One of the representatives sent by the French Vogue International Jewelry Association was named Mr. Jill de Castei. He was from the de Castei aristocratic family.
Although the aristocratic system had become obsolete in France, the aristocrats who were minted during the French monarchy and empire period had a rich cultural history. Hence, they were often the center of attention during most social events, because of their posh and noble vibe. Hence, the French still looked up to the aristocrats.
The Wen Family was informed of Mr. Jill de Castei’s arrival as soon as he checked into the luxurious hotel and immediately sent their staff to welcome him politely.
After all, the French Vogue International Jewelry Association was extremely reputable in the world and they definitely had to show Mr. Jill de Castei due respect, though there was no need for them to suck up to him since he was there to visit them. It would be inappropriate for them to lose their pride.
The Chinese were often humble yet prideful to an appropriate extent when treating others.
Hence, Wen Xinya was rather composed about it.
“Xinya, have a game of chess with me!” said Old Mr. Mo. Ever since Wen Xinya moved to the Mo Family home to nurse her injury, she had been staying at home all day and complaining about being bored because of her immobility. Hence, she would pester everyone to play chess with her.
Hence, Uncle Zhang would avoid Wen Xinya whenever he saw her.
Wen Xinya was extremely thrilled and her eyes began to glisten too. “Grampy, you’ve finally agreed to play chess with me.”
She had been pestering Old Mr. Mo for several days but he had never once agreed. Hence, she had no choice but to pester Si Yiyan instead. However, she would turn to Uncle Zhang, Mother He, and Mother Jiang whenever Si Yiyan was busy with work.
Wen Xinya’s maternal grandmother was the one who had taught Mother He and Mother Jiang how to play chess. Although she was terrible at chess, she really enjoyed playing it and was in fact, addicted. She even taught the servants rather well, though she remained incompetent. It was one of the most embarrassing things about Old Mrs. Mo.
Old Mr. Mo glanced at her calmly and said, “Let’s make the rules clear beforehand. You’re not allowed to cheat or change the chess pieces. You’re also not allowed to whine or cry when you lose.”
Whenever Wen Xinya threw a tantrum, even Si Yiyan would have no idea what to do with her, let alone Old Mr. Mo. He would often feel helpless whenever Wen Xinya played cute.
She would cry…
Do I look like someone who will cry? Grampy, you must be joking! Wen Xinya thought to herself in embarrassment.
Puffing her cheeks up indignantly, Wen Xinya said, “Grampy, don’t belittle me. I’ve improved greatly in chess lately and we don’t know who the winner might be.”
It was not Wen Xinya’s first time getting criticized by Old Mr. Mo for her chess ethics. Since Si Yiyan often indulged her and gave in to her, she chose to ignore Old Mr. Mo’s warning.
Wen Xinya was extremely annoyed because she had been having a hard time throughout the game. She felt that she had made great improvements. In the past, she managed to stay in a game with Old Mr. Mo for ten minutes and this time, she persisted for two minutes longer.
Staring at the chessboard, Old Mr. Mo nodded and said, “Not bad. You’ve improved, but you have to work on your chess ethics.”
The thought of it made Old Mr. Mo’s face grow sullen, clearly upset because he knew that Si Yiyan was the one who indulged in her and caused her chess ethics to be ruined.
Grampy, you’ve chosen to forget that chess ethics are hereditary!
Is it good to malign Si Yiyan like this?
Although Wen Xinya was slightly disappointed to have lost, she soon regained her vitality. She chuckled and played cute. “Grampy, there are three rounds in every game. I’ve only lost one round, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lose the two remaining rounds.”
Hence, there were still two rounds to go.
Old Mr. Mo obviously wouldn’t give in to her. He only decided to play chess with her because he wanted to see if she had improved. “Your standards are not good enough for you to win me even if we play two more rounds. We might as well not waste time.”
Wen Xinya glowered at Old Mr. Mo angrily, surprised to see how sharp-tongued he had become.
Old Mr. Mo smiled and said, “Fine, you’re already impressive enough for your age. In order to improve, you have to work hard and continue learning. At different ages, you’ll have different moments of enlightenment and you’ll also gain more knowledge with time. You just need to grow older.”
Although she performed outstandingly during the Heiress’ Gala, she still lacked some background and foundation. Over time, she had already gained enough knowledge and talent in the four arts was actually in her blood.
Hence, he had always been satisfied and pleased with her.
Wen Xinya was as happy as a lark after receiving the compliment.
Old Mr. Mo sighed as he found her to be extremely childish. “Xinya, I have something to give you.”
Old Mr. Mo then handed Wen Xinya a thin book.
Wen Xinya grabbed it apprehensively and flipped through it before saying in astonishment, “Grampy, this…”
Old Mr. Mo said calmly, “Everyone calls me the Confucian of the Modern era and I do have plenty of students. I also have a wide network of connections. I’m only a scholar, so I don’t need these resources and connections as much as you do.”
He did not plan to hand them over to Wen Xinya previously because she didn’t need them in the past. However, the chandelier incident made him realize that someone was out to take her life and even Si Yiyan was wary of that person. Hence, he felt that the resources and connections would help Wen Xinya greatly.
The ink on the notebook was still fresh and it was obviously written by Old Mr. Mo a few days ago. Wen Xinya frantically shook her head and said, “Grampy, I don’t need this. I…”
Old Mr. Mo said calmly, “Ninth Si may treat you well and protect you, but you need to protect yourself too. We can always only rely on ourselves.”
Wen Xinya was momentarily speechless. Old Mr. Mo made quite a lot of sense. Although she had worked hard on broadening her network of connections when she first returned to the Wen Family home, she still lacked useful resources. Hence, Old Mr. Mo’s journal would be of great help to her.
However, she did not plan to use it casually because she did not wish to make the reputable Old Mr. Mo owe too many favors.
