouting.
âWhat are you two bickering about?â Yang Jieyu asked curiously.
âI told Lanlan to call me sister but she insisted on calling me aunt.â Tangtang wasnât too happy about it.
Lanlan responded earnestly, âMom said to call you aunt.â
âBut Iâm still young and pretty, how can you call me aunt?â Tangtang didnât want to accept it.
Others laughed at her reaction. She called Tang Wan as sister and now she wanted Lanlan to call her sister, the seniority between them was a mess.
âTangtang, stop fooling around. You canât tell her to do that, donât teach her to be the same as you.â Yang Jieyu wasnât pleased about it.\nTangtang gave up talking about it as she was afraid of her future mother-in-law.
At this time, An Xin who was dressed in a white blazer, walked out of the cafe. She was busy preparing todayâs activities as she organised this trip.
Now that everyone had gathered together, An Xin led them to a nearby Chinese restaurant.
The restaurant was facing the ocean and the ocean view outside the French windows made it feel as if they were having lunch in the sea.
Once the dishes were served, Lanlan got ready to devour them. After all, she had been playing the whole morning and if it wasnât for Tangtang, she wouldnât have remembered about lunch.
Lunch hadnât started officially and Lanlan had already finished three bowls of shark fin soup. She took a crab leg but she was too lazy to crack. Instead, she put it into Lin Ruoxiâs plate and looked at her expectantly, âMommy, I want to eat crab. Help me crack it.â
Lin Ruoxi was peeling a pair of prawns and she frowned when she heard her daughterâs word.
An Xin smiled gently and offered to help, âCome, Lanlan, Iâll crack it for you.â
However, before An Xin could take the crab leg over to her side, Lin Ruoxi cut her off, âNo need.â
An Xin was taken aback. Lin Ruoxi didnât sound pleased.
âShe isnât weak, sheâs even stronger than me. Donât slack off at a young age. Crack it yourself.â Lin Ruoxi said so and put the crab leg back to her plate.
Lanlan showed a pitiful expression but she didnât throw a tantrum since she was used to being lectured by her mom. Having no choice, Lanlan opted for the abalones so she didnât need to crack anything.
Yuan Hewei and Yang Jieyu exchanged gazes with each other before nodding with a smile. They thought Lin Ruoxi would spoil Lanlan since she quitted her job to take care of her daughter, but now they knew that Lin Ruoxi wasnât going to do that.\nTangtang saw their interaction and she looked at the side cheekily before grabbing a crab leg. She cracked it and removed the flesh to show it to Lanlan.
Lanlan was immediately attracted by it and she looked at Tangtang with an expectant gaze.
âLanlan, do you want this?â
Lanlan nodded hard. She even stopped chewing the abalone in her mouth.
âAunt Tangtang, can you give it to Lanlan?â
âCall me sister and Iâll give it to you. Iâm good at keeping promises.â Tangtang grinned.
Everyone else at the table froze at her cheekiness. They also looked at Lanlan, awaiting for her reply. It wasnât anything serious so they just let Tangtang tease Lanlan.
Lanlan checked out Lin Ruoxi who was expressionless, as if she was waiting for an instruction from her mom.
Lanlan turned back to look at the crab meat when Lin Ruoxi didnât show any reaction. She smacked her lips together as though she was having a fight in her mind. Should she go for the food or defend her fatherâs dignity?
Lanlan thought about it and felt that her father wasnât reliable so she muttered, âSister Tangtang.â
Tantang cheered and looked at Yuan Ye softly as if to proclaim her victory. Even so, she didnât forget to give the crab meat to Lanlan.
Yuan Ye rested his face on his hands and chuckled while looking at Lanlan who was eating happily, âBrother Chen is so pitiful, his seniority dropped to a crab legâŚâ\n
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