Huo Yao arrived home and saw Huo Jinyan sitting in the living room with the old man and playing chess.
Huo Yao walked over and greeted them courteously.
The old man put down his chess piece and looked at Huo Yao. “Do you play chess?”
Huo Yao leaned against the couch armrest and replied calmly. “Nope.”
“I see.” The old man did not go on talking to her. Instead, his eyes landed back on the chessboard.
Huo Yao glanced at the old man. He was certainly a master at pretending.
Huo Jinyan raised his head to glance at his daughter before he looked at the door and asked. “Why did you come back alone? Where is your brother?”
She instinctively felt that Huo Tingrui did not want to get forced into attending more matchmaking sessions, and hence, had come up with such a lame excuse.
When she told him about what Huo Tingrui had said, Huo Jinyan looked happy.
Although he found it odd that Huo Tingrui suddenly had to work overtime, he did not put much thought into it.
After all, he felt delighted just thinking about having one less person to compete with for his daughter’s attention.
“Uh huh. Overtime would be good for him. If he makes more money, no one will accuse him of living off his parents. Since our family isn’t rich, we can’t afford to have any idlers,” said Huo Jinyan happily.
Huo Yao’s lips twitched with an odd expression on her face.
If her second older brother had not told her about her family’s financial situation over lunch at the restaurant, she might have gone on believing her father’s nonsense.
The old man glanced at Huo Jinyan perplexedly. This villa was filled with antiques worth astronomical sums, so they were in no way broke.
The old man’s phone rang. He retrieved it from his jacket pocket to see two messages from his stupid grandson.
[You are at the Huo family.]
[Do you want to come back on your own? Or shall I come to fetch you?]
The old man pursed his lips and put the phone back in his pocket. He had forgotten to turn off the phone after he called the young woman while he was in the loo.
“Sir, it’s your turn,” said Huo Jinyan as he smiled.
The old man was certain that his grandson managed to zero in on his GPS location when he forgot to turn off his phone. He gathered his thoughts before he paused for two seconds and said awkwardly, “My grandson wants me to go home.”
Huo Jinyan looked at the old man in surprise. “Has he settled his work?”
The old man coughed awkwardly and nodded. “Uh huh.”
Huo Yao straightened her body. She was about to head to her room when her eyes moved, and she turned her head.
Humph. He used to insist that he was a lonely old man.
That liar.
The old man did not notice Huo Yao looking at him. He retrieved the walking stick beside him and slowly stood up before he said, “Thanks for letting me stay here. Allow me to play host when you come to the capital.”
Huo Jinyan stood up and bowed politely. “You’re welcome. We will certainly swing by to visit you when we’re in town.”
The capital?
Huo Yao’s eyes could not help pausing on the old man for a moment.
The old man’s phone rang again. He retrieved it quickly and sounded impatient. “Fine. I’ll be right out.”
After the old man hung up the phone, he nodded to Huo Jinyan and turned to look at Huo Yao uneasily. He walked over to the main entrance awkwardly without providing any explanation.
“Let me walk you out,” said Huo Jinyan.
The old man halted in his steps briefly before he turned and said, “It’s okay. Since I like Yaoyao a lot, why don’t you let her walk me out?”
Huo Yao went quiet.
