He had never seen a grandmother like this before.

In his memory, his grandmother was always smiling, indulging him and spoiling him, giving him whatever he wanted. But now, his grandmother was hitting him hard.

He was no match for him; he was badly injured.

His crying was useless; the more he cried, the happier Grandma seemed to become.

"I'll beat you to death, you little brat, all because of you! I've lost all my money!"

After hitting her until she was exhausted, the old lady came to her senses and started calling for her grandson when she saw Yu Yang crying.

"Yangyang, Yangyang. What's wrong?"

She couldn't believe she had hit him.

How could she possibly hit her grandson? Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible!

Yu Yang was terrified, extremely terrified, and he curled up into a ball.

...

When Mo Yan brought Xin Xin home, the food had gone cold, so she quickly reheated it, and the mother and daughter began to eat.

Little Xin Xin gave her mother's cooking skills a lot of praise.

"Mom, your cooking is the best."

Mo Yan looked at her with a face full of doting affection. "You're praising your mother so much. Aren't you afraid of making her so happy she'll lose her sense of direction?"

The little girl tilted her head, her small head filled with big questions.

"Mom, why can't I find north?"

"I was so happy that I couldn't find it when I was so dizzy."

"It's okay, Xin Xin will be able to find it."

"Haha. Okay."

Mo Yan couldn't stop laughing. Little girls are the cutest!

After the meal, the little girl would help clean up.

The painting training class was from 6:30 to 7:30. Mo Yan took Xin Xin there and watched her study very seriously.

Afterwards, the mother and daughter walked home hand in hand.

As soon as I got back, I saw Zhang Ning there, looking like she had been waiting for a long time.

"Mr. Zhang, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Why don't we go to our restaurant? I have something I want to talk to the landlord about."

Mo Yan took her daughter over, and Zhang Ning had someone give Xin Xin an egg tart and a glass of milk.

"How much?"

Zhang Ning's lips twitched. The landlord was really something...

"This is what I treated Xinxin to, so the landlord shouldn't worry about it."

Mo Yan nodded, "Okay, but not next time. Thank you, Uncle, Xin Xin."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Xin Xin spoke very obediently.

"Xin Xin is so good."

Zhang Ning looked at Mo Yan, thought for a moment, and then spoke up.

"The matter is settled today. The old lady compensated me with 100,000 yuan. After she went out, she beat up that brat. She seemed to enjoy it."

She regretted it afterward and cried while holding her grandson.

Landlords should stay away from this family; they're really a bit scary.

Putting aside everything else, their way of raising children is simply outrageous.

"Thank you for reminding me, I certainly know that."

Zhang Ning felt a little powerless. This landlord was too polite; no matter what he did, it seemed like he didn't care.

No, that's not quite right. They've already observed all the proper etiquette. It's just that they're distant.

"Landlord, I helped out today, shouldn't you treat me to a meal?"

Mo Yan thought about it and agreed. "Okay, although I don't need your help today, you did help, so I'll treat you to dinner."

Zhang Ning: "..."

Zhang Ning spoke up directly.

I want to be your friend.

Mo Yan was stunned, completely confused about what Zhang Ning was talking about.

"Did I hear that right, Mr. Zhang? You want to be friends with me?"

Looking at Mo Yan's expression, Zhang Ning was puzzled. What was so strange about that?

"What, is that strange?"

"It's very strange. You give me the feeling that you're someone I only associate with when I need something. You give off the feeling that you're not someone to mess with, and that anyone who gets close to me is no good."

Do you understand?

For Zhang Ning, everyone's existence has a reason. He needs to know the purpose of every friend's approach to him, only then can he feel safe.

He believed that relationships between people were based on mutual benefit, and that a transaction between cash and money was the best possible state of affairs.

Although Zhang Ning really meant it, she never said it out loud. How could Mo Yan have sensed it?

"How could that be?" Zhang Ning smiled awkwardly before speaking, "I've always been a very kind person, and everyone thinks I'm easy to get along with."

Was it that obvious to him?

"That's right. People who see you for the first time think you're easy to get along with, since you always have a smile on your face."

However, a closer look reveals that your smile doesn't reach your eyes; it's polite but distant. You strive to achieve your goals, and you prefer everything you do to be clearly understood.

I don't think we can be friends.

For me, it's impossible for friends to be so calculating all the time. I don't like friendships where I give you a dollar and you have to give me a dollar back.

Of course, if we're not friends, but just landlord and tenant, I think it's fine, quite nice. I really like this clear and straightforward way of getting along.

You're choosing friends, and so am I.

Our definitions of friendship are different, so we probably can't be friends. Breakfast tomorrow is on me. Thank you for your help, Mr. Zhang.

Mo Yan took her daughter back, and Zhang Ning watched their retreating figures the whole time.

Are the definitions different?

Zhang Ning recalled his definition of a landlady: a smart and witty woman.

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