Though praised by a man nearing ninety, Wang Yi still felt a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said,
"Isn't this what any athlete should do?"
Old Master Li Er shook his head. "In theory, yes, it's what any athlete should do. But how many athletes can take it to the extreme the way you have? Such tenacity and strength of will are rare even in history."
Listening to her grandfather praise Wang Yi, Nicole looked proud too. She put an arm around his and said affectionately, "Grandpa, your granddaughter's eye for people isn't bad, is it?"
The old man laughed heartily. "Not bad? It's excellent."
As they spoke, the three of them entered the living room.
Wang Yi and Nicole tried to help the old man sit down, but he pulled free of their support. "Do I look like I can't take care of myself?"
The two let him go. Once he had sat down, Nicole personally made him a cup of tea.
Her grandfather didn't care for Western coffee and the like; he preferred Chinese tea.
Just then, the two children came in as well.
Though they rarely saw the old man, they were very fond of him.
The old man doted on them, too.
After playing with the children for a while, Nicole sent them to play in the backyard.
Picking up where they had left off, the old man said, "The second thing is, I came to ask you for a piece of calligraphy. I watched your livestream, and I really liked what you wrote, so I hoped you'd do me the honor."
Wang Yi smiled and shook his head. "If you wanted some calligraphy, you only had to call. I could've written something and sent it to you. But there's something I don't understand.