civilwarnovels Chapter 337 Perhaps it's just a simple coincidence?
Chapter 337 Perhaps it's just a simple coincidence?
Just then.
A series of steady footsteps came from the courtyard gate.
Xian Sheng (Xian Zuling's grandfather) returned, carrying two heavy vegetable baskets on his shoulders.
The afterglow of the setting sun outlined his slightly hunched yet still robust figure, and the vegetable basket contained green vegetables and radishes covered with fresh soil.
When he looked up and saw the figure that had appeared in the courtyard, surprise was evident on his weathered face: "Ling'er?"
He put down his load, his voice steady, but the instantaneous gleam of joy in his eyes was unmistakable.
Two days ago, his daughter-in-law said that his granddaughter wasn't coming back, so this unexpected surprise caught him off guard.
"Grandpa!" Xian Zuling immediately skipped over like a little deer, affectionately hugging her grandfather's strong arm. "I just got home, a little bit earlier than you!"
"Good! Good! It's good that you're back!" Xian Sheng's wrinkles smoothed out as he looked his granddaughter up and down, his eyes full of love.
The old man's way of expressing his feelings was always so direct and simple: "Haven't had dinner yet? Are you hungry? Grandpa will make you something right away! What would you like to eat?"
He turned and headed towards the kitchen.
In his simple yet profound world, ensuring that children are well-fed and clothed is the most genuine form of love.
"Grandpa, don't bother!" Xian Zuling quickly grabbed her grandfather's arm. "I've already eaten dinner, just something near home, and I'm full! Really!"
"Oh? You've already eaten?" Xian Sheng stopped and nodded without asking any further questions.
Since my granddaughter says she's full, there's no need to do anything else.
He walked to the pond in the corner of the yard and quickly began to process the vegetables he had brought back.
He carefully shook off the soil from the roots, rinsed them clean with water, and then skillfully gathered the vegetable leaves, tied them into bundles with straw rope, and neatly stacked them in a bamboo basket.
These vegetables need to be picked and sold at the market before dawn tomorrow to exchange for the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar needed at home, or to save some pocket money for my granddaughter.
The afterglow of the setting sun fell on his focused, calloused hands, silently telling of the weight of life and hope.
......
Under the dim yellow light, the courtyard looked especially cozy.
Xian Zuling nestled on a small bamboo stool next to her mother, Li Xiulan, like a little bird eager to share its experiences after returning to its nest. She recounted to her mother in detail every little detail of the past month or so since she arrived in Nanjing.
She talked about the excitement and anxiety of arriving at university, the heavy workload, and how she tried to find part-time jobs in the commercial street outside the school when she didn't have classes...
But the focus of her narration, unconsciously and with a sense of dependence that she herself was unaware of, fell on "boss" Ye Fan.
"Later, I mainly cooked for Ye Fan and cleaned the house." Xian Zuling's voice was soft, with a hint of embarrassment, yet she couldn't hide the warmth of being taken care of. "He... he has so many requirements. He insists on eating on time, and every meal has to be a lot of good food, the really expensive kind. He won't let me skip it; he'll watch me eat until I finish..."
She subconsciously touched her slightly rounder face: "Look, I've gained weight, all because he keeps letting me eat!"
Li Xiulan's gentle smile gradually froze when she heard the words "boss," "requirements," and "make sure you finish eating."
A chill crept up her spine.
The domineering, even controlling image described in her daughter's words overlapped with the image of a greasy, scheming middle-aged man that instantly formed in her mind.
Why would a strange man be so good to my daughter?
To take care of her work, her diet, and her daily life? This extraordinary "goodness" weighed heavily on Li Xiulan's heart.
"Ling'er," Li Xiulan's voice held a hint of tension, but she tried to soften her tone as she tentatively asked, "How did you meet this... 'boss'?"
Her gaze was fixed on her daughter's eyes, trying to read any unease or concealment.
"Him?" Xian Zuling seemed a little surprised that her mother would ask that, then answered naturally, "He's my classmate!"
"Classmate?" Li Xiulan blurted out almost immediately. The huge weight on her heart was instantly lifted, and the sleazy image she had imagined collapsed, replaced by great surprise and a hint of relief.
Fortunately, they are of the same generation.
But this new identity brought new confusion: "Classmate? Then why does he ask you to cook and clean for him? Can you even cook in your dorm?"
She simply couldn't understand how a student could treat their classmates like an employer.
Xian Zuling shook her head, her eyes shining with an almost worshipful light, and her voice unconsciously rose a little: "Mom, he's not an ordinary classmate! He's this year's top scorer in the national college entrance examination! The school values him highly and arranged a small villa for him to live in, right in the school's bamboo grove courtyard, where he's neighbors with those highly respected old professors!"
Her words were filled with amazement at Ye Fan's achievements and a sense of distance.
Li Xiulan was stunned.
Top scorer in the college entrance exam? A detached villa? Neighbors with professors?
The image her daughter painted—young, dazzling, and standing on a cloud—was completely different from her previous dark guess, and even exceeded the boundaries of her imagination.
The fleeting thought that had just crossed her mind—perhaps this outstanding young man was taking such good care of Ling'er because he liked her—now seemed so unrealistic.
The other party's brilliance was too dazzling, and their family background was far beyond what my own could compare to.
In his presence, Ling'er was like an insignificant blade of grass.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Li Xiulan murmured, but her brows were not completely relaxed.
The concerns haven't been completely eliminated, they've just shifted in direction.
There is no such thing as undeserved preferential treatment.
If the other party is so outstanding, why is he so "good" to his ordinary and even somewhat poor daughter?
He offered her a job, provided food and lodging, and even took her home by plane.
This "good" weighed too heavily, so much so that Li Xiulan, a mother who had experienced the ways of the world, felt a little uneasy.
Looking into her daughter's innocent and trusting eyes, the doubts about "purpose" swirled on her tongue a few times, but she ultimately swallowed them back.
Perhaps it was truly due to the good deeds of her ancestors that her daughter encountered a benefactor?
Perhaps it was just a simple coincidence?
She didn't want to spoil the rare ease and dependence her daughter showed as she spoke with excessive suspicion.
"Yes! He's really amazing!" Xian Zuling nodded vigorously, his face showing genuine approval.
However, deep within her bright eyes, a trace of confusion and unease, strikingly similar to her mother's, also quietly passed by.
How could she herself truly understand Ye Fan's extraordinary "goodness"?
The seeds of inferiority had long been sown.
From childhood to adulthood, apart from her closest relatives, she has almost never experienced such meticulous and selfless care from outsiders (at least she has not seen any return on it yet).