Old Master Ji's study was actually an entire courtyard.
Unlike the refined elegance of the reception hall in front, the study could almost be called plain and unadorned.
Aside from two side rooms, the courtyard was divided into two sections: a flower garden to the east and a pond to the west, with a thatched pavilion beside it.
It took rustic living to its fullest extent.
Ji Huaijin pushed open the courtyard gate and slowly walked over to the old man holding a fishing rod beside the pond.
"Grandpa."
Old Master Ji kept his keen gaze on the water. "Sit."
Years had passed in a flash. The vigorous old man whose hair had not yet gone completely white was now silver-haired, his face covered in wrinkles.
Ji Huaijin fell silent for two seconds, then lowered himself into a bamboo chair and began brewing tea.
However simple the surroundings looked, the purple clay teapot and the tea leaves inside still betrayed their exceptional quality.
The float bobbed just as the tea was ready. Old Master Ji tossed his catch into a wooden bucket, then turned and picked up a cup to take a sip.
"Not bad. Seems all those years of eating foreign food haven't made you forget the skills of your ancestors."
Ji Huaijin smiled without speaking and lifted the pot to refill his cup.
Old Master Ji narrowed his eyes at him, an unreadable look in his clouded gaze.
"The last time you came back was before you went abroad, wasn't it?"
Counting back, nine years had already passed. In the blink of an eye, that aloof child, so stubborn and young, had become a composed, steady man who took praise and disgrace in stride.
Old Master Ji lowered his eyes to the wisps of steam rising from his