Chapter 37

“He wants to meet you.”

“Huh?” Jiang Ziquan didn’t know anything about this mysterious grandfather, except that this man had calculated the exact date of their marriage. However, she felt grateful to this grandfather she has never met. For without the prophecy, even if she was completely shameless and proposed to Shen Yumo hundreds of times, Teacher Shen definitely wouldn’t have agreed.

“I will tell you a bit about my grandfather.”

“You mean our grandfather.” Jiang Ziquan smiled as if this was normal.

Shen Yumo did not correct her and continued, “My father is an orphan, but when he was eight years old, my grandfather liberated him from the orphanage. He gave my father his freedom and told my father that he would one day meet my mother when he turned twenty-four. At twenty-five, they will be married and I will be born in that year as well. Of course, my father was very curious about my mother and kept an eye out for her. Although it wasn’t exactly love at first sight, they had feelings for each other nonetheless. Later, they met each other and quickly fell deeply in love with each other and got married soon after.”

“Dad and Mom’s story really makes one envious.” Jiang Ziquan revealed a jealous expression, completely forgetting her own parents and dear brother whose love life was even more smooth.

“When I was eight, my father also gave me a prophecy, an order of sorts.” Shen Yumo gave her a look and continued, “He said I had to get married on that day or else my life will be full of tragedy.”

Shen Yumo’s hands felt warm and she looked down. One doesn’t know when, but it seems that Jiang Ziquan had wrapped a hand around hers at some point. That fair hand was marked with light back lines, probably from the pencil she was using earlier.

“After grandfather gave me that prophecy, he disappeared. There hasn’t been any news from him for years and yet today he suddenly contacted my mother and told her he wanted to meet you.

Jiang Ziuqna bowed her head, contemplating as she tapped her fingers giant the table. Her family’s legacy and the strange jade of hers allowed her to accept these things more easily. She even felt a little respect for the supernatural as she and Shen Yumo felt like the fated pair. However, this grandfather really is too strange. He could’ve asked to meet her at any other time, but why did he ask right when her and Shen Yumo’s relationship was getting better? Was this timing just pure coincidence or was he just that powerful?

The next day, they dropped by Lin Cuo’s house after breakfast. For some reason, Yu Chengjia was there too. They invited her to come with them to meet the grandfather and she agreed. Lin Cuo was curious about this mysterious grandfather anyways. Yu Chengjia was also in the area and as an avid mountain climber, when she heard they were going to the mountains, she immediately agreed. Apparently she was very familiar with the particular mountain they were going to. After discussing with Mother Shen, they agreed to let her come along as a guide.

Jiang Ziquan drove the four of them and during the drive, she would keep sneaking peeks at Shen Yumo, completely ignoring the two singles in the back.

As they neared Cangkai Mountain, the wind picked up and Jiang Ziquan opened her window. She was a little sleepy from waking up so early and the wind did not feel uncomfortable to her, but only made her more energetic. However, the wind also woke up the sleeping Yu Chengjia behind her.

Lin Cuo was mindlessly scrolling through her phone when she felt movements beside her and quickly closed her Weibo. She pretended that she was looking out the window and at the scenery. After all, she couldn’t break her image of being the aloof older sister type.

Yu Chengjia completely ignored her and looked at the open window instead. Her gaze then landed on Jiang Ziquan’s delicate face. Meanwhile, Shen Yumo was struggling to not fall asleep beside her.

“Pretty, isn’t she?”

“Very pretty?” Yu Chengjia mumbled, still staring at Jiang Ziquan unblinkingly with a hand under her chin. Then she shook her head and like being shaken out of a dream, she looked disgustingly at the smiling Lin Cuo beside her. She really couldn’t understand why Jiang-senpai had a best friend like her. Appearing to be gentle but was actually really annoying.

Lin Cuo lowered her voice and huddled closer, “Do you like her?”

“Definitely not!”

Yu Chengjia shouted, her face red, but not from shyness. Now, it was the red from anger and she stared speechlessly at the person beside her.

“Definitely not what?” Shen Yumo jumped in her seat, feeling somewhat confused as she looked at the blushing cousin and the serious Lin Cuo. “Chengjia, what are you doing?

“I asked if she used to have a crush on one of her Senpais, but she said no.” Lin Cuo explained, easily lying through her teeth despite the glare Yu Chengjia sent her.

Shen Yumo nodded. She wasn’t interested in any of this gossip and proceeded to turn her attention to the scenery outside.

“Sh*t, really? Who is this person?”

“She’s talking nonsense.” Yu Chenjia really wanted to cry but no tears came out. Jiang-Senpai, you have to believe me!

Shen Yumo frowned. As a teacher, she unconsciously wanted to scold a person when they curse.

Lin Cuo acted like this conversation had nothing to do with her and turned her attention back to her phone. She just felt that teasing this fangirl of Jiang Ziquan’s was really fun.

The grandfather lived somewhere on the mountain and from his words, it sounded like he wanted them to stay the night. So Jiang Ziquan and Shen Yumo brought an extra set of clothing with them. Lin Cuo and Yu Chengjia will be going home after spending a few hours with them.

Jiang Ziquan and Yu Chengjia were physically in shape and could run while carrying heavy things. On the other hand, Shen Yumo and Lin Cuo were breathless after walking for a little while and they weren’t even carrying anything.

Naturally, Jiang Ziquan supported Shen Yumo and half carried her, “You really should improve your physique.”

“En, I know.” Shen Yumo wiped the sweet from her red face. She already knew that Jiang Ziquan was fit just from the sports activity the other day, but she wondered, “I’ve never seen you exercise, so how come you are in such good shape?”

Jiang Ziquan smiled, her face blushing a little, “Aiya~ How can you do anything if your body is not fit?”

“You’re right, good health is the prerequisite for work.” [1] Shen Yumo nodded. It was time for her to start exercising more.

Behind her, Lin Cuo was in a half-dead state. She was not like Jiang Ziquan who had so much time on her hands every day to exercise. She was also an important figure in the company so she only needed to sit in an office all day and rarely moved her body.

She heard their entire conversation from behind and couldn’t help laughing.

Back then, when Jiang Ziquan hadn’t met her soulmate yet, she always thought that it would be a man. So other than her and Jiang Ziquan, every single one of their friends had at least one lover before. Jiang Ziquan wanted to be the perfect lover in the future so she often would ask their friends for advice. Although that face of hers received lots of confessions, she had zero practical experience to speak of. So the girls would often give advice to Jiang Ziquan who was thirsty for knowledge.

They taught her what it meant to be gentle, how to be considerate, how to win a man’s heart through his stomach, etc. Other than being completely unteachable when it comes to cooking, Jiang Ziquan was able to pick up many things like knitting scarves and other handicrafts.

However, she never expected that the person she fell in love with would be a girl so some of the things she learned could not be used. In Jiang Ziquan’s mind, Teacher Shen was the soft and naive one, so she had to take care of her and be the one to lead. At that time, a friend of theirs, who was already out of the closet, told her that she needed a good physique with a meaningful expression on her face.

Everyone was an adult already, so they naturally understood the meaning behind those words. Well, everyone except Jiang Ziquan. Essentially, they were giving her advice on how to attack the pure Teacher Shen.

Yu Chengjia was reluctantly dragging Lin Cuo forward by the hand, still angry at her with what happened during the car ride. She gave Lin Cuo a weird look when she laughed, disdain written on her face.

“Hey, I know you don’t actually like her. It’s just that the gaze when you look at her is too idiotic.” Lin Cuo didn’t know what was wrong with her. For some reason, she always felt like teasing Yu Chengjia ruthlessly, even if her words are a little sharp.

“You’re the idiot.” Yu Chenjia huffed, throwing the hand away in a fit of anger. She quickly jogged up to Shen Yumo’s side instead.

“Cuo-er, what’s the matter with you lately?” Jiang Ziquan slowed down her speed and whispered next to Lin Cuo. She had noticed that Lin Cuo was acting strange lately. Although she wasn’t familiar with Yu Chengjia, she is technically her cousin so the Lin Cuo she was familiar with usually wouldn’t act like this. She could tell that Lin Cuo was purposefully teasing Yu Chengjia and wanted to know what was going on.

T/N notes:

[1] good health is a prerequisite for work: A Mao Zedong saying during the cultural revolution.