...
"Zhengyang, I think you should just bring some ordinary gifts or fruit," Yao Chushun suggested after thinking for a while.
Xu Zhengyang nearly spat out his tea, coughing as he said, "Are you kidding me? Bringing two pounds of oranges to Old Li's door? To Old Li's door?"
"Bringing anything else would seem too formal," Yao Chushun said, a glint of shrewdness in his triangular eyes. "Last time I gave you a Duan inkstone from the Song Dynasty, so giving you anything else this time would seem superfluous and polite. Since you're so eager to have your cake and eat it too, just relax and have some fun." As he said this, Yao Chushun felt that he was getting bolder and bolder. If someone with ulterior motives heard him, would he get shot?
Xu Zhengyang pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "That makes sense. Do we have any good calligraphy brushes in our shop? We can take one over to Old Li so it can match the inkstone from last time."
“We don’t have that thing,” Yao Chushun said.
"Okay, I'll go right away, and come back as soon as possible," Xu Zhengyang said, getting up as he walked out, greeting the others as he went. Yao Chushun followed closely behind, whispering, "Zhengyang, if they invite you to lunch, don't politely decline. Stick to it and stay, chat with their families for a bit..."
"Master Gu, how old are you?" Xu Zhengyang turned his head and asked with a smile.
"Damn it, let whoever wants to go! I hope you die out there." Old Master Yao Chushun cursed with his triangular eyes. As an old and shrewd man, he knew perfectly well that Xu Zhengyang's question would be followed by accusations of being disrespectful to his elders for worrying about such things.
Chen Chaojiang drove, and Xu Zhengyang sat in the back. They went to Shenghua Supermarket and bought some packaged premium fruits. Xu Zhengyang also spent more than 300 yuan to buy a calligraphy brush.
Well, actually, the reason I spent over 300 yuan on this calligraphy brush was because of the packaging, not the brush itself.
Halfway there, Xu Zhengyang took out the calligraphy brush, threw it behind him, and then waved a judge's pen. After thinking for a while, he used his mental power to slightly modify the appearance of the judge's pen, making it look even more antique, before putting it in the box and closing it.
Only someone like Xu Zhengyang would be willing to give away such a magical artifact as the Judge's Pen as a gift, right?
Xu Zhengyang tucked the box containing the judge's pen into his pocket, a calm smile on his face. He thought to himself, "Grandpa, this thing is a magical artifact! You're only getting this thanks to your granddaughter, and who knows, you might actually need it someday..."
In the western suburbs of Fuhe City, nestled against Xiaowang Mountain and beside the Qinghe River, a courtyard house is adorned with festive bright red couplets in black calligraphy on its gate and the doors of each room. These couplets were all written by Old Li himself. This has been a long-standing habit of his; he enjoys practicing calligraphy regularly, but during the Spring Festival, he insists on personally writing the couplets for his family.
No one questioned this; whatever Old Li wanted to do was perfectly reasonable.
At this moment, four cars were parked on the parking lot on the east side of the gate: an Audi A8, a black Mercedes with military license plates, a silver-gray Bentley Arnage RL with Beijing license plates, and a military green camouflage jeep.
Having learned from his previous experience, Chen Chaojiang drove directly to the spacious parking lot next door.
Chen Chaojiang placed the four daggers he always carried on his person on the passenger seat, then coldly pushed open the car door and got out.
Xu Zhengyang, clutching the slender box containing his calligraphy brushes in his left hand, pushed open the door and got out of the car. With his right hand, he pulled out the premium fruit he had bought and walked with a smile toward the two men in black who had just emerged from the courtyard gate. Chen Chaojiang closed the door behind him and then coldly followed.
After the routine check, the two men told them to wait a moment while one of them went back to report.
Xu Zhengyang wondered if Li Bingjie hadn't told Old Li that he was coming on the sixth day of the lunar new year when she came back last time.
A moment later, Li Chengzong strode out from inside, a smile on his face, and said, "Please come in, I didn't expect you to come so early."
As Li Chengzong entered the courtyard, just like the last time he came, when they reached the middle of the courtyard, Li Chengzong led Chen Chaojiang to a room on the west side, while Xu Zhengyang walked alone towards the main hall.
Just as he stepped onto the stairs, the curtain was lifted, and Li Binghe, tall and upright in military uniform, came out. Upon seeing Xu Zhengyang, he smiled with a hint of surprise and said, "Hello, Xu Zhengyang."
"Brother Li, hello." Xu Zhengyang nodded with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant.
Perhaps because he saw that Xu Zhengyang was carrying things in both hands, Li Binghe didn't reach out to help, but simply lifted the curtain for Xu Zhengyang and said, "Come inside, it's cold outside."
"Thank you, Brother Li." Xu Zhengyang smiled sheepishly and bowed slightly. Without touching the soft cotton curtains, he stepped into the room.
Li Binghe did not go inside; he had gone to the east room to do some things.
On the sofa on the right side of the room, Old Li sat in the middle, holding a baby who looked to be only seven or eight months old with a big smile on his face, occasionally teasing the baby and curiously looking at it.
Sitting one seat to the left of Mr. Li was Li Bingjie's father, Li Ruiyu.
"Grandpa, I wish you a Happy New Year." Xu Zhengyang stepped forward with a simple smile, bowed slightly to the old man, and then turned to Li Ruiyu, "Uncle, hello."
Li Ruiyu nodded calmly without saying a word.
The old man smiled and said, "Alright, alright, sit down."
Xu Zhengyang nodded, and without much ceremony, placed the fruit on a small table to the side, then turned and sat down on the sofa to the right of the old man.
As they were talking, the curtain in the inner room was lifted, and a gentle, beautiful and elegant young woman came out. She smiled and looked at Xu Zhengyang, then took the child from the old man's hands and said with a smile, "I'll watch over him."
The old man chuckled as the young woman took the child from him, then turned to Xu Zhengyang and said, "Bingjie is inside talking to her mother."
"Oh." Xu Zhengyang nodded. He had already seen who lived in the courtyard when he came, so he knew that the young woman was actually the daughter-in-law of Li Bingjie's aunt, and the baby was Li Bingjie's aunt's grandson.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family gathered together. Laughter and chatter came from the inner room.
“Grandpa, I didn’t know what to buy when I came. The shop had a fine calligraphy brush, but I couldn’t tell how good it was this year, so I went to the supermarket and bought one. I brought it to you in this packaging. I hope you like it.” Xu Zhengyang said as he handed over the box containing the calligraphy brush.
The old man smiled and nodded, opened the box, took out the calligraphy brush and looked at it. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. He examined it carefully for a long time, then nodded and praised, "A good thing, a very generous gift."
"I'm glad you like it." Xu Zhengyang said with a simple smile.
Just then, the door to the inner room opposite the main hall opened, and Li Bingjie, dressed in an elegant tracksuit, walked out gently, her ethereal and indifferent eyes revealing no emotion. Following behind her was her mother, Jiang Lan, dressed formally, neither flashy nor plain, exuding a noble air.
Xu Zhengyang stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "Hello, Auntie." This was not the first time he had greeted Jiang Lan in the capital with the rural term "Auntie."
"Hello." Jiang Lan also saw Xu Zhengyang. She didn't show any displeasure on her face. She just nodded calmly and then walked to the sofa and sat down next to Li Ruiyu.
Li Ruiyu glanced at Jiang Lan, then calmly turned his head to look at Xu Zhengyang.
Li Bingjie walked past Xu Zhengyang and sat in the empty seat between Xu Zhengyang and the old man.
The room fell silent for a moment. Xu Zhengyang thought to himself, "Well, this is starting to look like a mother-in-law meeting her son-in-law." Just as he had expected, this kind of atmosphere was really not suitable for him; he had simply come here to make himself uncomfortable. So Xu Zhengyang turned to Li Bingjie and said softly, "How have you been these past few days?"
Li Bingjie nodded gently.
Both Li Ruiyu and Jiang Lan looked surprised.
Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "That's good, you can trust me..." After saying that, Xu Zhengyang said to the old man who was still carefully examining the calligraphy brush, "Grandpa, the shop is opening today, and there's a lot to do, so I won't stay any longer. I have to go back quickly. I'll come back next time to play a couple of games of chess with you..."
"Hmm, okay, okay." The old man looked up at Xu Zhengyang with a slightly puzzled expression, nodded with a smile, but did not say anything to politely persuade him to stay.
Before Xu Zhengyang could get up, Jiang Lan suddenly said, "Wait."
"Auntie, is there anything else?" Xu Zhengyang asked with a simple smile.
Jiang Lan frowned, swallowed back the words she was about to say, and instead said, "Since you're here, let's have lunch together at home."
"No, I have things to do back home. Thank you, Auntie." Xu Zhengyang stood up politely, a simple smile still on his face.
Li Ruiyu spoke in a deep and authoritative voice: "Stay for a meal, and we can chat."
Xu Zhengyang was stunned. What kind of evil had bewitched them? He hadn't expected Li Bingjie's parents to ask him to stay for dinner, especially... Li Ruiyu's tone wasn't one of asking him to stay, it was practically an order.
"Alright, Zhengyang, go ahead and do your work." The old man probably noticed Xu Zhengyang's predicament, so he spoke up to help him out.
"Thank you, Grandpa. It's true that the shop is opening today, so there's been a lot of work." Xu Zhengyang gave Li Ruiyu and Jiang Lan an apologetic smile. After seeing the two nod in agreement, he lowered his head and said softly to Li Bingjie, "Bingjie, I'll be going now. Come sit in the shop if you're free."
Li Bingjie nodded, stood up, and floated gently towards the door like a cloud. She stopped at the door and looked back at Xu Zhengyang, who was in a daze.
Xu Zhengyang then came to his senses and realized, "Oh, so they're giving me a ride."
After giving the people inside a slightly apologetic, sheepish smile, Xu Zhengyang stepped out, his back slightly hunched and his steps a little slow.
If I don't come looking for you, will you come looking for me?
As Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang walked out of the courtyard, Chen Chaojiang was already in the driver's seat of the car. Xu Zhengyang opened the back door, turned around and waved goodbye, signaling Li Bingjie to go back to the house. At that moment, Li Bingjie suddenly said something soft and indifferent.
Xu Zhengyang was stunned for a long time, then smiled and nodded seriously.
Li Bingjie pursed her lips slightly, revealing a rare smile, like a snow lotus blooming in an instant, so beautiful that even the vast blue sky paled in comparison. Then, Li Bingjie turned and walked towards the main room.
Xu Zhengyang got into the car, frowning, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.
Chen Chaojiang didn't say anything, reversed the car, and drove away.
After driving from the side road onto the main road, Chen Chaojiang suddenly said, "Li Bingjie might be in some trouble."
"Hmm." Xu Zhengyang nodded. He had been somewhat suspicious when Li Bingjie said those words earlier.
"You're going to help her?"
“Of course,” Xu Zhengyang said.
Chen Chaojiang's thin lips moved slightly, but he didn't say the words of advice he wanted to give.
Xu Zhengyang closed his eyes slightly, and in an instant, his consciousness returned to the main room of the courtyard house, quietly observing the words and actions of those people. Even when he was checking who was in the courtyard house before, he had never done anything like spying or eavesdropping, but now, he had no choice but to do so.
He found it strange that Li Bingjie and her parents were behaving very abnormally today.
The old man's face remained kind as he gently said, "Bingjie has her own ideas. As parents, you should always think more about your child."
“I disagree with this. It’s utter nonsense!” Li Ruiyu said coldly.
“Dad, Bingjie is young and doesn’t know much about the world. You can’t keep spoiling her like this.” Jiang Lan rarely stood on the same side as Li Ruiyu.
The old man smiled and said, "Let's think about it some more; we can't decide yet."
Li Bingjie, who had been as silent as an iceberg, suddenly spoke up: "He said he wants to marry me."
Boom… Xu Zhengyang felt as if a huge bomb had exploded inside his head. He was completely stunned. My God, what's wrong with you? How could you just say something like that so casually… Ah, no, I did say that, but it was three parts truth and seven parts joke. How could you just say it like that?
After saying this, Li Bingjie got up and walked into the inner room.
After watching the door to the inner room close, Li Ruiyu sighed and said, "We can't let them meet again. I have to take Bingjie away."
Jiang Lan hesitated, then said, "But Xu Zhengyang does have extraordinary abilities. Perhaps, perhaps he can cure Bingjie's illness."
"You believe in these so-called superpowers? How naive!" Li Ruiyu scoffed.
"How did he manage to do all that? Explain yourself!" Jiang Lan said angrily.
Li Ruiyu frowned. What Xu Zhengyang had accomplished was indeed difficult to explain and understand. If it could only be explained by luck, then his luck was simply beyond belief.
The old man waved his hand and said, "Stop arguing, Bingjie stays with me."
The couple wanted to say something, but knowing the old man's temperament, they remained silent. However, their expressions showed that they were reluctant to speak.
The old man picked up the dark, antique-looking calligraphy brush again, examining it closely, and muttered to himself, "Give Xu Zhengyang a year... If the child doesn't improve, give up. If he does... let's see how far Xu Zhengyang goes. Young people are often arrogant and will inevitably become conceited. Let's see."
"I'm worried something might happen, what if..." Jiang Lan hesitated, filled with worry.
“Xu Zhengyang isn’t that kind of person. Besides, would he dare?” The old man’s tone turned serious.
Inside the house, peace was restored.
Xu Zhengyang, sitting in the car, opened his eyes, pursed his lips, and muttered to himself, "Why wouldn't I dare? Why wouldn't I dare? It's just a matter of making it a fait accompli..."
“You wouldn’t dare,” Chen Chaojiang abruptly interrupted Xu Zhengyang. “You’re not that kind of person.”
Xu Zhengyang paused for a moment, then leaned down and glared at the back of Chen Chaojiang's head, baring his teeth as he said, "Actually, when I get angry, I'm even more insane and more of a beast than you..."
As Chen Chaojiang drove, he said coldly, "I never say that about myself."
"Damn it!" Xu Zhengyang leaned back helplessly. He knew what Chen Chaojiang meant by that—to put it bluntly, a barking dog that bites doesn't bark. Xu Zhengyang draped his arms over the backrest and said nonchalantly, "Chaojiang, have you thought about what kind of wife you want to marry?"
"No," Chen Chaojiang replied simply.