Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As soon as Wen Xinya switched on her mobile phone, she received a phone call from Zhou Tianyu, who excitedly spilled all the details of the gossip about Xia Ruya’s scandal. Not long after she ended the call, she received another one from Old Mr. Mo, who sounded very anxious and worried. Clearly, Gu Junling had informed him about her sneaking out of the Gu Family.
Si Yiyan hurriedly sent her back to the Mo Family home.
In order to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble, Si Yiyan left right after dropping her off at the Mo Family home and did not show his face.
Wen Xinya turned around and headed to the second floor of the Mo Family home. She then peeked through the crack in the door that was left ajar to see that there were rows and rows of bookshelves.
All of a sudden, the door of the study was pulled open, giving Wen Xinya a great shock. She instinctively took a step back and looked up to see that her grandfather was standing by the door and staring at her.
“Grampy…” Wen Xinya tucked her neck and drawled coquettishly, sounding a little guilty.
“Since you’re here, just come in. Why were you popping your head around the door?” Old Mr. Mo chided, staring at Wen Xinya, whose bright and sparkly eyes were darting around all over the place, not daring to look him in the eye at all.
After some humming and hawing, Wen Xinya hurriedly grabbed her grandfather’s arm and smiled coyly. “Grampy, you’re so clever. How did you know that I was right outside?”
Old Mr. Mo led her into the study which was filled with the scent of ink. Clearly, he had been practicing calligraphy.
Old Mr. Mo looked at her calmly and said, “Come here for a game of chess with me!”
“Hehe! Sure!” Wen Xinya exclaimed, feeling extremely relieved to see that her grandfather did not mention anything about last night. Had he brought it up, she would be at a loss for an explanation.
An austere expression began to form on Old Mr. Mo’s face as the game of chess progressed, and he began showing all his experienced tricks. He planned each and every move meticulously with much consideration.
However…
“Grampy, this one is mine, you can’t take my chess piece in the corner!”
“Grampy, you can’t do this. You can’t place your chess piece here. Otherwise, my efforts would have gone in vain!”
“Grampy, I made a wrong move by accident. Let’s restart!”
Within a short period of time, she had lost lots of her chess-playing ethics.
Little did Old Mr. Mo know that she was spoiled rotten by Si Yiyan.
The black and white chess pieces were placed closely together and a sullen expression formed on Old Mr. Mo’s face. “Where did you go last night? Junling came here this morning to tell me that he couldn’t contact you. There has been chaos and bloodshed in the city lately. How dare you stay out and wander about on your own?”
He initially trusted her to be sensible enough to take care of herself and hence, gave her lots of freedom. Due to how much he believed in her abilities to handle her life properly on her own, he had rarely interfered with her matters. Yet…
He shifted her gaze onto the chessboard, thinking to himself that he ought to interfere and meddle with her problems when necessary.
Wen Xinya hung her head low, contemplating if she should tell her grandfather about Si Yiyan. She had been reborn and her mental age was already twenty-five. Hence, that was the reason she was willing to accept Si Yiyan.
However, in the eyes of Old Mr. Mo and everyone else, she was just an underage teenager and was too young to get into a relationship.
“This has something to do with Yiyan, doesn’t it?” Old Mr. Mo asked sternly.
“Grampy…” Wen Xinya murmured. Her eyes widened in shock, clearly having gotten a great fright. The shock had robbed her of her speech and she forgot to retort.
Old Mr. Mo took her silence for consent. An austere expression formed on his face and he said, “Don’t forget that I was the one who taught Yiyan and nurtured him. I know his chess skills like the back of my hand. However, you, my granddaughter, have the same set of skills and style as I do when it comes to chess. Yet, the way you’re plotting your moves is exactly the same as Yiyan. I may be old and muddled, but I can still tell.”
He had already smelt a rat when Si Yiyan showed up at the Mo family home out of the blue. When Si Yiyan started interacting with Wen Xinya cautiously, he had also sensed that something was up. However, it was inappropriate for him to interfere since Si Yiyan did not cross the line. Yet… they actually got together secretly.
Wen Xinya lowered her head and apologized. “Grampy, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden it from you.”
She was choking with sobs and her eyes were filled with tears when she stared at Old. Mr. Mo pitifully. His heart softened and he said, “You’re a smart child, I’m sure you know your boundaries. Yiyan was my apprentice. I know his character very well. As long as you two know what you’re doing, I don’t see anything wrong with getting into a relationship.”
Wen Xinya looked at him with joy in her eyes. “Grampy…”
Old Mr. Mo gestured for her to stop talking. He looked up at her sternly and said, “Ever since history, those who manage to change the world have always been the weak and educated. That explains why so many tragic cases of people becoming too obsessed with studying exist. People claim that I’m the greatest Confucian of this era, but that’s just a superficial label. They only respect me for the clout that I enjoy. Si Yiyan is not a simple person. He’s very scheming and he knows how to tamper with one’s mind. Even I can’t interfere with his world.”
Staring at her grandfather, Wen Xinya hung her head low and continued listening, though she did not understand just what he was trying to say.
Old Mr. Mo said calmly, “If you really end up together with him, neither I nor the Wen Family will be able to save you when something happens. You’re still young now. You ought to consider carefully and decide if he’s the best option for you.”
“Grampy, I’ll think through your words carefully,” said Wen Xinya, who teared up in no time. In order to make up for the time and care lost during the fifteen years that she had spent leading a wandering life, Old Mr. Mo had always been very tolerant and patient towards her, despite the fact that getting into a relationship at a young age was often frowned upon. He had always tried to be understanding towards her and analyzed the pros and cons with her while giving her sound advice as an elder. She was extremely touched by his kindness.
Old Mr. Mo caressed her head affectionately. Although he wanted to intervene, he did not have a reason to. After all, she had been doing very well in school and was making impressive progress in chess, music, calligraphy, and painting. Hence, it was apparent that she did not allow her relationship with Si Yiyan to affect her academics. Since she and Si Yiyan both knew their limits, there was no need to intervene.
Having missed the chance to show her care and affection for fifteen years, he had to make it up by giving her trust and being gracious and understanding towards her.
Even if any mishaps happen to her in the future, he’d be able to defend her and help her, so long as he was alive.
Old Mr. Mo glared at her and said, “Don’t pout. Since you’ve made a mistake, you ought to be punished. Don’t think you can fool me and escape the punishment. You shall copy the Mo Family Rules compilation twenty times. Alright?”
It was commonplace for families to have a book of rules and lectures that comprised of the enlightenment and teachings of ancestors. The Mo Family ancestors mainly wanted to educate their descendants and shape them into moral, upright and ethical people.
There were ten chapters in the volume, which amounted to ten thousand words. Copying it twenty times would mean that she would have to write two hundred thousand words…
What a severe punishment!
Upon hearing his words, the glow in Wen Xinya’s eyes vanished and she said, “Got it, Grampy!”
