Yu Wenli looked at her with a half-smile, and Wen Tingxue couldn't bear such a gaze.
Just as she was about to flee, Old Master Yu came down the stairs, holding a pipe.
He took a light puff, turned his head to exhale the smoke, and coughed.
"Control yourself."
Old Master Yu glared at his grandson, annoyed.
What was he doing!
Look at the young girl, almost in tears.
Yu Wenli straightened up, his tone indifferent, "Grandpa, why are you here?"
"Looking for you."
Old Master Yu wanted to take another puff, but realizing the two youngsters were there, he gave up the idea.
He tapped his foot on the edge of his shoe.
"Then you guys talk, I'm going downstairs to watch TV."
Wen Tingxue quickly slipped away, her retreating figure looking like she was in full flight.
Yu Wenli let out a slight, regretful tsk.
The little girl was just about to confess.
"Still looking!"
Old Master Yu raised his hand and hit him.
"Wen Tingxue is such a good girl, don't bully her all the time. In the past, people wouldn't even hold hands before marriage.
"You, on the other hand, haven't even reached that stage yet and you're already thinking about improper things!"
Old Master Yu felt his grandson was letting him down, his beard bristling with anger.
Yu Wenli rubbed his temples, but was too lazy to explain.
"You didn't come up here just to say this, did you?"
"Hmph."
Old Master Yu snorted, with a hint of pride.
"Since you're asking me for a favor, I have to know the reason, don't I? What's going on between you and Wen Tingxue?"
After all, he was an experienced man with sharp eyes.
With just one glance, he knew their relationship wasn't as good as it appeared.
At least, not before today.
Yu Wenli was silent for a moment before briefly explaining the cause and effect.
He hadn't wanted to say much, but he couldn't figure out what Yu Xiuxiu had meant.
So he wanted to hear his grandfather's opinion and, incidentally, relayed Yu Xiuxiu's words.
"Stupid."
After listening, Old Master Yu hit him again.
Yu Wenli: "..."
Everyone said he was as cunning as a fox, but only his grandfather found him incompetent.
Old Master Yu huffed, "Don't be displeased. I don't understand the things you do, but I understand human relationships and affection much better than you do."
Yu Wenli graciously said, "I'd be happy to hear your wisdom."
"Hmph, is that all the sincerity you have?"
Old Master Yu took a puff from his pipe, then turned his head to exhale, looking like a landlord exploiting his tenants in ancient times.
Yu Wenli said, "The roasted tobacco leaves will arrive tomorrow. I'll send someone to deliver them to you."
"Now that's more like it." Old Master Yu was finally satisfied.
The brat had been in a bad mood these past two days and hadn't even paid attention to his grandfather.
No tobacco, no one to be found.
Old Master Yu tapped his pipe, "I don't understand your talk of 'violence' and 'threats,' but according to what you've said.
"The young girl's current situation is definitely not easy, and it's understandable that she's avoiding you.
"But she still took a step forward, why?"
Yu Wenli's brows furrowed, a rare solemnity and heartache on his face.
Old Master Yu pointed his pipe at his grandson and said earnestly:
"It's because of you, she doesn't want to part ways with you like this, so she'd rather be bullied to reconcile with you.
"And you, knowing her situation, how could you be so cold to her?
"She wants to avoid you, and you cooperate? Are you stupid?"
Old Master Yu was truly disappointed, "Everyone else says you're smart, but I think you've been outsmarted this time.
"She just arrived in Jiangcheng, unfamiliar with the place, and the only person she relies on is you.
"And you, when she's being bullied and made things difficult for, you make her constantly worry about your thoughts. Don't you think that's cruel?
"She's made up her mind this time and taken a step. What if she hadn't? Would there be a rift between you two?"
Old Master Yu's words were all cutting.
Yu Wenli's eyelids drooped, a rare weariness about him.
He had been thoughtless, only thinking about solving her problems and forgetting to consider her cautiousness.
He had always been willful and not good at taking care of others, ultimately making a mistake in a thousand details.
No wonder Aunt Yu was angry.
Old Master Yu commented, "Actually, your approach isn't entirely wrong. From a rational perspective, it's the best method.
"It's also the only way to protect her subtly. But, Xiao Wen, your feelings for her are different from those for brothers and friends.
"You can't use reason to handle romantic relationships. You need to give her enough security, not make her guess your intentions.
"Of course, I also know that the trouble you're causing will only increase in the future. If the little girl never learns to fight back, she'll only suffer.
"But you can try to protect both her body and mind, instead of acting on your own assumptions and ending up hurting her."
Yu Wenli listened intently, "I understand, Grandpa."
He nodded solemnly, a rare seriousness on his face.
"Mm."
Old Master Yu stroked his beard with satisfaction, then changed the subject.
"Even though you're my grandson, I really don't think you deserve Wen Tingxue. She's so pure, and you?
"Besides your face, what else do you have to show for yourself? And with your bad temper, who could stand you?"
Yu Wenli: "..."
After a string of complaints, Old Master Yu said, "If you lose Wen Tingxue, don't say you're my grandson when you're out. Yu Jiu has never wronged his wife in this life."
With that, he turned and left.
Yu Wenli watched his grandfather's retreating back, his thoughts drifting.
In his memory, there was no grandmother.
But his parents both said that his grandfather had loved his grandmother the most in his life.
They said his grandfather and grandmother fell in love at first sight, but their social statuses were too different.
One was a poor boy, the other a rich young lady.
Everyone thought there was no hope for them, but they refused to believe it.
Finally, after countless hardships, they finally got together.
However, Wen Tingxue's maternal family never appeared at the wedding.
Later, during a famine, his grandmother encouraged his grandfather to join the army. His grandfather knew that staying put was useless.
He gritted his teeth and took his grandmother to a farther place.
Then, his grandfather enlisted, and his grandmother waited for him at home.
She waited for several years, and by then his father and uncle had grown up.
But their feelings for each other hadn't cooled at all; instead, they became even more affectionate.
His father even said that most of what he did for his own wife now was learned from his grandfather.
His grandfather was stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone, but as long as his grandmother shed a tear, he would do anything.
Since his grandmother's death, his grandfather had never mentioned her again, but everyone knew that in the inner pocket of his clothes, there was always a photo of his grandmother.
Every piece of calligraphy he wrote was from books his grandmother liked to read.
Even that restaurant was a place his grandmother had always longed for.
He stubbornly lived on earth only because his grandmother had told him to watch their children grow up and see his grandchildren get married.
Otherwise, his grandfather would have long followed his grandmother.
Yu Wenli thought that their Yu family probably hadn't inherited anything except their grandparents' love at first sight.
His parents and his uncle and aunt aunt all fell in love at first sight.
Once they chose someone, it was for a lifetime.
After meeting Wen Tingxue, he had never thought of anyone else.
It was true in the past, it was true now, and it would be true in the future.