Chapter 211 - 142: A Joyful Reunion
Qiu Qi’s gaze drifted out the window. After a long silence, she finally spoke slowly, "I want to see what he looks like, to know how he’s been all these years. I want to see him one more time. I’m here. If he’s still alive, he can find me."
Zhou Yan and Duan Yu Yan exchanged a look. She silently gave him a thumbs-up.
"He’s still alive," Zhou Yan said.
Qiu Qi whipped her head around to look at Zhou Yan, her voice trembling slightly. "Where... is he?"
"Suji," Zhou Yan replied. "I went to see him before I came. He said that not disturbing your life was the last shred of dignity and tenderness he could offer. That’s why he never sent you a single letter or came to see you all these years."
"But the letters he wrote to you fill a large box. He never stopped, not for decades. He put stamps on them and wrote out the address, but in the end, he just locked them away in a trunk."
Qiu Qi’s mouth was slightly agape, her eyes filled with shock and heartache. Her hands on the table clenched into fists, trembling slightly as tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
’This tragic love story is heartbreaking!’ Duan Yu Yan thought, looking at Qiu Qi’s tear-streaked face as her own eyes glistened. ’How could Grandma have missed out on such a good man back then? Was Grandpa really the big villain in all this?’
She quickly looked up at Zhou Yan as it dawned on her. "Wait! Hey! If you keep this up, I might actually end up with another grandfather!"
"Is... Is he okay?" Qiu Qi asked Zhou Yan, finally managing to speak.
"He’s doing great. Healthy and in good spirits," Zhou Yan said with a nod. He looked at her and asked, "Would you like to see him? He said that if you’re willing, he would like to see you, too."
"Yes." Qiu Qi didn’t hesitate for a second. A light shone in her eyes as she stood up. "Are we leaving now?"
The old woman’s decisiveness took Zhou Yan by surprise.
’But wasn’t this the same Miss Qiu who had dared to stand up to the pressure from that adjutant, waited out the full two-year agreement, and even made a special trip to Suji to say goodbye to Wang Yu?’
She was elegant, but never weak.
"Let’s meet tomorrow at nine in the morning, under the Banyan Tree at the Suji Bridgehead. I’ll arrange the time with him," Zhou Yan said.
He had gotten Wang drunk at lunch to get information out of him; he couldn’t let the man show up to this long-awaited reunion of the century looking like a total drunk.
"Okay," Qiu Qi nodded. She looked at Zhou Yan and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble. I don’t believe I know your name."
"My name is Zhou Yan. You can just call me Zhou," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Alright, Zhou. You’re about Yuyan’s age, so just call me Grandma," Qiu Qi said with a smile. "Sit for a while. I’ll have Chen Sanmei pour you some tea."
Zhou Yan raised his hand to check his watch. It was already four o’clock. "No need, Mrs. Qiu. I should get back to my restaurant. If I’m too late, I won’t have time to prep the ingredients."
"Grandma, he runs a restaurant in Suji, and business is excellent," Duan Yu Yan finally managed to chime in.
"I see. Well, business is important, so don’t let me keep you. Come for tea another time," Qiu Qi said quickly.
"Let’s go, Zhou. I’ll walk you out," Duan Yu Yan said to Zhou Yan with a grin, heading for the door first.
"See you tomorrow," Zhou Yan said to Qiu Qi, then followed Duan Yu Yan out the door.
"Not bad. It only took you a few sentences to get my grandma to open up about what’s been on her mind. My dad and I have been working on it for half a year, and you did more in one day," Duan Yu Yan said, slowing her pace to walk beside Zhou Yan. She looked at him, clicking her tongue in amazement.
"I told you I’d be an excellent partner," Zhou Yan said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
"Don’t get too cocky. If my grandma and Wang rekindle their old flame, have a passionate late-life romance, and decide they don’t want to go to Xiangjiang and would rather live out their days in the Qiu Mansion, then I won’t be able to sell you this house," Duan Yu Yan said, her brow furrowed with worry.
She was now praying desperately that this outcome wouldn’t happen.
Otherwise, if she ended up giving her father a new stepfather, he would most likely fly over from Xiangjiang tomorrow and beat her to a pulp.
"You have that little faith in your grandfather? I think you’re overthinking it," Zhou Yan said with a laugh.
Duan Yu Yan thought for a moment, then added, "After they meet tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange for them to have lunch at your restaurant. Save a table for me."
"Tomorrow is the weekend. You need a reservation. Tell me what dishes you want so I know how many ingredients to buy and nothing goes to waste," Zhou Yan replied.
"In that case, I’ll take one of everything on the menu," Duan Yu Yan said without a second thought.
"If your driver isn’t joining you, the three of you won’t be able to finish seven dishes," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head.
"Then we’ll have the Twice-Cooked Pork, the Huo Xiang Carp, a braised beef with dried bamboo shoots, and the braised pork ribs."
"Alright," Zhou Yan nodded. He hadn’t expected to pick up an order on the side.
"So, who exactly is this Wang Yu? What does he do in Suji now? What does he look like? Is he a good match for my grandma?" Duan Yu Yan asked, her curiosity piqued.
"You’ll find out tomorrow morning." Zhou Yan went out the main gate, hopped on his bicycle, and started to ride away. He raised a hand. "See you tomorrow."
"Hey! You...!" Duan Yu Yan put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. She hated people who were mysterious—and people who stopped *her* from being mysterious!
Yan Fei had just gotten back into the driver’s seat, still lamenting his lost bonus, when he saw the culprit emerge from the Qiu Mansion, ride away on a bicycle, and even have the nerve to arrange to see Miss Duan tomorrow.
Then he looked at Miss Duan, stomping her foot, hands on her hips—acting like a petulant young girl, a side of her he hadn’t seen in the six months he’d known her.
Miss Duan was an ethereal beauty, like a Celestial Immortal, always cool and aloof with everyone, just like Mrs. Qiu—they were cut from the same cloth.
’Sigh... Forget it. As long as I get my salary, it’s fine.’ Yan Fei suppressed the urge to slam on the gas and run Zhou Yan over, and went back to mourning his lost bonus.