The elderly man was moved, "As long as I can have something to eat, that’ll do. I’m not picky about whether it’s tasty or not."
"Grandpa, don’t you have any family?" Yang Xiaoxi started to get inquisitive, "Why do you have to beg for food? At your age, you should be taken care of at home."
"Ah!" The old man sighed deeply.
Yang Xiaoxi felt there was a story to hear and immediately perked up her ears, waiting attentively for him to continue.
"I do have a grandson, but he’s disobedient. At his age, he’s not looking for a wife and I never know what he’s up to. Sometimes I don’t see him for a year or two. As an old widower with nobody to care for me, I’m neither well-fed nor well-clothed. Driven by sheer helplessness, I’ve come out to beg for food. Miss, I won’t hide it from you; today is actually my first time begging. I chose this neighborhood because the houses look nice; I assumed the people living here wouldn’t lack food and drink, so I came here."
At this point, the old man sighed again, "To my surprise, after going around, people were either behind closed doors or they ignored me. It’s my first time begging, and I’m quite shy. If it hadn’t been for you calling me in for watermelon, I would’ve already moved on to another house."
He spoke with such genuine emotion that Yang Xiaoxi was overwhelmed with sympathy, her eyes even starting to redden. She directly interpreted that the old man’s grandson was a lazy good-for-nothing who didn’t come home and didn’t take care of him.
So she said, "Grandpa, that’s so pitiful of you, your grandson is truly unfilial. If you ever lack food again, you can still come over here. Although we’re just students and there’s nobody here during the weekdays from Monday to Friday, we are home on Saturdays and Sundays."
The old man was a bit worried, "Will the other young lady not agree?"
"No, she won’t." Yang Xiaoxi shook her head, "I’ve already told you, Mianmian might not talk much, but she has a really good heart. She’s not stingy at all. Really, if you need food, you can come here. You just have to make do with whatever we’re having."
The old man nodded with gratitude, "I could tell the two of you were kind-hearted girls right from the start. I wasn’t wrong."
Yang Xiaoxi blushed with the compliment, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
"Is it just the two of you living here? From your accents, it doesn’t sound like you’re locals."
"We’re not locals, we’re from Licheng." Seeing the old man’s benevolent face, Yang Xiaoxi let down her guard a bit, "Both Mianmian and I were admitted to Beijing University, and we’re freshmen now."
"That university has high standards!" The old man looked at them with admiration, "You two must be very studious."
"It’s all a result of our hard work in high school," Yang Xiaoxi said with pride.
The old man grew puzzled again, "So, your families in Licheng must be quite well-off, right? Rent here isn’t cheap, and they usually don’t rent to non-locals. How come you two live here?"
"My dad is a principal in Licheng, and Mianmian has her own small business. Our families are doing okay. But we don’t rent this apartment; it’s rented by Mianmian’s boyfriend, who is from Beijing." Yang Xiaoxi was the outgoing and cheerful type. Since Shen Mianmian wasn’t into gossip, she often felt bored, and now that she had found someone to chat with, she was talking with great enthusiasm.
Mianmian’s boyfriend?
According to his investigation, the place was rented by He Nan.
All of a sudden, the old man’s eyes lit up, and a kind smile appeared on his lips.
"It’s time to wash up for dinner," Shen Mianmian came out from the kitchen, then went to the well to fetch a basin of water. Follow current novels on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥