An 80s female translator was spoiled rotten by a rough and jealous man.

Chapter 203 "Playing Along"

The first thing Cui Yan saw when she lifted the curtain was this happy and harmonious scene: the leaves rustled in the wind, and lovers were intimately embracing under the Bodhi tree.

As dusk settled, the kitchen light shone through the window and the half-open door, casting two warm yellow hues on the bluestone floor tiles—one narrower and longer, the other wider and more square.

The girl's profile appeared even more serene and gentle under the warm yellow light. Her long eyelashes cast soft shadows on her cheeks, and the man in front of her would occasionally turn his head to glance at her. It was such a beautiful scene that one couldn't bear to break it.

A night breeze suddenly arose, lifting the girl's long, smooth black hair. A strand of hair flew forward, brushing against the man's nose, the corner of his eye, and the corner of his lips. When the wind stopped, the strand of hair fell into the collar of the man's clothes.

Cui Yan gripped the bicycle handlebars tighter involuntarily. She looked down at her toes, and after a few seconds, as if she had made a decision, she pushed the bicycle to the edge of the courtyard without looking to the side.

She knew Huo Qingshan had looked over after hearing the noise, but she stubbornly refused to look at him again. After parking the car, she ran straight into the kitchen and called out cheerfully, "Grandma, I'm back! It smells so good! What did you make?"

Meng Youyou also opened her eyes, and now she was staring at Huo Qingshan. The girl raised her eyebrows gloatingly, as if to say - look at the emotional debts you left behind!
……

At the dinner table, the dishes were plentiful. Grandpa Huo and Grandma Huo sat at the head of the table, Huo Qingshan and Meng Youyou sat next to Grandma Huo, and Cui Yan and Tingting sat next to Grandpa Huo. The six of them sat in a circle.

Grandpa Huo would occasionally ask Meng Youyou about her work, mostly standard questions, which Meng Youyou answered with ease.

During the event, Grandma Huo kept serving Meng Youyou food, including a large chicken leg.

Looking at the chicken leg in her bowl, Meng Youyou thought about the two children in the Huo family, one big and one small, who were still in school, and felt a little embarrassed to eat it. So she put the chicken leg back into Tingting's bowl and said with a smile, "Tingting is still growing, so the chicken leg is for Tingting."

Unexpectedly, the little girl, whose mouth was stuffed full, suddenly stopped eating. Her two round, black eyes stared at the big chicken leg in the bowl. She looked at the chicken leg, then at Cui Yan beside her, and finally picked up the chicken leg with her chubby little hands and threw it back into Meng Youyou's bowl.

After finishing this task, the little girl didn't say anything, but just continued to eat the food in her bowl.

The scene fell silent for a moment, and the atmosphere became tense.

Just then, Cui Yan spoke up to explain, "Sister Meng, please don't mind. Tingting is a little shy around strangers. She doesn't like it when unfamiliar people put food on her plate."

As he spoke, he reached out with his chopsticks and picked up another chicken leg from the plate in the middle, putting it into the little girl's bowl. He patted her little head familiarly, then looked at Meng Youyou, his eyes crinkling, and said in a friendly voice, "Children are all like this. The longer they spend with someone, the more they will trust that person. It's not something that can be built up overnight."

Sister Meng, don't be impatient, take your time. Tingting will definitely like you in the future.

Grandma Huo quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "The child is being naughty, don't take it to heart, this chicken was specially killed to welcome you to our home, you can keep the chicken leg for yourself."

Meng Youyou unconsciously stroked the rim of the bowl with her fingertips, and replied with a smile, "It's alright, I was being presumptuous."

As she spoke, she secretly reached down with her other hand and pinched the man's thigh hard.

Huo Qingshan almost groaned, but he held back. He grasped the mischievous hand on his leg, cupped it in his palm, and gently squeezed the slender fingertips to soothe it.

Meng Youyou glanced at him, then, in a mischievous mood, she tightly gripped the man's right hand with her fingers, wanting to see how he would eat next.

The person calmly switched to their left hand to pick up the chopsticks from the edge of the bowl and continued eating without changing their expression.

Cui Yan noticed the two hands that had disappeared under the table, one on the left and one on the right, and her expression grew increasingly grim.

……

After dinner, Meng Youyou washed up and returned to her room to pack her suitcase. It wasn't until she saw the aromatherapy essential oil bottle wrapped in layers of clothing that she suddenly remembered that she hadn't given the gift she brought to her grandmother yet.

She quickly grabbed the essential oil bottle from the box, skipped out of the room, and walked to Grandma Huo's door, where she knocked.

Grandma Huo opened the door and was surprised to see Meng Youyou standing outside. She asked, "What's wrong, Youyou?"

Meng Youyou shook the glass bottle in her hand, causing the pale pink liquid inside to sway. A smile spread across the girl's face: "Grandma, I have something to give you. Because it's in glass packaging, I packed it in my suitcase and brought it here. I forgot to take it out all day, and I just saw it. I'm bringing it to you now."

Grandma Huo smiled happily and asked, "What is this? It looks very pretty." As she spoke, she moved aside from the doorway to let the girl in.

Meng Youyou walked inside, explaining in detail, "My mother asked a friend to buy this from abroad. Commander Huo, I've mentioned before that you don't sleep very well, Grandma. This is called aromatherapy essential oil. I chose the rose scent. Putting it in the room can help you sleep and calm your nerves. Would you like to try it?"

"Okay," Grandma Huo agreed without hesitation.

Meng Youyou opened the aromatherapy bottle and placed it on the dressing table in the room. Soon, a light and refreshing rose fragrance filled the room.

Meng Youyou sniffed the scent; she really liked it, finding it refreshing. But considering the elderly woman's limited acceptance of new things, she asked again, "Grandma, do you like this scent?" Grandma Huo affirmed repeatedly, "I love it, I love it! It's so kind of you to think of me when I have trouble sleeping."

After looking around the room, Meng Youyou asked, "Hey, Grandma, where are Grandpa?"

"He has no end to learning; he's currently immersed in his study reading medical books."

Judging that the old man went to bed early, Meng Youyou didn't plan to stay long. After delivering the items, she made an excuse to leave.

Back in her room, Meng Youyou changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. But just a couple of seconds later, she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to tell her grandmother how to adjust the concentration of essential oils. She turned around, slipped on her slippers, and ran out again.

As soon as I stepped down the steps and onto the courtyard tiles, I saw Cui Yan carrying a wooden basin into her grandmother's room and closing the door behind her.

Meng Youyou strolled over, and as she approached the door, she heard the old woman coughing softly inside, along with Cui Yan's complaint: "What's this strange smell? Grandma, you have chronic asthma, why are you still burning this kind of chemical perfume in your room?"

As she spoke, she walked to the dressing table, picked up the glass bottle on the table, and fiddled with the cap a couple of times.

Immediately afterwards, Meng Youyou, who was standing outside the door, heard the old man's voice stopping her: "Xiaoyan, don't throw it away. This was given to you by Qingshan's girlfriend. It's impolite to lose it."

Then, a heavy "thump" came from inside the room. It was the sound of the bottom of the glass bottle hitting the solid wood table. Just from this noise, Meng Youyou could imagine how disgusted the person who had just held the essential oil bottle must have been.

The old man patiently advised, "She meant well. Qingshan told her that I don't sleep well."

Cui Yan squatted down, picked up the wooden basin, and moved it a little closer to the bedside. In a dismissive tone, she said, "Grandpa's carefully prepared Chinese herbal medicine is still more effective. Soaking your feet in it every night before bed guarantees a good night's sleep, until dawn."

Actually… upon hearing this, reason told Meng Youyou that she should leave; there was no need for her to stay any longer. It was simply that she had given an inappropriate gift because she didn't fully understand the situation, and the recipient, out of politeness, hadn't pointed out the problem—a perfectly normal occurrence.

But her shoes seemed glued to the floor tiles, unable to move an inch, so Meng Youyou still didn't choose to leave.

Cui Yan asked her grandmother, "Is the water temperature suitable today?"

"It's just right, very comfortable. Xiaoyan is always the most considerate."

Amidst the soft splashing of water, the girl inside hesitated before asking, "Grandma, do you really like Brother Qingshan's girlfriend?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Youyou's eyelids twitched as if in spasm.

The old woman in the house sighed softly and said, "Qingshan likes her."

Aoyama likes her. This answer says a lot. Aoyama likes her, but it's only limited to her beloved grandson liking her.

A bucket of cold water was poured over my head, soaking me to the bone.

Meng Youyou didn't want to listen anymore, didn't want to continue humiliating herself, so she turned around and ran back to her room, slamming the door shut in one breath.

Meng Youyou sat on the edge of the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, lost in thought, her mind a jumbled mess.

What seemed like a comfortable and pleasant first meeting was actually just a performance by the experienced old man out of affection for the other person.

If it weren't for that extremely dramatic "eavesdropping" incident, Meng Youyou, with her experience and cunning, would never have realized that this kind-looking old man didn't actually like her from the bottom of his heart.

The hospitality seemed warm and attentive, full of praise and appreciation. They bought an expensive Simmons mattress and prepared a lavish feast, showing an almost impeccable level of importance. But in reality, it was all just a polite and distant formality.

Actually, it's not a big deal if someone in this world doesn't like you. If it's just some insignificant nobody, Meng Youyou won't care at all.

However, she was a very important relative of Huo Qingshan, the grandmother of the person he loved, and Meng Youyou had also given her her heart sincerely, even though it was only for a short day.

It would be a lie to say I'm not heartbroken.

If she could do it all over again, Meng Youyou could choose to wait until tomorrow to tell Grandma Huo about the method of adjusting the essential oil, instead of rushing out in slippers without even changing her pajamas.
If such an opportunity were presented to her, Meng Youyou wouldn't know what she would choose.
They sat in the courtyard outside, chatting happily for an entire afternoon, the sun so bright, their laughter so cheerful. If she didn't know this, she could still smile sincerely the next morning and affectionately call her "Grandma," just like she would a beloved elder in her own family.

But the event had truly happened, and she had heard it clearly. She couldn't pretend she knew nothing and act innocently to match the old man's superb acting skills. Meng Youyou felt she couldn't do it; she despised all false emotions.

So... how should she face this old man in the next few days?
How should she get along with them?

Meng Youyou didn't understand.