"This, this is your maternal grandfather?"

Li Xiangdong found it hard to believe.

Ning Ruoruo's eyes were wide open.

Is this my maternal grandfather?

This is nothing like the confident and powerful old man we knew before!

But the frail, disheveled, gray-haired old man in front of her was indeed her maternal grandfather, Zhou Yicheng.

Grandpa—

"Ahhh, ahhh—"

Zhou Yicheng's lips trembled, and he made an unintelligible "ah" sound as he reached out his hand to Ning Ruoruo.

Ning Ruoruo quickened her pace and grabbed Zhou Yicheng's hand; it was withered and thin.

Tears welled up in Zhou Yicheng's eyes, and then a string of tears rolled down his cheeks.

Li Xiangdong recalled the scene when he went to Lijiapo to pick up Ning Ruoruo. How imposing he was back then!

Why is that?

Even if Zhou Yicheng was demoted to a secondary position because of Jiang Fang, he shouldn't have fallen to such a state.

After all, he's an older comrade; he should still have some basic dignity.

Ning Ruoruo's right hand was tightly held by Zhou Yicheng, so she had to free her left hand to wipe his tears with a handkerchief.

"Second brother, my grandfather may have had a stroke."

Zhou Yicheng's mouth and eyes are crooked, probably due to hemiplegia after a stroke.

"Who takes care of him usually? What about your stepmother?"

Li Xiangdong opened the kitchen window to let in some fresh air, as the room smelled terrible.

Hearing Li Xiangdong say the words "step-grandmother," Zhou Yicheng's tears flowed even faster.

Ning Ruoruo is perceptive and knows that Jiang Ying definitely didn't take good care of Zhou Yicheng.

However, she wasn't particularly moved.

However, just as she thought of a question, Li Xiangdong asked it.

"Your grandfather is sick. Who sent someone to tell you that they want you to come and spend the New Year with him?"

Li Xiangdong and Ning Ruoruo looked into each other's eyes and simultaneously uttered a name.

"Jiang Ying!"

"It's Jiang Ying!"

It was Jiang Ying who asked someone to pass on a message to Ning Ruoruo.

Jiang Ying was afraid that Ning Ruoruo wouldn't come, so she deliberately concealed the fact that Zhou Yicheng was sick.

The reason she did this was to get rid of Zhou Yicheng, this burden.

Fortunately, she didn't go all the way and left Zhou Yicheng a glimmer of hope.

If Ning Ruoruo still has feelings for Zhou Yicheng, then Zhou Yicheng will have someone to rely on for the rest of his life.

If Ning Ruoruo holds a grudge, then Zhou Yicheng will be left to fend for himself.

The two searched the room thoroughly and actually found a divorce certificate in the desk drawer.

However, apart from that, Jiang Ying left no other words.

There were no clothes or personal belongings of hers in the entire house.

Holding up the marriage certificate, Ning Ruoruo asked Zhou Yicheng, "Jiang Ying divorced you?"

Zhou Yicheng's brain is probably not damaged, but he can't move his body and can't speak.

Hearing Ning Ruoruo ask this question, he nodded heavily.

"She took all the valuables from the house?"

Zhou Yicheng nodded again.

"And then you gave yourself to me?"

As if knowing he was a burden, Zhou Yicheng's tears flowed even more fiercely and intensely.

The light in Ning Ruoruo's eyes was bright yet sharp.

"Why did you abandon my mother in the first place? And why did you abandon me later?"

Ning Ruoruo's voice was very soft, but Zhou Yicheng seemed to have been struck by lightning. He kept shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

"Alright, alright. Even though you weren't a good father, you're still my mother's biological father. She never said a bad word about you when she was alive. So, I will take care of you in my mother's place and see you off in your old age."

Ning Ruoruo looked calmly at Zhou Yicheng. "You've been so glamorous in public for so many years, but for your new love, you let your only child wander outside and suffer all kinds of hardships. What have you done now?"

I will take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days, but that's all I'll do.

With the college entrance exam approaching, Ning Ruoruo didn't have time to take care of an elderly woman who had suffered a stroke. Fortunately, she had recently helped her grandson and had some savings, so she hired an older woman to help take care of Zhou Yicheng.

Ning Ruoruo's mood was slightly affected by Zhou Yicheng's matter.

Everyone knew that trying to comfort her with words wouldn't work, so they directly assigned her tasks such as cutting and pasting paper-cut window decorations and writing couplets.

Li Xiangdong owns many houses in Yanjing City, as do Zhou Hongsong, Luo Yonggang, and others. Xiao Sun's real estate agency, Wu Jianjun's antique shop, and Zhou Hongmei's noodle shop all require Ning Ruoruo to write couplets by hand.

Cutting red paper, grinding ink, writing couplets, horizontal scrolls, and the character "福" (good fortune), Ning Ruoruo was so busy that she had no time to think about Zhou Yicheng anymore.

The days passed by in a flurry of activity.

New Year's Eve, 1983.

This year's Lunar New Year's Eve is different from previous years.

Families with televisions gathered early in the morning, ready to watch the first Spring Festival Gala.

In the private room at Juxiande that Li Xiangdong had booked, there was an 18-inch color television. As soon as all of them were present, they asked the waiter to turn on the television and tune it to CCTV-1.

February 12, 1983, 8 p.m.

Everyone put down their chopsticks and stared intently at the television.

As a melodious and festive piece of music—the Spring Festival Overture—began to play, four large characters in regular script appeared on the screen: "Happy New Year".

Then a well-known host surnamed Zhao delivered the opening remarks: "The Spring Festival Gala is now officially beginning!"

As he finished speaking, an animated video of children setting off firecrackers burst forth: "Spring Festival Gala"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!