When Bright Moon Encounter the Dark Clouds

“Mother.” “Mother.” “Grandmother.” They respectfully called out.

A scrawny old lady of average height appeared before us. Her hair was all white, but it was neatly combed up. She was completely dressed in black, and she had on a jacket, cotton pants, and a pair of low heels leather shoes. Coupled with her composed walk down the stairs, it was obvious that this old lady paid particular attention to her image.

Even though she had some wrinkles, her fair and smooth skin showed that she had put a lot of effort into maintaining her skin.

“Nice to meet you.” Both Wu Yu and I greeted her.

The old lady greeted us with a smile before sitting down at the seat of honor. I had heard from Wu Yu that the Cheng family usually lived in their villa in Beijing. They would only come here during the Lunar New Year. Wu Yu had also mentioned that the old lady was quite traditional, and her parents and grandparents were either business people or government officials. So, in a sense, their family could be considered as aristocrats.

“Ruying has told me everything. Since you are here, then stay with us. Though we don’t often receive guests, I’ll make an exemption. After all, you are Liangjie’s student, and Ruying also wants you to stay.”

Her voice was calm, and her tone was neither welcoming nor hostile. Even though this was the case,I still felt somewhat uncomfortable for some reason.

And so, Wu Yu accepted the offer. “Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.”

I thanked her as well; then the old lady’s gaze landed on me briefly before moving away in a calm manner.

I felt as if she was looking at me with disdain. Seeing that Cheng Ruying stood closely beside the old lady, it was not difficult to see who she liked more.

“But mother, Zhiwei will come tomorrow. Then the room…” Cheng Baozhu spoke up once more.

Putting down the cup of tea in her hand, the old lady said calmly, “What’s there to worry about? Tidy up your elder brother’s reading room and let him stay there.”

Cheng Baozhu said nothing more.

Nor did anyone else.

I felt a sense of guilt when I saw Cheng Baozhu lowering her head. She seemed like someone kind and honest, but our unexpected stay had taken her boyfriend’s room. Not only that, but it seemed that the old lady did not care about her boyfriend?

“Tidy up the guest room.” The old lady told Feng Yan.

“Okay mother.”

“You two stay put. The cook has gone home for Lunar New Year, so you guys will get to try Feng Yan’s dishes. Anyways, I’ll go back to recite the sutra.”

The two of us quickly said please, go ahead.

“Ah Yu, sister Tan, you guys stay put. I’ll go help my mom with tidying the room.” Cheng Ruying left after saying that with a smile.

At the same time, Tang Lanlan quickly got up and helped the old lady. “I’ll help you go up. Have you finished your tea? Shall I prepare another cup?” The two walked closely while chit-chatting. They seemed to have a very close relationship.

At that moment, I saw Feng Yan look at the two of them expressionlessly before a brief smile appeared and faded.

I was surprised.

Soon, the mother-daughter pair went up stairs to clean up the room, while Cheng Baozhu returned to her room. In the end, this left behind Professor Cheng and us two. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a lot colder.

I looked out the window, and the ray of the setting sun covered the bushes outside. Out of nowhere, from the corner of my eye, I saw a pair of eyes amidst the leaves and snow looking at us. When I focused and looked, it was just the snow and leaves. Those eyes were not there. Perhaps it was my imagination.