“Why are you asking this?” Easy-going as he usually was, the old man rarely cared about these things.
And honestly, Yici wasn’t used to reporting to him either.
Yi Hansheng enunciated his words with cold precision, his eyes deep and intense. “I’m asking you—who gave you that card?”
“Just…a classmate of mine.”
“Which classmate?”
Yici’s expression grew increasingly baffled. “You don’t even know her. Why are you asking in such detail?”
“Tell me.”
“Fine, fine! It’s Jiang Fuyue who gave it to me. And, hey—she wrote it by hand! How’s that?” Yici’s face lit up smugly.
“Oh?” A shadow passed through Yi Hansheng’s eyes, making them look even darker. “She wrote it by hand?”
“Exactly!” Yici puffed up with pride. Envious? Jealous?
Too bad!
An old bachelor should stay in his lane!
“Jiang Fuyue…” Yi Hansheng’s lips curled into a slight smile. “There’s a ‘Yue’ in her name, huh…”
“?”
What’s wrong with the word ‘Yue’?
“Since she’s been so considerate toward my son, as a father, shouldn’t I personally go and thank her?”
“Huh?” Yici was startled. “You? Thank her in person?”
“Of course.”
“Seriously? Is the sun rising in the west?”
Wasn’t this the same man who just earlier refused to leave his study, grumbling that entertaining a bunch of teenagers was beneath him?
Yi Hansheng: “Take me to her.”
Yici hesitated briefly, then thought about it. Letting his dad meet Jiang Fuyue didn’t sound like a bad idea. Who knows? She might even be part of the family in the future, heh heh…
“Alright, but let me warn you first: you’d better be friendly. Don’t go scaring her with that stiff face of yours.”
Yi Hansheng’s lips quirked upward, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course. But judging by your reaction…what? You have feelings for her?”
Yici’s face turned beet red. “Wha—no way! Who said that?!”
“Oh. So you do have feelings for her.”
“…”
“By the way,” Yi Hansheng asked casually, “does this Jiang Fuyue have any connection to that Jiang Ji Pancake House you went to the other day?”
Yici’s face turned puzzled. What’s with all the random questions today?
“Jiang Ji is her family’s store.”
“Oh.” This single syllable carried layers of unspoken meaning.
“Oh, that signboard? My daughter ordered it from an advertising company. Not bad, right?”
…
“Honestly, I wish I could help, but I have no idea… That signboard was like that when we got it.”
…
Suddenly, it all became clear.
Yi Hansheng’s tightly restrained emotions, hidden for years, began to unfurl like tendrils in the dark. A faint thrill coursed through him—like he was about to touch a fragile, dreamlike piece of glass.
“Let’s go,” he said.
To see her.
To see the person who had kept him lingering in unresolved longing for twenty years.
….
On the lawn, Wan Xiutong was resting her chin on her hands, stars practically twinkling in her eyes as she stared at Jiang Fuyue.
“Jiang Jiang, you don’t even know—the moment that drone flew in, everyone was totally dumbfounded! The guy next to me even mumbled, ‘Since when can lighters summon drones?”
“Ha ha ha! I almost died laughing!”
Jiang Fuyue’s lips curved slightly as she joined in the amusement.
But just then, gasps rippled through the crowd.
“Wait, is that Yici’s dad?”
“Why is President Yi here?”
“I thought the butler said all the adults were gone for the day?”
“My parents didn’t come, so now what? I’m too scared to talk to him…”
“Wow, Uncle Yi looks so young! And way more handsome than my dad.”
As the murmurs swirled, Yici had already brought Yi Hansheng to stand before Jiang Fuyue.
The man’s figure was tall and imposing. His once-youthful features had matured, now etched with an air of wisdom and authority. The faint crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes seemed like badges of honor bestowed by time, adding to his refined charm.
Step by step, Yi Hansheng approached her, his deep black eyes like bottomless whirlpools.
Jiang Fuyue stood still, momentarily dazed.
