Chapter 121: Pavilion in the Lake

Master Nan’s expression hardened. All men wanted their dignity, and would not like anybody to see their embarrassing side, especially when girls rejected them. Yet Fourth Uncle was insensitive enough to not only have watched the whole scene but to also mention it in his face. Was this not clearly an attempt to mock him!

He glared at Fourth Uncle in a fit of anger.

Fourth Uncle got a shock, Master Nan must have gotten angry with him. They had had business dealings for years, and he knew Master Nan’s temperament better than anyone else. He looked chivalrous and prim on the outside but was, in fact, a ruthless scum. It was not good news to be in his bad books.

Fourth Uncle cursed at Xia Ling in his head once more before an idea came to mind. “Master Nan, I have an idea that’ll help you get hold of her.”

He whispered something into Master Nan’s ear.

Master Nan’s expression was off initially but began to smile as Fourth Uncle spoke on. “The older, the wiser indeed, Fourth Uncle. If this really is successful, I’ll recommend a huge client to you.”

Fourth Uncle thanked him profusely.

“We’re already family, what’s there to thank me for.” Master Nan was practically floating with happiness. “If this little girl knows what’s good for her, I’ll treat her well and give her all that she needs, but if she doesn’t… Haha, get ready, we’ll settle this tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Xia Ling was tucked in bed, completely unaware of their plot.

The bedding was freshly cleaned, and no matter how she tried, her clumsiness got her nowhere, she was simply unable to lay it properly. Grandma Ye shared a room with her and could hear the movements. “You still haven’t laid it out? Let Grandma lend you a hand.”

The old lady found her way there by touch, grabbed a corner of the bedding and the cotton lining, and, with a familiar move, got it laid out flat and neat.

Xia Ling was stunned. “Grandma, you’re amazing…” She felt guilty — as an able-bodied young lady, she was nowhere as good as her blind grandmother. At that moment, she wondered what she had spent all her life learning.

“You child.” Grandma sighed and smiled as she helped her with the bedding. “How will you marry a man in the future? You can’t even arrange the bedding properly. You’d better get a man who loves you enough to do these chores for you.”

Xia Ling felt herself blush. “Grandma…”

Hearing her voice, Grandma Ye laughed easily. “Little girl, are you shy now? Come here and tell Grandma about your few admirers. Grandma will help analyze them for you.”

“I’m not thinking about marriage though.” Xia Ling mumbled.

“That’s not the way,” said Grandma Ye. “Even if you aren’t thinking of marriage yet, you can try dating first, this way you’ll know what kind of men are suitable for you. Little one, Grandma has been through this before, and you need to know one thing. The person you like the most may not be the best person for you. Even if you love each other to death, you may just look back one day and realize you weren’t in the right mind. If you don’t have a few experiences first, you could get cheated by someone someday.”

Xia Ling silently listened. Grandma was very right, wasn’t that precisely what happened with Pei Ziheng?

She loved him so intimately and passionately, but ended up bruised and scarred, and even lost her life over him. The one we like the most may not be the best person for us, maybe we are just not in the right mind…

She laughed to herself.

“Little one, why won’t you talk about it?” Grandma Ye had laid the bedding and wanted her to share a little about herself. “What kind of guys have laid their eyes on our Xiao Ling? They’ve got a good taste.”

Grandma Ye made Xia Ling smile again.

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After some thought, she said, “He… is really nice sometimes, but sometimes he makes me angry. He takes very good care of me, and always protects me when I’m in danger. He keeps finding means and ways to get me gifts, and gets jealous over little things sometimes… So overbearing, I haven’t even agreed to be his girlfriend, what right does he have to be in charge of me?”

Once Xia Ling started rambling to Grandma Ye, she simply could not stop.

Grandma Ye smiled as she listened, nodding every once in a while. Did this little girl realize that she was in love with this man? This sort of attitude was only displayed by girls who had already fallen in love…

“This guy sounds good, when are you introducing him to Grandma?” asked Grandma Ye.

Xia Ling was shocked for a bit. “Grandma, what’s this about now? I’ve already said there’s nothing between us.”

“Alright, alright, nothing it is.” Grandma Ye laughed. “But little one, when you find a boyfriend in the future, use this as a yardstick, okay? He’s the sort of man you can spend your life with.”

Hearing Grandma Ye’s words, Xia Ling thought about Li Lei’s beautiful smile and felt her cheeks turn red.

That night, they had a long casual talk before dozing off. Xia Ling thought of how nice it was to have a home and how she wanted her very own home as well…

Xia Ling got out of bed the next day.

She realized that Grandma was not in the room, and then found out that she had had too much to eat during the feast the previous night and was suffering from some indigestion. Thus, Big Aunt and Second Aunt had accompanied her to the hospital earlier in the morning.

Xia Ling was a little worried and asked Fourth Uncle about Grandma Ye’s condition.

Fourth Uncle explained that it was not a serious matter. Big Aunt had called from the hospital to say that she just needed some pills to aid her digestion and would be back by noon.

Xia Ling was finally at ease.

Since they did not have much to do, Fourth Uncle suggested that everyone took a trip to the fields. He said, “It’s Master Nan’s first trip to the village as well, we should take him around on a tour. Xiao Ling is also rarely back, we could go together and let her have a feel of how this place has changed.”

Father Ye and Aunt Liu expressed their interest.

Seeing that everyone was eager to go, she felt that it would be inappropriate if she opted out alone. Moreover, this was her first time in the village, and she wanted to see what it was like around here, and hence agreed to join them.

They walked on the path in a neat file, passing by the fields, some green crops and a lake full of lotuses nearby. Second Uncle’s little daughter, Ying Ying, clapped her hands in excitement. “Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, I want to take the boat to get some lotuses!” She pointed towards a corner, where a single pink flower rose above the water and stood in contrast to the lush green background.

Fourth Uncle smiled, found two boats nearby, and ushered everyone onto them.

Xia Ling got onto one of the boats, and Nan Sheng followed right behind. She frowned but did not say anything about it. Nan Sheng smiled at her in a friendly manner, and then gentlemanly said, “The wind is strong, you can sit behind me, I’ll row the boat.”

Xia Ling was happy to sit a distance away from him.

The little boat could not take many people, and after Fourth Aunt and Uncle got onto their boat, it was full.

The rest of them got onto the other boat, and then both boats went further into the lake. Everybody was still talking and laughing when they first started out, but soon enough, the boats had diverged and lost sight of each other.

“There’s a pavilion over there by the center of the lake, let’s take a break there.” Nan Sheng said all of a sudden.