Shen Qinglan returned to the university to find only Wu Qian, who lived in the upper bunk across from her, in the dormitory. There were four people in their dorm, three locals and only Wu Qian from another province. Except for winter and summer vacations, she never went back, and she usually worked on weekends.
Besides Yu Xiaoxuan, there was also Fang Tong, who went out on a date with her boyfriend today.
Shen Qinglan greeted Wu Qian, took a shower, and threw herself onto the bed. Although it was already late, Shen Qinglan was not sleepy at all.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Just as she was getting drowsy, her phone screen suddenly lit up. She picked it up and glanced at it. It was a text message. Looking at the unfamiliar number, her beautiful eyes flickered, and her slender fingers swiped the screen and pressed delete.
On Friday, Shen Junyu indeed came early to pick up Shen Qinglan and take her home. When Shen Qinglan returned to the Shen Family, Chu Yunrong and Shen Xitong were nowhere to be seen. Sister-in-law Song said they had gone shopping.
Shen Qinglan did not like shopping. Occasionally, when she went shopping, it was because Yu Xiaoxuan dragged her along. The only time she went shopping with Chu Yunrong was right after she returned to the Shen Family.
Shen Qinglan found Old Sir Shen in the garden at the back of the villa. The old man was pruning his flowers and trees.
"Grandpa."
"Lanlan's back." When Old Sir Shen saw his granddaughter, he smiled. Due to his profession, even if he was not a strict person initially, he inevitably became somewhat rigid over time and not very fond of smiling. He didn't often get close to his grandchildren, except for Shen Qinglan.
"I promised I would come back to accompany you over the weekend, so naturally, I wouldn't break my word." Although Shen Qinglan's tone was calm, her eyes still showed closeness to the old man.
Old Sir Shen, holding the scissors for pruning, continued to trim the leaves while talking to Shen Qinglan, "Your Grandpa Fu's grandson is back. He invited me to visit his house. Will you accompany Grandpa tomorrow?"
Grandpa Fu's grandson? Fu Hengyi? Thinking of the person she encountered at the restaurant that day, Shen Qinglan's beautiful eyes flickered, and she agreed.
"Grandpa, let me help you." Shen Qinglan took the large scissors from Old Sir Shen's hands and assisted him in pruning the plants under his guidance.
When they returned to the house after finishing, Chu Yunrong and Shen Xitong were already back.
"Mom, the purple outfit you bought today looks beautiful on you. You wouldn't believe it, when you walked out of the fitting room, the sales assistant asked me if this was my sister. When I said it was my mom, she didn't believe me and thought I was joking." Shen Xitong's sweet voice could be heard clearly, even through a door.
Chu Yunrong laughed, "Oh, your mouth really is something. But the outfit does look good. My daughter has good taste."
The mother and daughter chatted enthusiastically, not noticing the two people who came in until Shen Xitong first saw them.
"Grandpa, Qinglan, you arrived just in time. Mom and I went shopping and bought clothes for you." Shen Xitong took out a dark brown top from the bag and compared it against Old Sir Shen, "Grandpa, I picked this for you. Do you like it?"
Old Sir Shen nodded kindly and spoke, "You were thoughtful. Grandpa likes it."
Hearing this, Shen Xitong smiled sweetly, "As long as you like it." Then, she took out another light pink dress from the bag, "Qinglan, mom picked this one for you. She fell in love with it at first sight. How do you like it?"
Shen Qinglan's gaze fell on the dress, which was sleeveless with no excessive patterns except a large white peony at the waist, full of a sweet style, similar in design to what Shen Xitong was wearing.
"Qinglan, do you like this dress?" Chu Yunrong looked at Shen Qinglan with a hint of nervousness, recalling the words of Old Sir Shen from last night.
Shen Qinglan reached out and took the dress, "I like it very much. Thank you, Mom." Without extra words, her eyes remained calm, showing no clear joy or displeasure.
Seeing her daughter's expression, Chu Yunrong's emotions dulled. Meanwhile, Shen Xitong, watching from the side, had an unknown emotion flicker deep in her eyes.
**
When Shen Qinglan and Old Sir Shen arrived at the Fu Family, only Old Sir Fu was at home.
"Old Fu, I'm here, come out," Old Sir Shen's loud voice echoed as soon as he entered, as was his habit with old friends.
"My ears aren't deaf. Why shout so loudly?" Old Sir Fu's voice came from upstairs, followed quickly by the sound of footsteps.
"Grandpa Fu." Seeing the energetic old man before her, Shen Qinglan's eyes revealed a genuine smile.
Old Sir Fu's eyes brightened, "Qinglan girl is here! You old man, why didn't you tell me earlier that Qinglan was coming?"
Old Sir Fu turned his head to Old Sir Shen, feigning anger.
Old Sir Shen was puzzled. They hadn't needed to announce their visits in advance before.
In his heart, Old Sir Fu thought if he had known the Shen Family girl was coming, he would've kept his grandson home, even if it meant tying him up.
Fu Hengyi was thirty this year, yet he'd never even had a girlfriend. While in the army, it was understandable, but after being injured and discharged, he started a business.
Starting a business was fine, for a man ought to have a career, and Old Sir Fu supported this. But once he started working, he seemed to forget about home, let alone a girlfriend.
Other people's grandsons had children who practically went to buy soy sauce at this age, but his own? Old Sir Fu was worried.
And as for the Shen Family girl, not mentioning that she was his old friend's granddaughter, just considering her looks, she would make a perfect match standing next to his grandson. Any child born to them would undoubtedly be beautiful and exquisite.
Just at the thought of showing off a lovely great-grandchild in front of his old friends and basking in their envy and jealousy, Old Sir Fu almost drooled looking at Shen Qinglan.
Fortunately, Old Sir Fu's intentions weren't known by Old Sir Shen; otherwise, the two old men, with their ages combined, would have started a row.
"Your grandson is thirty-one, and my granddaughter is just twenty-one. Your grandson at his age could be her uncle, and yet he dares to make a move?" Old Sir Shen might have thought.
Shen Qinglan didn't know what Old Sir Fu was thinking. As she watched him gaze at her with alternating emotions of regret, joy, and frustration, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy beneath her calm exterior.
Old Sir Fu didn't dwell on it long; he quickly found an excuse to go to the restroom and called his grandson. He coerced him to return within half an hour and then insisted on having Old Sir Shen play chess with him.
Old Sir Shen didn't plan to stay long at the Fu Family; he and Shen Qinglan were supposed to visit his ailing wife in the hospital that afternoon.
But seeing Old Sir Fu's lonely daily life, with only himself at home since his only son and daughter-in-law had passed, and his daughter's marriage having ended in divorce long ago, she had moved abroad by request and seldom returned due to work. His only grandson had spent years in the army and, although discharged, was so engrossed in work that he rarely came home. Old Sir Shen felt a softening in his heart.