"A Rou went to the Jiang family with An An after leaving the Qin family's old residence," Qin Ningyi stated.
Cracks appeared in Old Master Qin's eyes. Anyone who could see Old Jiang at the Jiang family was undoubtedly not ordinary.
Outside the door, Old Jiang spoke in a rare, soft voice, "Little An An, has the old rascal inside woken up?"
"Hmph, he got the news quite quickly!" Old Master Qin couldn't help but stroke his beard.
Hearing his voice, Old Jiang laughed heartily, "Oh, you're alive again!"
An An covered his mouth, unsure whether to urge Old Jiang to speak kindly. His mother had told him children should speak kindly, but she hadn't specified if this requirement applied to old people.
After teasing Old Master Qin, Old Jiang remembered An An in his arms. He immediately softened his tone, "Oh, Grandpa misspoke. An An, don't learn from me."
He carried An An into the ward. The guards outside exchanged glances, unsure how to stop him or how to snatch An An away.
Old Jiang lifted An An onto his shoulder, his cold eyes shooting out like sharp swords at the guards. If An An weren't here, would he have been able to walk in so calmly?
"Let go of An An."
After all, they had been rivals for so many years. Old Master Qin looked at An An in Old Jiang's hands and felt An An was like a hostage. His brows furrowed so deeply they could have crushed flies.
Old Jiang, however, did not comply. He tossed An An upwards. Despite his age, he was vigorous, and his grip was still strong. An An laughed with delight. Qin Han broke out in a cold sweat and almost jumped out of bed to fight him.
Grandma Liu held him down tightly, "Old Qin, don't be childish!"
The two men, who were top figures in their respective fields, acted like elementary school students when they met in their old age.
"Since you're awake, stop being foolish," Old Jiang observed Old Master Qin's complexion closely. It was indeed much better than when he lay there like a corpse.
Only then did he relax and continue, "If you keep holding onto me like this, it will make things very difficult for Little A Rou. I've been wronged for so many years, don't you know?"
Hearing this, An An struggled to sit up from Old Jiang's embrace and stared intently at Old Jiang's profile.
"Grandpa Jiang, you are indeed a bit paler than when I last saw you," An An nodded with a serious expression.
But he didn't understand why old men were also competing over who was paler.
Ruan Ruan, hearing this, also looked at the complexions of the two elders. With surprise, she said to An An, "An An brother, this grandpa is indeed a bit paler than your great-grandfather!"
With the two children's interjection, Old Master Qin's ignited anger subsided powerlessly.
The two men sat down to talk properly for the first time, and Old Master Qin finally understood the matter that had troubled him for years.
"So, it was Huo Rou who asked you to do it?" He had wondered why the Jiang family, without any tricks, had been relentlessly pursuing Cheng Guozhong. It turned out to be Huo Rou.
Old Jiang nodded, "Otherwise? Do you think I have that much free time? If I had encountered such a scumbag, he would have been dead a thousand times over. It's only because Little A Rou is kind-hearted that he's still alive, and even his children are doing well."
"But Cheng Guozhong..." Old Master Qin, though understanding, still wanted to say a few more words.
Old Jiang had no time for his pointless chatter. While sparring with Qin Han was fun, making Little A Rou uneasy was not good. He waved his hand, "I don't care if he's innocent or not. If he broke the rules, he deserved to die."
He didn't like to overthink uselessly. Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one go free. This was their principle of action.
"I'm leaving." Old Jiang rose decisively, "There's nothing much to talk about with you."
After Old Jiang left, several people remained in the corridor, ostensibly to protect An An.
Although Old Master Qin had accused Old Jiang of having ulterior motives, he hadn't driven him away. Grandma Liu had long seen the mutual respect between the two old men. Now that the suspicion was cleared, her Old Qin didn't need to be so awkward.
"Quick, call Huo Rou and explain everything clearly!" Grandma Liu turned to another person in the room.
Huo Jinyi's daughter was exceptionally intelligent. If the whole situation was explained to her, the misunderstanding would surely be resolved.
Qin Ningyi was walking towards the door with her phone.
"Hmm?"
The call did not connect.
It had been fine these past few days, and she usually answered calls at this time.
Qin Ningyi's fingers tightened unconsciously.
Besides Huo Rou's calls, the people dispatched as Guyan and his men in country M also had no response.
The messages had vanished into thin air.