Mr. Xiao’s Unconditional Love

Grandma Lu was dressed in a white short-sleeve blouse printed with a colorful floral pattern. Her presbyopic glasses had become a daily essential. With a gentle push, she adjusted her glasses properly so that she could have a better look at the girl. The first thing she noticed was the girl’s elegant and cultured manner.

Ye Qiao maintained her eye contact and kept the broad smile on her face. She was no longer afraid of Grandma Lu. Instead, she was really delighted to see her again.

Back when she was sentenced to imprisonment, Grandma Lu once dropped by to see her, but it was not just a casual visit. Grandma Lu was there to express her indignation against Ye Qiao for everything that she had done. “Ye Qiao! Xiao Xiao is dead because of you! You’re responsible for his death! You have his blood on your hands! What a wonderful man he’d become, and yet you murdered him!”

Ye Qiao dismissed her exasperation, thinking that she just needed to vent her anguish.

Seeing Grandma Lu again reminded Ye Qiao of the things that she once said to her in prison. Every accusation from still echoed in Ye Qiao’s ears.

She used to fight a lot with Lu Beixiao. There had been numerous occasions where she uttered offensive words out of anger, and sometimes, she even cursed him to death.

“Where are you from, young lady? I can’t see quite well,” Grandma Lu returned her gaze with a big smile, too.

“Grandma, I’m Ye Qiao! I live just next door to you!” She finally recovered from her preoccupation and was not shy to introduce herself. Her dimples deepened every time she put on a bright smile on her face.

Ye Qiao? Her name did not immediately ring any bells. It took a while for Grandma Lu to finally remember her. One could only imagine how surprised she was.

Ye Qiao was the girl in the neighborhood that was known to be rude; she also the girl who was consistently dressed in her signature school uniform.

“Oh, you’re Qiao Qiao!”

“Grandma, I’m here to deliver some vegetables to you. These are all homegrown. We can’t possibly finish them all!” Ye Qiao stated the purpose of her visit before placing the basket aside on the table.

Her grandfather had asked her several times to deliver the harvest to their neighbors, but not once had she complied with his requests. Nevertheless, Chen Ya gladly managed the delivery for her, for it was a great opportunity for her to gain the elders’ favor.

Grandma Lu replied, “Thank you, young lady. These vegetables are so well grown!”

“If you have anything else that you’d like to get, you may send Brother Xiao to our house and pluck it right away! There’s still plenty to spare! Speaking of which, I’m also going to deliver some vegetables to Grandpa Wang later,” Ye Qiao added.

Grandma Lu had a totally new perspective of Ye Qiao thanks to her generosity and decency. The young lady had completely transformed herself over a few days.

Just a couple of days ago, Grandma Lu remembered seeing Ye Qiao and a group of people from another courtyard together. They were obviously up to no good.

She was always bewildered by the sight of Ye Qiao in her school uniform; it was as if the intense midsummer heat never bothered her.

Right before Ye Qiao left the house, Grandma Lu asked the housekeeper to empty the basket that Ye Qiao had brought with her to make space for some jasmine flowers that were freshly cut off their stems.

“Thank you for the flowers, grandma,” Ye Qiao said earnestly.

She never knew that Grandma Lu was such a nice person. Her truculent attitude and misjudgment were the cause of every misunderstanding that had ever occurred in the past.

“It’s I who should be thanking you. You’re always welcome to come to our house whenever you want to!” Grandma Lu added with great enthusiasm.

“Sure! Grandma, are Beixiao and Beichi still sleeping?” She began venturing into small household affairs. In fact, she was only interested to know if Lu Beixiao was still sleeping in his room. The bottle of Maotai that he had last night was a hard liquor that could easily get him drunk.

“Xiao Xiao was urgently recalled to join the forces last night, so he had to leave right away. As for Beichi, he won’t be up until the sun is high up,” Grandma Lu politely answered.

Ye Qiao felt a little defeated. She did not expect Lu Beixiao to leave so soon. There must have been some urgent mission that required his immediate attention.

As soon as Ye Qiao stepped out of the gate, she met her grandfather, who had just come back from his morning run; the two walked to their house together. Grandpa Ye was gratified to see Ye Qiao’s change of attitude. When Ye Qiao proposed to visit her hometown, she immediately won her grandfather’s heart. One should never forget their origins, regardless of how far their life has progressed.

Without wasting any time, Grandpa Ye sent someone for someone to book Ye Qiao a flight ticket back to L City right away.

“Your stepmother says that your foster parents are being well taken care of. She sends someone to look after them from time to time. They must be doing well,” Grandpa Ye amiably said while handing over a thick envelope to Ye Qiao that was enclosed with cash.

Would Qin Lan look after her foster parents at all? It was impossible. Her foster parents were always living in poverty. If they had enough money to spare, her father’s leg injury would have been treated that very year when he was injured.

All Qin Lan had ever done was to look after her reputation. Speaking of the devil, Qin Lan suddenly showed up with Ye Zhenzhen at the door.