"You arrived just in time for dinner," Grandpa Jun said as someone added another set of utensils.
Jun Qing took his seat and smiled at Wen Xiao’ai. "Xiao’ai, right?"
"Mhm," Wen Xiao’ai nodded and responded. She didn’t find Jun Qing unpleasant.
Because he was Jun Moyan’s father, and mainly because he wasn’t like that big bully Jun Wuyang,
"I am Moyan’s father," Jun Qing introduced himself.
He well knew he owed his younger son much, so he never demanded anything from him, and sometimes even had to be quite polite with him.
Because he didn’t fulfill his duties as a father, he lacked the standing to speak to him with the authority of a father.
"I’m very sorry about tonight’s incident; I’m afraid it was an inconvenience for you and Moyan," Jun Qing spoke, looking guiltily at Jun Moyan.
"I’m not inconvenienced, it’s Jun Moyan who is," Wen Xiao’ai said as she looked toward the silent and expressionless Jun Moyan, feeling indignant on his behalf.
"Jun Moyan is so good, if you guys don’t like him, I do."
No one liking Jun Moyan was fine by her—it meant nobody would compete with her for him.
"..." Jun Qing looked at the still silent, expressionless Jun Moyan, bowed his head in shame, and felt his mood grow heavy as well.
"Alright, let’s eat," Grandpa Jun spoke up, lightening the atmosphere a bit.
"Xiao’ai, you should eat more; you’re still growing," he encouraged.
"Okay." Wen Xiao’ai served some food to Jun Moyan, imitating Grandpa Jun’s tone. "Little Junjun, you should eat more too, you’re growing."
Grandpa Jun was amused by her and chuckled; Jun Qing also smiled.
"Grandpa, in the future, I’ll often come with Jun Moyan to have meals with you and Second Brother. We’ll eat at Second Brother’s place, and if you miss Jun Moyan, you can come to Wu Garden to see us. I’ll get Xiaocha to make lots of good food for you—Xiaocha’s cooking is really delicious," she promised.
"Alright, alright," Grandpa Jun agreed, nodding enthusiastically with a smile.
It had been such a long time since he felt this happy. Moyan must have accumulated good fortune over many lifetimes to meet such a fine young woman.
The meal passed in a joyous and harmonious atmosphere.
After dinner, Jun Qing wanted to have a talk with Jun Moyan, and as it happened, Jun Moyan had something to say to him as well.
The two of them stood before the bay window that Jun Wuchen liked best.
Jun Qing spoke first.
"This girl is quite exceptional. If you’re thinking about marriage, Dad will surely support you."
"..." Jun Moyan didn’t respond, just quietly watched the scene outside the window, while his ears were tuned to Wen Xiao’ai’s conversation with Grandpa Jun.
"I’ll talk to your grandma about that Ji Hongyan situation," his father said.
Seeing that Jun Moyan still remained silent, Jun Qing sighed slightly.
"Take care of yourself when you’re out there. Grandpa and Wuchen’s dad will look out for you. Don’t worry about it."
"If you have time, bring Xiao’ai to visit your mother. Let her see Xiao’ai," he suggested.
Mentioning his mother brought a slight change to Jun Moyan’s eyes.
He opened his mouth and asked, "Was the weather really bad when I was born?" Thıs text ıs hosted at novel•fire.net
His gaze, from start to finish, was fixed on the world outside the window, without looking at Jun Qing.
"It was nothing more than a few days of heavy rain," his father replied.
"And the crow?" Jun Moyan’s tone was indifferent, as if he were discussing something trivial that did not concern him.
"That was your grandma being too superstitious. Don’t pay it any mind," Jun Qing replied, somewhat puzzled by his sudden curiosity. Had his grandmother’s influence been so significant with her talk of omen at their first meeting that it affected him psychologically?
Truth be told, the scenes during those seven days were indeed unprecedented, bizarre even, and indeed shocking.