Chapter 6

Translator: Larbre Studio

Editor: Larbre Studio

When Shen Qinglan returned to school, there was only one person in the dormitory. It was Wu Qian, whose bed was opposite hers on the upper deck. Theirs was a four-person room. Three of the occupants were locals. Wu Qian was the only one from another province. She did not go home except for winter and summer breaks, and basically spent her weekends working part-time.

Besides Yu Xiaoxuan, the other girl was Fang Tong, who had gone out on a date with her boyfriend that day.

Shen Qinglan greeted Wu Qian, took a shower, and threw herself onto her bed. It was late, but Shen Qinglan did not feel drowsy yet.

Some time later, just as sleep eventually caught up with her, her phone screen suddenly lit up. She picked it up and looked—there was a text message from an unfamiliar number. Her eyes flashed. She swiped her slender fingers across the screen and pressed the delete button.

—-

On Friday, Shen Junyu arrived early to take Shen Qinglan home. Upon her return, she did not see Chu Yunrong and Shen Xitong. Aunt Song said that they had gone shopping.

Shen Qinglan did not like shopping. Every once in a while, Yu Xiaoxuan would drag her along. The only time that she had gone shopping with Chu Yunrong was when she had just returned home.

Shen Qinglan found Grandpa Shen in the garden behind the villa. He was trimming his plants.

“Grandpa.”

“You’re back, Lan Lan,” Grandpa Shen smiled when he saw her. Because of his profession, even though he was not originally a strict person, the stereotype managed to exert a subtle influence on him. He was not very jovial nor very close to his grandchildren, with the exception of Shen Qinglan.

“I promised I would come stay with you over the weekend. I won’t go back on my word,” Shen Qinglan’s tone was faint, but the look in her eyes still expressed her closeness to the old man.

Grandpa Shen had a trimming scissors in his hands. As he attended to his plants, he said to Shen Qinglan, “Your Grandpa Fu’s grandson is back. He’s invited me to visit him. Will you go with me tomorrow?”

Grandpa Fu’s grandson? Fu Hengyi? Shen Qinglan recalled the man she had met at the restaurant that day. Her eyes flashed briefly. She agreed.

“Grandpa, I’ll help you.” Shen Qinglan took over the large scissors in his hands and, under the old man’s guidance, helped to trim the plants.

By the time the two had finished the work and gotten back into the house, Chu Yunrong and Shen Xitong had returned.

“Mom, the purple dress you bought today is really beautiful. The minute you walked out of the fitting room, the saleswoman asked me if you were my sister, and when I said you’re my mom, she still didn’t believe me. She thought I was fooling her.” Shen Xitong’s sweet voice could be clearly heard a door away.

Chu Yunrong laughed, “Oh, you sweet-talker. You’re right, though. That gown looks gorgeous. My daughter has good taste.”

The pair had been so deep in conversation that they hadn’t noticed the other two come in. In the end, it was Shen Xitong who noticed them first.

“Grandpa, Qinglan, you’ve come just in time. Mom and I went shopping just now and bought clothes for you two.” Shen Xitong took out a dark brown shirt from the bag and compared its size on her grandfather. “Grandpa, I chose this for you. Do you like it?”

Grandpa Shen nodded gently and spoke, “Thanks for thinking of me. I like it.”

Shen Xitong smiled sweetly when she heard that. “That’s good to hear.” And then, she took out another light pink dress from the bag, “Qinglan, Mom got this for you. She loved it right from the start. What do you think? Do you like it?”

Shen Qinglan’s eyes fell on the dress. It was a sleeveless design, without any complicated patterns other than the big white peony at the waist, which practically screamed ‘sweetness’. The style was very similar to the one Shen Xitong was wearing.

“Qinglan, do you like this dress?” Chu Yunrong looked at Shen Qinglan with a slight tension in her eyes, Grandpa Shen’s words from last night still ringing in her ears.

Shen Qinglan reached out and took the dress, “I like it very much. Thanks, mom.” She said nothing more, her eyes void of joy and evil.

Chu Yunrong’s emotions faded at her daughter’s reaction. As Shen Xitong watched from the sidelines, a touch of unknown emotion flashed in the depths of her eyes.

—-

When Shen Qinglan and Grandpa Shen arrived at the Fu’s residence, Grandpa Fu was alone at home. 

“Fu, I’m here. Come out.” As soon as he entered the house, Grandpa Shen’s voice rang aloud. He was always like that in front of his old friends.

“I’m not deaf. You don’t have to shout.” Grandpa Shen’s voice came from upstairs. Sounds of footsteps soon followed.

“Grandpa Fu.” Shen Qinglan smiled earnestly as she looked at the old man who had rushed out to meet them.

Grandpa Fu’s eyes flashed too, “I see Qinglan’s here. You old man, why didn’t you tell me earlier that Qinglan was coming, too?”

Grandpa Fu turned angrily toward Grandpa Shen.

Grandpa Shen appeared baffled. In the past, he had never had to call ahead before coming.

What Grandpa Fu had been thinking was that, if he had known that the granddaughter of the Shen family was coming, he definitely would not have allowed his good-for-nothing grandson out there. He would have tied the boy down if he had had to.

Fu Hengyi was currently thirty-one years old and had never had a girlfriend. He used to be in the military but had left due to injury and had gone on to start a business. Which was fine—a man ought to build his career. Grandpa Fu was supportive of that. 

But the kid was a workaholic. He was so obsessed with work that he could forget about home, much less remember to get a girlfriend.

Other families’ grandchildren would be having kids at that age. But Grandpa Fu’s grandson would only make him worry.

The granddaughter of the Shen family, on the other hand, other than being his old friend’s grandchild, was simply a perfect match for his grandson, judging by appearance alone. Their children would be lovely.

Just the thought of showing off his beautiful great-grandchild to his old friends and receiving envious looks in return filled Grandpa Fu with glee. He was practically drooling over Shen Qinglan’s beauty.

Luckily for him, Grandpa Shen did not know about his old friend’s plans, otherwise the two would get into a fight in spite of their age. Fu’s grandson was thirty-one, and his granddaughter was just twenty-one. He could be her uncle, for all he knew! And he would let it happen?

Shen Qinglan did not know what Grandpa Fu was thinking. She just watched as the old man stared at her. One moment he was thumping his chest, the next he was rejoicing, and then he looked to be sighing in exasperation. She tried to appear calm but deep down she was cringing.

Grandpa Fu did not fidget for long. Very soon he looked for an excuse to use the washroom, where he proceeded to give his grandson a call, taunting and demanding the younger man to get back within half an hour, while he tried to stall by inviting Grandpa Shen to a game of chess.

Grandpa Shen had not intended to stay long. He had plans to head to the hospital with Shen Qinglan in the afternoon to visit his wife.

But Grandpa Fu was begging him to stay. He was usually alone at home; his only son and daughter-in-law had passed away years before. His daughter’s marriage had ended unhappily and the woman seldom returned home from overseas because of her job. Now, his only grandson had left the military and gotten himself busy with work, which meant that the young man was seldom home. Bearing all that in mind, Grandpa Shen’s heart softened.