Chapter 5

5 「Indeed quite soft. 」

There was no need to send her to the hospital, because Xu Airu woke up on her own after a moment.

Moving from the courtyard to the indoor living room.

Knowing the full story, Grandfather Xie wasn't too nervous.

And Xu Airu, upon hearing her say that once the pawn was made, she wouldn't let Xie Jingting come to harm, finally put her mind completely at ease.

Xie Jingzhou had already been sent out to look for Xie Jingting.

Before leaving, Tushan Jiu instructed him to keep that small pair of scissors close on his person.

In the living room.

Grandfather Xie chuckled and asked Tushan Jiu, "Little Jiu, you've had a rough journey, aren't you tired? I've already had someone prepare something delicious for you; it'll be ready soon."

Tushan Jiu sat upright, smiling as she answered the old master's words, "Riding the plane is indeed a bit tiring, but it's fine, thank you for your concern, Grandfather."

Grandfather nodded, "Time really flies— in the blink of an eye you've all grown up. I remember when your grandfather brought you to the Xie Family, you were only three years old, oh my, how adorable you were, absolutely precious."

Xu Airu also chimed in, "Yes, soft and squishy, like a snowball. I even held you back then, oh right, Xie Shiyu also held you then, didn't he, Xie Shiyu?"

Hearing Xu Airu call Xie Shiyu, Tushan Jiu pressed her lips slightly, her gaze glancing toward the man sitting alone on the sofa.

Just now, Xie Shiyu had already returned to the ancestral home.

Tushan Jiu's first impression of him was still that phone call just now, his voice.

When she was bored on the mountain, she loved listening to radio dramas; she could be considered a voice enthusiast.

His voice was simply too pleasant to listen to—not like some abstinent bass that catches the eye, but rather like a gentle spring breeze that lingers in the ear.

Listening to him speak, she would feel her ears itch.

And all of this was her impression of him before she met Xie Shiyu.

When she saw him in person, she felt his appearance was even more captivating than his voice.

His facial contours were distinct, balancing hardness and softness; his natural brows were coarse yet carried sharpness, a pair of peach-blossom eyes with slightly upturned corners, his gaze bright and profound.

Tushan Jiu had assumed he would be the type of elite dressed impeccably in suit and leather shoes.

But he was dressed in casual wear, giving a very comfortable feeling.

Just like his voice, gentle and noble.

Tushan Jiu had only intended to glance furtively, but she hadn't expected Xie Shiyu to be looking at her as well.

Their eyes met; her furtive glance was caught red‑handed, Tushan Jiu gave an embarrassed smile, withdrew her gaze, and lowered her head to fiddle with the bracelet on her wrist.

Little did she know, in fact Xie Shiyu had deliberately changed into a different outfit at the office before heading home, just to avoid giving her a sense of distance.

He let out a low chuckle, answering Xu Airu's words, "Yeah, I've held her."

After recalling, he added, "Indeed, she was quite soft."

Tushan Jiu's body stiffened, she lifted her head and looked at him blankly.

How could she not remember this?

This scene was exactly captured by Xie Shiyu; the corner of his mouth lifted as he thought she surely had no memory of it—she was still little back then.

When she came to the Xie Family at three years old, she clung to his thigh, not letting go, her speech indistinct yet she still giggled, giggling as she called him.

When leaving, his grandfather had to expend great effort to pry her from his body.

At that time she cried so hard she could barely catch her breath, unable to say much, yet she struggled to express her fondness for him.

Indeed, Xie Shiyu himself had known from childhood about the engagement, and it was he who personally agreed to it.

Back then, the old master built the Xie Clan from scratch, and in just ten years he brought the Xie Clan Group into the nation's top 100.

Although he was young then, he possessed thunderous tactics, yet he also offended many people in the business world.

Consequently, many aristocratic families joined forces to suppress the Xie Clan Group, hoping to press it down.

However, the old master also indeed had a unique talent for business; otherwise it would have been impossible to lift the Xie Clan Group from an obscure small firm to the top 100 in such a short time.

So even when they joined forces to suppress him, the old master stubbornly survived in the cracks, maintaining a stance of neither advancing nor retreating.

Later, seeing they could not suppress the old master, those people resorted to some backdoor tricks.

This backdoor trick was naturally not a legitimate means, but rather sorcery.

From then on the Xie Family's business plummeted, and not only that—the old master's wife, who was also Xie Shiyu's grandmother, for some unknown reason saw her health deteriorate day by day, and she passed away within half a year.

The old master thus suffered a huge blow.

Fortunately, at that time Xie Shiyu's father, Xie Wenmo, had already grown up and was learned, single-handedly sustaining the Xie Clan.

Xie Shiyu was born just as the family was shifting from prosperity to decline.

Later, when the Xie Family was about to collapse, Tushan Jiu's grandfather appeared holding her.

At that time he went straight to the point: the Xie Family, at his knife, he would restore the Xie Clan's fortune to its peak.

Tushan Jiu's grandfather frankly said, he had come for Xie Shiyu, who is a once-in-a-century child of destiny.

The old master found it strange and asked him, why, despite the Xie Family having a great child of destiny, would it still be like this?

But Tushan Jiu's grandfather gave the answer: Xie Shiyu is indeed a child of destiny, no mistake, but even the imperial destiny of ancient emperors was not smooth sailing, let alone when he was still young—his destiny's flow was insufficient to sustain the rise and fall of the entire Xie Family.

The old master then asked about the payment for the knife.

Tushan Jiu's grandfather also did not conceal it, speaking frankly: once the matter is settled, the desired payment is Xie Shiyu marrying his granddaughter.

In the Xie Family, the old master dotes on Xie Shiyu.

He felt that business could be started over, but he could not therefore sacrifice his grandson's entire life.

But when he turned his head, he saw his eight‑year‑old grandson embracing Tushan Jiu, a rare sight, and he only said to him, "Grandfather, I have agreed to the marriage, I have signed the marriage contract."

Thus, the deal was preliminarily reached.

Actually, how could the old master not know—this grandson of his is for the whole Xie Family.

The past is unbearable to recall, but fortunately the Xie Family now steadily holds the top wealth position in Nan Cheng.

Moreover, after Xie Shiyu began managing the company, it became even more prosperous, like the midday sun.

However, regarding the Xie Family's past events, although her grandfather never mentioned them to her, she only needed to move a finger to know the general idea.

Of course, she neither remembers nor can figure out the matter of clinging onto someone and not letting go.

Old Master Xie asked Tushan Jiu: "Little Jiu, when will your grandfather come over? We get along well temperamentally, I still want to have a couple drinks with him."

Tushan Jiu raised her eyes, gave a faint smile, and said, "I'm afraid not."

Old Master Xie: "Why not?"

"At the beginning of this year, my grandfather passed away."

Upon hearing that, the living room fell silent for a moment, and Old Master Xie's expression turned sorrowful.

Immediately, Xu Airu took hold of Tushan Jiu's hand and gently patted it.

Tushan Jiu raised her head to look at her.

Xu Airu said with a pitying tone: "Over the past half year, how did you, a lone girl, manage to survive on the mountain? Why didn't you come down to the Xie Family earlier?"

Tushan Jiu thought there was nothing to say; her grandfather and others came up to see her every few days, and she didn't feel anything different from before. But thinking of how Xu Airu had just heard the reaction from the Ghost Empress, she simply swallowed her words.

She smiled and shook her head, saying affectingly, "The time has not yet come."

As soon as those four words were spoken, indeed, Xu Airu and Old Master Xie did not ask further.

Only Xie Shiyu noticed that Tushan Jiu secretly let out a breath.

He turned his gaze to the suitcase beside him, then stood up and said to Old Master Xie: "Grandpa, Miss Tushan is tired from sitting on the plane for half a day; the room has already been prepared, right? Why don't I first take her upstairs to rest a while?"

Indeed, after Xie Shiyu finished saying that, Tushan Jiu's big eyes looked at him, full of gratitude.