280: Old lady's act

Old lady's act

Old Master Xi stopped Old Lady Xi, "What are you doing? Do you think anyone would believe that flimsy excuse of yours? Would you be called away by Old Lady Yan today when you were just announcing to the world that your granddaughter-in-law is coming yesterday? Do you think that our grandson is stupid? What if our granddaughter-in-law thinks that you don't like her and are avoiding her because you've just got up and gone like that?"0

"Then you… you tell me what to do?" Old Lady Xi stomped her foot in a show of anxiety, "Don't tell me that I shouldn't have done that when I've done it anyway!"

She still reminisced her acting skills from back then with fondness.

Old Master Xi finished watering his flowers. He stood up, stretched his back and flexed his muscles before saying, "You can pretend that the previous meeting was coincidental. When she comes, you could act as if you were surprised to see that your granddaughter-in-law was the nice young woman from last time. Won't that do the trick? Look at you, all anxious and unsettled!"

Old Lady Xi's lips moved, but no retort came out.

"You're still so cunning in your old age!" Old Lady Xi snorted and walked away.

"Hey! I'm offering you advice here, you old woman, but you're still snarking me!" Old Master Xi shook his water can and returned to his room with his hands clasped behind his back.

After a while, he shouted, "Come and take a look! How is this outfit I'm wearing? Do I look formal enough?"

Xi Ting parked the Black Bentley when he arrived with Qin Yan.

Qin Yan followed Xi Ting into the house, but the deeper she went, the more something seemed not right.

"This is your family home?" Qin Yan asked with surprise.

Xi Ting nodded, stating the obvious, "Yes, why?"

"I… I met an old woman in front of my campus. Her purse and phone were robbed, so I took her home, to this house," Qin Yan swallowed, becoming more and more nervous.

That old woman must be Xi Ting's grandmother.

Qin Yan was not stupid. Old Lady Xi would naturally have known who she was. She was probably worried and wanted to see her personality for herself.

Qin Yan was not angered. It was only natural that Old Lady Xi would worry that Xi Ting's girlfriend was inadequate and beneath him, or that she was a liar with a problematic personality preying on Xi Ting's identity and status when he was a man as extraordinary as he was.

Qin Yan understood her concerns. She was not angry, but she was made even more nervous. She did not know how Old Lady Xi saw her and if she was satisfied. She combed through her memories of the meeting quickly; she did not say or do anything inappropriate and was polite enough, so she should not have annoyed the old woman in any way.

Old Lady Xi had directed Aunt Chen to investigate why Xi Ting and Qin Yan had not arrived yet, but then she heard the couple's conversation as soon as she walked out of the door. She clapped her forehead, 'Old Lady Xi, what should I do. It seems that Young Master and Young Madam know the truth already.'

Aunt Chen had immediately turned back to inform Old Lady Xi of this so that she could save the theatrics when they entered, but then Xi Ting called her from behind, "Aunt Chen."

Aunt Chen turned back stiffly. She had no way to send the message after being caught red-handed.

She could only grimace, "Young Master, the old lady asked me to look for you and welcome you in."

Xi Ting raised his brow, "Oh. Well, let's go in."

Aunt Chen replied, "Ay."

She opened the door for them. Overcome with elation, Old Lady Xi wanted to walk in front and greet them, but she felt guilty, so she could only follow behind Old Master Xi. She did not understand Aunt Chen's look of conflicted silence, so she did not pay it any heed.

Xi Ting acted oblivious, like a wolf in a herd of sheep. He said formally, "Grandfather, grandmother, I brought my girlfriend home with me. This is my girlfriend, Qin Yan."

"Old Master, Old Lady, happy New Year," Qin Yan said. As she had already known the old woman's identity, she did not want to put up pretenses.

But then Old Lady Xi patted her thigh in surprise and said, "Oh, girl, it's you!"

Qin Yan, "…"

Aunt Chen, "…"

Ah, Old Lady, the others had already known! Why are you still acting over here?

Old Lady Xi walked towards her and clutched her hand with surprise and elation. "Ah, girl, you… you're the girlfriend that Ah Ting was always talking about? This is really fate! Quick, come in, come in!"

Qin Yan, "…"

"Hahaha, the last time I saw you, I came home and told the old man that I would be so glad if Ah Ting's girlfriend turned out to be a girl like you! I didn't think that it would be you! My wish did come true! This is the best New Year ever!" Old Lady Xi's grin stretched to her ears.

"…" It wasn't that Qin Yan did not want to explain, it was that she did not know what she could say in the face of the old woman's convincing act.

Aunt Chen was physically unable to watch the trainwreck that was Old Lady Xi acting in front of her granddaughter-in-law who had already known everything, so she slunk back to the kitchen to prepare snacks.

Old Lady Xi pulled Qin Yan onto the sofa. "You don't need to be nervous. Before you came, Ah Ting had already told us that he has a girlfriend, and he's also told us everything about you. We're not a family that puts importance on status. As long as you're nice and Ah Ting likes you, everything's fine. Not to brag, but a family like us no longer needs to expand our horizons by marriage alliances or anything. It'll be nice if we can, but it's not a priority. It doesn't matter if their spouses are from a noble family or are normal citizens as long as they like it."

"I didn't expect the girl Ah Ting was talking about to be you. Ever since the last time I've met you, I've already known you to be a kind-hearted woman with no shortcomings," Old Lady Xi patted Qin Yan's hand lightly, showing her affection.

Old Lady Xi did have a good impression of Qin Yan after the previous incident.

"I've liked you since the last time we met. I didn't expect you to be my granddaughter-in-law," Old Lady Xi said happily, the creases in the corners of her eyes made more evident. She clutched Qin Yan's hand in hers and did not let go. "This is destiny."

"Grandmother, stop pretending. We know everything. Everything about the last time you pretended to be an old lady who got lost just to trick Qin Yan," Xi Ting could no longer keep quiet seeing the old lady's act.

Old Lady Xi, "…"

Qin Yan, "…"

She had intended to play along with Old Lady Xi's act!

Qin Yan apologized sheepishly, "Old Lady, I'm sorry for not telling you that I knew about it."

"I know, I know," Old Lady Xi said. It was she that had put up the pretense in the first place. Qin Yan was just playing along to save her face.

The more she thought about it, the more apologetic she was towards Qin Yan.

"Sigh!" Old Lady Xi covered her face as if she dared not face her, "That was wrong of me. Qin Yan, please, please don't blame me for what I've done. I'm only curious, and… To tell you the truth, I was feeling unsettled, so I had to see you for myself and make sure of everything before the stone in my heart settles down. That's why I didn't resist and went in search of you. I'm sorry for lying to you."

"Don't say something like this, please," Qin Yan waved her hand hurriedly; she could not possibly accept Old Lady Xi's apologies. "I don't think anything of it. You don't know anything about me besides what Xi Ting had told you, so it's only natural that you hold some reserve towards me. The two of us have just gotten together, after all. He likes me, so he'll only say good things about me, and he might be a little biased. And I, after coming here with him, would naturally show my best qualities in front of the two of you and conceal the bad ones, so you won't get to see my real side. It's normal that you would want to make sure for yourself."

Old Lady Xi nodded hurriedly, "That's so, but it's still wrong of me."

"Grandmother, let us forget about this incident," Xi Ting, who was standing at the side, said expressionlessly, "Now you know Qin Yan, and she understands the motives behind your actions. Let's stop talking about it and start over from today."

pqdm.com