Ye Qiao saw him heading into his grandfather's house and smiled.
The last time Lu Beixiao went home was three years ago before he joined the army. Grandfather Lu raged at the amount of trouble that he had got himself into, so he challenged him to make a name for himself in the force before considering returning home. He was too embarrassed by his grandson's lack of commitment.
That was how the great 'Mister Lu' got kicked out of the house by his own grandfather.
Lu Beixiao returned to his parents' home but was sent away by his mother, Madam Du Ying, to another city. With empty pockets, he had no money with him at all and was only carrying a one-way ticket to T City. He could not even afford a return ticket to come home.
Everyone assumed that the eldest grandson of the Lu family would end up being homeless and beg his way home. To everyone's surprise, Lu Beixiao returned home five days later with great enthusiasm and an extra 50 dollar bill in his pocket.
No one would have thought that the troublemaker would agree to work a laborious job to make a living. His day-to-day job was to unload coal from the train.
Time went by and shaped the troublemaker into the firm and unyielding man he was today. The past three years in the Special Forces must have been a difficult time. His arms were already covered in numerous scars.
Ye Qiao stayed where she was and watched him as he entered the house. Suddenly, she started weeping at the thought of the many sacrifices that he had made in their previous relationship.
"How dare you!? You can't even put on your uniform properly! Is this all just a joke to you?" She could hear Grandfather Lu snarling at him from her backyard.
The angry man's voice interrupted her train of thought. With a smile, she could not disguise her amusement at the exchange next door. Grandfather Lu had a sharp tongue, but he meant well. That was just his way of showing that he cared. The louder he yelled at the boy, the more he actually cared for him.
Grandfather Lu knew in his heart that Lu Beixiao was the sole successor to their family's legacy.
In the past, the old man fell severely ill when he was told of Lu Beixiao's death. Time did not heal his grief, and he passed away when Ye Qiao was still in prison. Even as his granddaughter-in-law, she could not attend his funeral.
Again, she was choked with sobs at the thought of the old man's death.
Given her second life, she promised herself never to let the same tragedies happen again.
She would not let Lu Beixiao sacrifice his life again. She only wanted him to live long and live well. She wanted the best for the ones that she loved and the ones who loved her back.
Xu Yi told him on the day he died that Lu Beixiao died in a mission to fight an all-time rival, a shrewd and ruthless adversary of the Blood Wolf.
The man in shades and a mask, who she saw during her last breath, had made a call to his boss right before she passed out. Could he have been the same man, or have come from the same organization that was responsible for Lu Beixiao's death?
"Your eyes are about to fall out. Stop drooling over the boy, you vixen!" Jealously, Ye Zhenzhen stood by her and started teasing.
She saw how close Ye Qiao and Lu Beixiao were when they talked earlier.
In her eyes, Ye Qiao's appearance was not the only thing that had changed; her shamelessness had also reached an unprecedented height.
How dare she try to seduce Lu Beixiao? She was clearly going after what she was not worthy of.
"You little 'green tea'! You are just jealous!" Ye Qiao was not in the mood to argue with Ye Zhenzhen, so she turned around and swiftly walked away.
"What do you mean by 'green tea'? Ye Qiao, how dare you insult me!?" Although she was not sure what the term meant, she guessed that it must be something spiteful and unpleasant.
Computers were not popular back then, so the slangs that were commonly used on the Internet were unheard of. Ye Zhenzhen had assumed that Ye Qiao was insulting her based solely on her tone.
"No, I did not. I was just admiring your qualities that are pure and refreshing like green tea," Ye Qiao dully dismissed her.
Ye Zhenzhen was not very convinced, though.. "Ye Qiao! My mom called and asked you to join us for dinner tonight!" She had to take a few big steps to catch up with Ye Qiao, who was already far ahead.