Fu Qingxuan said, “Since I’ve saved you, I want to go with you.”
Shen Xi replied, “Now aren’t you throwing your weight around?”
Looking stuck up, he scoffed unapologetically.
She was tempted to kick him. She pointed at the group of thugs. “What about them?”
Fu Qingxuan answered, “Someone will take care of them.”
With that, Shen Xi glanced at the left corner behind the car.
She knew it. Fu Qingxuan would not leave the house unprotected. He had skillful bodyguards lurking stealthily in the dark.
No matter where he went, there was someone protecting him. Even without her help, his people would make sure nothing happens to him.
Nevertheless, the young lady, who was also the temporary house guest, went ahead and struck the thugs before his bodyguards could make a move.
Without dragging her feet, the young lady was swift and agile in her combat skill, adopting the style of a grandmaster in China.
However, the young master took a fancy to the young lady and wanted to rescue the damsel in distress. Yet, that failed and she became his knight in shining armor instead.
Shen Xi drove at an incredible speed.
Fu Qingxuan looked at her. “You know your stuff. Do you race?”
The girl drove like a racer.
Her smile bore assertiveness and confidence. “Do you believe me when I say no one in this world can beat me?”
He gave a look of contempt. “Sure, sing your own praises.”
She pouted. “Forget it if you don’t believe me.”
The car cruised along at an adequate and comfortable speed.
By the time they arrived at the place, Fu Qingxuan who was on the passenger seat had fallen asleep.
Shen Xi exited the car and coldly glanced to her left in the back. “Come out.”
Since Fu Qingxuan was out cold, Shen Xi had his bodyguards drive him back home.
Although she was held up for a long time, it was only half-past five at that point.
The estate surrounding it was quiet and there was no one in sight.
Waiting at the gate, Shen Xi faced the east and gazed at the mountain. The sun was rising to a great sunny day.
Huo Yuping would wake up at half-past five in the morning every day for a jog and Taichi. He opened the door to find someone waiting at his entrance.
Shen Xi observed the old man who appeared to be in his fifties but Jiang Yin did mention that he was seventy-two years old. Nevertheless, he was looking hale and hearty with bright eyes. She greeted politely, “Hello, Mr. Huo. I am Shen Xi. My teacher, Jiang Yin, recommended that I come here.”
Huo Yuping was studying her all the same. The girl was around sixteen or seventeen of age, beautiful, and carried herself gracefully. He approached her. “Walk with me!”
Shen Xi grinned politely, “Sure.”
Huo Yuping may be up in years, but he believed he was physically fit. The perseverance of daily exercises made him look decades younger than his age. Huo Yuping gazed at the young lady. “Can you run?”
Shen Xi nodded. “Mr. Huo, please go ahead.”
Huo Yuping took off and went ahead of her.
Shen Xi kept up with his pace and remained two steps behind. She was impressed by the old man’s great health as he was not the least bit breathless while running.
It never occurred to Huo Yuping that the girl was so prudent, patient, and fit despite being young. The fact that she easily kept up with him left a good impression on Huo Yuping.
None of his kids at home practiced the same resilience. It was also a common problem with youngsters nowadays. They would lose interest in running with him after two days or failed to keep up after a mile.
Once at the foot of the mountain, Huo Yuping sat on one side of a stone bench and stared at the young lady who quietly stood there. He pointed at the chessboard and cheerfully asked, “Are you familiar with this?”
Shen Xi nodded and humbly replied, “A little.”
It never crossed Huo Yuping’s mind that the girl was proficient in Chinese chess, but it made him happy. “How about a round or two?”
The stone bench, stone table, and chess pieces made of stone in the open air at the foot of the mountain posed quite a view.
Huo Yuping fixated his eyes on her and asked, “Do you need a handicap by two free moves?”
Shen Xi answered, “It’s up to you.”
He commented, “Don’t cry when you lose later.”
Not a lot of youngsters nowadays knew how to play Chinese and Go variations of chess as they just did not bear the patience.
Shen Xi retorted, “You shouldn’t cry if you lose either!”
Huo Yuping was having a ball. “That’s some big talk, little girl.”
She replied, “The truth will be revealed on the chessboard.”
He roared with laughter when he lost. “Great. I see I have an expert in my hands today. Shall we have another go?”
Shen Xi looked at the old man and nodded with a smile. “Sure.”
The old man carried himself with such grace, giving out an unworldly air about him. He was not those sore losers who refused to give in after being defeated and wanted a rematch again and again.
The second round.
Shen Xi barely won this set. She stated with a smile. “I won’t be able to win the next round.”
The old man was a master in chess. He observed her chess strategy in the first round and had regained control over the board by the second round. The older, the wiser indeed.
“You’re pretty impressive yourself, girl.” Huo Yuping was beginning to warm up to Shen Xi. She was a promising kid – quiet, indifferent, neither rash nor arrogant.
The girl was young yet the way she played chess was prudent all the while remaining modest. Nevertheless, it was hard to shield the vigor and liveliness that came with her tender age, but still, it was a good thing.
The young and old slowly strolled back home at seven o’clock. It was time for breakfast.
Breakfast was congee and bao.
Huo Yuping did not bring up embroidery after breakfast. Instead, he brought her to the greenhouse to do some plowing and planting. Huo Yuping handed the seeds to her. “Pick out the insect-infested seeds.”
By then, Shen Xi had picked up a rake, ready to plow the land. She turned to the old man. “Mr. Huo, why don’t you pick out the seeds while I do the digging?”
Huo Yuping was dumbstruck. A weak young lady seemed accustomed to the rake by the way she was holding it. “Have you done farming before?”
Shen Xi grinned. “I lived in a farming village and farmed with my mom.”
They owned lands even though they lived in the city. Before Old Shen hit the jackpot, their family survived by farming.
Shen Xi replied, “I’ve dabbled in a little.”
Huo Yuping bent over to pick up the seeds while watching her plow the land. He remarked with a smile, “You sure know a lot.”
She replied, “Not a lot.”
It was not as though Huo Yuping never met girls her age. Every one of them was a girly girl who could not stand a little bit of hardship. They would pretend to be nice, sensible, and do what they were told in exchange for an apprenticeship with him. However, they remained defiant and would turn around and say that he was an inflexible relic.
Whatever Shen Xi did, on the other hand, came from the sincerest of intention. It was hard not to fall in love with this girl. Jiang Yin, that sketchy girl, must have done a lot of good in her past life to be able to take in this lovely student.
Shen Xi had done farming in many of the worlds she had transmigrated to. Soon, she had plowed a piece of land and began to loosen the soil.