Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 398 The Son Was an Accident

Madam Xi had only asked casually, but upon hearing Du Anrao's words, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Madam Xi's unusual reaction startled Du Anrao and the others.

"Auntie, is there something wrong with this place?"

Madam Xi then seemed to wake from a dream and said with a faint smile, "Nothing is wrong, it's just a bit unexpected. The place you mentioned... we've been there before."

"You've been there? Are you Uncle Xi?"

“All three of us have been there,” Mrs. Xi said, turning to exchange a sweet glance with her husband.

It turns out that Mr. Xi, the painter, was particularly skilled in landscape painting, and in his youth he traveled all over China in search of inspiration.

Although he was not as free after marriage as he was before, Mrs. Xi understood him and kept his father's habit of taking two months off every year to accompany him on a trip.

This habit continued until Xi Jingyue was born and grew up. What was originally a honeymoon trip for the couple turned into a family trip for the three of them.

“I remember it was when Jingyue was twelve years old, right? We took him to Y Province for a trip, and we happened to pass through X City. We heard from the locals that there was a Taoist temple nearby that was particularly efficacious, so we thought we would go there to draw a fortune stick and pray that the child would be healthy and grow up well.”

At the time, they were on a self-driving tour, not a group tour with a guide, so changing their itinerary on a whim wasn't a big deal, and besides...

“You might not be able to tell now, but this child was very weak when he was young, and he was sick all the time. The doctor said it was because of congenital deficiencies.” Mrs. Xi couldn’t help but rub her forehead when she mentioned this. Even after so many years, recalling those anxious days still gave her a headache.

As expected, Du Anrao and the others were all surprised when they heard her words, and they all looked at Xi Jingyue.

Xi Jingyue sighed and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "Mom, this happened so long ago, why bring it up again?"

"What's there to hide?" Madam Xi snorted, somewhat haughtily. "How would we know how much effort your father and I put into raising you, this sickly child, if we didn't mention it?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Xi Jingyue said helplessly and amusedly, "So your son is working like a slave to repay you at such a young age, so you can lie down and travel around whenever you want. It really proves the saying that you two are true love and I am an accident."

Mr. Xi chuckled and remained silent, while Mrs. Xi was also amused. She scolded him, seemingly shy but actually showing off, "Oh dear, you child, why did you have to say such obvious truths?"

Du Anrao and the others: "..." For a moment, they didn't know who to sympathize with. Oh well, let's sympathize with us single dogs who were forced to eat dog food!
"I've gone off on a tangent. It's strange, but I wasn't very old when I was pregnant with him. I ate and used the best of everything, and I was very careful in every aspect. All the prenatal checkups didn't reveal any problems. Although I gave birth a little earlier than my due date, it was still a full-term delivery, not premature. Who would have thought that he would be born with congenital defects?"

Because of this, after Xi Jingyue was born, his whole family revolved around him. Before he turned eight, Mrs. Xi and her husband dared not close their eyes completely when they slept, for fear that if they closed their eyes for even a moment, the child would catch a cold and fever, causing the whole family to be restless.

Fortunately, as Xi Jingyue grew older, his health gradually improved.

At least he wouldn't collapse at the slightest breeze anymore, so the two of them dared to take him out to travel around and broaden his experience.

When they passed through City X, they overheard locals talking about how efficacious the Taoist temple was. They said that everyone who went to worship there had their wishes fulfilled, and the temple was described as incredibly miraculous. The couple began to be interested in it.

"It's strange, really. After we made up our minds to go to that Taoist temple to pray for blessings, we went to the address those people gave us, but we couldn't find any trace of the temple." Du Hexuan shuddered when he heard this, feeling inexplicably that this plot development seemed familiar.

No, no, no, he must be overthinking it, it's just his imagination.

"Just when we were about to give up..."

Li Zhaoyang quickly replied, "You found that Taoist temple?"

"No, it's your cousin who's lost."

Li Zhaoyang: "???"

Du Anrao: Pfft...

Mrs. Xi glanced at her son, somewhat amused and exasperated, and said, "In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, scaring your uncle and me so much that we searched all over the mountains for him. Just when we were about to call the police, he suddenly reappeared from somewhere."

He also said he met a little fairy boy wearing flowers in his hair. Seeing how cute the child was, he gave him some candy from his pocket. The little fairy boy was very happy after eating the candy, and not only gave him his flower wreath, but also blessed him with peace, good fortune, and freedom from illness and disaster.

"This is too..." Li Zhaoyang couldn't find the right words to describe his feelings at the moment. He suppressed a laugh and glanced at his cousin, then chuckled, "I never thought that my cousin had such an adventure when he was young. Is it really not a dream he had when he accidentally fell asleep on the road?"

Xi Jingyue glared at him but didn't say anything.

In fact, he had also suspected that what happened back then was just a dream.

After leaving that mountain, whenever he tried to recall the details of that brief encounter, he found that the scene in his memory seemed to be veiled by a white gauze. He could only vaguely recall the general outline, but could not see it clearly. It was indeed not like reality, but more like a dream.

Mrs. Xi laughed when she heard him say that: "At first we thought he was joking with us, but later we found that your cousin's health has indeed been getting better and better since we came back from that place."

Li Zhaoyang choked: "...Could it be a coincidence?"

"Whether it's a coincidence or it's true, it's a fact that your cousin's health has improved. It's a pity that neither your uncle nor I were able to see the little fairy who sent blessings to your cousin, otherwise we would definitely have thanked them properly."

Du Anrao blinked while biting his chopsticks, thinking that if this were true, Madam Xi's words made sense. After all, it was a real benefit for Mr. Xi, and it was normal to express gratitude.

This little incident, which was treated as mere gossip, was not taken seriously by the public.

Perhaps Grandpa Xi and Madam Xi were worried that their presence as elders would make Du Anrao and the others too nervous and reserved, which would be counterproductive.

After having a quick bite to eat, they left first, leaving their son and daughter-in-law to take full responsibility for entertaining the guests. That's why they weren't present when the group was discussing these matters.

After dinner, Madam Xi briefly confirmed the departure time for the next day with Du Anrao and the others, and then let them go upstairs to rest.

Du Anrao and the others slept soundly and got up early the next day, looking radiant as they boarded the car with several elders of the Xi family.