After the school beauty rejected me, I became her mom's number one fan!

Qiao Jingtang raised his chin, gesturing for him to sit back down.

Ning Xiuyang sat down again.

The old man's tone changed.

It's no longer about testing or admonishing, but about a father, or rather a grandfather, passing on what he's held onto all his life.

"Since it can't be changed."

Qiao Jingtang picked up his teacup and took a sip. It was cold, but he swallowed it.

"Then I hope you will work even harder."

Ning Xiuyang listened.

"My words still carry some weight. At least until I'm gone..."

He put down his teacup, the bottom of which tapped on the stone table. The sound was soft, but clear.

You need to achieve results.

He looked at Ning Xiuyang.

"Feiyu's life has been too hard. Linlin is too kind. I hope that as a man, you can protect them both for the rest of your life."

It paused for a second.

"Is it possible?"

Ning Xiuyang sat up straight.

"able."

One word. No embellishment, no conditions, no "effort".

Qiao Jingtang stared at him for a few seconds, as if searching for a crack in that word.

did not find.

The elderly man did not comment on the answer.

He closed the lid of the chess box, pushed it to the corner of the table, and then picked up his cane and slowly stood up.

Ning Xiuyang reached out to help.

Qiao Jingtang avoided it. Not out of disdain, but out of habit.

He turned around and walked into the house, but after taking three steps, he stopped and didn't look back.

"That set of books...I put it in my study."

After saying that, he continued walking forward, tapping his cane on the stone pavement, one tap at a time, with a steady rhythm.

Ning Xiuyang stood there, watching the old man's figure disappear behind the moon gate.

He glanced down at the stone table.

The chessboard was still lying there, empty except for the crisscrossing lines.

He closed the chessboard and placed it on the stone bench next to him.

Then he turned around.

Two people were standing under the eaves.

Qiao Jinlin is on the left, and Qiao Feiyu is on the right.

The mother and daughter arrived at some unknown time, and stood side by side in the shadow of the corridor, with vermilion pillars behind them.

Qiao Jinlin's hair was not tied up, but loose on his shoulders, and his makeup was very light.

Her eyes still held traces of last night's crying, but her lips were tightly pressed together, as if she had made some kind of decision.

Qiao Feiyu stood next to her.

The 42-year-old woman wore a navy blue wool coat, with the buttons neatly fastened.

In public, she embodies the demeanor expected of a vice-ministerial level official.

But in her eyes when she looked at Ning Xiuyang, there was a very thin layer of moisture that was almost imperceptible to others.

Both of them had complicated expressions.

But the moment Ning Xiuyang looked over, the mother and daughter's eyes met.

Very quickly. In just half a second.

It's like two people seeing each other in the same mirror, separated by eighteen years of loneliness and secrets, now standing on the same side.

Ning Xiuyang walked towards them.

He stretched out both hands.

He took Qiao Jinlin's hand with his left.

Qiao Jinlin's fingers were cold, but they tightened when they touched his palm.

right.

Qiao Feiyu didn't move.

Her hands hung at her sides, the sleeves of her coat just covering her wrists.

Ning Xiuyang touched the back of her hand with his right hand.

Qiao Feiyu's fingertips twitched.

Then, concealed by her cuffs, she turned her hand over, palm up, and clasped his fingers.

The three people stood under the eaves of the Qiao family courtyard.

The morning light streamed in from the east, passing through the latticed windows of the corridor and leaving scattered patches of light on the ground.

No one speaks.

……

Uncle Liu loaded the last suitcase into the trunk of the Audi A8L.

He closed the trunk lid very gently, but Ning Xiuyang noticed that the experienced driver's gaze swept over the three people before quickly looking away without any expression.

This is a skill that only someone who has worked for the Qiao family for more than ten years possesses.

At the entrance of the courtyard.

Qiao Jingtang stood in front of the screen wall.

Wearing a gray-blue padded jacket, standing there without a cane.

The old man didn't move forward, nor did he call out to anyone to come back and say a few more words.

Qiao Jinlin turned around and glanced at his grandfather.

She paused for a moment, as if she wanted to run back and hug him.

But after hesitating for a second, she simply bowed in the direction of the old man.

Qiao Jingtang nodded slightly.

The movements were so small that they were almost invisible.

But that nod contained a lot.

Qiao Feiyu was the last to get on the bus.

Before opening the passenger door, she turned to face the direction of the gate.

The father and daughter looked at each other for a second, separated by a distance of seven or eight meters.

Qiao Feiyu didn't say anything, bent down and got into the car.

The car door closed.

Uncle Liu started the engine.

The Audi slowly drove away from the alley where the Qiao family lived.

The rearview mirror showed that the gate was already closed.

Qiao Jingtang's figure was hidden behind the red lacquered wooden door.

As I walked out of the alley, the old housekeeper chased after me.

He bent down outside the driver's side window and said something to the back seat.

"Mr. Qiao asked me to tell you that he really likes that set of books."

After saying this, the old butler stepped back and watched the vehicle merge into the street.

Ning Xiuyang did not respond.

But the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

That early Republican-era edition of "Zizhi Tongjian" wasn't just something I took from the bookshelf.

Once the car was on the main road, Qiao Jinlin leaned against the right-hand window of the back seat, his head tilted to the side, his gaze fixed on the roadside trees receding into the distance.

She didn't say anything.

Qiao Feiyu sat in the passenger seat, his back straight, his eyes looking forward.

Occasionally, I would glance into the rearview mirror to see my daughter's expression.

Ning Xiuyang sat to Qiao Jinlin's left.

He didn't speak, nor did he move closer.

The two people were about 20 centimeters apart.

He turned his right hand over, palm up, and placed it on the leather seat between the two of them.

It's just left there.

No forcing, no rushing.

A patch of Chinese scholar tree shade swept past the window, and the light and shadow shattered into bright lines on Qiao Jinlin's face.

One minute.

Two minutes.

In the third minute, Qiao Jinlin moved his left hand off his knee and placed it on his knee.

She touched his palm with her fingertips first, tentatively, and then put her whole hand inside.

Ning Xiuyang did not hold on tightly.

He simply tightened his fingers slightly, just enough to keep her hand there so it wouldn't slip away.

Qiao Feiyu saw it in the rearview mirror in the front row.

Her gaze lingered on the mirror for less than a second before shifting to the traffic ahead.

Her right hand rested on her knee, and her fingertips unconsciously pressed against the seam of her pants twice.

Uncle Liu kept his eyes straight ahead.

He gripped the steering wheel very firmly, signaling when changing lanes with meticulous attention to detail.

It took forty minutes to get to the airport.

No one spoke the entire time.

On the tarmac, the Gulfstream G650ER has completed its pre-flight checks.

Huang Yunxiu, dressed in a dark blue uniform, walked down the gangway, and Chong Ningxiu nodded.

The Ko sisters stood at the cabin door and bowed in unison to greet the passengers.

After Qiao Jinlin boarded the gangway, he looked back at his mother.

Qiao Feiyu was two steps behind her, just past the security checkpoint.

The mother and daughter's eyes met.

Qiao Jinlin opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.

It seemed like he wanted to say something, but hadn't yet figured out how to phrase it.

The cabin seats are arranged in three rows.

Ning Xiuyang sat in the middle row by the window.

After Qiao Jinlin sat down to his right, he stared at the cushions on the opposite sofa for a while.

Qiao Feiyu sat down in the front row, opened his briefcase, took out a document, and flipped through a couple of pages.

His movements were fluid and graceful, as if he were reviewing routine documents in an office.

The plane began to taxi.

Huang Yunxiu's voice came over the loudspeaker, concise and clear: "Hello everyone, the estimated flight time is two hours and fifteen minutes. The airflow is stable. Please fasten your seatbelts."

The Ko sisters launched a tea cart.

One of them handed Ning Xiuyang a glass of warm water, their gesture carrying a familiarity that was unlike that of a typical flight attendant.

Qiao Jinlin took another glass of water, took a sip, and then suddenly spoke.

"mom."

Qiao Feiyu stopped flipping through the documents.

What do you usually call him?