"Creak."
The courtyard gate opened. The girl looked at the person standing outside, puzzled.
Lian Youming said nothing. He simply grinned and squeezed his way inside.
He was tall and burly to begin with, and that movement alone made him look like trouble. Alarm immediately filled the girl's eyes. Clutching her collar closed, she hurried back several steps, still gripping a pair of scissors, trembling with fear.
The courtyard was small, cramped even.
A few plum trees stood in a corner, already budding.
A winnowing basket sat in the middle of the courtyard, with dates laid out to dry.
Lian Youming grabbed a few dates and ate as he spoke. "There are quite a few people outside... Whew, these dates are sweet."
He hooked the gate shut with his right foot, casually surveying his surroundings. Ignoring the trembling girl, he continued, "I met an old fellow when I was sent down to the countryside in the Northeast. Before he died, he asked me to come and check on you."
At those words, a barely perceptible change immediately came over the girl's frightened eyes. There seemed to be hatred hidden in them, along with conflict, pain, and reluctance to let go. Even her eyes reddened.
She could hear him after all.
Lian Youming's gaze stilled. Inwardly, he cursed that bastard Third Brother Xie ten thousand times. The man had definitely lied to him on purpose.
The reason was simple.
That old bastard must have guessed what circumstances his granddaughter was in, but had not dared say so outright. He could only dance around it, certain that once Lian Youming made the trip, he would not stand by and watch an orphaned girl be bullied.
"That old bastard."
Lian Youming was both shocked and angry.
They were enemies, yet at death's door,