The Xiao Family

When he heard that Su Ye had arrived, Xiao Qiujun's eyes lit up, as did Li Xin's.

"Brother Jun, is he the young Grandmaster you told me about?"

Li Xin asked, looking at Xiao Qiujun.

"Yes, he's the young fellow who cured my hidden ailment. I'm telling you, his inner force is far purer than yours. He must be stronger than you!"

Xiao Qiujun said to Li Xin.

Li Xin clearly didn't mind the teasing. At their age, they had already lost the pride that drove them to compete with others. Some only wanted their granddaughters to marry good husbands and to enjoy their twilight years in peace.

But if any enemy dared to look down on him, he would be sure to leave them with a painful memory. He was a Grandmaster powerhouse, after all.

Xiao Xiao brought Xiao Qiujun and Li Xin to the hall, where everyone crowded forward to greet them.

Xiao Qiujun and Li Xin went straight up to Su Ye, and Xiao Qiujun said to him:

"You've done me a great honor by coming, young friend Su!"

"Let me introduce you. This is my old friend, Li Xin!"

Su Ye looked Li Xin over. He appeared to be a few years younger than Xiao Qiujun, had a crew cut, and looked more energetic too!

"Hello, Elder Li. I'm Su Ye."

Su Ye cupped his hands to Li Xin as he spoke.

"No need to be so polite, young friend Su. Just call me Old Xin!"

Li Xin put on no airs and spoke to Su Ye in a friendly manner.

After chatting with Su Ye for a while, the two elders took him to the back courtyard, saying it was too noisy in the hall!

Once they reached the back courtyard, Su Ye took out a large bag of tea leaves weighing about five or six jin and said to Xiao Qiujun:

"I roasted these tea leaves myself. I didn't have much to give you for your birthday, Elder Xiao, but I guarantee you'll fall in love with this tea once you taste it!"

Xiao Qiujun was quite surprised to see that Su Ye had even brought him a birthday gift.

As far as he knew, every Grandmaster had their eyes on the top of their head.

Not only had Su Ye personally come to see him a day early, but he had also prepared a gift especially for him. Xiao Qiujun was at a loss for a moment!

Li Xin, on the other hand, was skeptical when he heard Su Ye praise the tea so highly. He was a genuine tea-tasting expert. What tea in this world hadn't he tried?

After a while, Xiao Qiujun recovered, accepted Su Ye's tea leaves, and said to him:

"You're far too kind, young friend Su. It's rare to find someone who thinks so highly of these old bones of mine!"

Li Xin snatched the tea leaves from Xiao Qiujun's hands and said:

"Let me see what the tea leaves young friend Su roasted himself taste like!"

With that, he walked over to fetch three cups, then took a pinch of tea leaves and held them to his nose.

"That smells good. There's a faint, delicate fragrance!"

Li Xin's eyes lit up as he sniffed the tea leaves.

He then put a handful of leaves into the teapot, filled a container with hot water, and began brewing the tea.

After rinsing the leaves twice, he set the teapot beside the chessboard to steep. In the meantime, Xiao Qiujun and Li Xin started another game of Chinese chess.

After they had played for a while, Li Xin had clearly forced Xiao Qiujun to abandon his chariots and horses. The game was entirely one-sided.

"I'm done playing. Let me taste young friend Su's special tea!"

Xiao Qiujun slapped the chess piece in his hand onto the board as he spoke.

In fact, as the two played, waves of delicate fragrance had drifted from the teapot. Xiao Qiujun had been affected by the smell, or he wouldn't have lost so quickly.

Xiao Qiujun took the cups Li Xin had brought over, poured three cups of tea and set them on the table. He picked up one and drank it first, then said indistinctly to Su Ye and Li Xin:

"Help yourselves!"

Su Ye couldn't help smiling at Xiao Qiujun's impatience. He picked up a cup and handed it to Li Xin.

Li Xin had clearly been drawn in by the aroma of the tea as well. He was just about to rebuke Xiao Qiujun when Su Ye handed him a cup, and he held his tongue.

He raised the cup and drained it in one gulp!

After drinking the tea, Xiao Qiujun and Li Xin's eyes opened wide.

They stared at Su Ye in disbelief, as though he were a rare treasure, until he broke out in goosebumps all over.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?"

Su Ye couldn't help asking.

"Young friend Su, did you really make this tea yourself?"

Li Xin was the first to ask.

"Yes. I found a few old wild mountain tea trees in the mountains near my home, but there aren't many of them."

Su Ye came up with an explanation, mixing truth with fiction.

"I, Li Xin, have drunk countless teas in my life, but I've never tasted one this delicious!"

Xiao Qiujun chimed in from the side:

"Yes. I've had eighty or a hundred kinds of tea, but this is the first time I've tasted anything so delicious!"

Su Ye looked at the two elders and said with a smile:

"I'm glad you both like it. The next time I make some, I'll bring you a few more jin!"

"Oh, thank you so much, young friend Su! If you run into any difficulties in the future, just tell me. If it's within my power, I'll do my best."

Li Xin immediately beamed as he spoke to Su Ye, and there seemed to be a hint of fawning in his expression.

After Su Ye, Xiao Qiujun, and Li Xin had taken turns playing several games of chess, a housekeeper came to call them to eat.

"I'm hungry anyway. Let's eat first and come back to play some more later!"

Xiao Qiujun scattered the pieces on the chessboard as he spoke.

Clearly, he was at a disadvantage again in his game against Li Xin, and since the meal happened to be ready, he seized the chance to scatter the pieces.

Li Xin looked at him speechlessly, while Su Ye found it rather funny!

By the time Xiao Qiujun arrived at the dining room with Su Ye and Li Xin, everyone else was already there.

Xiao Qiujun seated Su Ye on his right and Li Xin on his left.

Everyone looked at Su Ye sitting beside Xiao Qiujun and understood that the young man probably held a rather important place in Xiao Qiujun's heart.

The table was laden with many sumptuous delicacies and dishes of every kind. Just looking at them was a pleasure.

The meal lasted nearly half an hour.

After they finished eating, a housekeeper wheeled out a cart bearing some fruit: apples, lychees, peaches, watermelon...

Su Ye was momentarily taken aback when he saw the watermelon. Wasn't that the watermelon he had grown himself?

The others had clearly heard of the watermelon's reputation too. They left the other fruit untouched and favored the watermelon alone.

After finishing the fruit, everyone returned to the living room and resumed what they had left unfinished.

Su Ye went with Xiao Qiujun and Li Xin to stroll around the back courtyard.

While he was walking with the two elders, Xiao Xiao found them, told Su Ye his room number, and took her leave.

After strolling for a while, Su Ye played a few more games of Chinese chess with the two elders before returning to his room to rest.

After his bath, Su Ye lay on the bed, took out his phone, and played a match-three game to pass the time.

Just then, Su Ye's phone began to ring.