Saying that, she handed the bird’s nest, ginseng, and liquor she was carrying to Old Zhao. “Grandpa Zhao, these are just a few things I brought for you.”
Old Zhao hurriedly accepted them. As he ushered Luo Keke into the courtyard, he said, “Oh, you child! You came to visit, so why did you bring all this? Come, come inside and sit down.”
Once inside, Luo Keke looked around. The simple yet tidy furnishings filled her with warmth.
Old Zhao motioned for Luo Keke to sit and eagerly asked, “Keke, it’s been so many years since I last saw you. What made you suddenly think of coming to visit your grandpa? Have you been doing well all these years?”
Luo Keke’s nose stung, and tears began to well up in her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to tell Old Zhao everything she had been through over the years.
“Grandpa Zhao, I haven’t been doing well. Ever since my mother and grandfather passed away, my father has been like a completely different person. He stopped caring about me and even allowed Shen Biyun and Ye Shiyao to bully me. This time, they even forced me to give my position as the hospital director’s assistant to Ye Shiyao. Otherwise, my father threatened to make me pay.”
After hearing this, Old Zhao’s face turned livid with anger, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
“They’ve gone too far! Zhou Wangzheng is an ungrateful bastard. If he hadn’t married into the Luo family back then, how could he have what he has today? You’re his own daughter, yet he treats you like this? He’s completely lost his mind!”
Seeing Old Zhao so furious, Luo Keke felt both touched and warm inside. She softly comforted him, “Grandpa Zhao, please don’t get so angry that you hurt yourself. I came here partly to see you, but also to tell you about my plans. I don’t want to keep putting up with them anymore. I’ve already gone along with their scheme and pretended to give my job to Ye Shiyao, but instead, I sold the position to Section Chief Zhang from the hospital’s personnel department. I’m planning to go to the countryside and marry the fiancé my mother arranged for me.”
Luo Keke’s heart stirred. She figured this was the perfect opportunity to test Grandpa Zhao and see whether he knew about the engagement her mother had arranged for her. At the same time, she could learn more about that family.
“Keke, are you really determined to go to the countryside and marry him? I remember that you strongly opposed this marriage before. And what about you and Chu Xiao? What are you planning to do about the two of you?” Old Zhao asked, his face filled with surprise, concern, and confusion.
“That’s right, Grandpa Zhao. You know that my identity as the daughter of a capitalist has become quite sensitive these days. But I’ve heard that the Xiao family has been poor peasants for generations, with four generations having completely clean backgrounds. For me, that might actually be the best choice right now. As for Chu Xiao, there’s nothing between us. The person his family favors is my stepsister…”
Old Zhao frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Keke, Grandpa understands that you want to escape your current predicament, but marriage is a major life decision. Are you really sure you’ve thought this through? You’re not still thinking about Chu Xiao…”
“Grandpa Zhao, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go to the countryside and lie low for a while. As for Xiao Zhanye, if his character turns out to be terrible, I’ll naturally find a way to leave him. So don’t worry about me.”
“Well, in that case, going to the countryside for a while might not be a bad thing. As for that boy surnamed Xiao, I doubt he would dare mistreat you…”
“Grandpa Zhao, you know about the marriage my mother arranged for me, and you know Xiao Zhanye?” Luo Keke asked excitedly. It seemed her trip here had truly been worthwhile.
Old Zhao had never expected that Luo Keke’s question would accidentally expose an old secret.
When it came to the Xiao family’s marriage arrangement, he knew far more than that. Back then, he had personally served as the witness to the engagement.
Thinking back to the past, it had been a turbulent time of war and chaos. Luo Keke’s mother had been pregnant when she returned to Shanghai from her family home. The situation at the time was extremely dangerous, and Old Zhao had been entrusted by his elder brother to escort her personally.
Along the way, they were relentlessly pursued by a group of bandits. In the chaos, they fled to Hidden Creek Village. Just then, the young lady went into labor prematurely, and the situation became extremely critical.
With no other choice, everyone temporarily took shelter in a dilapidated temple.
As fate would have it, Xiao Zhanye’s parents happened to be passing by with their six-year-old son, Xiao Zhanye.
Seeing the situation, Xiao Zhanye’s parents immediately took the young lady back to their home and hurriedly sent for a midwife.
After a tense and frantic ordeal, the young lady finally gave birth to Luo Keke safely.
Afterward, the young lady stayed with the Xiao family for more than two months.
Xiao Zhanye’s parents treated her with exceptional kindness and care, while the young Xiao Zhanye adored little Luo Keke. He would hold her in his arms every day and refuse to let go.
Seeing how kind and simple-hearted the Xiao couple were, and how intelligent, clever, and quick-witted Xiao Zhanye was, Luo Keke’s mother gradually developed a fondness for the boy.
She therefore suggested arranging a marriage between the two children.
The Xiao couple were naturally overjoyed. They immediately solemnly wrote up a marriage contract, agreeing that once the two children reached adulthood, they would marry.
Old Zhao had also served as the witness to the engagement at the time.
However, after they returned to Shanghai, the matter caused quite a commotion.
Zhou Wangzheng had argued with the young lady about it more than once, while his elder brother also seemed intent on avoiding the subject. As time passed, the matter gradually faded from everyone’s memory.
Years flew by, and countless changes occurred in the meantime.
Later, Old Zhao heard that Xiao Zhanye’s mother had unfortunately passed away. His father remarried and had two more sons and a daughter.
But life did not become easier for the family. When Xiao Zhanye was sixteen, his father also passed away.
As the eldest son, Xiao Zhanye resolutely shouldered the responsibility of supporting the entire family.
Old Zhao had assumed that the boy would use the marriage contract to go to Shanghai and seek refuge with his future in-laws. Unexpectedly, he never came.
Instead, carrying a heart full of youthful passion, he resolutely joined the army.
After that, Old Zhao lost contact with him and had no idea whether he had retired from the military by now.
Judging by the boy’s character, Old Zhao figured that whether he was still serving or had already retired, he had probably made something of himself.
Still, Old Zhao could not understand what had suddenly gotten into Zhou Wangzheng.
Back then, Zhou Wangzheng had been so firmly opposed to this marriage. Yet now, he was actually allowing Keke to go to the countryside and marry Xiao Zhanye on her own.
It seemed he had truly decided to abandon Keke as his daughter.
But thinking about it carefully, perhaps this was actually a good thing for Keke.
That boy Chu Xiao from the Chu family usually seemed to treat Keke well. However, in the end, he could never stand up to his parents. When it came to important matters, he always lacked the courage to go against them.
Someone as indecisive as him, someone who could not stand up for Keke or give her a sense of security, could never truly be a suitable husband for her.
Seeing that Luo Keke had asked about it, Old Zhao immediately became evasive.
“Keke, Grandpa is getting old. There are some things I really can’t remember clearly anymore. But I do remember that the Xiao boy was quite a good kid when he was young. It might not be a bad idea for you to go to the countryside and take a look. If he turns out to be a bad person and you want to break off the engagement, just send me a message. I’ll take care of it for you.”
Looking at Old Zhao’s evasive expression, Luo Keke immediately understood that Grandpa Zhao definitely knew quite a bit about Xiao Zhanye. For some reason, however, he was unwilling to say more.
She did not want to press him further, so she simply followed his lead.
“Grandpa Zhao, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I just want to go to the countryside and live peacefully for a while. As for what happens between Xiao Zhanye and me, I’ll take it one step at a time.”