It was too early in the morning and the sky was still dark due to the hiding sun. The alarm went out noisily making the girl sleeping on the bed flinch at the blare.
Her finger quickly dismissed it and got herself ready to go out. It was 6 in the morning. The weather was freezing outside, so Xiulan put on a thick coat and went downstairs.
As soon as she reached the entrance of the kitchen, she could get the delicious smell. The head maid approached her and muttered politely, "They are packing the food now. It will be ready in a second."
She glanced at the watch on her wrist and whispered, "It's alright. Take your time."
It was ginseng porridge. She ordered them to prepare it ahead of time so that she could take it out and deliver it to the Tang's mansion in time. Ginseng was good for elderly people. Like this, she created an excuse to go check the identity of that man.
When she arrived at Tang's home, she was welcomed by a butler. The pair of grandparents and Quan were outside doing morning exercises.
"So other Young Masters are sleeping now?" She probed a question.
"I guess you are right. Should I go upstairs and wake the Second Young Master up for you?"
"Nah, I can wait." Zhang Xiulan nodded and pondered, 'It seems like the eldest one is at home.'
The butler continued, "Normally all of them gather at eight in the dining room. You have to wait for another thirty minutes."
"Could you get me a glass of warm milk? I haven't had breakfast yet, my stomach is kind of empty." She smiled sheepishly.
Xiulan took a seat with a warm cup in her hands. She sipped it slowly and waited for the others to come. After a while, she could hear strong footsteps hurriedly directed towards her.
"What are you doing here at this time?" Quan rushed to where she was.
She beamed, "I got a nice and warm porridge for Grandpa and Grandma. It is made with ginseng. Good for the elderly's nutrition."
Xiulan paused for a moment before she uttered, "I thought esports players have no sense of time and got up as they wish."
"As a matter of fact, we usually do some exercises to stretch our muscles which get rigid while we are playing all day long." Quan elucidated while sitting beside her. Then, he casually reclined on the sofa to rest.
She had to twist her upper body to get a good look at him, "I don't see any sweat on you. What did you do outside?"
He said with his eyes closed, "Of course, there isn't. It's freaking cold out there."
Their conversation was disrupted by a girlish voice, "Dad…"
When Yaoyao woke up, she went up to her father's room. But he wasn't there and she went downstairs to look for him. "Where's my dad?" She indifferently asked Quan. She didn't notice the presence of Xiulan.
"Isn't he in his room?"
"No, I just went there. There is no one in his room." She pressed her lips into a thin line.
Quan smirked wildly, "It seems like your father has left you again."
"No way! If he had a matter of urgency to attend, he would always leave me a message. I have checked it. I don't see a thing like that on my phone. Maybe he is doing a workout. Let me make a call." As she tilted her head to dial her father's number, she saw Xiulan from the corner of her eyes.
"What!? Why are you here?" She was astounded to see an unexpected guest.
Xiulan who was quietly absorbing the conversation between an uncle and his niece nodded in her contemplation. 'She must be right. He is going to return soon. My trip here should not be a waste.' She was startled and brought back to reality when Tang Yaoyao raised her voice abruptly.
Xiulan patiently explained everything to her. Yaoyao clearly wasn't interested in her story and as soon as she ended her explanation she left to make a phone call to her father.
Not long after dialing his number, one could hear a phone ringtone blasting out from the entrance of the house. Yaoyao ran up there, yelling "Dad!"
Jianyu just returned from a nearby gymnasium. His forehead was covered with the little beads of perspiration. The root of his hair was a bit damp down to the workout he did earlier. He wore a comfortable pair of long sleeves and long trousers with no traces of sweat on it.
Xiulan scrutinized his figure from the slit. Where she was standing was a natural blind spot for Jianyu. So, it was not a necessity to hide from him deliberately. She was petrified at the scene and stood there still without moving an inch.
Quan moved near to her ear and whispered, "I know you have a prejudice against him regarding Hualing's case. But let me warn you as your good friend, don't do anything out on a whim. Do you get it?"
Her boisterous emotions carried her away and she couldn't process his words. Quan was mumbling something into her ear. But she no longer understood them as she kept her full percent attention on the father and daughter pair.
"Dad, come here. My friend is also here. I will introduce her to you." Yaoyao spoke while grabbing her dad's wrist.
"Wait. Let me take a bath first. I don't want your friend to get an unfavorable impression of me." Jianyu simply thought it was her friend from school.
As an obedient daughter, Yaoyao didn't retort back and nodded adorably.
Jianyu broke into a smile and leaned down to peck on her head and muttered softly, "Daddy will come down as quickly as he can." He then took his leave.
Xiulan stayed low until Jianyu disappeared to an upper story. Since she had confirmed with her own eyes, she proceeded to leave the place after cooling herself down a bit. There was no reason for her to remain here and revealed her pathetic side.