Chapter 1296: Old Mr. Mo’s Gossip
As soon as Wen Xinya returned to the Mo Family home, she was enthusiastically welcomed by Mother He, Mother Jiang, and Uncle Zhang. They were often friendly and kind towards her throughout all these years. Wen Xinya also treated them with great respect.
She could not help but be reminded of the previous lifetime where she moved to the Mo Family home not long after she reunited with the Wen Family. Due to the disrespect that she showed to the servants whom Old Mr. Mo treated like his family members, they all ended up leaving the Mo Family home one by one. Their departure resulted in Old Mr. Mo being all alone.
Old Mr. Mo was an esteemed and reputable figure of the literary world and he had taken a countless number of apprentices under his wing. Yet, he ended up in such a sorry plight. The thought of it made her tear up in agony. She could not forgive herself at all, not even after the rebirth.
Everything had changed in this lifetime.
Uncle Zhang’s son had opened a small company that brought in a reasonable revenue. His son had been wanting to bring Uncle Zhang home several years ago. However, Uncle Zhang could not bear to leave Old Mr. Mo and Wen Xinya. Hence, he turned his son down and stayed behind in the Mo Family home.
Due to the fact that Mother He and Mother Jiang were old in their years, they could not perform any ch.o.r.es apart from cooking. Hence, they had been wanting to retire and go back home to spend their remaining years. After much persuasion by Wen Xinya, they finally conceded and stayed behind to look after Old Mr. Mo.
With Uncle Zhang, Mother He and Mother Jiang around to accompany and take care of Old Mr. Mo, she was not too worried about him feeling lonely.
Old Mr. Mo would definitely not pa.s.s away alone at home as he did in the previous lifetime. He was so lonely that no one even knew about his death.
Feeling very much at ease, Wen Xinya walked through the hall and arrived at the backyard where the sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly. Wen Xinya glanced at Old Mr. Mo, whose silhouette began to appear a little dreamy to her.
She could not help but feel a little fl.u.s.tered all of a sudden. She suddenly closed her eyes and tried to clear her thoughts for a while. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and her vision finally began to get a little clearer.
She frantically scurried towards him and exclaimed in a shaky voice, “Grampy!”
Old Mr. Mo looked up at her and noticed the anxiety on her face. He put down the scissors in his hands and asked tenderly, “What’s wrong with you? You look really fl.u.s.tered.”
Wen Xinya’s face looked rather pale and feeble beneath the sunlight.
Wen Xinya grabbed onto Old Mr. Mo’s arm as she began to feel much more at ease. She smiled and said, “Nothing much. I’m just starting to miss you because I haven’t seen you in days, Grampy.”
Wen Xinya looked up at Old Mr. Mo and smiled at him radiantly… while her trauma from her previous lifetime began to fade.
She felt that it was time she started getting over Old Mr. Mo’s death in her previous lifetime. It had already been three years and she had also managed to change Old Mr. Mo’s destiny. He was now in the pink of health, all thanks to her meticulous care and the herbal soups that she had been feeding him with. She was certain that he would definitely live a long life and she would stay by his side for the rest of his years.
Scrutinizing her carefully, Old Mr. Mo said, “You silly child. You were so mature and composed at the start, but you seem to be regressing now.”
Although he was chiding her, he gazed at her affectionately. In the past, Wen Xinya would be rather careful when interacting with him, even though they were close. However, she had now grown even closer to him.
But…
Old Mr. Mo would sometimes notice a tinge of guilt, morose and other complicated emotions in Wen Xinya’s eyes. He was certain that it was not just his hallucination.
Wen Xinya said, “Grampy, you were the one who said that I ought to behave like a young person since I’m still young.”
In the past, Old Mr. Mo used to chide her for lacking the liveliness that was unique to youths. Now that she was much more bubbly, he began to criticize her for being too fickle and unstable. It was tough being his granddaughter.
Seeing that she had talked back to him, Old Mr. Mo smacked her on her head and asked, “Do you remember when I said that then?”
She was 15 years old when she returned and now, she was 21 years old. She would be graduating from university in a year’s time and step into society. It was time for her to become more mature and stable.
Wen Xinya said awkwardly, “Grampy, you’re wrong. I was young when I was 15 years old. Now that I’m 21, I’m still young too.”
So, I’m still considered a youth and it doesn’t matter even if I’m not mature enough!
Old Mr. Mo had no choice but to say resignedly, “You have a point. I can’t outargue you.”
Old Mr. Mo was not actually displeased with her immaturity, but rather… he felt that Si Yiyan had led her astray and hence, he could not help but criticize her.
Actually, Old Mr. Mo just wanted to be in charge of Wen Xinya and micromanage her life because of how much he loved her. Ever since she reunited with the Wen Family, he took on the responsibility of educating her and his goal was to turn her into a demure lady like his wife and daughter.
However… Si Yiyan appeared and stole his granddaughter away from him. He even intervened with his teachings, thus making Old Mr. Mo feel like his authority had been challenged and compromised.
Wen Xinya chuckled and said, “Grampy, the owner of Boya Pavilion has sent me an invitation to this year’s Heiress’ Gala. do you think… I should attend it?”
Ever since the gala that occurred three years ago where Wen Xinya set the owner up, the latter had begun acting sensibly and staying in her own lane.
Old Mr. Mo said calmly, “Aren’t you going to take part in the Milan Expo International Jewelry Design Compet.i.tion? Do you still have the time to take part in such nonsensical events?”
Old Mr. Mo was still bearing a grudge against the owner of Boya Pavilion for making use of Wen Xinya three years ago. He began to detest her too.
Pretending to be helpless, Wen Xinya said, “But, everyone knows that you have some ties with the owner of Boya Pavilion. If I turn her invitation down, would I seem too petty?”
The owner of Boya Pavilion was of the same seniority level as Old Mr. Mo and was even known as Old Mrs. Mo’s counterpart since the two of them were labeled as the beauties of Capital city. However, Old Mr. Mo had never mentioned about her before.
But… Wen Xinya had a feeling that things were not as simple as they seemed.
“You don’t have to bother about those issues,” said Old Mr. Mo, who was staring at her bright and sparkly eyes. He knew that she was just trying to use the opportunity to gossip and find out more about his ties with the owner.
Actually, it was nothing much either. The feud only arose because the owner confessed her love to him before he got into a relations.h.i.+p with Ren Yuqian.
Later on, she tried to confess her feelings to him again three years after Ren Yuqian’s demise, only to be rejected yet again.
Wen Xinya was rather disappointed, for she did not manage to get the answer that she wanted to hear.