Chapter 85: with translation of chapter title

Pei Muyin finished her meal, moved the fish soup over to drink, and just after taking a sip, Old Master Xu asked: "Xiao Mu Yin, does it taste good?"

"Mm-hmm."

It was truly delicious, fresh and fragrant; the foodie Pei Muyin was instantly won over by the flavor—this fish soup was a hundred times better than the famous fish soup shop she had visited in the offshore city before.

Old Master Xu smiled with narrowed eyes.

Look, he said he hadn't mistaken the person; this child also likes drinking the fish soup from his backyard lake, and when she likes it she unconsciously narrows her peach-blossom eyes.

How could this not be Xiao Shu's child?!

…

The lady Song from another table leaned over to look at the main table, and naturally she easily saw the entire Xu family greeting Pei Muyin with warm smiles and solicitous care.

She didn't realize that the ink painting she had taken never made it to the Xu family's Zhijing Villa; instead she thought her arranged person had botched the job, causing Pei Muyin to mistakenly deliver the painting of Old Master Xu's little disciple to the right place by accident.

Thus, Old Master Xu looked favorably upon Pei Muyin.

Winning over Old Master Xu meant winning over the whole Pei family, so everyone in the Xu family would give Pei Muyin a pleasant expression.

Was this letting Pei Muyin strike luckily by accident?

Lady Song had originally intended to make Pei Muyin the laughingstock of the entire banquet, but she hadn't expected that Pei Muyin would directly become an honored guest of the Xu family.

After the meal.

A servant came over to inform Lady Song, saying Old Master Xu truly liked the Pei family's young miss and wanted her to stay for a bowl of sweet soup at the Xu residence.

It also allowed Lady Song to leave first; after the gathering ended, the Xu family would arrange someone to send the Pei family's young miss home.

…

Lady Song felt a bit unsettled; the Xu family are usually aloof, yet they liked Pei Muyin and even after the meal wanted to keep her, but they didn't keep this grandmother?

…

An elegantly arranged tea room.

Old Master Xu sat opposite the small tea table, opposite, Old Madam Xu then sat beside Pei Muyin, gazing lovingly at the girl as she lowered her head to drink the palate‑cleansing sweet soup.

"Xu family grandfather, do you have something you want to ask me?"

Pei Muyin had only taken two sips of the sweet soup when she lifted her head.

Old Master Xu marveled at the child's keen perception.

"Child, I didn't call you for anything specific; I have something I want to ask you."

Pei Muyin set down her spoon and obediently said, "All right, please ask."

Old Master Xu fell silent, clearly choosing his words; after a moment his voice lowered slightly as he said, "Good child, tell me honestly to your grandfather—is your father bullying your mother?"

Pei Muyin: o. o?

"What, what……?"

Pei Muyin thought she had misheard, until Old Master Xu repeated the sentence: "Is your father indebted to your mother? Otherwise, why does your grandmother say you have no mother, and outsiders also say there's no one by your father's side?"

"But Xu family grandfather, I truly have had no mother since childhood." Pei Muyin lowered her eyes and said, "I have never seen my mother."

Old Master Xu: "How is that possible? If you've never seen your mother, how did you manage to send that painting in?"

Pei Muyin was bewildered by Old Master Xu's words, but hearing him mention the painting she felt it necessary to explain and apologize again solemnly; the girl's soft voice spoke clearly: "Xu family grandfather, it's like this: your grandmother bought a painting of your little disciple at an auction, intending to give it to you as a birthday gift."

"Because the auction was near An Shi, I was studying there, so she had me bring the painting to Gang Cheng along the way, but midway we discovered the painting had been severely damaged and could no longer be delivered to you."

"It was my good friend who can copy paintings; she made a copy of it, which is the one you just took away. I'm truly sorry."

"A good friend?"

Now it was Old Master Xu's turn to be startled; for a moment he wondered if he was truly so old that his hearing had gone awry.

Pei Muyin nodded: "Yes, a good friend, an older sister."

Old Master Xu narrowed his eyes, scanning the girl's face; at a glance he could see she was a pure‑kind good child, and the sincerity in her gaze told him she wasn't lying—everything she said was true.

But, a good friend?

Shouldn't it be a mother instead? How could it be an older sister?

Old Master Xu immediately pressed: "Where is that good friend of yours? Can you bring me to meet her?"

Pei Muyin fell silent.

The older sister had originally accompanied her to Gang Cheng to help resolve her troubles, and she could not betray the older sister.

"Is it inconvenient?"

The girl silently nodded.

…

A cool summer night breeze blew, making the bamboo leaves rustle.

Old Master Xu walked to the window, clasped his hands behind his back, and his thoughts drifted back to the past—

That was the last time he saw Xiao Shu.

She stood beside him, helping him finish that landscape painting, then set down her brush, remained silent for a few seconds, and spoke in a low voice: "Grandfather Xu, I've come this time to say goodbye."

Old Master Xu lifted his head and looked at the speaking girl.

At that time she was sixteen, compared to when he first saw her at thirteen she had grown even more graceful and poised; alas, the bright cheerfulness on her face and the light in her peach‑blossom eyes had completely vanished.

The girl wore a dark dress, her skin was pallidly translucent, her back was slender, and her arms bore a mourning badge.

A mourning badge is something used only when a close relative has passed away.

During this period, Hai Cheng was abuzz with social news—the chairman and his lady of the X corporation died instantly in a car crash! The X corporation faced a major operational crisis!

Old Master Xu sharply perceived a certain resolute coldness in the girl's eyes, he slammed the table: "Xiao Shu, what are you planning to do? Tell me, Grandfather Xu, and I'll certainly back you up!"

She tugged at the corner of her mouth: "It's precisely because I know you'll react like that that I can't tell you."

The final scene.

The girl bent deeply, bowing with utmost reverence: "Grandfather Xu, thank you for teaching me many principles; in this lifetime I ask only one thing of you—no matter what you may see concerning me in the future, please be sure to stand aside and watch silently."

Old Master Xu heard it and his eye sockets moistened on the spot; at first he only felt that this child had a talent for drawing, but later, after getting in touch, he understood that this child was intelligent and also perceptive.

After that, he never saw her again.

But each year, on his birthday and his wife's birthday, timely congratulatory gifts would be sent to the Xu Family's Zhijing Manor in Gang Cheng; all were gifts that child had prepared decades in advance.

…

The night wind blew Old Master Xu back to reality, and the old man let out a sigh.

That's that.

Since this child could get Xiao Mu Yin to send the painting to him, it was telling him she was alright, no need to worry.

That's enough; as long as I know that child is well, that's sufficient.

Even if we don't meet, it's fine.

Meanwhile, in the sunroom of the Xu family's rear garden.

Since it was evening and besides today's banquet, the servants had all been called away, so there was no one in the sunroom.

Shu Shu gently pulled the door shut and left.

In the dark room, moonlight fell, quietly scattering onto the freshly painted pine-and-crane longevity congratulatory picture on the table.

In the future, there will surely be another good opportunity to meet again.

Shu Shu wore a baseball cap and mask, intentionally avoiding the crowd, and deliberately slipped out through a concealed side door of the Xu family.

She nimbly jumped down a stone step and walked toward the gate; she and Mu Yin had agreed that she would come out early and wait for her in the car.

She found that familiar Rolls-Royce by the roadside.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Shu Shu walked over and directly opened the car door, without her noticing.

Originally, the license plate at the back should have been a row of 6s, but it turned into a row of 9s—