Stealing Your Heart Chapter 309
Zong Jinghao’s smile had melted off his face, as it was soon reced by his usual chilly expression.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yuxiu emerged from the kitchen carrying a te of cooked dumplings, only to see
him ring at her from the dining room.
She grimaced inwardly and forced a smile onto her face. “The dumplings are ready. Do you want
some?”
Zong Jinghao nced at the dumplings on the te and noticed that all of them were the beautifully
shaped ones, which further annoyed him. He ignored Yuxiupletely and pulled out a chair to sit
down with his daughter on hisp.
Cheng Yuxiu stood by awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.
The two kids were so engrossed in making the dumplings and they did not even notice Cheng Yuxiu
standing there with the cooked dumplings.
Lin Xinyan was about to sample one when Zong Qifeng walked over and sat down by the head of the
table. “Give it to me.”
Cheng Yuxiu obeyed him, with her gaze downcast.
“I’ll get the vinegar!” Lin Xichen announced, sliding off his seat and rushing into the kitchen.
Zong Qifeng watched as he disappeared into the kitchen with a gentle smile on his face. His own son
had distanced himself from him and Cheng Yuxiu ever since their marriage, yet his little grandson
turned out to be a caring soul.
Lin Xichen grinned upon returning with a bottle of vinegar. “Remember to give me lots of red packet
money, Grandpa!”
Usually, Lin Xinyan and Zhuang Zijin would be the ones giving him red packets every Chinese New
Year, and he loved the thrill of receiving them.
After all, New Year’s was just another asion for celebration and fun.
Zong Qifeng chuckled. “Sure, boy.”
Lin Ruixi began to grow jealous. “I want one too!”
“Of course! I won’t forget about you, Ruixi!” Zong Qifeng cooed, stroking her head lovingly. “Come
here. Grandpa will feed you some dumplings. Let’s see if they’re yummy or not!”
Lin Ruixi mbered onto Zong Qifeng’sp immediately at the mention of food. Zong Qifeng picked up
a dumpling with his chopsticks and blew on it before setting it onto her te. “Blow on it first before you
eat it, or it’s going to burn your throat.”
The little girl giggled in his embrace.
Lin Xichen managed to get a small bowl of vinegar and other condiments with the help of the kitchen
maids before hurrying back to the dining room.
Zong Jinghao sat alone,pletely detached from the happy scene before him.
Feeling left out, he stood up to leave, only for Lin Xinyan to call out to him.
“Can you help me?” she asked, hoping to strengthen their familial bonds.
“I don’t know how to,” he answered.
“I’ll teach you,” she offered, smiling.
Zong Jinghao nced scornfully at the dumplings that she had made. You’ll teach me? How?
Sensing his disdain, Lin Xinyan tossed a nce at Cheng Yuxiu and suggested, “Mom’s pretty good at
this. Why don’t you ask her?”
Cheng Yuxiu tensed up, her heart rate speeding up as she waited for a response.
What if he agrees to it?
N?velDrama.Org owns this.
She looked down in anticipation.
However, he simply looked away and muttered flippantly, “Not interested.”
Cheng Yuxiu felt as though her heart had fallen into a bottomless pit. Looks like he’s still not ready to
ept me into the family…
Zong Qifeng’s eyes were on the kids, but his words seemed to be directed at Zong Jinghao. “Do you
like Grandma?”
“Of course!” they chirped in unison.
Zong Qifeng stroked Lin Ruixi’s head lovingly. “Yeah… You won’t even have time to regret it when you
lose them.”
Ruixi stared at him and blinked in confusion. “A grandpa gave us gifts thest time we came to visit
Grandma…”
Zong Jinghao looked up with a start. When was thest time they came?
Huh…looks like they have been doing something behind my back!
Lin Xinyan nced at her daughter but chose not to say anything. After all, Lin Ruixi was not as mature
as her brother, and there was no point trying to exin things to someone as sensitive as Zong
Jinghao.
Cheng Yuxiu however, began to panic. She nudged Lin Xinyan and uttered, “Hey, you should take a
break. The food will be ready soon.”
Lin Xinyan understood what she meant and turned to Zong Jinghao. “Let’s finish this.”
Cheng Yuxiu sighed. I might have been the one who had ruined the mood here…
Lin Ruixi munched on the dumplings,pletely unaware of the tension in the air. “I want the vinegar!”
“You’re so greedy!” Zong Qifeng eximed, tickling her nose. He picked up a dumpling with his
chopsticks and dipped it in the vinegar. “Here, I’ve done it for you.”
Lin Ruixi giggled and took a bite out of the dumpling.
Zong Jinghao exited the dining room and retreated into another room in silence.
Cheng Yuxiu took the te of dumplings in Lin Xinyan’s hand and urged her, “You should go and check
on him.”
Lin Xinyan pursed her lips together. “He’s ill in the mind. He won’t recover without the right
intervention.”
Truthfully, she knew Zong Jinghao pretty well. If she had been Zong Jinghao and if her father had
married another woman within a month of her mother’s death, she would have rebelled as well.
“I’ll go check on him,” she announced, tugging the apron off her body and walking upstairs.
Cheng Yuxiu had cleaned out the upstairs room for Lin Xinyan’s family to stay in while she and Zong
Qifeng stayed downstairs.
When Lin Xinyan entered the room Zong Jinghao was in, she saw him standing by the wide-open
window, as the cold wind blew.
She walked over to him and shut the windows. “Aren’t you cold?”
“My heart is cold,” Zong Jinghao replied without moving an inch. I’m disappointed because my wife isn’t
on the same page as me!
Lin Xinyan paused for a moment. “You’re mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?” he retorted.
“You’re mad that I’m close to her, and that I tried to rope you into helping her out?” Lin Xinyan asked
without holding back.
Zong Jinghao stared at her in silence. Doesn’t she know what’s going on between us?
Why is she being so blunt?
Lin Xinyan hugged him and rested her head against his chest. “I know that you have your reservations,
but can’t we let bygones be bygones?”
Zong Jinghao did not hug her in return. I can’t just let it go…
I really can’t…
He had been told that Wen Xian had injured her leg while trying to protect him from a car ident.
When he was five, he had knocked over a pot of hot soup by ident, and Wen Xian had burnt herself
trying to push him away from the spill. The scar that it had left behind had never healed properly.
He could never forget those injuries.
He feared that Wen Xian woulde back to haunt him if he made friends with Yuxiu.
“I can’t do it,” he refused tly.
Lin Xinyan frowned. “So you’re not going to address the problem?”
“So what?”
I won’t ept Yuxiu into the family no matter what!
Lin Xinyan opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by a knock on the door.