Tea-flavored Romance

"You still have things to do, and we have a long future ahead of us."

“Ningyuan…” Xuebao rubbed her cheek against him and looked up at him pitifully.

"Don't worry, your grandfather will be fine." Master Ning assured him earnestly, "I actually know a little about physiognomy. Old Master Gu is clearly destined to live a long and healthy life. How could he leave you so easily?"

"Come on, Xuebao seems amused by him: "You're so good at reading faces, have you ever noticed that you actually have the face of a scumbag when you look in the mirror before?"

"Of course I am. I often feel like I'm in danger of getting hurt."

Just as Ning Yuan was earnestly trying to make Xue Bao laugh, the sharp-eyed scumbag suddenly noticed that the window in Xue Bao's room seemed to be facing something amiss, and couldn't help but ask in confusion:

"Speaking of which, there seems to be a ginkgo tree by your window... Who lives in that room across the street? It looks like it's a girl's room too?"

Xuebao blinked: "Isn't it Jiang Manyue's room? Didn't I tell you? My room is very close to Jiang Manyue's. If necessary, I can even climb up the ginkgo tree in the yard to Jiang Manyue's window and say hello to her."

"???"

No wonder Olaf started giving me hints as soon as he entered the room; turns out he wanted to cause a ruckus at the Moon's current location, right?

Chapter 332: In the end, he still had to shoulder everything alone.

Master Ning's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly glanced out the window to see if Jiang Xihua was watching him expressionlessly. Seeing this, Xuebao smiled slyly and said, "Since we're looking for excitement, let's go all the way! How about we go to the windowsill?"

"..."

"That's not a good idea," Master Ning said seriously. "Your parents might already be home. Shouldn't we go and discuss the New Year's Eve dinner plans with them as soon as possible?"

"Well, that's a good reason..." Gu Guanxue nodded and said, "Then let's carry out the Moon's Current Offender Plan later... Do you want to come down with me?"

“It is possible, but given my current status, it might not be appropriate for me to participate in such a serious family meeting,” Master Ning replied. “I will wait for you in your room.”

"Alright... You stay here and wait for me. We'll go pick up Grandpa together to take him home for the New Year." Xuebao thought for a moment and agreed to this suggestion: "You get some rest. I'll come find you in a bit."

After saying this, Gu Guanxue turned and left, gently closing the door behind her. Only Ning Yuan remained standing alone in the room.

Almost the instant Xuebao closed the door and left, Master Ning rushed to the windowsill at an astonishing speed of 9.5 seconds per 100 meters. He looked left and right at the window of Miss Manyue's room, staring for a long time but failing to find the beautiful yet cold face he had expected. Only then did his heart relax, and he let out a long breath.

That was close! I almost got the Moon's current bad luck ending... Is this the kind of privilege only the chosen one gets?

But then again, if Full Moon isn't in her room right now, where could she be?

Unable to have a god-like perspective, Master Ning couldn't guess Jiang Xihua's movements, so he regretfully withdrew his gaze and focused on examining the furnishings in his girlfriend's room.

In terms of personality, Xuebao and Manyue are very different from ordinary girls. However, when they enter the room, it seems that no matter what kind of girl she is, she will have a little bit of girlishness. This girlishness is not necessarily reflected in the pink decorations. It may also be reflected in a delicate ornament on the bookshelf or a cute group photo in front of the desk.

Ning Yuan gently picked up the photo frame. It showed a picture of Xiao Xuebao and Xiao Manyue taken in winter. The two little girls had snowflakes and snowball fragments stuck in their hair. Gu Guanxue smiled triumphantly at the camera, while Miss Manyue looked at the camera with a hint of resentment, her eyes filled with a murderous intent that seemed ready to retaliate at any moment.

This is a precious photo of Xueyue and Ningyuan playing innocently as children, while the other is a photo of Ningyuan. The lights and shadows are intertwined on the stage of the folk bar, and Ningyuan, holding a guitar, seems to be singing: "Our harmony is just a beautiful firework."

The photo instantly pulled him back to the past. As Ning Yuan looked at it, he suddenly laughed, thinking to himself that if he had known he would never be able to let go of this girl, he wouldn't have sung that song to say goodbye to her...

If I could have known everything earlier, I wouldn't be in such a difficult situation now.

Besides the two photos, there was a stack of professional books on the clean and tidy desk. Ning Yuan glanced at them briefly and found that there were not only books on film, but also some on finance and law. Perhaps the girl had spent many nights at this desk in the past few days.

The title of genius is nothing but an illusion. What Grandpa Gu truly values ​​is Gu Guanxue's sense of responsibility. Even though she was the least willing to take on this responsibility, when her grandfather's health deteriorated, she still prepared to take on this heavy burden without any complaints.

It seems... I didn't do enough when we met before...

If you meet her, you should just hug her without caring what others think.

Ning Yuan looked around and realized that apart from a small penguin plush toy they had won together at the amusement park, there were very few memories of him and Xue Bao in the room. Even the photos only showed Ning Yuan. This discovery made the scumbag feel very guilty. Although a large part of the reason was that they hadn't been in a relationship for very long, he secretly made up his mind to create more memories in the future...

Putting everything else aside, at least the photos should be filled up, right?

Hmm? Olaf's bed is pretty big... I guess I'll be sleeping here tonight?

Last time, he was at home, and the events involving Manyue and Jiujiu affected his mood, which is why he managed to maintain his composure in front of Xuebao. But this time, the scumbag who has let go of his burdens won't be so easily swayed... If the two of them end up sleeping in the same bed as last time, that joking remark, "Giving the Gu family a future," might just come true.

When that time comes, will Old Master Gu kill himself or bury himself?

No, that's not right. Old Master Gu's identity couldn't possibly be that of someone who would open the door to surgery. Wouldn't it be better to just kill him outright and solve everything?

The thought that he might have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the family's rise and fall tonight filled Master Ning with a surge of heroic spirit. He carefully observed the location of Xuebao's bed and the window, and found that if he just drew the curtains about a quarter of the way, Man Yue would not be able to see what was happening in the room at all.

A quarter seems a bit risky, how about a third?

However, just as Master Ning was fiddling with the curtains in Xuebao's room and putting his physics knowledge into practice, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be someone standing at the window of Manyue's room, which had been empty before. Jiang Manyue, who had just returned from the sanatorium, was holding a cup of tea and leisurely casting her gaze at Gu Guanxue's constantly swaying curtains.

Master Ning was so embarrassed that he stood there awkwardly.

Jiang Manyue: "..."

Ning Yuan: "..."

Some encounters, once seen, may be the last.

Master Ning forced a calm expression and drew the curtains, managing a convincing smile—he wanted to go straight to the point, "Honey!" But considering he was currently in another girl's private room, he needed to phrase it more tactfully:

"What a coincidence, it's a full moon... You're out sunbathing too?"

The backyards of the Gu and Jiang families were separated by only a wall, with a small gate in between allowing free movement between them. Xuebao's and Manyue's rooms were naturally not far apart. Ning Yuan's words clearly reached Jiang Tiandi's ears, earning him only a silent, cold smile from the girl.

It seems some people don't want their heads anymore.

One second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and the girl on the other end remained silent. Just as Master Ning was about to be so tense that he thought Jiang Manyue was about to pull out a submachine gun and shoot him dead, Xuebao's voice finally came from outside the room:

"Ningyuan, we're going to pick up Grandpa. Do you want to come with us?"

The sound, after passing through a door, was more than enough to reach Ning Yuan's ears, but it was somewhat insufficient to reach Jiang Xihua's ears. Master Ning, seeing his chance to escape within reach, had to consider whether this was his only chance in this life, and quickly put on his best acting skills, replying:

"What? We need to go to the hospital? Okay, I'll be right there."

After speaking, he gave Miss Manyue a look of deep reluctance. After a painful struggle, he finally sighed and left. Master Ning's superb acting skills perfectly conveyed the helplessness and shame of having to leave because of his concern for Old Master Gu's safety. Even Master Ning himself, whose life was at stake, couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up.

He didn't dare to steal a glance at Man Yue's expression. He figured that with the girl's intelligence, such an act wouldn't fool her. But whether he could fool her or not didn't matter. The most important thing was to fool Ning Yuan himself.

Covering one's ears while stealing a bell.jpg

He slipped away quickly, appearing at the door before Xuebao could even open it, and gave Gu Guanxue a guilty but polite smile:

"How did it go? Did the conversation go smoothly?"

Gu Guanxue was startled by Master Ning's sudden appearance, but quickly composed herself and replied, "Fortunately, no one objected..."

This result was within Ning Yuan's expectations. Given Old Master Gu's temperament and shrewdness, even if the children he raised didn't have any business talent, they wouldn't be the kind of people who would disregard family feelings in order to seize power and profit.

This is something that can be seen from the family tradition. Judging from the integrity and spirit of Grandpa Gu and Grandpa Jiang, it is impossible for the ungrateful villainous relatives in domestic romance dramas and urban novels to come from their family.

"That's good. Let's go pick up Grandpa now. It's almost New Year's Eve, and we need to prepare the ingredients for the New Year's Eve dinner early."

"That's true... but why are you in such a panic... did you do something strange in my room?"

"How could that be? Your boyfriend would leave the food readily available and go to your room to do something strange." Master Ning said seriously, "Even we old perverts have dignity!"

"I didn't say it was something strange," Olaf blinked. "You didn't secretly read through my diary, did you?"

"No way!"

"Ah, what a pity, I put my diary full of love quotes in such a conspicuous place."

"Then I'll go take a look now." Master Ning made a move to turn back and search for the beauty he had missed.

"No! This won't last!" Xuebao smiled and said, "From now on, I'll tell you myself... Let's go pick up Grandpa, shall we?"

"Can I go too?"

"Of course, my parents are very curious about you."

As Gu Guanxue spoke, she pulled Master Ning's hand into her arms. But when they were almost downstairs and about to meet the girl's parents, she gently released Ning Yuan's arm. This small gesture made Master Ning sigh, realizing that Xuebao (Gu Guanxue's nickname) was truly considerate of him.

"Dad, Mom, this is Ningyuan, the one I just told you about."

She didn't tell her family that this was her boyfriend in her introduction, but neither Gu Guanxue's parents nor her family seemed very surprised when they met Ning Yuan, as if they already knew he existed.

"Hello."

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt..."

Master Ning's appearance missed the initial meeting, so he didn't plan to come down with a gift at this time. Gu Guanxue's father was a middle-aged man in a long gown, with a refined and gentle appearance. He seemed to be a very cultured person. Perhaps there really is such a thing as couples looking alike. Xuebao's mother also seemed to be very easygoing, and seemed to be a lady from a scholarly family.

The two men smiled warmly at Ning Yuan upon first sight, exchanged pleasantries for a while, but didn't delve deeper into the conversation. After all, their elderly father was currently in a nursing home, and his children were preparing to pick him up to go home for the Lunar New Year reunion; this was hardly a good time for casual chatter.

"Where are my second uncle and the others?"

"They left in the car ahead of us. All the paperwork needed to be done in advance, so we let them go first," Mrs. Gu explained. "It's okay if we go a little later... Is Xiao Ning coming along too?"

Seemingly sensing his future mother-in-law's concerns, Master Ning took the initiative to speak up: "Auntie, you don't know this, but I just accompanied Grandpa Jiang to see Grandpa Gu first, and even spent some time with him. I really admire Grandpa Gu as a hero, so I'd like to shamelessly go with you to pick him up and take him home. I hope you can grant me this wish."

If he were to become the son-in-law of the Gu family, then Master Ning's visit would naturally be justified. However, the problem is that not only did Xuebao not acknowledge him as the son-in-law of the Gu family, but the boy's words also seemed to conceal something. This attitude inevitably made Gu's mother somewhat suspicious. However, with Old Master Jiang as a guarantor, there was certainly some trust involved, so after thinking about it, she agreed.

"If you don't mind, why don't you come with us... Shall we go?"

Gu's father seemed rather taciturn. It was likely that no matter how much his relatives grieved, he, as their son, was the one suffering the most, especially since he was the son who had once had a major falling out with his father because of his personality and ambitions.

The tree desires stillness, but the wind never ceases; the child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there. At this moment, it's hard to know how much of Mr. Gu's feelings were regret for his past selfishness, and how much was longing for his aging father. With this rather sorrowful atmosphere, the family embarked on their journey to the nursing home again.

After a few lukewarm questions along the way, Master Ning and Xuebao's family quickly got out of the car. Before he could even catch his breath, Gu's father answered a phone call:

"Big brother...where are you? Come here quickly...Dad has something to say to us!"

"I'll be right there."

The tone on the other end of the phone sounded slightly serious and urgent. After listening, Mr. Gu didn't have time to say anything in detail to his wife and daughter beside him, and hurriedly ran inside.

Mother Gu followed. The girl beside Ning Yuan looked pale and bloodless. He couldn't help but gently hold the girl's cold little hand and softly comforted her:

"Don't be afraid, your grandpa will be alright."

Gu Guanxue bit her lip, her little face showing a hint of sadness. Seeing his precious Xuebao like this, Master Ning couldn't help but sigh softly.

As expected, it's impossible to defeat Old Master Gu. After all, I have such a big weakness by my side.

Old ginger is spicier... Hmm? Does that sound like it's referring to Grandpa Jiang?

In the end, it was a scumbag who took the blame for everything...

Oh well, we're all family anyway, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to let the old man take advantage of me a little more. After all, I've already taken the biggest advantage of the Gu family.

Chapter 333: The Three-Year Agreement Has Been Set!

After making up his mind to admit defeat first, Master Ning took Xuebao's little hand and walked towards Old Master Gu's ward. The originally spacious ward was suddenly filled with people from the Gu family, including elders and juniors. Everyone looked sad and worried. Gu Huaige sat in front of the bed, holding the old man's hand, as if he had just been told something and was in tears.

Parting is always sad. If Master Ning hadn't been prepared, he probably would have been affected by the atmosphere. Old Master Gu is really ruthless. He even lied to his most beloved granddaughter just to put on a show.