Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
What kind of person was Ji Ziming?
He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The moment he took his first breath into this world, he was already destined to inherit the Ji Group.
In preparation for that, he was provided the most elite education.
As a result, his personality was pretty much fixed at a young age.
The man was proud, cold, and aloof. Surrounded by riches since birth, for him to seek the help of an old man, whose only merit was his outstanding culinary skills, if one were to tell ten individuals of this, eleven of them would refuse to believe it!
Cough, cough, cough! The eleventh person was of course the speaker.
One could infer that Old He, the person the man was asking a favor from, was in disbelief!
However, the moment he saw him holding a girl's hand as the pair entered his Eastern Fence Abode, his disbelief instantly dissipated.
He now knew that the man was serious when he requested for him to teach him how to cook.
Ha ha! I almost forgot that, despite every generation of the Ji family's successors looking very proud, cold, and aloof, they all have one thing in common, and that is that they love with single-minded devotion.
My best friend is like that, and his son is, too, so his grandson will, of course, be no exception!
"He he!" While he did know of this fact, he was still shocked that the Ji family's heir could lower himself to such an extent for a woman.
"I am called Pei Ge, and I a-am…" Amid her self-introduction, she stumbled to define her role in the man's life.
"She's my girlfriend." Ji Ziming shot her a disgruntled look when she failed to define her standing in his life.
"Oh…" Old He watched the pair's interaction and stroked his beard in amusement before he teased, "You are Xiao Ji's girlfriend, hm! Not bad; not bad!"
"He he… Yes, thank you." Her smile was strained as she nodded.
This was her first time being introduced like that by Ji Ziming to someone - and the person was an elder to boot - so she could not help feeling a little guilty about this inside…
"Since you are Ziming's girlfriend, then just call be Grandpa He." Old He grinned at her affectionately.
She threw the man a sideway glance before she returned her eyes on to Old He. When Ji Ziming did not seem to be against it, she nodded and called, "Alright, G-Grandpa He."
"Mhm. Good child." Amid her shyness, Old He continued happily, "You are much cuter than this lad, Ziming."
"He he…" This annoying fellow is nowhere near cute, indeed.
Muttering this inwardly, she followed the elderly man into a small bamboo house as they chatted along the way.
"Grandpa He, is this your home? It's so beautiful!" she gushed as she scanned their surroundings. The small bamboo house, especially, amazed her.
"He he! It can be considered as my second home." Old He laughed. The more he interacted with her, the more confident he felt of his best friend's grandson's taste in women.
From his experience in life, he could tell that this woman was pure and kind-hearted. She was not the calculative type and was just simple by nature.
"Grandpa He, the first time I saw your house, it reminded me of a poem." After chatting with Old He for a while, she felt at ease enough in his company to share this.
Although her grandparents died when she was still young, she still remembered how good they were to her.
Hence, after she started calling this elderly man Grandpa He, she began to treat him as her real grandfather, and as a result, she became more outspoken with him.
"Oh? What poem is this? Do tell me." Old He's interest was piqued, and he kindly prompted her.
"It's a poem called 'Drinking Wine' from the Dongjin poet, Tao Yuanming."
When she said that, the elderly man's eyes instantly shone, but she, who was focused on reciting the poem, did not notice it.
"'While plucking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, my eyes fall leisurely on the mountain in the south. The mountain view is good by day or by night, especially with the birds occasionally passing by on the way to their nest."
She really felt that this place was exactly as described in that poem.
While picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, one raised their head to look at the beautiful mountains on the southern side. The fog in the mountains and the golden hue of the sunset were made more exquisite by the flock of birds flying home.
As the sun was just about to set, the moment perfectly gave life to the poem.
"Ha ha ha!" Old He laughed heartily after she recited that poem.
She turned to look at him in perplexity.
"Lassie, look there." Old He stroked his beard happily as he directed her gaze on to a one-meter slab of stone near the bamboo fence.
The stone was carved uniquely; the most astonishing thing about it was not its shape but—
"Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh?!" She looked at the huge stone in disbelief. "Eastern Fence Abode?!"
Her eyes opened wide when she caught sight of the three words carved on it.
Although the writing was cursive and gave off an aloof feeling, she could still tell what was written by piecing the different sections together.
"That's right, lass. This place is indeed built according to that passage in the poem by Tao Yuanming." Old He chuckled.
She blinked at him, not having expected to hit the bull's eye with her random guess.
"Ziming, your eyesight this time is pretty good. I like this lass." He smiled at Ji Ziming without hiding his fondness for Pei Ge.
Ji Ziming merely shifted his gaze from the elderly man to the woman beside him.
Noting her blur look, he involuntarily shook his head in amusement as he proceeded to squeeze her hand lightly.
"Stupid."
This stupid woman really has a fool's luck!
Unexpectedly, Old He took a liking to her. The elderly man was someone who looked amiable on the outside but was a dispassionate, sly fox on the inside. Usually, he kept his distance from people.
Make a good impression …
Let the romance begin
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She rolled her eyes at him.
"Who are you calling stupid?!"
She nudged her lips and then lightly harrumphed.
I'm clever, all right? Didn't you just see me determine with a look where they took inspiration for this place's architecture?
Ji Ziming's amusement intensified upon noting her smug look.
Meanwhile, Old He, who was standing opposite the couple, strongly felt like a third wheel at this very moment!
Witnessing the intimacy shared by the two and noting the rare smile on the young man's lips, he could not help but lament inside, It seems that I'll be hearing good news from my best friend's grandson soon!
Creak! Old He pushed open the huge doors of the white building, nestled between the bamboo forest and the chrysanthemums, and ushered the couple inside.
When she followed Ji Ziming inside, she promptly caught sight of the antique furniture. She once more blinked at Old He.
"What's wrong, lass? Why are you looking at this stupid ole me like that?" The elderly man laughed when he noticed her regarding him intensely.
"Grandpa He is not a stupid old man! I just think that you are probably a poet; that's why you can live such a poignant life! I feel that, just by standing here, my poetic soul is being stirred!" She beamed at him.
This was probably the most elegant she felt about herself!
"You, lassie, have such a sweet mouth." Her high praise made him feel elated beyond words!
While Old He's skill lay in cooking, he still carried the heart of a poet. Unfortunately, he neither had the gift of the gab nor excelled in the art of writing, so despite having that inclination toward it, he did not pursue the craft with zeal.
In the end, he found other ways to express his love for poetry.
First was in… his cooking; second was in his fashion style; and third was in… the design of this place!
"I'm simply telling the truth." Her eyes opened cluelessly at his claim of her having a sweet mouth. Everything she had just said was simply the truth!
Old He really looked and felt like a poet to her.
"Ha ha ha! You lass, I like you! If Ziming, this rascal, bullies you, you can freely come here to find your Grandpa He!" At her seriously clueless look, he laughed appreciatively.
She really could not fathom which part of her speech was amusing to the elderly man.
"Heh…" Ji Ziming's lips also curved upward at the current expression of her face.
Indeed, she has a fool's luck. What a dumb woman.
Many people tried to curry favor with Old He through bootlicking and flattery, yet none of them had succeeded, except for this dumb woman, it seemed!
She successfully got into the elderly man's good graces, but only heaven knew that this dumb woman did not even realize what she had just accomplished.
"Lass, sit."
The three each took a seat in the antique wooden chairs.
Just after the three had sat down, a beautiful woman in white Chinese traditional clothes walked in.
The woman seemed to be in her 30s and, because of her warm and elegant disposition, her already exceptional beauty increased by a few notches.
Pei Ge could not help speaking her mind when she saw the woman walk in with a tray of tea.
"Grandpa He, is your place really a restaurant?"
Since she saw nobody else besides them earlier, she thought that this was Old He's private property, yet the woman who had just walked in with a tray of tea made her doubt her judgment.
Could it be that this beautiful place is really a restaurant?
"Ha ha, you lass! Do you think my place is a restaurant?" Old He was amused to see her confused look.
Shaking her head earnestly, she replied softly, "No. It doesn't look like one at all."
"Then, that's your answer." Old He shot her an amused gaze before looking at Ji Ziming teasingly.
Who would have thought that, such a cold-faced and stoic lad, would like a woman whose personality was the total opposite of his?
"But CEO—Ziming said that we are here for dinner," she reasoned.
This annoying fellow clearly said that we are here for dinner, but…
Could it be that he brought me here to meet his parents, instead?!
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom Her cheeks turned pink and her heart pounded crazily the instant she considered that possibility.
That's not right, though. His way of addressing Old He isn't the proper way to talk to his family elders…
Amid her pondering, a woman's gentle voice sounded from her side.
"He he! This miss here, although this place isn't a restaurant, our old master is a truly an exceptional chef!"
She returned to reality in time to see a middle-aged woman in a traditional Chinese outfit smile gently at her.
The middle-aged woman's words gave her a shock.
"Huh?!" She widened her eyes at Old He in disbelief. "Grandpa He, you are a chef?!"
"Mhm. That's right. I am a chef and not a poet." He was once more entertained by her astonished look.
"But-But you don't appear to be a chef at all!" she sputtered.
She had never seen such a graceful and educated chef before!
He really did not look anything like a chef!
"Grandpa He… are you pulling my leg right now?" she asked hesitantly, still looking askance.
"Ha ha ha!"
"He he!"
This time, Old He, who was holding up a teacup, and the traditionally dressed woman, who was pouring tea for them, chuckled at her.
Infected by their laughter, Pei Ge smiled.
"All right, you, stupid woman, should talk less." Ji Ziming shook his head, feeling a little helpless with the dunce her.
It was truly his first time seeing a woman as stupid as her. She was truly too stupid.
Still… this dumb woman was stupidly cute.
His lips curled upward ever so slightly.
Mhm! As expected of the woman that I, Ji Ziming, like!
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