Rong Yu looked at Sheng Qingyan.
She spoke softly, "My home doesn't have a collection room. Could these be kept here temporarily, under your care?"
Sheng Ciyuan whispered a reminder, "My elder brother can't speak and doesn't understand what others say, you..."
But then he saw.
Sheng Qingyan nodded.
His eyes instantly widened in shock. "B-big brother, you... you can understand what outsiders say now?"
Sheng Qingyan did not answer him.
Instead, he took off a red cord from around his neck, from which hung a key.
He handed it to Rong Yu.
"This... this is the key to the collection room," Sheng Ciyuan said, his eyes full of astonishment. "Big brother means to allow you to come here in the future."
Rong Yu smiled. "Thank you."
Although she accepted the key, after walking out of the Sheng family's gate, she returned it. "Classmate Sheng, this belongs to your family. You should keep it safe."
Sheng Ciyuan firmly refused. "My elder brother rarely has such unusual reactions like he did today. Since he gave it to you, you should keep it. Don't feel awkward about it."
The image of those glass-like eyes surfaced in Rong Yu's mind.
She thought for a moment and took it back.
Getting into the car, Min Jianshen remarked with feeling, "The Sheng family's collection room is practically equivalent to a small specialized museum. Most of the items are related to that group of students who studied abroad. I wonder what connection the Sheng family has with them."
Rong Yu was also pondering this question.
But among the people she knew, there was no one with the surname Sheng.
Perhaps they were simply interested in that period of history?
If the other party could communicate, she could ask more, but unfortunately, he is autistic...
"Back then, the bodies of most of the soldiers and ordinary civilians who perished on the Zhenhua ship fell into the vast ocean," Min Jianshen sighed. "Those who sacrificed themselves for the country didn't even have a body to bury in the end. Their heroic souls could hardly return to their homeland, alas..."
Rong Yu stared blankly out the car window.
Her husband was named Ji Zheng. After being shot, he fell into the sea, and his body was swept away by the waves. Dozens of others shared the same fate as Ji Zheng.
The area where they fell was close to the homeland. Initially, the country had arranged for people to search for the remains, but it was too difficult, too difficult, a waste of manpower, material resources, national strength... We, the family members, jointly petitioned, asking the leaders to focus that energy on building the nation...
The atmosphere in the car grew heavy.
At a traffic light intersection, Min Jianshen glanced slightly. The young girl was sitting right beside him, yet she seemed to have erected an invisible barrier. She was immersed in her own emotions, appearing utterly alone.
But as soon as the car stopped.
She immediately pulled herself out of that mood, as if that vulnerable version of her had never existed.
Rong Yu said with a smile, "I've troubled you today, Mr. Min."
Min Jianshen got out of the car with her. "You're a junior my father looks after. I consider you a little sister. If anything comes up, you can always call me. Go on in."
Rong Yu turned and entered the building entrance.
Old Master Ji was on the balcony upstairs, watering the nearly dead potted plants in Ji Yanting's apartment. Although he was high up, his eyesight was good. Moreover, the person getting out of the car was his mother, outstanding in appearance, distinguished in bearing, different from everyone else in every way, instantly recognizable.
That man who drove his mother home... why did he seem somewhat familiar?
He quickly took out his phone.
Little Duoduo had taught him that if you can't see someone clearly in the distance, take out your phone, open the camera, zoom in on the screen, and you can see very clearly.
"Dammit... it's him again!" Old Master Ji glared, his beard seeming to bristle. "Just who is this guy? Why is he always pestering my mom?"
A few days ago in Haicheng, it was also this man who drove Mom home.
Now they're in the capital, and this man is still hanging around like a haunting ghost.
"Second grandson, you have five minutes. I want to know everything about this man..."
Old Master Ji got halfway through his sentence when footsteps sounded at the door. He immediately put down his phone, picked up the watering can, and pretended to be nonchalantly watering the plants.
After Rong Yu came in and changed her shoes, he then went over. "Mom, who drove you home?"
Rong Yu looked up. "Academician Min's son. I attended an auction with him."
"Mom, why is your voice hoarse?" Old Master Ji's heart instantly tightened. "Your eyes are a bit red too. No, Mom, what's wrong? What happened? Have you been crying?"
Rong Yu's mind was a bit dazed.
Probably the photograph had affected her mood, making it hard to find peace.
She smiled and said, "I'm fine. I'll be okay after a good sleep."
She entered the bedroom and closed the door.
Old Master Ji was so anxious he scratched his head and ears. "Second grandson, hurry up and see what's wrong with your great-grandmother. What on earth happened?"
Ji Yanting didn't dare say.
Because he felt that this seemed like the state of someone who had just gone through a breakup.
Did Great-grandmother have a breakup?
Good heavens, the moment this thought surfaced, it gave him goosebumps all over.
But, Great-grandmother's current body is only eighteen years old.
Originally, she only lived to thirty.
Both her inner self and her appearance are of an age suitable for romance.
He digested his inner turmoil and spoke up. "Great-grandmother is so young. It's normal for men to appear around her. If one day the old master passes away, at least there will be someone close by to keep her company, so she won't be too devastated."
These words struck a chord in Old Master Ji's heart. He slumped onto the sofa.
He didn't dare imagine how sad and heartbroken his mother would be if he were gone...
It seemed that perhaps she really should find a partner.
But what if the partner turned out to be a scoundrel? What if he bullied Mom? What if he cheated her out of money and took advantage of her...
"Second grandson," Old Master Ji commanded. "Find me a fitness live stream. I'm going to start working out. Hurry up!"
Ji Yanting: "..."
The old master was really becoming more and more like a child, acting on every impulse.
The sound of aerobics echoed in the living room.
However, Old Master Ji was old. After only twenty minutes of jumping around, he was exhausted and fell asleep on the sofa.
In the middle of the night, he groggily opened his eyes and was instantly stunned. "Mom, Mom, get up! It's snowing! It's snowing in the capital!"
Rong Yu hadn't slept well.
She kept dreaming, repeatedly seeing scenes from the ocean liner, struggling in nightmares until she was awakened by her old son.
Led by her old son, she walked to the living room's floor-to-ceiling window. Snowflakes were falling outside, one by one. Soon, the light snow turned into a heavy snowfall of goose feathers, the whole world shrouded in silvery white.
Rong Yu took out her phone, captured the beautiful snowy scene, and sent it to Tang Che.
"Snowscape of the capital, for us to enjoy together."
The snow fell at night and was still falling in the morning, though the accumulated snow on the roads had already been cleared.
Old Master Ji had arranged the day's itinerary: first enjoying the snow, then visiting an art exhibition, touring a museum, meeting old friends. The day was packed tightly. The next morning, mother and son prepared to return to Haicheng.
Ji Yanting had a very important scene to film. Going to the airport to see them off and back would take at least three or four hours.
He thought for a moment and sent a message to Ji Mohan: "A Mo, are you busy? Could you spare some time to drive Great-grandmother and the old master to the airport?"
