For a long time, he muttered to himself, âZhaodiâs a very obedient girl when she was young. No matter what I say, she never went against me. But ever since she went to university and met Zhao Jiahang, she changedâŚâ
Xiang Wan did not say a word.
She was unable to communicate with him.
She thought that maybe the Old Sir just needed a listening ear.
Sure enough, he did not bother if Xiang Wan was listening and just continued talking.
âWhat can I do? Sheâs my only daughter! She wants to get married, fine. My only wish for her is to be well. But she never stopped making me worry! Even when she suffered a terrible accident and got paralyzed, she still loved that man. She refused to listen to me and defended Zhao Jiahang by not visiting me for three yearsâŚâ
Old Mr. Xu lowered his head.
His voice sounded as if it sprouted from the cool breeze from the ground.
â⌠In the end, I didnât even know when she died. The whole episode only ended today after countless formalities and procedures that I finally managed to get her ashes back from GanzhouâŚ
âItâs no use. Even if I got it back, she wouldnât know.
âThe man that she loved till her death had killed her. The father that she hated to the core, travelled a long way to bring her back and buried her. Alas, she would never know all of these.â
Xiang Wan kept quiet.
In the 720 case, Mr. Zhao had used Er Niuâs identity to bury Mrs. Zhao in Er Niuâs hometown. The Xu Family only knew about this after the police solved the case.
Although Xiang Wan had never been a parent, she could understand that Old Mr. Xu must have been devastated to learn of his daughterâs death.
Old Mr. Xuâs eyes were cloudy as he sat there motionlessly. His slightly hunched back seemed to curve more and he looked lonelier than before.
âThose who harmed her will be punished. Iâm already old, thereâs a lot of things I canât control. But as for youâŚâ
He lifted his head all of a sudden, and Xiang Wan felt his piercingly sharp gaze on her face.
âYoung lass, what kind of punishment do you think you should receive?â
Xiang Wanâs face was burning!
It was due to pain, from his gaze.
Old Mr. Xuâs gaze was too sharp.
Xiang Wan took a deep breath. âOld Sir, Iâm only writing a novel, I didnât do anythingâŚâ
Old Mr. Xu snorted as he interrupted her, âYou wrote a story using Zhao Jiahangâs identity.â
Uh, he actually knows about this , thought Xiang Wan.
Seems like my book is pretty famousâŚ
Even the famous entrepreneur, Xu Zhuming, which was Old Mr. Xu, knew about it.
Xiang Wan did not know if she should be delighted or depressed about this fact. Nevertheless, for an old man who just lost his child, she should try to compose herself. âOld Sir, I didnât expect such a thing to happen either. In fact, you also know that this is not a coincidence but premeditated. I can do nothing to those who wanted to replicate my story. Iâm also a victim just like youâŚâ
Old Mr. Xu did not respond.
He was still sitting there, staring blankly at the room.
Xiang Wan did not know what he was thinking, much less whether he had been persuaded by her.
The air felt as if it was still.
Thump! Thump! Xiang Wanâs heart was about to leap out of her chest.
Just then, Old Mr. Xu puffed a sigh as he struggled to stand up with his knees.
âYoung lass, follow me!â
This Old Sir really doesnât seem to be a criminal , she thought.
Xiang Wan felt a bit uneasy, but she didnât have a choice and had to follow.
Outside the room, the two âdoor godsâ lowered their heads and asked respectfully, âUncle Ming, itâs dark outside. Where are you going?â
Old Mr. Xu waved his hands. âBringing this lass out for a stroll.â
His tone was kind, and his sorrowful face was that of an ordinary old man who lost his kin. He did not treat Xiang Wan as a foe, rather, it was as if he was bringing a neighborâs daughter to visit his garden.
If Xiang Wan was being invited instead of being abducted here, she would definitely think that there was no hostility from the old man.
The backyard was very quiet.
There were deep lines in the damp mud.
Whose house is this? Xiang Wan wondered.
With the Xu Familyâs wealth, why would they own a house like this?
Holding that doubt, she followed behind Old Mr. Xu.
Someone was holding a flashlight in front to lead the way. There were two men following behind within a distance.
The old man walked very cautiously. Xiang Wan exhaled deeply as she watched his unsteady steps.
Whatever!
Even if itâs a misfortune, I canât hide from it.
As she loosened up her tense emotions, she noticed that there was a faint smell of osmanthus in the air.
It was a sweltering summer night. In a small backyard at the countryside where the surroundings were dark and spooky, the fragrance of the osmanthus was especially abrupt.
âIt smells so good.â She sniffed her nose.
âItâs fragrant, right? Itâs my sweet osmanthus.â
Only then did Xiang Wan notice that the dark enormous shadow in the backyard was actually the osmanthus tree.
Old Mr. Xu suddenly turned around. âDo you like it?â
His eyes suddenly went bright. When illuminated by the flashlight, there was an abnormal hue of blue which made Xiang Wan jumpâŚ
With her predicament, she had no mood for thisâŚ
Nevertheless, Xiang Wan smiled reluctantly. âI kinda liked it.â
Old Mr. Xu pointed toward the area beyond the backyard, âThereâs still a lot over there.â
Xiang Wan: ââŚâ
So am Iâm being abducted to appreciate the osmanthus trees?
âŚ
Under the dark sky, one following the other, they were like osmanthus seekers in the night. With the guidance of only a flashlight, along with the fragrance of osmanthus, they walked out of the yard and went inside the osmanthus forest.
When the eyes adapted to the darkness, Xiang Wan started to see better in the dark.
She could faintly distinguish the shape of the mountain and the surroundings.
This house was situated inside a col.
The surrounding land was rather flat and surrounded by mountains.
The winds were strong, and the occasional bird chirps sounded chilly.
Xiang Wan rubbed her arms for a while. Old Mr. Xu, who was in front, suddenly halted his steps.
âJin Gui[1], are you well? Are you well?â
In the night mountain winds, the old manâs cries sounded like a wailing ghost.
Xiang Wanâs heart missed a beat.
Is this old man crazy? Heâs talking to the osmanthus?
Itâs scary.
She tried to move further away, preparing to run if the situation was not right. Old Mr. Xu sighed suddenly and took a few steps forward. He squatted down below an osmanthus tree where there was a mound and started to sob.
âJin Gui, sorry. I took so long to visit you, are you angry with meâŚâ
Ah!?
Xiang Wan was too stunned to say anything.
The mound was overgrown with weeds and seemed lonely amongst the osmanthus trees.
Under the dim light, there seemed to be a tattered piece of paper money swaying at the top of the moundâŚ
Is it not a mound, but a grave?!
Countryside; lone grave; an old manâs sobbing under the night⌠as well as the sounds of birdsâŚ
Xiang Wan felt a rush of goosebumps.
Fortunately, she was not the only person standing there. Otherwise, she would have been scared to death.
Xiang Wan was not sure how long Old Mr. Xu spent talking to the grave.
Her legs had almost went numb when he suddenly stood up and his body wobbled from the action. Two men rushed to help him.
Old Mr. Xu pushed them aside, his gaze landing on Xiang Wan.
âTomorrow, Iâm going to bury my daughter here, so that she can accompany her mom. In this way, the three of them can reunite in the netherworld. Itâs good! Good that the three of them can take care of each other over there.â
The three of them?
Xiang Wan was startled. She pursed her lips, not saying a word.
She did not dare to ask Old Mr. Xu if he was muddle-headed or there was something that she did not know.
In all aspects, it was not suitable for her to ask. She should be thinking about how she could get out of the situation.
âLass,â Old Mr. Xu took a breath of the scent in the air and beckoned to her.
Xiang Wan braced herself as she walked over.
He spoke slowly, âI⌠changed my mind.â
Eh? Xiang Wanâs eyes lit up, âOld Sir? You mean?â
Old Mr. Xu looked at her, âTomorrow morning, youâll accompany me to send off my daughter. Youâll have to pay your respects, as well as offer your apologies at her grave. Then Iâll send you backâŚâ
What?!
Xiang Wan did not know if she should be agitated or excited.
She had thought she would be in deep sh*t as she was being abducted. In the end, they had let her off lightly?
This was totally not following the script in her mind!
Xiang Wan was jumping with joy inside. She controlled her excitement and expressed her heartfelt thanks. âSure, I⌠thank you, Old Sir. Youâre really a good person!â
Old Mr. Xu did not answer her.
Just as he brought her to the osmanthus forest without rhyme or reason, he returned an inexplicable smile.
âŚ
[1] The chinese name for Sweet Osmanthus is Jin Gui (éćĄ). In this context, Old Mr. Xu should be calling his wife, whose name was Jin Gui.
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