Xu Ai was ready to scream in rage once the call was connected. To her surprise, it wasn't Su Xuan's voice she heard through the phone, which throttled her anger instantly.
An old lady's voice came to her ear, "Are you there, little girl? I am Little Xuan's grandmother."
Xu Ai froze. She couldn't even breathe. Su Xuan's grandmother? What was she doing calling her?
"I don't have the wrong number!" The old lady murmured as if she was checking whether she dialed another number by mistake. After a while, she asked again cautiously, "Are you Ai-Ai?"
Xu Ai wanted to say no. She opened her mouth but couldn't make any sound.
"Oh-la-la, did I scare you off with this out-of-the-blue phone call?" The old lady seemed to realize what was going on, "Don't be scared, Ai-Ai. I heard Little Xuan got himself a girlfriend, so I stole his phone…"
Xu Ai couldn't hold it anymore. She coughed and asked tentatively, "Is there anything...you want?"
"Yes, yes there is." The old lady was instantly happy to hear her answering the phone, "I came to your school to meet you, but then I got lost…"
Xu Ai gasped. She came to meet her at her school? What the hell was that…
"Where are you, Ai-Ai? Come out and meet me. I wanted to surprise you so I never called, but I've been walking around at your school for two hours and couldn't find you." The old lady blabbed a little bit and then complained, "Why is your campus so huge, all these students walking around and none of them is you…"
Xu Ai held her head with her hand. There were tens of thousands of people at her school. If she were to search one-by-one, then when would she ever find her?
The old lady said something else, to which Xu Ai couldn't make clear. She could only focus on the throbbing sensation on her forehead. The old lady stopped talking after a while, then Xu Ai finally asked, "If you don't know who I am, then why did you come to my school to meet me? Who's with you?"
"I know who you are. Your picture is all over the news and newspapers so I printed it out…" The old lady laughed, "Nobody is with me, I came here all by myself…"
Xu Ai was speechless for a second, "How did you steal his phone? He didn't notice it?"
"He's busy with his conference so he didn't notice. It's good that he didn't notice, or else there's no way for me to sneak out." There was a wiping sound from the phone, the old lady was probably wiping away her sweat, "It's so hot today…"
Xu Ai looked outside and saw the bright and beaming sun up in the sky. An old lady walking under the sun for two hours on campus, it is already past noon, she most likely hadn't had lunch yet. Xu Ai had her own grandmother, how could she stand to see the old lady like this? She gritted her teeth, "Where are you?"
"I'm at…" The old lady seemed to be studying her surroundings, then told her, "There's a huge announcement board here with many student names on the merit list. Oh, I saw your photo up there…"
Xu Ai knew where she was. She told her immediately, "Just wait for me there and don't move. Don't talk to anyone who tries to talk to you, and don't go with anyone who tries to get you. I'm going to find you now, I will see you in ten, no, five minutes."
"Sure, sure, there's no rush, take your time." The old lady laughed.
Xu Ai put her phone down and rolled out of bed immediately. She put on her shoes and grabbed her handbag, opened the dorm door, and ran downstairs, almost bumping into the cleaning lady on her way down.
Even though it was class time, there were quite a few students still walking around on campus. She ran straight to the billboard and met a few people on her way. She was now famous because of Su Xuan. She didn't have the time or energy to care about all the extra looks that they gave her.
Five minutes later, she arrived at the huge announcement board and saw an old lady standing there.
She had a cellphone in her hand and no other belongings. She wore a pair of reading glasses; right now she was closing up to see the photographs on the announcement board. She was about the same age as her own grandmother. She had a great posture, she wasn't hunch-backed like many seniors, obviously the result of exercising regularly. She looked a little weary, probably from being under the sun for too long.
She paused, then quickly walked to her, "Is that you? I am Xu Ai."
"Oh, you're here? That was fast!" The old lady turned around. She repositioned her glasses and checked out Xu Ai from head to toe through her reading glasses. Her smile was so big that her eyes squinted, "That's you, you are even prettier than your photo. My Little Xuan sure has a fine taste…"
Xu Ai tilted her head down to look at her toes, then looked up, "Have you had lunch yet?"
The old lady shook her head and continued to stare at her with smiling eyes.
Xu Ai tried so hard not to scratch her head. She walked closer and held on to her, "Let me take you to lunch first!"
"Sounds good!" The old lady was very satisfied.
Xu Ai held the old lady and walked to the cafeteria.
The old lady kept on making small talks with Xu Ai as they walked, "A few days ago, I heard his auntie say Little Xuan's got a girlfriend. I asked Little Xuan but he didn't answer me. Then, his other aunt said Little Xuan indeed had a girlfriend, she said Yang Fenglin had met you before and complimented Little Xuan on his good taste. I asked him again but he ignored me again. I finally saw your picture on the news and newspapers…"
Xu Ai's face was livid. Aunt and another aunt? Were they his extended family? And who the heck was Yang Fenglin? That President Yang she met?
"I called Little Xuan the other day and he said he will take you home to meet me someday. I asked him how long would that be, he only told me to wait. How could I wait? I wanted to meet my granddaughter-in-law as soon as possible." The old lady kept on chatting, "You know, Little Xuan's father is still living at the nursing home, Little Xuan's mother has to take care of his father all the time. His grandfather is a busy man who hasn't retired yet. I'm the only old woman who has nothing to do. If I don't meddle with his love life, then who would ever give a damn about him? He's already at the marrying age…"
Xu Ai was speechless. What did she know, she didn't know anything. The only thing she knew was that the mess she found herself in was really making her speechless.
"Aiai, who are your family members?" the old lady asked Xu Ai after blabbing on for so long.
Xu Ai bit her lips and said uneasily, "My father, my mother, my aunt, and my uncle are all living abroad. My grandmother and I are living together in Beijing."
"Small family, that's nice." The old lady nodded with contentment.
Xu Ai rubbed her forehead again. She didn't want to hear any more questions so she changed the topic, "What do you like to eat?"
"Me, I'm not picky, I can eat everything," said the old lady.
Xu Ai nodded and asked, "How did you come to my school?"
"I took the bus and transferred a few times. Your school is too far from Little Xuan's company," The old lady became a total chatterbox again and kept on complaining, "It mustn't be easy for you two to date. But I heard you're in your junior year this year and will be graduating next year, so you just have to push through one more year…"
Xu Ai just listened to her complaints and couldn't come up with anything to talk about. The old lady could only talk about family life and Su Xuan, how was she supposed to change the topic?
She could only listen to the old lady's harangue about Su Xuan. Thankfully, they have arrived at the cafeteria, and the old lady finally stopped talking.
Even though it was past lunchtime, some shops were still selling food.
There were some students having meals when Xu Ai entered with the old lady, and they all looked at Xu Ai. She demanded a private dining room and took the old lady there.
Once they sat down, she ordered a cup of hot water and gave it to the old lady.
The old lady smiled as she sipped the water.
Xu Ai took the menu and got closer to her, "Is there anything you don't eat?"
The old lady shook her head, "No, Grandma isn't picky."
Xu Ai took a serious look at the old lady. "It's okay if you're picky. My own grandmother does not eat anything that has cilantro in it, she can't stand the smell of cilantro."
The old lady laughed immediately, "Little Xuan isn't picky with anything except cilantro. Birds of the same feather flock together."
Xu Ai was stunned, "Su Xuan doesn't eat cilantro, either?"
"You didn't know that?" The old lady asked her.
Xu Ai shook her head and reminisced, "He seemed like he wasn't a picky eater, I didn't even know that he doesn't eat cilantro."
The old lady laughed again, "Little Xuan's got a bad habit since he was little. He was very disciplined with self-control, and he really knew how to act and fake it till he made it. The more he dislikes something, the more he can hide his feelings. For instance, he doesn't eat cilantro, but if there's a dish or soup that has cilantro on the table, he'll just leave it there and not eat it."
"What a stupid habit." Xu Ai mumbled; he really did know how to fake it.
"It is a stupid habit." The old lady laughed out loud.
Xu Ai made a mental note in her head and said, "You pick the dishes. Even though you are not picky, I'm sure you still have your favorite dishes."
The old lady shook her head, "You pick. I really don't like picking out dishes. I get decidophobia whenever I look at a menu."
Xu Ai took back the menu and flipped it through. She told her, "I already had lunch, so I'll order two hot dishes and one cold dish for you, and a nice cup of mung bean soup to cool you down! For the hot dishes, let's go with their signature fish with gravy and fried broccoli. And their sweet-and-sour turnip for the cold dish. This is a very appetizing combination for you."
"Good, good, good, it suits my taste." The old lady smiled with satisfaction in her eyes.
Xu Ai put down the menu and gave the name of the dishes to the chef.
The old lady took out a photograph from her pocket and handed it to Xu Ai, "Here, look how great this picture is. Looking at it makes people feel the joy and the spark blooming between the two of you, it makes people happy."
Xu Ai took a look at the picture and her face immediately turned gloomy.
She was not the only one in that picture. It was a picture of her and Su Xuan. The background was kind of dingy, but one could still make out the people in the picture as her and Su Xuan. It was taken that night at Section V of the wine party.
She had no clue who snapped this photo. But it was obvious it was leaked from the inside.
If Su Xuan didn't give his permission, then whoever took the photo would never leak it out.
Xu Ai was grinding her teeth. She held the photo in her hand and asked the laughing old lady, "Where did you say you got this photo? The newspapers?"
"No, your picture was in the newspapers, but there were no photos of the two of you together. This picture is actually from Little Xuan's phone. I saw it on his phone and printed it out before I came here." Said the old lady.
Xu Ai frowned. Su Xuan was definitely not the one who took the photo, someone else must have taken the picture and sent it to him.
She gritted her teeth again. She was on the edge of tearing the photograph in her hand into pieces. "Now that you've found me, perhaps you no longer need this photo!"
"No way, I have to keep it." The old lady took back the photo from her hands and carefully put the precious thing back in her pocket. She smiled at Xu Ai, "Ai-Ai, do you want this photo as well?"
Xu Ai wanted to say she wanted to shred it. But she couldn't help but nod when she looked at the old lady's countenance.
"I'll print out a couple more when I go back and send one to you," the old lady told her.
Xu Ai shook her head immediately, "No, it's fine. You don't have to print it out, it's… quite troublesome." Then, her gaze moved to the cellphone in front of her eyes. She blinked and said, "Is that his phone? Could you give his phone to me and I will transfer that picture to my phone."
The old lady handed over the phone to her right away without questioning her motives.
Xu Ai opened Su Xuan's phone and realized it had a passcode. She looked up at the old lady, the old lady smiled and told her the passcode. Once she got his phone unlocked, the only thing on her mind was deleting the damned picture.
Suddenly, the phone started to ring just as she clicked on the photo album. The caller ID said "Grandma."
Xu Ai was shocked. She turned to look at the old lady.
The old lady came closer and looked at the phone, "Oh my, he figured it out so fast," she told Xu Ai, "I bought a brand new phone that's exactly like his just so I could steal his phone, or else I wouldn't have him fooled." Then, she took the phone in her hands and answered the call.
She didn't turn on the speaker so Xu Ai couldn't make clear of their conversation. She only noticed how the old lady's facial expression turned from happy to catatonic, then she chuckled and shook her head, then her face turned bitter and pathetic again. A moment later, she glanced at Xu Ai and said, "I'm at Ai-Ai's school having lunch. No, I haven't started eating yet…"
The other speaker said something that made the old lady's lips pursed together. Then, she handed the phone over to Xu Ai.
Xu Ai struggled inside but eventually took over the phone, "Hello?"
Su Xuan's beautiful voice came to her ear, "I never thought my grandma would go to your school to meet you. Did she cause you any trouble?"
Xu Ai opened her mouth and wanted to say she did cause some trouble, but the old lady came closer and had her ear super close to the cellphone. She was so kind and approachable, how could she say that an old granny was a troublemaker? She was at a loss of words for a second, "No." She shook her head.
Su Xuan kind of laughed a little, "I heard you two are having lunch?"
"Mm-hmm." Xu Ai said.
"An hour later, I will…" Just as Su Xuan was about to say something, another phone call interrupted their conversation. He paused and said, "Hang on a second."
Xu Ai waited. He didn't hang up their conversation when he picked up the other call and started communicating in English.
Even though Xu Ai and her grandmother did not live abroad with her parents, every year she would travel to other countries during her summer and winter breaks. She had excellent English skills, therefore she could understand what Su Xuan was saying. He mentioned something about Billion Suns, which made her a little upset.
"What's up? Little Xuan's got something to do?" The old lady asked quietly.
Xu Ai nodded.
The old lady patted her shoulder and said earnestly, "Ai-Ai, you have to forgive him. Ever since Little Xuan came back to China, the only thing he ever did was work for his corporation. He doesn't sleep until it is well past midnight. He's really working very hard because there are so many tasks that needed him to do. If you ever feel he left you out in the cold and only focused on his job, just push through it."
Xu Ai pinched the area between her brows, "We're not…"
Just then, Su Xuan hung up his other call and returned to Xu Ai, "Are you still there?"
"I am!" Xu Ai was a little irritated so her tone was somewhat pissed off.
Su Xuan breathed out a helpless sigh, "I wanted to pick up my grandmother at your school, but now I just got something that needed me so I can't go. Please send my grandmother back if you have time! I'll send you the address."
Xu Ai was a little scared, then she shouted, "Su Xuan, you can't keep on demanding more from me."
Su Xuan seemed to be sniggering, "How am I demanding more from you? Tell me."
Xu Ai glowered, better yet, the person on the receiving end of her scary expression was not Su Xuan but the old lady beside her. She stood up right away and walked to a corner with the phone and lowered her voice, "What do you want me to say? Do you have any idea what you have done?" She was furious.
"Um," Su Xuan reminded her, "If you would like your revenge, then you have plenty of time for that in the future. But are you sure you are going to lose your temper in front of my grandma?" He paused, then lowered his voice and murmured, "If I really were demanding, then I shouldn't have let you sleep alone that day…"
Xu Ai's face turned bright red instantly, "Don't you dare!"
Su Xuan's voice softened, "What don't I dare? I have made it perfectly clear that I was pursuing you that day…"
"
"Stop it!" Xu Ai didn't want to listen to what he was about to say next. She gave him a vicious warning, "Send someone here if you don't have time. I have classes in the afternoon."
"My place isn't that far from your school. If you are with my grandma, then you most definitely aren't going to your classes. It's still early, so you could totally send her home."
"That is still a no," Xu Ai was determined, "Do you hear me?"
Su Xuan turned silent.
Xu Ai's brows were tightly knitted into a cinnamon twist, "I don't believe you aren't able to find one single person who is free to do it."
Su Xuan's clothing rubbed together, he may be pressing the center of his eyebrows. A second later, he said, "Fine, I'll send someone to pick up my grandmother in an hour."
Xu Ai disconnected the call immediately once he agreed.
When she returned to her seat, she noticed the dishes had already been served and the old lady was looking at her cautiously. Xu Ai held back the bitter expression and smiled at her, "Granny, he said he will send someone here to pick you up in an hour. You must be starving! Please, east something!"
The old lady kept on staring at her, "Ai-Ai, did you and Little Xuan have a fight? Was it because of me?"
Xu Ai shook her head immediately, "No no, forget about it. I'm very happy to have you visit me at my school." Then, she picked up some food with her chopsticks for the old lady and added, "It's just, please don't come here alone next time. It's too dangerous."
The old lady was relieved to see she wasn't angry. She giggled, "I was just a little stressed out that I didn't see you, right? I'm not coming here next time. I'll ask Little Xuan to bring you to my place so I can cook yummy food for you."
Xu Ai coughed and cursed Su Xuan in her mind. She then urged the old lady to eat more.
The old lady picked up the chopsticks. Even though it was already in the afternoon, the old lady still kept a very elegant dining etiquette. She wasn't in a rush, nor was she gobbling down her food.
When they finished eating, Xu Ai looked at the time and realized they still had half an hour left.
"Ai-Ai, it's still early, would you take me to take a look at your dormitory?" The old lady put down her chopsticks and asked.
Xu Ai wanted to say she wouldn't, but the way the old lady looked at her with those puppy eyes that were afraid of rejection had her swallow her words. "It's just your typical university dorm, nothing special to look at."
"I just want to take a look." The old lady said.
Xu Ai struggled but didn't have the heart to reject her, "Okay!"
The old lady was so happy that she stood up right away and grabbed Xu Ai's arm, "Let's go."
A helpless Xu Ai walked out of the cafeteria with the old lady and headed to her dormitory building.
Just as they stepped out, she saw Lin Shen coming out of the library on the side with some files in his hands. She panicked, and Lin Shen also seemed to panic when he saw her. He then paced toward her.
Xu Ai's expression changed.
It didn't take long for Lin Shen to show up in front of her. He looked at her and asked, "This lady is…"
Xu Ai had no idea how to introduce them. She never would've expected to run into Lin Shen right here so she didn't say a word.
The old lady looked at Lin Shen. He was a pretty handsome young man, very high-spirited. She smiled and introduced herself, "Young man, you must be Ai-Ai's classmate? I am Su Xuan's grandmother, I came to visit Ai-Ai at your school…"