Chapter 84: Sitting Beside the Birthday Star

Seventeen years old……

Old Master Xu silently reckoned the girl's age in his heart; if she were seventeen, it would be entirely within reason.

It's mainly because she looks so alike.

Looking at the girl's eyes, it felt as if he were gazing into the eyes of that bright, lively little girl from back then.

Old Master Xu asked Pei Muyin again: "Child, you came with your……guardian, right? Where is she?"

"I came with my grandmother."

Pei Muyin turned her head to look at Ms. Song beside her; Old Master Xu also saw Ms. Song, realized, oh right, it was Ms. Song who had just brought this girl up to present her a birthday painting.

Isn't this person from the Pei Family of Jing Shi?

"Child, your surname is Pei, right?"

"Yes." Pei Muyin nodded and replied, "My name is Pei Muyin."

"……Pei Muyin." Old Master Xu murmured the name, then eagerly asked: "And your mother—where is your mother?"

Pei Muyin startled, not waiting to speak, Ms. Song said: "Old Master Xu, my granddaughter has no mother, you……?" Don't you know.

It is well known that the head of the Pei Group has a single daughter but has never married, so there is also no original wife.

No original wife? No mother?

Old Master Xu furrowed his brows, again looked at Pei Muyin's face to confirm he hadn't mistaken the girl's background; in a few breaths, the solemnity on his face dissipated, he swept a glance around those present, including Ms. Song, and said calmly:

"Oh, I'm old and muddled; my old eyes have failed me, I mistook the person."

Old Master Xu is highly respected and virtuous, so no one dared agree with his self‑mocking words; they all broke out in smiles to smooth things over.

At this moment, the eldest son of the Xu Family stepped forward and invited the guests to move to the restaurant for a meal.

The matter of the painting hadn't succeeded; Ms. Song was vexed and was about to impatiently gesture for Pei Muyin to follow her to the restaurant when she was called out—but the call wasn't for her.

"Muyin, is that you?"

Old Master Xu, dressed in a red ceremonial tang jacket, supported his eldest son's arm and smiled warmly at Pei Muyin: "The painting you sent suits my taste perfectly; to show my gratitude, could I invite you to sit with me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the guests looked at each other in surprise.

Naturally they were surprised, for Old Master Xu is not the type to easily put on a pleasant face for juniors; he consistently maintains a stern, dignified demeanor that shows no joy on his face, and even his several great‑grandchildren usually fear this great‑grandfather of theirs.

It is rare to see him so generous in expressing his kindness to juniors.

Knowing that Pei Muyin had come with her elders, Old Master Xu even thoughtfully spared her the need to seek permission from her elders, turning directly to Ms. Song and saying: "Madam Xu, this child Muyin is especially to my liking; you should, do you mind if she goes with me?"

This was in Gang Cheng, the Xu Family's territory, and today was Old Master Xu's ninetieth birthday; Ms. Song could not possibly say she minded, no matter what, and though she was surprised by Old Master Xu's decision, she could only smile.

"Old Master Xu likes my granddaughter; it's her blessing from past cultivation."

Finally, Old Master Xu sought Pei Muyin's opinion: "Child, are you willing?"

Pei Muyin had a good impression of this old gentleman, and also felt a little guilty; the painting she had presented "had a problem," yet this old gentleman not only didn't get angry but also invited her to sit with him; facing such an elder, Pei Muyin could not refuse.

"Yes, I'm willing."

"All right, let's go." Old Master Xu laughed.

……

Inside the restaurant, lights blazed, and the servers shuttled plates back and forth with ease.

At the main table where Old Master Xu sat, everyone was from the Xu Family, four generations present.

Pei Muyin thought Old Master Xu's invitation to sit together merely meant sharing a table, but when the server led her to the seat beside Old Master Xu, she suddenly stood there, at a loss, and hesitated to sit down.

"This won't do……"

Her seat would directly skip two generations of elders—it was too presumptuous.

A pair of hands rested on Pei Muyin's shoulders, and a kind female voice joked: "Child, it's fine, sit down; today the birthday star is supreme, just listen to the birthday grandfather, or else this birthday grandfather might burst into tears."

Pei Muyin turned her head and met a face equally kind and loving.

This was Old Master Xu's original wife, Old Madam Xu.

Her white hair was coiled into an elegant bun at the back of her head, and she wore a cheongsam of the same style as Old Master Xu.

Just now Old Madam Xu had been making longevity noodles in the back kitchen, a promise she and her husband kept: on each other's birthdays they would personally make a bowl of longevity noodles for the other; she had just wiped her hands when her third grandson came running in, exclaiming:

"Grandma grandma, hurry and look—Grandfather just met a child in the front hall who looks especially like Little Sister Shu!"

Old Madam Xu had wanted to scold this rascal, who is already in his thirties and a father, for being so flighty, but hearing his words she froze.

Upon seeing Pei Muyin, Old Madam Xu also found herself dazed.

She resembled her—indeed, she really did.

For a moment, Old Madam Xu dazedly recalled how long it had been since she had last seen that child Shu Shu.

……

Under the gentle pressure of Old Madam Xu's hands, Pei Muyin finally sat down obediently, yet she still felt ill at ease everywhere.

Dishes came and went like flowing water.

Pei Muyin held her bowl, lowered her head, and ate her rice obediently, thinking to finish quickly and go find her sister.

The girl, while thinking, cautiously picked at the vegetables only before her; then, without meaning to, she lifted her head and saw that everyone at the table was motionless, all staring at her.

"……"

"Why, is everyone looking at me?"

The girl's chewing motion stopped abruptly, and she obediently set down her bowl, not daring to eat.

Silence lasted a few seconds.

Still, the eldest son of the Xu Family was the first to speak, chuckling: "All right, everyone, hurry up and eat—don't scare the child."

At Old Madam Xu's request, Old Master Xu and she swapped seats, placing her beside Pei Muyin; Old Madam Xu gestured kindly for Pei Muyin to pick up her bowl and eat again, and she even took an empty bowl, personally ladled a steaming bowl of fish soup, and placed it in Pei Muyin's hand.

"Be careful, it's hot; let it cool a little before drinking."

"……" Pei Muyin, overwhelmed with gratitude, hastily turned sideways to thank: "Old Madam Xu, thank you."

""What 'Old Lady Xu', too formal a title, is it... Muyin? Just like my great-grandsons, call me great-grandma.""

Kind words, kind eyes, a kind person.

Pei Muyin blinked, like a little snail extending its antennae, and softly called out: '... Great-grandma.'

""Ah, good girl.""

Old Lady Xu noticed Pei Muyin's reserve, and from time to time she would serve her dishes, and in a gentle voice chatted with her, asking where she studied, what she usually liked to eat, and what activities she might be more interested in.

They were just superficial questions.

Every time she answered, no matter what the answer was, Old Lady Xu would especially say it was interesting to encourage her, making Pei Muyin want to keep speaking.

Without realizing it, the girl relaxed completely.

The other people at the table were far away, so they couldn't easily speak, but when Pei Muyin spoke, they would stop and listen attentively to her voice.

This was a feeling and treatment Pei Muyin had never experienced before in the Pei Family's main residence in Jing Shi.

At the dinner table, she was no longer an invisible presence; she too was a child who would receive the elders' attention.

The girl pursed her lips, and the light in her eyes softened and brightened.