The Protagonist's Old Grandpa Has Arrived!

French cuisine was renowned the world over for its refinement, creativity, and expense. Its methods of preparing ingredients were peculiar, and its flavors equally unique...

Under the miraculous hands of a Michelin master, Su Bai found the meal quite good, further strengthening his resolve to maintain his rich second-generation persona.

The wealth and splendor he enjoyed today had not come easily. How could he let it be ruined by the protagonist?!

Thinking of Zhang Yanran's mysterious attitude earlier, unable to tell whether this heroine favored by fate was friend or foe, Su Bai looked at Zhang Tianci, the villainous lackey wolfing down food before him. A faint, calm smile crossed his lips as an idea formed in his mind.

"Tianci, are you busy lately? How about staying by your sister's side and being my informant?" Su Bai smiled and gently swirled the red wine in his glass as he spoke slowly.

The moment he heard he was being asked to act as a little spy—and spy on his own sister, no less—Zhang Tianci shook his head without a second thought. "No, no, no! That won't work!"

His face was filled with terror. He even spat out the half-eaten steak in his mouth and waved his hands frantically. What a joke—spy on Zhang Yanran?

He would be checking into the inpatient ward before the day was out.

Zhang Tianci had been beaten up plenty of times by his violent sister in the past. He was terrified of her now, which was why he had wanted Su Bai to win over his sister earlier, so someone else could share his suffering.

"Ah! We were just talking about Xiao Fan. It seemed like she might be interested in him—she might even be planning to take over his team and keep him as her boy toy!"

Seeing that Zhang Tianci would not take the bait or serve as his inside man, Su Bai immediately put on a sorrowful expression and began coaxing him.

After saying that, he gently shook his head, looking utterly dejected, as though he had lost the love of his life.

What?

Keep Xiao Fan?

Zhang Tianci, who had been full of fear just moments ago, froze abruptly upon hearing that. Then anger surged through him. He stabbed his fork into the steak and gritted his teeth. "That bastard Xiao Fan thinks he deserves it?! Who knows whether that dog is a pedophile or gay!"

"Don't worry yourself one bit, Brother Su. My sister would never take a liking to that guy Xiao Fan!"

As he spoke, he even slapped his chest with complete confidence. Yet Su Bai's mouth twitched. He increasingly felt that Zhang Tianci was raising a flag.

Everyone knew that when villains said something, listening to the opposite usually turned it into a divine prophecy!

Damn it, don't tell me Zhang Yanran is really going to end up with Xiao Fan.

At that thought, Su Bai's heart trembled. He took a deep breath and continued misleading him. "In this world, you can never be too careful!"

"If your sister had no interest in Xiao Fan, she wouldn't have rejected me earlier."

Rejected?

Rejected what?

Those deliberately ambiguous words instantly made Zhang Tianci panic as well. No longer caring that lingering around his sister might get him beaten up and make him unwelcome, he immediately declared righteously, "Don't worry, Brother Su. You are my one and only designated brother-in-law!"

"Starting tomorrow, I'll follow my sister around under the pretense of studying. I won't miss a single move she makes. With my help, Brother Su, you'll take down my sister in no time!"

Hearing this, Su Bai could not help but chuckle. How had this brat suddenly assigned him an official pairing? It was utterly ridiculous.

After several rounds of drinks, Su Bai chatted with Zhang Tianci about topics between men. Once word came that his driver had arrived, they each left peacefully...

Meanwhile, at the private Nine Dragons Hospital beneath that same pitch-black night, Xiao Fan gradually woke from his weakened state and internal injuries. But when he looked around, the silent hospital room contained no one but his secretary, Leng Yu.

His childhood sweetheart, little Ling'er, was gone!

Thinking of what had happened that afternoon, Xiao Fan could not help clutching his chest as if his heart were being torn apart, his face deathly pale...

At that moment, Leng Yu hurried forward. Seeing that Xiao Fan had awakened, he let out a sigh of relief and quickly urged, "Young Master Xiao, you're finally awake! The doctor said you need to rest properly and mustn't get angry again anytime soon!"

Though he already knew the answer in his heart, Xiao Fan still could not stop himself from grabbing Leng Yu and asking in a low voice, "Ling'er... where is little Ling'er?"

A flicker of astonishment and awkwardness crossed Leng Yu's face. Yet faced with Xiao Fan's deep, solemn eyes, he could only lower his head uneasily and say softly, "Young Master Xiao, Miss Ling'er said she had something to do and needed to go back for a while..."

"Gasp!"

A wrenching pain struck him. Xiao Fan's body suddenly stiffened before he collapsed onto the hospital bed, his face ashen and his expression utterly desolate.

"Young Master Xiao..."

Seeing this, Leng Yu cried out in alarm and wanted to call a doctor over. However, Xiao Fan weakly waved a hand and said in a low voice, "No need. It's late. Go back and rest first!"

Looking at the suddenly dejected Young Master Xiao, Leng Yu parted his lips as if to say something. In the end, however, he quietly withdrew...

As he looked at the now completely empty and silent hospital room, Xiao Fan lowered his eyes. The white lights appeared warm, yet carried a coldness all their own. A bitter smile crossed his gloomy face.

"Heh heh!"

Defeat had come crashing down like a mountain. He had no clue what to do now. A heavy depression lingered in his chest, and irritation flooded his heart.

"Damn it!"

After cursing furiously, the distraught Xiao Fan staggered slowly out of bed, intending to take a walk in the garden below the ward and clear his head.

The night was silent as gusts of breeze swept past. Wearing a lonely expression, Xiao Fan walked along the wooded path with vacant eyes, like a living corpse.

In a single day, he had been rejected in marriage, defeated by a woman, falsely accused of being a pedophile, and abandoned by his childhood sweetheart... Under all those blows, Xiao Fan could not help feeling oppressed, stifled, and restless...

What was he supposed to do in the future?

Suddenly, a bleak and mournful erhu melody pierced the silence of the night like a wandering ghost in the wind, jolting Xiao Fan out of his daze.

That sorrowful, plaintive sound seemed to speak of endless grief and the vicissitudes of life. It immediately stirred all the pain in Xiao Fan's heart, and anguish spilled from deep within his chest...

With a grief-stricken face and a withered expression, Xiao Fan unconsciously followed the sound. After passing several winding paths, he arrived at the end of a small lane where willow branches fluttered and flowers and leaves had withered.

The courtyard ahead was somewhat dim. Against the backdrop of the tranquil garden, it appeared especially lonely, like a forgotten corner of the world.

At the edge of that courtyard, an old man sat on a stone bench. His face was aged and sorrowful, and his dim eyes seemed to hold endless stories as he gazed into the distance.

Holding an old erhu, he moved his wrist and gently drew the bow across the strings. Each note was a mournful sigh that pierced to the bone and broke the heart, making Xiao Fan's eyes redden as countless thoughts filled his mind...

Just then, the old man noticed Xiao Fan's presence as well. The erhu's sound gradually lowered. Looking at the young man before him, whose face was withered and whose eyes brimmed with tears, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Truly, in the third watch of the night, a mournful song made silent tears fall.

"We are both fallen wanderers at the ends of the earth. Why need we have known each other before meeting?"