Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Upon reaching the residence of the old master, Wen Zhi stopped and turned around, "Just wait for me here."

He nodded lightly, "Mm."

Wen Zhi told him, "If I don’t come out for a long time, you go back first, and I will come back later myself."

He didn’t say anything, merely nodding his head, then gestured for her to go in.

Wen Zhi’s intuition told her that he definitely wouldn’t listen, no matter how late she came out, she would probably still see his figure.

He was worried, she knew.

Wen Zhi turned and ascended the steps, and the assistant outside the house opened the door for her, "Miss Wen, please come in."

Wen Zhi nodded her head and walked into the house.

As soon as her front foot had entered the house, Shang Hexing followed closely, stepping up the stairs and having the assistant open the door.

The assistant looked troubled, "The old master said he would only see Miss Wen Zhi alone."

Shang Hexing’s eyes darkened, his expression sour, "Open the door."

Intimidated by the aura emanating from Shang Hexing, the assistant broke out in a cold sweat on his back.

He dared not hesitate a second longer, immediately opened the door, then bowed his head, pretending not to see anything.

-

Inside the house.

Wen Zhi did not know that Shang Hexing had also come in.

At that moment, she stood by the curtain, not rashly lifting the curtain to enter but stood there for a while before she took a breath and then lightly coughed twice to alert the old man inside.

No more than half a minute later, the leisurely voice of the old master came from the room—

"Are you here?"

Wen Zhi responded, "Mm."

The old master said, "Come in."

After the old master’s permission, Wen Zhi then lifted the curtain and went inside.

In the room near the window pivot, there was a rocking chair made of yellow pear wood. The old master was lying on the recliner, half-covered by a thin blanket, with the chair rocking gently.

As Wen Zhi approached, the legs on the rocking chair came down to rest on the floor, and the rocking also stopped.

"Great-grandfather, you haven’t slept yet," Wen Zhi said.

The old master lifted his eyes to glance at Wen Zhi, his expression neither angry nor pleased, and it was quite a while before he finally spoke, "Calling me ’great-grandfather’ all the time, doesn’t it sound a bit awkward?"

How could it not be awkward.

But isn’t it you, sir, who wouldn’t allow me to call you grandpa?

Now even ’great-grandfather’ is not permissible? Surely I can’t just call you old man.

Various thoughts were silently running through Wen Zhi’s mind, yet her face remained impassive as she responded, "As you say."

That answer left no room for criticism.

Wen Zhi could never have imagined that the dim expression she had while responding seemed very clever and odd to the old master.

Perhaps because he had never shown a pleasant face to Wen Zhi before, now that he was examining her closely, he found himself quite satisfied in every aspect.

Also, because he had never shown Wen Zhi a good face before, the old master felt guilty and didn’t have the face to talk to her.

He had delayed for two days, and during those days he had asked every so often if Wen Zhi had left yet, only feeling reassured upon learning she had not.

He knew that delaying further was meaningless, and if Wen Zhi suddenly left, it would be much harder to see her again.

So tonight, he had thickened his skin and had someone call Wen Zhi over.

He waved to Wen Zhi, "Come over here, I have something to tell you."

Wen Zhi couldn’t guess what the old master wanted to tell her; the harsh words like before wouldn’t occur again, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was anything good.

Yet, when the old master spoke, she simply complied.

As she approached, the old master, supporting himself with his hand, slowly rose to his feet, Wen Zhi quickly moved to help him, not refusing as the old master’s body was stiff and indeed needed Wen Zhi’s support.

Once the old master was seated comfortably, Wen Zhi squatted down by the side of the yellow pear wood recliner, "Great-grandfather, please speak."

Old master: "Change how you address me."

Wen Zhi was surprised, "Change... my address to you?"

The old man nodded slightly, his expression not too serious, but very solemn, indicating he was not joking.

But Wen Zhi did not change her way of addressing him. She pursed her lips tightly, remained silent, and waited for the old man to continue.

"About the difficulties I caused you before, now, as your grandfather, I want to apologize to you," the old man said.

Wen Zhi quickly shook her head, "You don’t need to say..."

"I don’t think being an elder gives me the right to refuse to apologize to a younger person; the elderly should not take advantage of their age," the old man’s expression at that moment was kind and gentle, unlike anything Wen Zhi had ever seen.

This reminded her of her own grandfather, and her expression turned sad for a moment.

But to the old man, Wen Zhi’s reaction seemed to indicate that his approach lacked sincerity. He quickly added, "I accept you as my grandson’s wife. From now on, rest assured and be with Hexing peacefully. I will never stand in your way again."

Wen Zhi raised her head, blinking her somewhat perplexed eyes.

After a while, she gathered her courage and asked, "Was it because of my actions at the airport that day, stopping you, that you had a change of heart about me?"

The old man nodded, "Yes."

Wen Zhi did not feel happy. "If that’s the case, then you’re only accepting the reality of me being with Shang Hexing on humanitarian grounds, but deep down, you don’t support it."

"No, no, no," the old man shook his head, his face showing some urgency: "I do support you two being together, truly."

Wen Zhi remained silent.

The old man completely panicked and hastened to add, "I will personally oversee your wedding ceremony, and I will make sure everyone knows that you are the granddaughter-in-law whom Han Qianjiang approves of."

At this, Wen Zhi’s lips curved into a smile, "I understand what you mean."

The old man, uncertain, asked, "Do you really understand?"

Wen Zhi nodded with a smile, "I do."

The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, finally relieved.

With this matter settled, he felt at peace. When his time came, he could pass on peacefully and meet Bai’er.

Thinking of Bai’er, the old man’s face came to his mind, and his eyes began to sparkle with tears. He closed his eyes, wiped away the tears with his sleeve, then turned to Wen Zhi and said, "You young people set the wedding date yourself. If you really can’t decide, I can look up the Perpetual Calendar for you, and find the best possible date."

Before Wen Zhi could reply, Shang Hexing’s voice came from behind—

"Then please look up the Perpetual Calendar, Grandfather. You decide."

Wen Zhi turned around.

The old man also turned his head to look.

Shang Hexing was seen lifting the curtain and striding in confidently.

The old man, guessing what was happening, directly asked, "You heard the whole conversation I had with your wife, didn’t you?"

Shang Hexing walked up to Wen Zhi, helped her up, and said to the old man, "Grandfather, this isn’t eavesdropping. I was inside the house. Standing outside—that would be eavesdropping."

The old man, stern-faced, said, "That’s sophistry."

Shang Hexing replied, "You often say the younger generation is formidable. It has to show somehow."

Wen Zhi covered her mouth and snuck a laugh at the side.

The old man did not engage further in this banter and went back to business, "Since you said I should set the date, I’ll get up early tomorrow and check the Perpetual Calendar."

Holding Wen Zhi’s hand, Shang Hexing responded to the old man, "Okay."

The old man’s gaze fell on their intertwined hands, "I know why you came in. You were worried I’d speak harshly to this girl."

Shang Hexing pursed his lips, his silence acknowledging the truth.

"Rest assured, it won’t happen again," the old man said. "She’s already the granddaughter-in-law I acknowledge. You need to treat her well."

Shang Hexing looked at the old man and nodded solemnly, "I will."

Wen Zhi was filled with a whirlwind of emotions; she hadn’t expected that everything was truly starting to head in a positive direction.

"Alright, alright, I should rest now," the old man waved his hand. "Get some sleep early. Tomorrow we need to get up early; there’s the Perpetual Calendar to check."

His repeating mention of the Perpetual Calendar clearly showed his earnestness.

Shang Hexing understood everything and nodded, "Grandfather, then we will leave first."

"Mhm," the old man nodded.

The couple held hands and turned to leave. Reaching the curtain, the old man’s voice came once more, "You two must lead a good life together."