Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Wen Zhi knew that the Old Master had come to ask her out of concern, but before she had a chance to reply, Meng Fan already spoke up on her behalf, "Great-grandfather, don’t be so harsh on Zhizhi."

Hearing this, the Old Master’s face soured, and he retorted, "How have I been harsh to her?"

Anyone who had contact with the Old Master knew that he usually had an intimidating, stern expression on his face.

Wen Zhi meant to say the Old Master hadn’t been harsh to her, but at that moment Meng Fan raised her hand in front of her as a signal not to speak.

Then, Meng Fan imitated the Old Master’s serious expression in a calm and composed manner, "With that look on your face, how can you not be considered harsh?"

Meng Fan’s imitation was spot-on, even her tone was very similar.

The Old Master was annoyed, "When I let you speak, you’re the one who talks too much."

Meng Fan held back her laughter, "See, you are being harsh to me again, aren’t you?"

It was then that Wen Zhi tugged at Meng Fan’s sleeve, gently reminding her in a soft voice, "Great-grandfather is already irritated by you."

What she meant was that it was enough, and not to actually anger the Old Master too much.

Meng Fan stretched out her hand and whispered to Wen Zhi, "You might not notice, but I can tell, the old man is looking for trouble with you."

Wen Zhi was astonished; she truly hadn’t noticed.

She not only hadn’t noticed, but she also thought the Old Master had come to care for her.

At this point, Meng Fan deliberately raised her voice, "Rest assured, great-grandfather has a particularly good temperament, he can take a joke, he wouldn’t get angry."

After saying that, Meng Fan also purposely raised her voice to ask, "Right, great-grandfather?"

The Old Master ignored Meng Fan and turned to leave.

Meng Fan teased, "Eh? Great-grandfather, why are you leaving? Are you really angry?"

Seeing that the Old Master didn’t respond, Meng Fan’s grin almost reached the back of her head, "Didn’t you say you came to care for Wen Zhi? You’re leaving just like that? Really going?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than the Old Master, who was about to leave, turned back around.

Meng Fan’s heart skipped a beat: she should have known when to stop while she was ahead.

The Old Master was indeed still fuming, having forgotten his original purpose in his anger, he turned back and said to Wen Zhi standing beside him, "Come with me."

Wen Zhi pointed to herself, "Me?"

The Old Master nodded.

Meng Fan took the opportunity to interject once more, "Great-grandfather, despite your age, you’re not as polite as a young person like me. We’ve said it, her name is Wen Zhi, just call her by her name."

Meng Fan hoped that Wen Zhi would be respected at all times, by anyone, and no one was allowed to belittle her.

Just as the Old Master was about to scold Meng Fan, at that moment Rong Huaishen made his appearance, and the Old Master couldn’t wait to call out, "Rong Huaishen, take care of your wife."

Rong Huaishen looked over in their direction.

Meng Fan quietly shut her mouth.

The Old Master’s mood seemed to improve significantly, as he took Wen Zhi aside for a private word.

Although Wen Zhi didn’t know what the Old Master wanted to talk to her about, she still followed him to the side.

She had just fed the peacock, and her hands were still dirty with feed she hadn’t wiped off, looking a bit awkward in front of the Old Master.

The Old Master noticed her discomfort and reminded her, "Stop rubbing, finish listening to me, then go wash your hands."

Wen Zhi replied, neither humble nor arrogant, "Okay."

Without Meng Fan present, the Old Master’s facial expression seemed a bit better as he looked Wen Zhi up and down a few times, asking, "What happened this morning?"

Wen Zhi explained, "I overslept."

"Don’t think you can deceive me just because I’m old. If it were just oversleeping, would Hexing be that worried?" Although the Old Master didn’t know the specifics of the morning’s events, he had seen Shang Hexing’s expression clearly.

"I just slept in, there’s really nothing wrong," explained Wen Zhi.

The Old Master clearly didn’t believe her, "Impossible, with one doctor after another going in, how can there be nothing wrong?"

Wen Zhi hesitated, "Didn’t you ask the doctors yourself, great-grandfather?"

The Old Master was at a loss for words.

After a prolonged silence, he added, "Those doctors are all from the medical team Shang Hexing arranged for his grandmother; they’ve been sworn to secrecy. What could I possibly find out from them?"

Hearing this, Wen Zhi understood the situation.

No wonder the Old Master had come to find her specifically, and from his demeanor, it wasn’t really out of concern for her but to ascertain the state of her health.

Was the great-grandfather suspicious of something?

Wen Zhi suppressed the doubts in her heart and deliberately raised the corners of her lips to ask, "Great-grandfather keeps inquiring, so may I, as your junior, interpret this as... you being worried about me?"

Just after she asked this, she heard the Old Master give a heavy snort, "I see you’re not old, but quite good at flattering yourself."

Wen Zhi pressed her lips together, her heart cooling a notch.

Meng Fan, standing not too far off, was occasionally casting glances over here.