Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Before Xia Wanzhi arrived, the Old Master would still call over the fiancées of Xie Lin and Xie Nan to have a few words with them. But the moment Xia Wanzhi appeared, the Old Master only had eyes for Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan.

“Little Stepmother and Second Aunt are bad-mouthing people again!” Xie Tan shouted, popping out from who knew where.

Ever since she had Xie Qiyan backing her up, she had gained confidence in the Xie Family. When she heard they were talking about Xia Wanzhi, Xie Tan simply couldn’t stand it.

They weren’t far from the dining room. Xie Tan’s voice was so loud that Third Aunt of the Xie Family, afraid the matter would blow up, raised her hand as if to strike her. “Xie Tan, what nonsense are you spouting?!”

“What is Third Aunt doing? Be careful not to upset the baby.” Xia Wanzhi stepped out from around the corner of the corridor. Her tone was light, but it carried a chill.

Third Aunt of the Xie Family was the very Little Stepmother who had raised Xie Tan. Since childhood, Xie Tan had suffered no shortage of beatings from this Little Stepmother.

Xia Wanzhi could be polite to anyone in the Xie Family, but not to her.

“What are you saying, Miss Xia?” Third Aunt of the Xie Family lifted her chin. Lately, relying on the fact that she was pregnant, she had been putting on no small amount of airs.

Xie Tan hid behind Xia Wanzhi and whispered, “Sister Wanzi, they…”

“I heard.” Xia Wanzhi held Xie Tan’s hand and looked up at the two Xie Family aunts who had been gossiping. “I’m someone who holds grudges. Since you two watched me grow up, you should know my temper. If I go back tonight and put in some pillow talk with my Ayan, why don’t you guess whether he’ll take offense?”

Second Aunt of the Xie Family and Third Aunt of the Xie Family went pale with fright, as if they had just remembered Xie Qiyan’s hellish methods. Forcing a smile, Second Aunt said, “Wanzi, your Third Aunt and I were just joking. Don’t take it to heart. Your Third Aunt is still carrying a child. Don’t scare her…”

Xia Wanzhi’s gaze instantly turned cold.

Sure enough, they were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong.

As elders, they were ready to hit a child at the drop of a hat. Yet the moment Xie Qiyan was mentioned, they didn’t even dare breathe too loudly.

Xia Wanzhi didn’t dare imagine how difficult Xie Tan’s situation would have been if Xie Qiyan hadn’t come back and taken her under his wing.

“Let’s go.” As unpleasant as it was, this was still the Xie Family, and she didn’t yet have the standing to truly make trouble for them. Scaring them that badly with just a few words had already been rather satisfying, so Xia Wanzhi stopped while she was ahead and led Xie Tan toward the South Courtyard.

Xie Tan cheerfully swung Xia Wanzhi’s hand. “Are we going to find your Brother Ayan so you can give him some pillow talk?”

Xia Wanzhi choked hard. “…”

“You absolutely cannot say that kind of thing to your brother.” Xia Wanzhi bent down and covered Xie Tan’s mouth.

“What a coincidence. I heard it.” Xie Qiyan’s lingering, velvety voice came from behind them. Night had already fallen, and the streetlamp cast their shadows onto the ground. He was still a few steps behind them, but his shadow had already fallen at Xia Wanzhi’s feet.

Xia Wanzhi gritted her teeth and childishly stomped on the shadow’s head a few times.

“Xie Tan, go back to your room by yourself.” Xie Qiyan had come looking for Xia Wanzhi in the first place. He hadn’t expected to run into such a fine little show in the corridor.

Xie Qiyan had now moved to Lanting Bieyuan, so the South Courtyard was Xie Tan’s territory. With Xie Qiyan protecting her and the Old Master doting on her, Xie Tan was now well fed, well cared for, and not at all worried about being bullied again.

“Okay, then I won’t… keep Sister Wanzi from her pillow talk.” Xie Tan knew they wouldn’t be staying overnight at the Xie Family. After nodding, she ran happily into the South Courtyard.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

How did children these days understand everything?

With the third person gone, Xia Wanzhi bitterly endured the awkwardness of being alone with Xie Qiyan and deeply reflected on why she had said that just now.

“The Old Master is in the study.” Xie Qiyan suppressed the amusement in his eyes and brought up the serious matter with Xia Wanzhi.

Xia Wanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and picked up her pace. “Then what are we waiting for? We can’t keep Grandpa Xie waiting. Let’s hurry over.”

Neither of them spoke along the way. Xia Wanzhi really did rush ahead, while Xie Qiyan followed behind her, looking to be in quite a good mood.
When they reached the study, Xia Wanzhi had barely stepped inside before the Old Master pulled her over to sit down. It was as if he hadn’t even seen Xie Qiyan beside her. He didn’t greet him, either; whether Xie Qiyan stood or sat was none of his concern.

“Come here, Wanzi. Grandpa has something for you.” Unable to suppress the surge of emotion in his heart, the Old Master pushed a handmade wooden box toward Xia Wanzhi. “Open it and take a look.”

The box was large and looked heavy at a glance.

Xia Wanzhi instinctively glanced at Xie Qiyan.

“This was part of Grandma Xie’s dowry back then…”

Before the Old Master could finish, Xia Wanzhi shot to her feet with a scrape of her chair. “No, no, absolutely not. This gift is far too valuable. Grandpa, I can’t accept it…”

What kind of international joke was this? They weren’t even a real couple. If she accepted something like this, wouldn’t that be the end of her?

“It’s all just vulgar worldly things.” The Old Master opened the box. The top layer held several smaller boxes.

After he removed the smaller boxes on the first layer, the gold bars beneath-bright, gleaming, and dazzling-were laid bare before Xia Wanzhi’s eyes.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

Half a box of gold.

“The little boxes have jade bangles and gold rings in them. You young people probably don’t like these styles,” the Old Master went on by himself. “If you don’t like them, that’s fine. Have this brat buy you something else. Just treat these as antiques for your collection. They’re all yours anyway, so do whatever you like with them.”

Xia Wanzhi moved her lips, her expression full of difficulty.

“These aren’t family heirlooms. They’re keepsakes the old woman left me.” Afraid she would refuse, the Old Master explained, “I don’t have many years left. I’ve been wanting to find someone I could entrust her dowry to, but when money is involved, who can say who is sincere?”

At that, Xia Wanzhi lifted her gaze.

“Take them. When Xie Tan gets married in the future, you can pass them on to her as family heirlooms.” The Old Master sighed.

If he hadn’t put it that way, Xia Wanzhi would never have accepted them.

The moment Xia Wanzhi heard that, she agreed at once. “All right, all right. Don’t worry, Grandpa Xie. Wanzi will not fail this mission.”

The Old Master laughed in delight. “You should be calling me Grandpa directly now.”

Xia Wanzhi gave a light cough. “Mm. Grandpa.”

That one “Grandpa” coaxed him into beaming from ear to ear. Before they left, the Old Master even gave them an earnest reminder. “Now that you’re together, treat each other well. Grandpa is waiting to drink at your wedding banquet.”

“It won’t be that soon…” Xia Wanzhi was a little flustered.

Please, she couldn’t really end up selling herself into this, could she?

“Grandpa knows. Grandpa is just saying.” The Old Master looked at Xia Wanzhi kindly. “Xie Qiyan said he didn’t want to get engaged and that you two should date first. I won’t interfere with you, but don’t make Grandpa wait too long.”

Xia Wanzhi could only agree.

On the way back, Xia Wanzhi was filled with guilt and a guilty conscience.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Knowing she liked the breeze, Xie Qiyan had left the window half-open even with the air-conditioning on.

“Grandpa wanted us to get engaged?” Xia Wanzhi had no idea how many things she still didn’t know about.

“More like he wanted us to get married.” Xie Qiyan glanced sideways at her.

Xia Wanzhi choked, then laughed dryly twice. “Now I feel even guiltier.”

The Old Master was lukewarm toward most people, but he was truly good to Xia Wanzhi and Xie Tan.

Xia Wanzhi felt a little troubled.

She worried the whole way home. After she went inside and was about to close the door, Xie Qiyan blocked it with one leg as he stepped in.

Xia Wanzhi looked puzzled. “What are you doing?”

“Weren’t you going to blow some pillow talk my way?” Xie Qiyan leaned forward slightly.

Xia Wanzhi was so startled that she pressed hard against the door. “I was joking! You actually took it seriously?”

“All right, I won’t tease you.” Xie Qiyan tapped her on the forehead. “Go in. I’ll change your showerhead.”

As soon as he said that, he took advantage of her daze to step inside, change his shoes, and head toward the bathroom.

Xia Wanzhi stood there, a little stunned.

How did he know the showerhead was broken?