Zhou Jian Kong patiently stood beside a girl in a lolita dress who was receiving the guests with polite words. Though he did not say anything he still made those who wanted to say more words to Hua Fan nervous and unable to utter anything more than a few words of courtesy. The girl herself did not seem to mind his attitude and continued charming a few unlucky souls with heart-stopping smiles once in a while. But those smiles weren't directed at them but at the old man who stood beside her patiently lovingly patting her head when she looks up at him warmly. "Ye Ye I want to eat sweets."
Sweetly tugging at his sleeve Hua Fan deliberately acts a bit spoiled adding points to her lovely appearance. On this special day, even if she had a strict diet now Jian Kong could not say no to her and smiles a bit softly. His eyes grow warmer as he shot Assistant Wan behind him a glance, the man understood and hurriedly went to fetch Hua Fan her favorite sweets. "If that's what Fan'er wants, but don't eat too much and make yourself sick." Hua Fan beams at him and obediently continued to receive greetings from people.
Not finding anything off about her behavior Jian Kong was relieved, he was worried she would feel disheartened after knowing her parents would not attend her birthday celebration this year. But seeing as she was still willing to smile and was not acting out of the ordinary besides a few mischievous acts now and then, he was willing to indulge her plays. As long as she was not unhappy. When Assistant Wan returns with a small plate of cake Hua Fan considerately gave the best parts to her grandfather before eating the ends of the cake herself. Jian Kong did not like sweets but he took her care to heart and ate the sugary cake anyways just to see her smile at him.
Assistant Wan pushed his glasses up and silently pours Jian Kong a cup of tea to wash down the taste which the old man took wordlessly. Hua Fan saw their silent communication and bit her fork to hide her grin from her grandfather. Seeing the humor in her eyes he could not find it in him to be upset and only smiled softly while petting her head of hair scolding lightly. "No more sweets, your doctor said you ate too many sugary snacks the previous day as well." The girl hid her smile by lowering her head and enjoying his affection.
"Ye Ye must be tired having to rush back from the company just to attend to Fan, I just wanted to thank Ye Ye with something sweet. Since Ye Ye already gives Fan everything she wants, Fan can only do this for Ye Ye." Assistant Wan felt his own lips curl up faintly into a smile seeing her adorable actions, not only him but everyone who was eavesdropping felt touched by her thoughtfulness. Even if she did not smile at them, her actions towards her grandfather were really an entirely different story. No wonder the chairman likes this granddaughter of his so much he would choose her over his own son!
But Jian Kong had a different reaction, though he was touched he knew she was only thirty parts sincere. While twenty parts were mischievous and the other fifty were because she wanted to win the hearts of people by showing off their close bond. "Play as much as you want today, just don't go too far." She feigns innocence, "I don't understand Ye Ye's meaning." Jian Kong finally chuckles and felt his weary bones ease up, after working so hard for months he was extremely tired.
But in front of his granddaughter, he could finally relax and let down his guard a bit. Unable to help it he pinches the girl's cheek lightly, "Give an inch and you take a mile." At this time the manager not too quickly but not too slowly made his way to Assistant Wan not daring to talk to Jian Kong directly. Whatever they spoke about, it made Assistant Wan's eye flash with incredulous along with hints of wariness that was not easy to ignore. So Jian Kong's smile fell as a not small amount of displeasure and annoyance was weaved into his next words towards Assistant Wan.
"What is it?" It was not a surprise he would be angry if his granddaughter's birthday party were crash or disrupted in any way. And looking at Assistant Wan's expression whatever he heard must not be good news. Hua Fan's brow rose curiously as she hugs her grandfather's arm and looks over while contemplating who would be stupid enough to try stirring up trouble while her grandfather was present. It can't be that Feng Ming wanted to make a move right now? If he did it wouldn't be a surprise, but at the same time, she was doubtful that he was willing to attend any gathering her grandfather was also attending to avoid being shamed again.
Assistant Wan glances at Hua Fan and hesitated to say out loud, Jian Kong was not the only one who noticed this strange behavior as even Hua Fan's eyes flicker with hints of interest. Lowering his voice Assistant Wan leans over to murmur as quietly as possible beside Jian Kong's ear. Her grandfather's muscles tensed shocking Hua Fan into blinking up at him with a bewildered expression. Seeing a heavy unsettling anger gathering on her grandfather's face Hua Fan hesitated before calling out to him warily.
"Ye Ye? Is everything alright?" Calming himself down he did not actively dismiss the situation, the old man fixes his expression and pats Hua Fan's hand in a comforting manner. Though his words were gentle his voice was a bit robotic and made Hua Fan more concerned. "Stay here, there are some matters I must attend to, Ye Ye will be right back." Nothing happened to the company, right? Knowing not to pry too much Hua Fan nods her head and watches with hints of uncertainty as her grandfather left while also racking her brain for anything that had happened in her past on this day.
But no matter how much she tried to think she could not find any major event at all! She hid her frustration and continued to greet guests in a cool manner, yet she could not hide the fact that she seemed to be in a bad mood since her grandfather had left. Although Chairman Zhou was gone when they look at the girl's detached eyes and her reserved attitude they did not feel it was a good idea to try and make conversation with her currently. Having finished preparing his gift for Hua Fan, Zhong Zemin walked in and noticed the atmosphere seemed to not be right and looks for Hua Fan and the old master.
Only to be a bit surprised to see the old man was nowhere to be seen and Hua Fan was sitting alone at the main table with a scowl. His brows furrow, walking directly to her table under the curious gazes of everyone present he carefully kneels to her level. "What happened? Did someone upset the birthday girl?" Unconsciously he had softened his voice seeing as it was a special day for her he did his best to be a bit more considerate. Not to mention he did not see that kind of frustration on her face often, it was rare for something to truly disturb this girl.
"Someone made Ye Ye unhappy." Hua Fan's tone was flat and cool, the look in her eyes equally chilly. Someone had upset the old master? He thought he had heard wrong but seeing the girl's face currently that screamed, I am unhappy, it must be true. Not to mention she wasn't someone who would lie about anything concerning her grandfather, she treasured the old man dearly. Seeing as they were drawing more eyes than necessary Zhong Zemin spoke under his breath so only she could hear him.
The girl did not look happy without her grandfather here so it would be a bad idea to keep her without answers, she looked like she would fight anyone who talked to her no matter who it was. "I will stay with you while you finish your speech and have the band begin playing to distract the crowd. If the old master does not return in an hour I can create a larger distraction to help you go find him." The girl tightly grasping his arm silently accepting his proposal as he helps her up with a false smile to trick the people everything was alright. He was also wondering who in their right mind would try to ruin this happy day.