Grandpa Qin scrambled to put away the chessboard, a flicker of panic in his eyes. “Don’t cry, Grandpa admits defeat, Grandpa won’t bully you!”
Shi Ning, touched by his hasty surrender, felt her eyes well up even more. “Grandpa…” she choked out.
Grandpa Qin, who could face Shi Ning’s most suicidal antics without flinching, was utterly terrified of her tears. “We don’t play Gobang, we play checkers,” he stammered, frantically trying to appease her. “Don’t want a few dollars of glass beads? Grandpa will customize jewelry for you, all kinds of jewelry…”
Shi Ning was both moved and amused. She suppressed her sobs, her voice thick with emotion. “Grandpa didn’t bully me, Grandpa is very good.” She continued, revealing her raw feelings, “I thought Grandpa was the same as them, he wouldn’t believe me, and he was on guard against me, and he only coaxed me because of Qin Heye, and he must take medicine secretly in a while.” Her voice softened. “I didn’t expect that after I did so many stupid things in the past three years, Grandpa still recognized me and said that I was a good granddaughter-in-law.” Grandpa, she realized, truly seemed easier to coax than Qin Heye, and the thought filled her with a profound sense of warmth.
Grandpa Qin listened, his gaze shifting guiltily away from Shi Ning. In truth, he had been planning to take the medicine in secret. And his sudden tolerance towards Shi Ning was largely due to Qin Heye. He’d even concocted a plan to indulge Shi Ning first, to see how long her charade would last, before finally exposing her and forcing a divorce. Now, seeing her tears, he felt a genuine pang of guilt, regretting his cynical intentions.
He quickly adopted a benevolent, loving facade. “Everyone makes mistakes. You are still young. It’s normal to go astray. It’s good if you can correct it.” He even downplayed her past behavior. “Besides, you haven’t done anything bad in the past three years. It’s just that your mouth is a little poisonous.” Just that she’d called him old and cursed him to die early. Just that she’d made the family restless, though she only came back once or twice a year, so it was “okay.” As for trying to cooperate with Shen Xizhou, that was “a small matter,” not harming the company’s interests, just “making friends” to “make walking easier” in the future.
Only this recent matter of the land in the west of the city, worth 10 billion, truly threatened the Qin Group’s interests. That was what finally pushed Old Master Qin to his breaking point, prompting him to call Shi Ning back with the intention of forcing an immediate divorce to prevent the Qin family’s bankruptcy. Instead, Shi Ning had undergone this astonishing transformation.
Shi Ning, genuinely remorseful, admitted, “I’m sorry, Grandpa, it was my fault before. I was blind and didn’t know how good you and Qin Heye were.” A shiver ran through her. “I’m also very scared today. Grandpa will be angry with me and go to the ICU. If he takes that medicine, he will die directly, and I will become an indirect murderer.” She feared that even with the barrage’s spoilers, the plot would still relentlessly force her hand. Qin Heye’s absence, combined with Grandpa Qin’s unexpected indulgence, made her feel supported and truly happy.
Qin Heye, Dad, Jiang Huaijing, and Grandpa Qin. Because she had bowed her head and admitted her mistakes, they had all forgiven her! So many people around her loved her, yet she had been so blind, so foolish, hurting them with her past actions.
Old Master Qin reiterated, “Grandpa still says the same thing: as long as you know your mistakes and correct them, your elbows turn inward, you will always be Grandpa’s good granddaughter-in-law.”
Shi Ning pursed her lips, making a decision. “Grandpa, the land in the west of the city really cannot be developed because of metaphysical problems. If the follow-up work does not progress smoothly, there will be big problems!” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I want to increase the price to sell the land in the west of the city to Shen Xizhou. If you don’t believe it, you can ask a master to calculate it.”
Grandpa Qin was silent for a moment, then nodded. “He Ye has already told me about this. Now that you are so serious, Grandpa will give you another chance and believe you in the end.” He waved his hand, a gesture of complete trust. “You are fully authorized to deal with it, and Grandpa will not ask.”
It was all going so smoothly! Shi Ning’s eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Grandpa! I will play Gobang with you.” She picked up the chess box, a bright, obedient smile gracing her lips. “I will play chess with you these days.”
“These days?” Grandpa Qin looked genuinely confused. “You are going to live in the old house?”
Shi Ning set down a white piece. “Yeah, before Qin Heye comes back, I’ll live in the old house to be filial to you.”
Old Master Qin found this truly bizarre. For the past three years, every time Shi Ning visited with Qin Heye, she wore a sour face, making everyone miserable. Staying overnight in the old house was unheard of; it was a rare event if she even stayed three hours. Now, she was offering to stay for days? This was more outlandish than him learning to crawl like a turtle.
Old Master Qin’s black pieces blocked the path of Shi Ning’s white ones. “Okay, then I’ll have someone clean up your house. If you see anything you need, just ask the servants to buy it.”
“Stay closer to Grandpa.” Shi Ning, seeing her pieces about to be captured, quickly grabbed both the black and white pieces on the board. “Grandpa, I haven’t finished playing yet; I want to play here.”
“You are regretting your move!” Grandpa Qin protested.
“Why are you secretly moving my chess?”
“A gentleman does not regret playing chess!”
Shi Ning scoffed. “Hehe, I’m a little girl.”
The rest of the game proceeded in a similar fashion. Shi Ning played checkers, either regretting her moves or outright stealing pieces when the old man wasn’t looking. Old Master Qin lost several times, won a few, and often looked as if he was fuming with anger at Shi Ning’s blatant cheating. Yet, he was frequently amused by her antics, his laughter echoing outside the study.
Outside, at a table, Xu Chang meticulously wrote his calligraphy, his face a mask of deep hatred. Old Master is laughing so happily? What the hell is Shi Ning doing in there?
At lunchtime, Shi Ning left the study, finding Xu Chang diligently writing. She stood beside him, peering over his shoulder.
“Shi…” Xu Chang began, his hand still gripping the brush. He was so accustomed to the old address, but he caught himself, consciously correcting it to “Young Madam.”
Shi Ning looked down at Xu Chang’s calligraphy and couldn’t help but blurt out, “Have you been to kindergarten?”
Xu Chang took a deep, calming breath. As long as she didn’t harm the old man or Master Qin, he shouldn’t bother with the Young Madam over trivial matters. “I went to preschool,” he replied, stone-faced.
“Then why is your calligraphy so ugly?” Shi Ning pressed. “A three-year-old child writes better than you.” Xu Chang’s calligraphy was truly atrocious, like a dog had dragged its paws across the paper.
Xu Chang stepped aside, his expressionless face betraying nothing but a hint of challenge. “If You are so awesome, come on!” He gestured at the brush. ShiNing feuled by his contemptuous looks said “Come on! I write better with my feet than you!”
Shi Ning confidently took the brush, feeling majestic as she wrote with vigorous strokes:
Shi Ning is Qin Heye’s wife.
Qin Heye is Shi Ning’s husband.
After finishing, Shi Ning looked at her own atrocious handwriting and felt a fresh wave of tears. It turns out that she was just a stupid, bad female supporting role, and she couldn’t quietly surprise everyone.
Xu Chang looked from the messy characters to Shi Ning’s face.
Shi Ning glared back. “Still despise me? Write another hundred pieces!”
Xu Chang, knowing when to fold, forced out a lie. “Young Madam’s handwriting is really beautiful, one word is worth a thousand gold.” Their handwriting was identical, so praising her was praising himself.
Shi Ning, feeling a blush of guilt from the undeserved praise, snatched the incriminating piece of paper (which she now considered “black history”) and hastily left the yard.
After walking for a while, she arrived at the garden. There, she saw Qin Hongyi, hands clasped behind his back, head bowed, slowly following a large, ancient turtle. When the turtle walked, he walked. When it stopped, he stopped.
“Dad,” Shi Ning ventured cautiously, “…are you walking the turtle?”
Qin Hongyi looked up, a kind, elegant smile gracing his lips. “No, I’m waiting for you here.”
Waiting for her? Shi Ning’s scalp instantly prickled. Three years ago, when she first came to the Qin family, she had accidentally overheard servants whispering behind her back that Qin Hongyi was “perverted” and, despite his kindness, harbored “improper thoughts” about her! This rumor had been one of the reasons she had dreaded coming to the Qin family’s old house.