Xua Ying Yue did not get a chance to refuse as she was ushered inside the house by Old Master Gu. He brought her to the living room which was painted in warm colours with portraits of Grandpa Gu pasted all over the walls, some of them consisted of him serving in the army while some of them held memories of the Late Madam Gu.
She looked at the walls that had memories pasted and felt a bit complicated, after their parents died, her sister locked away everything that belonged to their parents. Xua Yenay told her that it hurt her too much and she could not bring herself to shed any more tears, she was not wrong either.
The wound was so fresh that they dared not look at the memories of their parents and kept their pictures shut inside the wardrobe even now. Xua Ying Yue was not sure whether or not she was capable of watching the pictures of her parents without crying her eyes out or feeling heartache.
She had to admit that Old Master Gu was really strong as he could keep these memories in light without fearing them.
" Sit down," Old Master Gu said to Xua Ying Yue as he returned with a box of cherries and behind him was a maid in her fifties who was carrying two cups of tea.
Seeing the two of them bustle around like this, Xua Ying Yue could not help but say, " There is no need for you to trouble yourselves like this."
" Nonsense," Old Master Gu sat down on the couch and then pushed the cherries in front of Xua Ying Yue before saying, " You saved my begonia from dying. Though it might look like a normal it holds a very deep meaning for me and my daughter, if it died in my hands then I would have never forgiven myself." He spoke solemnly but then he laughed a little and said, " Fortunately, you were skilled enough to save it. Or else I and my foolish grandson would have killed that begonia."
He was not lying when he said that the begonia held a very deep meaning for him and his daughter. After all, it was something that once belonged to his late son-in-law, if it died then Old Master Gu would have regretted it all his life.
Xua Ying Yue did not say anything when she heard him say such things. She did not understand Old Master Gu's emotions as she was incapable of understanding the desire to keep something alive which once belonged to the person who was now gone. In her eyes, no matter how much the living tried to cherish the memoirs of their loved ones, it was not going to bring them back.
Since she did not understand it, Xua Ying Yue decided to refrain herself from saying anything.
" Anyway, how is college these days?" Old Master Gu asked Xua Ying Yue as he picked up a cherry and bit into its flesh. He gasped him surprise before saying, "It is really sweet, come on you have a taste as well."
Xua Ying Yue knew that he was doing this because he wanted her to eat the cherries in front of her, after all, there was no way the retired hero of the country ever got a bite of a few cherries. She smiled and took a bite of the cherries as well before nodding, "It's indeed sweet."
She then paused and answered, " I am quite busy with college work. They have given us a new project and I need to submit it before the next week."
" Ah, they have already started handing out projects? And here I thought my grandson was lying when he said that he wanted to go to the library. I thought he was avoiding staying with me," as he spoke Old Master Gu's eyes turned a bit sombre which confused Xua Ying Yue.
It was as if Zou Zeming's avoidance was hurting him. But why?
" Told you that you should listen to me old man," before she could ponder on her thoughts anymore, Zou Zeming returned. He was dressed in a white clean shirt with black pants. His black hair was tousled and he looked neat and handsome.
He walked over to where Old Master Gu and Xua Ying Yue were sitting before taking a seat as well. He then glanced at his grandfather and said with a raise of his brow, " You never trust a word that I say, grandpa. You make my heart ache."
" I would have believed you if you had one," harrumphed the old man as he looked at his grandson who was reaching out for the cherries and smacked him on the back of his hand. " Wash your hands first. What are you doing eating without cleaning up? Can you not see that we have a guest?"
Zou Zeming turned to glance at Xua Ying Yue who paused in her actions of chewing the cherries. She glanced at him sideways before turning her attention back to Old Master Gu who was once again complaining about how his grandson never listened to him and how he wished to get a granddaughter.
" Be happy that you got me, old man if it was my elder brother… you would be crying every day," Zou Zeming remarked before getting up from the couch and heading toward the kitchen where he started to wash his hands in the basin. As the hot water trickled down his hands, he turned to look at Xua Ying Yue who was sitting on the couch with a polite smile on her face.
It was funny how she was sitting so calmly despite acting all angry back then at the snack shop.
His gaze then fell on her lips which were tinted red because of the cherry juice, which made them even more luscious and red.
' Well damn' he sighed before turning his gaze away from the woman sitting behind him like a devil's temptation. He never thought that he would ever get a crush on a woman in his life—— but to think that he got one on a twisted woman like her.