CHAPTER 310: CHAPTER 266

Lan Tian pretended to think, "It depends on how you behave."

"Don’t worry, girl, I’ll make sure to behave myself well." Mo Junhua grinned, looking naive, but in his heart, he was scheming on how to win Lan Tian over.

Lan Tian pursed her lips and smiled, her bright eyes shimmering as if they had crumbled the starlight, "Tell me, when did you start fancying me? When I was six? When I was ten? Or that time in the backyard vegetable garden?"

Mo Junhua fell silent, not knowing how to respond to this sensitive topic properly, fearing that the girl would torment him again.

"We’re here." Finally home, Mo Junhua sighed in relief, quickly parked the car, and got out to open the door for Lan Tian.

Lan Tian scoffed quietly and inwardly cursed his pretense, just a moment ago he was talking about warming up the bed. Rolling her eyes at Mo Junhua, she walked inside, while Mo Junhua followed behind, pleasing and flattering her all the way, much to the chagrin of the servant watching, wondering if their master had changed into a completely different person after going out for a while. Perhaps he had done something wrong to the young mistress, hence his increasingly boundless flattery.

It was as if Mo Junhua heard the servant’s thoughts, he turned back and looked at the servant with a cold gaze, devoid of any warmth, as if looking at a corpse, scaring the servant into a shiver, "Mom, the master is terrifying!"

"I didn’t see anything, really," the servant said, holding the young mistress’s backpack and dashed off quickly, prioritizing escaping as laughing at the master’s jokes wasn’t amusing.

Upon entering the living room, seeing the telephone on the table behind the sofa, Lan Tian turned and walked towards it. She had been in Beijing for a few days and hadn’t yet called home to check in; grandma and the others must be worried. She picked up the phone and dialed a familiar string of numbers. The ring didn’t last before someone on the other end picked up.

"Girl," Grandma Sun’s voice sounded anxious through the earpiece, each word filled with earnest care, "Is that you? Girl?"

"It’s me, grandma." Hearing Grandma Sun’s voice, Lan Tian smiled and pouted playfully, "Sorry, grandma, I forgot to call back."

Lan Tian was embarrassed to admit she had been too busy pranking to remember to call, knowing Zhao Li would fuss over her for that.

"Hua Zi has already called back and told us, but grandma has been anxious not hearing your voice. Are things peaceful on the road? Any issues? Is your great-grandpa still in good health? Have you attended school? Are you accustomed to the food there?"

Lan Tian took a bite of the fruit Mo Junhua handed her, grinning from ear to ear, feeling pampered and patiently responded to each of Grandma Sun’s questions, "The road trip was safe, no issues, great-grandpa is in good health, still does Tai Chi Boxing every morning, I’m used to the food, I went to school today, the school is large, classmates are easy to get along with, I even met great-grandpa’s disciple, yeah, just like my uncle, always stern, has some authority, but not as formidable as my uncle, so I’m not afraid of him."

It sounds like you’ve ever been afraid of anyone.

Grandma Sun: "..." Grandma Sun choked over the phone; this damn girl was still the same, speaking out of turn regardless of the situation, not considering other people when at someone else’s house, making Grandma Sun worry to death.

"Girl, this reckless talk of yours needs to stop, you could easily offend people, you know," Grandma Sun began instructing Lan Tian over the phone again, highlighting the need for proper behavior especially staying long term in Beijing, "For a girl, speaking so directly is not appropriate. Your grand-teacher lived with your great-grandpa like father and son, though he’s a disciple, he’s like a son, and as an elder, respect and proper manners are necessary, so we don’t bring shame to your great-grandpa."

Lan Tian nodded in agreement, "I understand, grandma. How are you doing at home? You’re getting up there in age, you should take it easy with the chores in the fields. Now, your granddaughter is quite capable and can make good money." Lan Tian swallowed the fruit Mo Junhua handed to him with pride.

Grandma Sun couldn’t contain her joy, "I know, I know, my granddaughter is capable."

"How are my uncle and aunt?" He had talked to Grandma Sun for so long on the phone and hadn’t heard Zhao Li’s voice, nor her competing for the phone, which was unusual!

"Today, Aunt Zhu from the village has a son who is getting married. Your uncle and aunt went there to help out; I stayed at home to look after the house. It’s just the third house past the village chief’s house. The village is holding a banquet, it’s bustling with activity. But never mind, I won’t go on about it since you wouldn’t know them anyway." Grandma Sun knew well about her granddaughter’s situations.

Lan Tian thought about it and indeed had no recollection; she rarely went out, and there were many people in the village she didn’t recognize.

"Grandma, I won’t keep you any longer, go and cook some food. I’ll call again tomorrow." Lan Tian glanced at the wall clock, realizing that if they continued talking, Grandma Sun might miss her mealtime.

"Where’s Great Grandpa?" After hanging up the phone and not seeing Mr. Mo around, Lan Tian asked Mo Junhua nearby.

Mo Junhua glanced around the living room, his tone uncertain, "Great Grandpa should still be upstairs, you can ask the servant to know for sure."

The servant said Mr. Mo was still upstairs, so Lan Tian took a plate of fruit and went upstairs.

In the tea room, he found Mr. Mo engrossed in a book, unaware of Lan Tian approaching him. Lan Tian set down the fruit plate, scanned the room, which had all the necessary tea-making utensils, went to the other side, boiled water, and brewed tea using the Spiritual Tea from her Sleeve Universe. She poured a cup and handed it over.

"Great Grandpa, have some tea."

The misty water vapor swirled in the room, the subtle fragrance filled the air, pulling Mr. Mo’s mind away from the book. He closed the book, took off his reading glasses, put them in the case, and took a sip. The fragrant tea refreshed him, a warm flow quickly spread throughout his body, immediately dispelling the fatigue of an afternoon’s reading, gradually clearing his muddled mind.

"Girl, take a look." He handed the book on the coffee table to Lan Tian, "A few of my old comrades knew I was collecting these books, they especially sourced this for me. The text inside looks like oracle bone inscriptions and hieroglyphs, I can’t understand it. See if you can make any sense of it?"

"What book is it?"

The book was ancient, with a dark blue hemp cover that had turned almost black through the years, the characters on the cover slightly yellowed and peeling.

Lan Tian flipped through the book; the written characters in it were more complex than a ghost talisman, even more so than those she used to draw. She guessed and conjectured about a few characters but couldn’t recognize the rest, finding the rest of the content identical.

If the author of the book were still alive, he’d surely cry foul as Lan Tian’s talismanic records were truly like ghost talisman, akin to a Heavenly Book, indecipherable to others.

Lan Tian flipped through it disinterestedly and tossed it back on the coffee table, causing Mr. Mo to grimace. It was a collector’s edition, the only one left in the world; if not for his close relationship with his old comrades, who else would have lent it to him for a read.