Had Tong Yi planned everything as a counterattack before going abroad, or did he want to prove himself to the Feng family?
If it was the former, then he had succeeded. Tong Bingran was indeed shocked and upset at the result, but it was not a big problem.
However, if Tong Yi’s plan was to prove his ability in front of the Feng family in an effort to impress their only granddaughter, things would be very troublesome!
Tong Bingran felt he could no longer afford to remain passive and had to take action proactively.
The most immediate and effective method was to sow discord within the Feng family.
But using Feng Qi was definitely not going to work — he had learned his lesson. And he couldn’t go to Jiang Li either. In the case the little girl secretly had a crush on his nephew, wouldn’t his efforts backfire?
After much contemplation, Tong Bingran finally decided to approach Old Master Feng. After all, elderly people tended to be conservative and old-fashioned. Furthermore, he believed that Old Master Feng would be easier to approach compared to Feng Qi.
After making up his mind, Tong Bingran ordered his assistant to prepare the latest mobile phone, laptop, iPad, and other popular gadgets. Because he was coming under the pretext of congratulating the Feng family’s granddaughter’s achievements in the high school entrance examination, he naturally couldn’t go empty-handed.
Kids nowadays love to collect trendy gadgets, so he would just let Jiang Li choose whatever she likes!
…
When Tong Bingran arrived at the house, Old Master Feng was in his study, practicing calligraphy. Jiang Li, on the other hand, was sitting cross-legged on the floor, previewing the content for the first year of high school.
Lately, she had been accompanying her uncle to the research institute every day, and it had become a habit. However, her uncle had a seminar today, so she decided to stay at home and spend some quality time with her grandfather.
Seeing her unusual posture, Old Master Feng couldn’t help but kindly inquire, “Xiao Jiang Li, isn’t sitting on the floor to read a bit strenuous for your eyes?”
Jiang Li shook her head, “I was just sitting in the chair to read, and it got tiring, so I changed my position for a while. I’ll switch back later.”
When she was at the research institute, she naturally had to maintain proper etiquette. But now, it was just her and her grandfather in the study, so she felt like letting loose.
“But isn’t the floor cold?” Her grandfather continued persuading.
Jiang Li shook her head, “There’s a carpet; it’s not cold.”
Old Master Feng: …
He sighed inwardly. Forget it. There were no outsiders present, and sitting on the carpet wasn’t much different from sitting in a chair.
Just as he was about to resume writing, a servant came reporting that Tong Bingran wished to see him.
Old Master Feng frowned. “I’ve long since retired from corporate matters. What does he want with me?”
The servant wanted to say — Sir, have you forgotten? Tong Bingran’s sister is the fiancée of our young master.
However, he didn’t dare say such things in front of his employer. Instead, he spoke the truth, “Mr. Tong has brought a gift and wishes to congratulate Miss Jiang Li for her outstanding performance in the entrance examination.”
Old Master Feng hesitated for a few seconds before somewhat disdainfully saying, “Alright, bring him in!”
It was rather inconsiderate of Tong Bingran to visit today, neither too early nor too late, with no prior contact!
Because a visitor was coming, Jiang Li was prepared to get up from the floor and leave her grandfather’s study to return to her room. However, before she could leave, Tong Bingran’s hearty laughter could be heard from outside, along with words of congratulations, “Old Master Feng, your granddaughter performed excellently this time. Everyone in our circle is talking about the outstanding genes in your family. I’m truly impressed!”
“…” Jiang Li rolled her eyes inwardly. She might as well continue sitting on the floor, since Tong Yi’s uncle couldn’t see her, anyway!
Listening to Tong Bingran praise his granddaughter, Old Master Feng’s mood improved somewhat. He modestly smiled and replied, “Where did she perform excellently? She just took the exam casually.”
Tong Bingran was accustomed to Old Master Feng’s way of speaking and smiled knowingly. He placed the gift box he had brought on the desk and said, “This is a small gift I’ve prepared for Xiao Jiang Li. I hope she likes it.”
Old Master Feng nodded, “Hmm, I will pass the gift on to her.”
As Tong Bingran approached, he noticed Old Master Feng practicing calligraphy. There was a copy of the “Book of Songs” beside him, and it seemed he was copying sentences from it.
“Great calligraphy!” praised Tong Bingran.
Still sitting on the floor, Jiang Li almost burst into laughter. She had seen her grandfather’s brushwork, and while she couldn’t say it was ugly, it was far from being called ‘great calligraphy.’ This uncle of Tong Yi was clearly complimenting casually without meaning it!
Old Master Feng, on the other hand, didn’t care about Tong Bingran’s appreciation of his work, sincere or not. He looked at the younger man and directly asked, “Does something bring you here today?”
Slightly taken aback, Tong Bingran quickly recovered and put on an amiable smile, “It’s nothing, actually. But when I saw your poem, I suddenly remembered my nephew Tong Yi.”
“Tong Yi?” Old Master Feng was puzzled.
Tong Bingran immediately nodded, “Exactly. That boy is barely eighteen this year. Being youthful, it’s no wonder that he is somewhat hot-headed when it comes to…”
Old Master Feng interrupted him, “Do you understand what I’ve written?”
Tong Bingran was confused for a moment and only replied after a couple of seconds, “Isn’t it a line from the ‘Book of Songs’?”
Old Master Feng nodded expressionlessly, “Yes. Odes of Bei – Beating of Drum from The Book of Song.”
“Huh?” Tong Bingran was at a loss.
Old Master Feng let out a sigh, finding it pointless to continue conversing with someone who lacked literary knowledge.
In his life, there was nothing more frustrating than talking to idiots!
However, when he noticed his granddaughter gazing up at him with her innocent face, he kindly and patiently explained, “This poem describes the protagonist being forced to serve in the southern military, unable to return home for an extended period. It conveys the protagonist’s frustration and helplessness.”
Tong Bingran: …
Seeing his speechless expression, Old Master Feng shrugged, unfazed. “My handwriting seems lacking, so it’s understandable if you didn’t recognize it.”
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Just give up sir! You’re embarrassing yourself at every turn.😂
Thanks for the translation!
omg hahahaha! This uncle should just go live a rich salted fish’s life instead of straining his brain like this