"Grandpa Duan, please stop teasing me. What if Grandpa Gu heard this, wouldn’t he be anxious with you?" An Yiqing said with a smiling shake of her head, "By the way, Grandpa Duan, how have you been feeling recently?"
Being as shrewd as he was, Duan Yuntian naturally knew that An Yiqing was trying to change the subject. He could only sigh helplessly in his heart before smoothly redirecting the conversation, "How could it be? Ever since you cured Grandpa Duan’s heart disease, I have been feeling great. Everything tastes delicious. My chest doesn’t hurt anymore, and I feel absolutely fantastic every day. Living for a few more decades is definitely not a problem! Haha!"
Hearing Duan Yuntian’s hearty laughter, An Yiqing knew his health couldn’t be anything but fine. However, just to be on the safe side, she still reached for Duan Yuntian’s wrist to check it over carefully. Only after confirming that there was indeed no problem with his health did she relax and nod in reassurance.
Throughout the entire afternoon, An Yiqing stayed at Duan Family Mansion, playing chess, drinking tea, and chatting with Duan Yuntian, eliciting hearty laughter with her delightful conversation. And Duan Tang even pushed away all of his meetings and official duties for the afternoon, with the sole purpose of being an attentive audience to Duan Yuntian and An Yiqing, enjoying this rare and warm moment.
At dusk, An Yiqing didn’t stay at the Duan Family for dinner. A little past four, she left in a car.
Duan Tang stood silently by himself at the mansion’s main gate, his gentle gaze lingering on the vanished car for a long time before coming back to reality.
"She has left, what’s the use of watching anymore? The wind is picking up outside, come in now," Duan Yuntian’s deep voice came from inside the house.
Duan Tang stiffened, then with a self-deprecating shake of his head, turned and walked into the house.
"Ah Tang, Girl Qing is a good girl, indeed a one-of-a-kind good girl in this world. But when it comes to love, even I have no control over it. Some people may hold the world in their hands, yet they can’t grasp the heart of the one person they desire. There’s an old saying that goes, ’Meeting the right person at the right time is a kind of happiness.’ Girl Qing meeting Third Young Master Gu, that’s considered fortunate."
Duan Yuntian paused, seeing the bitter smile on his grandson’s face, then continued, "Ah Tang, try to let go a little. Life needs to go on, and we must move forward. You and Girl Qing might have fate without destiny, but at the very least, she truly regards you as a close friend. Since you can’t have her, just silently accompany her."
"Grandpa, I know, I’m okay," Duan Tang said with a faint smile, his eyes still showing a gentle expression.
Duan Yuntian looked at his grandson, whose face was filled with dedication and calm, and shook his head helplessly. Having raised this grandson himself, how could he not understand whether his grandson was alright? Duan Tang had always been this kind of person, once he set his mind on something or someone, not even eight oxen could pull him back. It seems that in this lifetime, his foolish grandson was doomed to be caught up with Girl Qing!
Ah! Duan Yuntian sighed deeply. Let it be, the young have their own luck. He would just let them figure it out on their own!
This matter closed, Duan Yuntian turned his head and looked at Duan Tang before asking, "Set aside Girl Qing’s matter for now. These past few days I’ve heard about some mysterious Earth Sect suddenly emerging in Xuandu City? What’s that all about?"
"Yes, this Earth Sect is quite strange. I’ve been investigating it recently," Duan Tang nodded thoughtfully and said, "But I have a feeling that there’s something off about this Earth Sect."
Duan Yuntian’s eyebrows rose, signaling Duan Tang to continue.
"I looked into the Earth Sect’s background and found no previous trace of their actions. And the Sect Leader of this Earth Sect, I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before," Duan Tang pondered for a moment but couldn’t recall who the Sect Leader reminded him of. He was certain, however, that he had seen this person before.