Yang Xiaoâs shout was quite loud, and it gave Old Man Yang a sudden fright. Yang JianGuo also twitched and didnât have time to walk over to Old Man Yangâs side yet before he was stopped by Zhao XueMei. Zhao XueMei took a step forward and looked at Old Man Yang. âDad, look at what you said. No matter how old Xiao Xiao is, in the end heâs still your own grandson.â
Zhao XueMei shot a glance at Lin ShuYi. She was implying that in any case, Old Man Yang shouldnât have spoken up for an outsider. It didnât matter what Yang Xiao did.
Old Man Yang opened his mouth, but he was speechless because of what Zhao XueMei said. In fact, his original intention was merely that he felt those two children were just harmlessly bickering; his grandson was his grandson, who was also older than Lin ShuYi. He just casually told Yang Xiao to be mindful of Lin ShuYi without thinking it through, but he hadnât expected Zhao XueMei and Yang Xiao to take it so seriously.
âI⌠that wasnât my intentionâŚâ
The anger in Zhao XueMei had already surged up several times, but she had forcefully suppressed it because of the reminder that she couldnât offend Old Man Yang due to the matter of the house. But this time, she almost couldnât maintain the smile on her face anymore. She slanted a look at Lin ShuYi and snorted coldly. âIf that isnât Dadâs intention, then thatâs for the best.â
The image that she had previously tried hard to put on finally shattered. Old Man Yang gave a long sigh before he lifted his head to look at Zhao XueMei. âXueMei ah, just say what you want to say. Iâm listening.â
He thought that his daughter-in-lawâs temper had improved after not seeing her for the past few years. But now, it seemed like a leopard could never change its spots. He shouldnât have hoped for that in the first place. One doesnât visit a temple without a cause*. Since they didnât come just to see him, Old Man Yang could imagine what Zhao XueMei and the rest had come to say. It also made sense; they hadnât returned for so many years, yet they had come visiting so many times during the past few days. Now, even Zhao XueMei had come, what else could that mean? The only thing was that as Old Man Yang looked first at Zhao XueMei and then at his own son Yang JianGuo, he hoped that that sentence wouldnât come out of their mouths again.
(*t/n: saying meaning âto visit somebody with a hidden agendaâ)
But since now even Zhao XueMeiâs real face had been exposed, naturally she could care even less about what Old Man Yang was thinking. She reached out and hauled Yang Xiao behind her before she looked at Old Man Yang and said, one word at a time, âIt seems like Dad knows why I came here.â She then curled her lips, forcing out a smile, wanting to take a step forward and grab Old Man Yangâs hand. âDad, you see, weâve owned that house in the city for so long now, yet youâve never gone to enjoy it before. Now that Xiao Xiao has grown up, and youâre also older, why are you still here running this restaurant? Wouldnât it be great to come and live a life of ease and comfort with us in the city? JianGuo, Xiao Xiao and I will definitely treat you well.â
Zhao XueMei always said this kind of thing. If this was the first time Old Man Yang met her, he might have believed her, but he had lived with her together under one roof for so many years that he knew very clearly what kind of person his daughter-in-law was. The reason why he refused to stop running this restaurant even though he was getting older was in part because he was reluctant to close it, but also in part because he didnât want to see his daughter-in-law.
When Old Man Yang saw Zhao XueMei extend her hand over, he took a few steps back, letting Zhao XueMeiâs hand hang stiffly in the air in front of him just like that. Zhao XueMeiâs expression immediately grew a little embarrassed, flames bursting in her eyes. She endured it silently to prevent it from exploding.
Old Man Yang didnât care enough to look at her expression. He sat down gingerly on the chair and looked at his own hand. âXueMei ah, if you came back because of the house, I donât really have anything to say either. No matter what, I wonât sell the house.â
Zhao XueMei clenched her teeth, and Yang Xiao also started to shout. âWhy are you keeping this house?! Itâs not like we wonât take care of you. Doesnât Mom need it urgently? Or else even if we sold this rotten house nobody would want to buy it. In any case, this house was always going to be given to us, or else who were you going to give it to?!â
Yang JianGuo had kept silent for a long while in the back, but when he heard this he suddenly lifted his head and smacked the back of Yang Xiaoâs head. Red flooded across his face. âIs that any way to speak to your grandpa?!â
Zhao XueMei was set aflame at once. She shoved Yang JianGuo quite far as her voice also grew shrill. âWhy are you hitting Xiao Xiao?! Was he wrong?â
Yang JianGuoâs face was red from stifled anger. When he saw that people were slowly starting to gather outside to watch the scene, his head only lowered even more, and he didnât say anything else.
Zhao XueMei grew even more furious when she saw him do that. She jabbed a finger towards his nose. âYou even release your anger on Xiao Xiao, what did he say that wasnât right?! If it werenât because you didnât make any money, would I have to grovel to somebody else like this for this tiny bit of cash? Have I asked anything from you after being married to you for so many years? Have I demanded anything? What relative of ours isnât getting along better than I am? Yet you still dare to hit Xiao Xiao? If youâre going to blame anyone, then blame yourself for failing to live up to expectations!â
Even though she was scolding Yang JianGuo, her
âdidnât make any moneyâ
and
âgrovel
â was indirectly accusing Old Man Yang. Old Man Yangâs face went a little pale at once. His figure even swayed a little, and Lin ShuYiâs pupils shrunk before he went up to support Old Man Yangâs shoulders. Shen Fu also took a step forward, eyes narrowed as he stood next to Old Man Yang. They took up a hostile position against the three people standing across from them, with much of an â
escorting the Emperorâ
type of position.
Old Man Yang stood up even though he had just sat down. He patted Lin ShuYiâs hand to indicate that he was fine before he looked at Zhao XueMeiâs face and said, falteringly, âXueMei, I bought this house with JianGuo and his mother⌠his mother died early, and this house is the only thing I have left of her⌠Xiao Xiao was right, sooner or later this house will be yours⌠when I die, if you want to sell it, then sell it, but right now, I still want to keep itâŚâ Old Man Yang spoke both quietly and heavily, and it was clear he was speaking from the bottom of his heart.
But Zhao XueMei didnât listen. âI wonât have any use for this rotten house at that point! Dad, youâre also a stubborn old man. You also know that calling this area a suburb is just flattering it. This house is also worn-down, so I finally found a person whoâs willing to buy the house and even finished discussing the price with them. Even though we agreed quickly, the price isnât that low. As soon as I get the money Iâll open the beauty salon. Everyone can only live well once we earn money, isnât that right? Otherwise, if you only rely on your good-for-nothing son with no brain cells, youâll just be guarding this house for the rest of your life, poor and eating wind!â
Zhao XueMei was trying to move him with emotion while enlightening him with reason. She made it sound like she had such good intentions for trying to sell somebody elseâs house, and Old Man Yang was so angered that he started to breathe slightly heavier. Finally, he hardened his heart and said, âNo matter how broken down this house is! I said Iâm not going to sell it so I wonât sell it!â He was already extremely angry.
Zhao XueMei was also filled with fury. Before, she was still afraid of offending Old Man Yang and not being able to get the house. Now that Old Man Yang had already said that, she didnât need to be polite anymore. In any case, if Old Man Yang wasnât going to sell this house, she didnât plan on letting Yang Xiao know this grandpa of his any longer!
âDad, if youâre going to say that, then Iâm going to be frank with you. This beauty salon is a business that will earn money. I have to open it. Itâs fine if you donât sell this house. In any case, itâs not like youâve ever acted like Xiao Xiao is your grandson, so from today on, donât ever enter our familyâs house again, and Xiao Xiao wonât call you grandpa ever again either! Xiao Xiao, letâs go!â
She even stopped using the polite form of âyou,â and went directly to the informal version.
(*t/n: ć¨ (nin) vs ä˝ (ni), generally seen as a sign of respect to use âninâ with elders. She was sort of using it before but stopped in that last rant)
Old Man Yangâs lips were trembling, his complexion very pale. Yang JianGuo also stared at Zhao XueMei. âWhat kind of nonsense are you spouting? There are so many people watching?!â
Zhao XueMei swept a look over. Sure enough, quite a few people had already started to gather outside to watch the drama. However, she didnât feel panicked at all about losing face from the family scandal being witnessed by outsiders. She turned around and rolled her eyes at Yang JianGuo. âSo what if people are watching? You still know to want to save face? I thought that you were the kind of person who only knows to hide inside of his shell like a turtle for the rest of your life. Even if you want me to say it all one more time, thereâs nothing I wouldnât dare to repeat. I said, if he doesnât agree to sell the house, Xiao Xiao wonât call him grandpa from now on ever again!!â
Yang JianGuoâs face went scarlet, but he didnât have a single word of rebuttal. He truly was both pathetic and ridiculous. Lin ShuYi supported Old Man Yang, and the old manâs thin and weak arm was trembling slightly under his hand. He felt a nameless fire rise up in his heart, about to set him completely on fire.
âYou three, get lost.â His voice wasnât loud, but it was powerful and resounding in the tiny XiQin Restaurant.
The husband and wife who were currently quarreling both stopped. Even Shen Fu looked over, a bit surprised at Lin ShuYi, who usually appeared as if he didnât have a temper at all. But now, his eyes were actually starting to emit a chill.
At first, Zhao XueMei was a little stunned by Lin ShuYiâs sudden outburst. By the time she recovered, she couldnât control herself and she pointed straight at Lin ShuYi. From this, it was clear just who Yang Xiao had inherited his tendency to point at people when he spoke from. âWhat did you say?! Say it again! You little brat, what are you saying? Who are you to speak? And you dare to tell me to get lost, Iâm telling you, Iâll come and go as I wish, as if itâs your place to say anything!â
Yang Xiao also started to roll up his sleeves. He had long since taken a disliking towards this person. Since now even his mother dared to trample all over him, if he didnât teach him a bit of a lesson then his surname wouldnât be Yang!
âIt isnât his place to say anything? From what I can see, itâs not
your
place to say anything!â Someone pushed through the crowd of people and walked inside. It was actually Xiao Wanâs grandma. When she saw Zhao XueMei, she scowled. âI was wondering why you all suddenly came one after another during these past few days to visit Old Man Yang when you havenât visited for years, inviting him to come back to live with you and coming to see him. It turns out that youâve got your eye on Old Man Yangâs house. My word, do you have any face left at all? This was the house that Old Man Yang and his wife worked hard for their entire life to buy, and itâs the only thing Old Man Yang has left as commemoration. Yet you have the audacity to open your mouth; itâs fine if you said that, but Old Man Yang already said he wasnât going to sell it, yet you still dare to cause trouble here! You really think itâs easy to bully Old Man Yang? Let me tell you, if Yang Xiao doesnât call him grandpa then he doesnât, if Old Man Yang canât enter your house then he canât. Heâs never gotten anything good from you all in the first place, yet you say that youâll take care of him well in the future? Do you think that we donât know what kind of trash you areâŚâ
Xiao Wanâs grandma had always had an explosive temper. What she liked doing the most was pushing her nose into other peopleâs business and gossiping, but Lin ShuYi had never felt as warm about her meddling as he did now.
Even if there were some things that he knew were true, it wasnât appropriate for him to say it. After all, this was about Old Man Yangâs family. Even though Lin ShuYi felt like it would be better not to have this kind of family at all, he still couldnât say anything. Luckily, somebody else said it for him.
Lin ShuYi turned his head and saw Old Man Yang, whose face was still paper white. He said, âGrandpa.â
Old Man Yangâs voice was hoarse. âItâs fine, grandpa is fine.â
He just didnât understand why they refused to let go of this house. He already said that in the end this house would become theirs.
Over there, Xiao Wanâs grandma and Zhao XueMei had already started to fight.
After the nearby neighbors heard the news, they had all come over. They helped Xiao Wanâs grandma to quickly beat down what Zhao XueMei was saying. Even though Yang Xiao was still mad, if his mother couldnât even do anything, then naturally he could only watch. However, his irritation with Lin ShuYi and the rest grew even more towards the breaking point.
âHow fantastic, youâre all good people! Xiao Xiao, weâre leaving!â Finally, Zhao XueMei shot a look at Old Man Yang and the other two standing near him before she dragged Yang Xiao away.
Yang JianGuo still stood there, watching Old Man Yang and not moving. Very soon, he was caught by the arm by Zhao XueMei, who had doubled back. âYouâre still not leaving?!! Are you waiting for them to chase you out? You still think this is your home? Hmph, donât you see that thereâs no place for you here?!â
Yang JianGuo was hauled away by Zhao XueMei, and XiQin Restaurant finally calmed back down. The observers were all scattered away by the neighbors. The curtain finally fell on the sudden drama, and Old Man Yang sat down on the chair, exhausted. He didnât want to say anything.
Xiao Wanâs grandma walked over, and she consoled, âOld Man Yang ah, you should try to accept it and move on. Donât be too angry. Itâll be uncomfortable if you keep brewing over it in your heart. If it were me, in the end itâs all because of your disappointing son. Even though he has a stomach full of ink, he has no brain at allâŚâ As she spoke, she probably realized that this wasnât really consolation either, and she finally stopped talking when she saw Old Man Yangâs unpleasant expression.
(*t/n: a stomach full of ink means someone who is a scholar, cultured/refined)
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Lin ShuYi didnât know what to say either. He never know how to comfort people, but Shen Fu patted Old Man Yangâs shoulder and said, âGrandpa, donât worry. You still have us.â
Old Man Yang rubbed his dry eyes. His voice was raspy as he said, âItâs fine, grandpa is fine.â
Again and again, it was the same sentence, as if he only knew how to say that now.
Lin ShuYi stood there for a while before he turned. âLet me go poach some pears for grandpa.â Old Man Yangâs voice was already husky, but of course, what was suffering the most pain right now was his heart.