In the evening, after Zhao's father got off work and came home, the group drove to the old house. Zhao Qingyun did not go with his parents, but drove his own car.
After driving for about half an hour, the car arrived at its destination. Zhao Qingyun parked the car, took Xu Lai's hand, rubbed it a couple of times, and asked, "Why are your hands so cold? Are you nervous?"
Xu Lai nodded: "It's natural to be nervous, after all, it's my first time meeting your grandfather."
Zhao Qingyun reassured her, "Don't worry, he won't make things difficult for you. Your grandfather was probably senile a couple of years ago and did some things that people found incomprehensible, but he's back to normal now."
Xu Lai couldn't help but laugh, "How can you talk like that?"
Zhao Qingyun was telling the truth. The things the old man did in the previous years were simply appalling. Not only did he adopt the nanny's daughter, but he also repeatedly indulged her behavior.
Zhao Qingyun drove faster. He saw Uncle Wang arriving in his car out of the corner of his eye, so he and Xu Lai got out and went inside with his parents.
The old house was bustling with activity today. Actually, his children and grandchildren only needed to come back for a meal once a month, but as long as Zhao Qingyun came back, the old man would definitely let them come back, since he was the old man's most valued grandson.
Ms. Yingqiu walked ahead, and as soon as she entered the gate, someone came up to her and said, "Sir and Madam have returned."
Xu Lai followed Ms. Yingqiu's example and took off her wool coat, handing it to the housekeeper.
Zhao Qingyun leaned close to her ear and said, "If you need to greet the elders later, just listen to me and say it after me."
Grandpa Zhao had two sons and a daughter. His daughter was the youngest. Zhao Qingyun's father was the second son, and he had an older brother, who was Zhao Qingxi's father.
Zhao Qingyun went over first and greeted Uncle and Aunt, and Xu Lai followed suit, saying, "Hello, Uncle, hello, Aunt."
The uncle nodded slightly, and the aunt smiled and said, "This must be Qingyun's girlfriend. We've finally met her."
Zhao Qingyun pointed ahead and said, "I'll take her to say hello to my aunt."
Aunt smiled and said, "Go ahead, go ahead."
Zhao Qingyun stopped in front of her aunt and said, "Aunt, how have you been lately?"
Zhao Xin looked up at him and said, "Of course that's great. You brat, you never even call me normally."
Zhao Qingyun put his arm around Xu Lai's waist and said, "Auntie, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Xu Lai."
Xu Lai greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Auntie."
Zhao Xin felt that she looked very familiar. At this moment, her daughter, who was in the first year of high school, reminded her: "Xu Lai from the internet, the one who makes videos."
Zhao Xin then remembered that it seemed familiar; it turned out to be a video her second sister-in-law had shared before.
Zhao Qingyun looked around but couldn't see the old man, so she asked, "Where's Grandpa?"
The aunt pointed upstairs, "In the room, someone just brought over a massage device, hyping it up like it was something special. The old man was so charmed by her that he rushed back to his room to try it out."
Xu Lai guessed that the person in question might be the nanny's daughter that Zhao Qingyun had mentioned.
Not long after, Zhao Qingxi and Zhao Duo arrived. Because they were late, they were scolded by their uncle.
The aunt was so annoyed by her son's lazy and irresponsible ways that she simply turned away, preferring to stay out of sight of him.
Now that everyone was present, Grandpa Zhao, supported by his nanny Aunt Liu and her daughter Liu Qin, came out of the room.
Zhao Qingyun called out, "Grandpa."
Xu Lai also called out, "Hello, Grandpa, I'm Xu Lai."
Grandpa Zhao didn't react much, he just told everyone to sit down and prepare to eat.
Halfway through the meal, Liu Qin couldn't sit still any longer and asked Xu Lai, "And who is this?"
Seeing everyone looking at her, Liu Qin smiled and said, "I was just helping the old man adjust the massager, so I didn't hear anyone chatting."
Xu Lai pursed her lips and then said, "Hello everyone, I'm Xu Lai, Qingyun's girlfriend."
Liu Qin pretended not to know, "Oh, when did Qingyun get a girlfriend? Didn't we say we were going to give Yingying to you?"
Seeing her like that, Jiang Yingqiu couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Don't pretend you don't know anything. I just said here last time that you can forget about letting your daughter marry into the family."
Ms. Yingqiu was prepared for her father-in-law to scold her, but to her surprise, he said to Liu Qin, "Alright, what's all this chatter about? Let's eat."
Liu Qin was scolded and dared not utter another word.
After the meal, the old man pointed at Xu Lai and said, "Come to the study with me."
Xu Lai nodded: "Yes."
Zhao Qingyun wanted to follow, but the old man stopped her, "What are you doing? I won't scold her. Don't you trust your grandfather?"
He stopped in his tracks. "Grandpa, you've misunderstood."
The old man sat down in a chair, asked Xu Lai to open the door, and asked, "How old are you this year?"
Xu Lai: "I'm 28 this year."
The old man thought for a moment and said, "Then you and Qingyun are two years apart."
Xu Lai nodded, unaware of the old man's intention in saying that.
Grandpa Zhao stood up, took out a photo album, and flipped through several photos of him and Zhao Qingyun.
“When he was a child, he often came here to play chess and chat with me. Many people think that I treat him the best, but that’s not true. He spends the most time with this old man.”
The old man continued, "Later, rumors spread that I favored Liu Qin as the heir to the group, and that I tacitly approved of her actions in order to restrain her power."
Xu Lai didn't know exactly what had happened, but it was the direct reason why Zhao Qingyun left City B.
The old man sighed, "Who knew? By tacitly approving, I pushed my grandson away. I know the younger generation thinks I've gone mad, obeying a nanny so readily. But actually, I'm old and just want companionship, so sometimes I turn a blind eye to their little mistakes."
Xu Lai thought for a moment and said, "If you had confronted him openly back then, I believe Zhao Qingyun would have understood your good intentions. But you chose the most humiliating way to do it."
Xu Lai couldn't understand why a grandfather would personally deliver someone to his grandson's bed.
The old man rummaged through the drawer and pulled out a box, handing it over. "This is a small token of my appreciation."
Xu Lai opened it and saw a complete set of jeweled jewelry inside. She put it back, saying, "Grandpa, I can't accept this."
The old man chuckled. "Take it. Don't you plan to marry into the Zhao family?"
Xu Lai straightened her back. "Does accepting this set of jewelry mean I'm bound to him for life?"
The old man was stunned. "You child, never mind, never mind. No wonder he favors you."
When Xu Lai came out of the study, Zhao Qingyun was waiting outside the door. He had overheard the gist of the conversation and knew his grandfather's attitude, which made him feel much more at ease.
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