Chapter 203: I Thought You Weren't Coming Today

The marriage proposal that became known to the whole city last night was still shining on the billboards in the city's major squares at daybreak.

Zhu Qi turned on the television to watch the morning news early in the morning and saw it.

Even though Sheng Yu had told him about this in advance while helping him cook soybean paste noodles yesterday morning, he was still stunned when he saw this scene.

The cook poured him a glass of water, glanced at the television, and smiled from ear to ear, "This Sheng Yu is truly extravagant; he must have burned through quite a bit of money tonight."

It took a long while for Zhu Qi to come back to his senses, and he snorted coldly: "He just has money to burn!"

Last time he made snide remarks about that brat running back and forth between Kyoto City and Yucheng every day until the plane was practically smoking, and he actually said if it smoked he would just change to another one—if that isn't having money to burn, what is?

He took out his phone to call Zhu Yuan, and the call connected as soon as it rang once.

Unexpectedly, a low, hoarse voice came from the other end of the line: "Grandfather has been working hard, rising early and staying up late every day."

Zhu Qi was stunned, "Why are you the one answering the phone?"

"Yuanyuan..." The man lifted the quilt slightly; the woman was lying in his arms, sleeping soundly, and looking at the few red marks on her round, white, and lustrous shoulders, the places where the color was a bit deep were from being sucked and bitten.

His gaze darkened, but the corners of his mouth still curled up, "I'll have her call you back when she wakes up."

A busy signal came from the other end of the phone.

Zhu Yuan didn't wake up until noon, and she went home with Sheng Yu to have lunch with the old man.

Zhu Qi saw the diamond ring on Zhu Yuan's left ring finger at first glance; he snorted softly and turned to go back to his room.

He ignored her, and no matter how Zhu Yuan tried to coax him, he remained unhappy.

She racked her brains and went to the kitchen to make tea for her grandfather; Sheng Yu leaned against the kitchen counter, his long legs crossed casually, and hooked his arm around Zhu Yuan's shoulder to pull her into his arms, "Your grandfather is jealous."

"Huh?"

Sheng Yu tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Otherwise, why would he call you so early in the morning? Just bored?"

Reminded by him, Zhu Yuan seemed to finally realize it.

In the past, her grandfather would never call her early in the morning; when her parents were still alive, whenever she slept in on weekends and was called by her parents, it was always her grandfather who would stop them, saying that if the child wanted to sleep, let her sleep.

He would never disturb her sleep.

So her grandfather was jealous.

Zhu Yuan felt a complex mix of emotions; she looked up at Sheng Yu, "Then I..."

"You promised to marry me, and you still want to back out?"

Zhu Yuan glared at him: "Who said I wanted to back out? I meant, then I'll go coax my grandfather."

"You should coax me."

He didn't want to see Zhu Yuan coaxing any man other than him, even if that person was her grandfather, it wouldn't do.

"Don't you go," Zhu Yuan stopped him, "Besides coaxing me, who else can you coax? That mouth of yours..."

She almost blurted it out, but meeting Sheng Yu's feigned displeased look, she immediately changed her words: "I mean, you don't understand my grandfather as well as I do; you worked hard last night, get some good rest."

Sheng Yu narrowed his eyes, his whole demeanor appearing lazy, "Me working hard is nothing; as long as you were comfortable, that's enough."

Zhu Yuan's face turned beet red, and she hurriedly covered his mouth, "Say less!"

However, Sheng Yu had no intention of letting her go.

Zhu Yuan was truly defeated by him; she raised her hand and patted his head, "Be a good fiancé and go get some rest, okay?"

Sheng Yu chuckled, loosened his hand around her waist, grabbed the hand wearing the diamond ring, and kissed it.

"Don't make me wait too long."

Zhu Yuan gave him an OK gesture, while internally suppressing the urge to kick him out.

How could he be so clingy!

Zhu Qi sat at the desk in his room, holding a book with his reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose; hearing the knock on the door, he said without much emotion: "Come in."

Zhu Yuan pushed the door open and entered, seeing her grandfather sitting at the desk by the window; faint light and shadows fell into the room from the glass window, and looking at her grandfather's slightly hunched back, her nose felt sour in an instant.

"Grandfather."

Zhu Qi's hand holding the book paused, and he hummed without turning his head.

"I made some tea for you; would you like to taste if my tea-making skills have improved?" She placed the cup on the table, then knelt by her grandfather's side, clenched her hands into fists, and gently pounded his legs for him.

"Grandfather, hurry and taste it."

Zhu Qi put down the book, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and hummed.

He didn't say it was good, nor did he say it was bad.

Zhu Yuan felt a bitter taste in her heart, neither angry nor disappointed.

While pounding Zhu Qi's legs, she said: "Grandfather, Sheng Yu is very good to me."

"How good?" Zhu Qi's voice was very low.

"As good as it gets," Zhu Yuan said slowly, "Just as good as you, my brother, and my parents are to me."

Zhu Qi gritted his teeth and trembled, "Is there no one better to you than us?"

"Is there? I don't seem to have felt it much."

"There is, I can see it, he is more than us..."

Realizing something, Zhu Qi looked down at his granddaughter, who looked innocent and harmless and was flashing a sly smile at him; he sighed, lifted his trembling hand to cover his eyes, "You..."

Zhu Yuan heard the choked-up sound in her grandfather's voice, and the moment he lowered his head just now, she clearly saw his reddened eye rims.

Her heart ached terribly; she hurriedly stood up to hug her grandfather and gently stroked his back, "Grandfather, you know how good he is to me."

Zhu Qi only nodded with a choke; after a long while, he said intermittently and tremblingly: "Grandfather just can't bear to let you go."

"Grandfather." Zhu Yuan felt like she was suffocating from the heartache; she gently coaxed the old man, but didn't want to admit she had started crying too; after coaxing for a long time, the grandfather and granddaughter cried together in each other's arms.

In the end, Sheng Yu stepped in and managed to coax them both into a better mood.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yuan went to the Theater for her performance.

Today was the weekend, so Sheng Yu didn't have to go back to Kyoto City for work; he took Zhu Qi out fishing and lost several games of chess in a row, finally managing to make the old man laugh.

But as soon as he met Sheng Yu's face, the old man snorted coldly: "Don't give me that cheeky grin!"

Although nothing could be read from Sheng Yu's face, Zhu Qi knew all too well that he must be secretly gloating inside.

He was easy to talk to, but his grandson was not so easy to talk to.

After the tour in Yucheng ended, Zhu Yuan returned to Kyoto City with Sheng Yu.

It was just time for a prison visit, and even though Zhu Jingyao was about to be released, there was still an opportunity for a visit.

Zhu Yuan sat outside the glass window, saw her brother being brought out by the prison guard, stood up happily, and waved at Zhu Jingyao with a smile.

Seeing her, a soft smile appeared on Zhu Jingyao's clear and gentle face.

"Brother!"

Listening to the girl's charming voice through the receiver, the corners of Zhu Jingyao's lips curled up, "I thought you weren't coming today."

After all, he would be released from prison in ten days.

Zhu Yuan hummed softly, "How could I not come? I would come even if it were just one day away. Brother, I have something important to tell you."

"Mm, go ahead."

Zhu Yuan pursed her lips shyly, raised her left hand, and waved her finger at Zhu Jingyao.

The gentle smile on Zhu Jingyao's face gradually faded.

The faint, shimmering light from the diamond ring on the girl's ring finger cut into his heart like sharp blades.