Chapter 49 - An Old Acquaintance

Chapter 49: Chapter 43: An Old Acquaintance"They’ve all been here," Mrs. Wang said. "They came to pay their respects and mourn, but were quickly taken away by your granduncle, saying they had important matters to discuss. Alas, only the two of them know about your grandfather’s affairs."

Mrs. Wang wasn’t really interested in those two; she was more concerned about Uncle Cheng. "Third Lady, you must get Uncle Cheng over here. Although your dowry has been sorted out, some of it remains in your grandfather’s courtyard and Uncle Cheng needs to retrieve it."

That’s just the visible dowry; the truly valuable items are elsewhere.

However, Zhao Hanzhang nodded, having her own plans. She needed to see Ji Yuan first.

Zhao Erlang was still young, with a child’s nature, and Mrs. Wang had been anxious all day, now utterly exhausted. Zhao Hanzhang didn’t make them stay the whole night, asking Qing Gu and a few others to help them go rest.

The servants also withdrew, leaving only two guards at the door. In the mourning hall, there was just Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan had also changed into mourning clothes but didn’t carry a mourning staff; his mourning attire was one level below the most severe, just like Zhao Ji, who had inherited Zhao Changyu’s title.

Because of this, none in the Zhao Family stopped him from staying with Zhao Hanzhang to watch over the deceased. As the son-in-law, wearing even the minor mourning attire was already considered filial; now even the critical Zhao Zhongyu and Zhao Ji couldn’t find any fault with him.

Fu Tinghan added oil to the lamp and then sat back beside Zhao Hanzhang, whispering, "Do you want to take a nap? You haven’t slept for two days and nights since last night."

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "My cerebral cortex is extremely active, so I can’t sleep for now. You’ve been awake too; would you like to lean a bit?"

After thinking for a moment, Fu Tinghan said, "Why don’t we talk? Expressing emotions can help disperse them, and once they’re gone, we might be able to sleep."

Zhao Hanzhang unconsciously grabbed a handful of millet stalks and tossed them into the fire basin, asking, "What should we talk about?"

Pausing, Fu Tinghan said, "I didn’t expect you to have such deep feelings for the Zhao Family."

Clearly, it’s her who has been longing to return, and yet she finds it hard to let go of the people here.

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes to look at her fair fingers, but reversed, they revealed calluses on the palm and fingertips, left by the girl through reading and practicing martial arts. Like her, the girl was always trying to live better, to make life better for those around her.

"Zhao Changyu treated me well," Zhao Hanzhang said. "He is kind-hearted, upright in character. We share empathy towards strangers, let alone spending over a month together."

Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t a cold-hearted person. Although she knew Zhao Changyu had been planning for his own grandchildren, she personally experienced all of this through this body; how could she separate herself from it?

Fu Tinghan grabbed another handful of millet stalks for her, softly asking, "Now, do you still want to go back?"

Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at him, "Of course, my attachment to the people here doesn’t stop me from wanting to return."

She squinted slightly, "Doesn’t Professor Fu want to go back?"

Sighing, Fu Tinghan said, "I do, but I feel the feasibility is small. I don’t want you to have great expectations, fearing you’ll be too disappointed."

Zhao Hanzhang sat upright, looking at him intently, "Professor Fu, have we met before?"

Fu Tinghan then lifted his head, giving her a slightly bitter smile, "I attended Twenty-second Middle School during my junior and senior high school years."

"But I was at Twenty-fourth Middle School..." Zhao Hanzhang paused here; the Twenty-fourth was right opposite the Twenty-second with school gates facing each other. Their academic performances were constantly competing, creating a ’king never meets king’ scenario.

Ah, Twenty-second Middle School...

Zhao Hanzhang’s distant memories resurfaced; she looked at Fu Tinghan in surprise, "Are you the classmate who skipped grades the same year as me at Twenty-second Middle School?"

Fu Tinghan replied, "Yes, for two years of junior school, each semester-end exam, it was either you in first or me."

"In the third year, you skipped up to senior school coincidentally; I did too. In the first semester, you were first, and I was second." Fu Tinghan gazed into her eyes, falling silent.

Zhao Hanzhang also reached to touch her eyelids, chuckling lightly, "Ah, I remember, you were always first later on, right? I occasionally heard classmates mention that there was an outstanding student at Twenty-second Middle, always first in the city every semester, far ahead of second place. Later went directly to the University’s youth class."

Fu Tinghan lowered his gaze, "That’s because you stayed back a grade..."

At that time, Zhao Hanzhang had a car accident; after discharge, she couldn’t see with both eyes. Rehabilitation coupled with learning Braille meant she practically started from scratch, returning to school already a grade behind.

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him in shock, "So Professor Fu always knew me?"

Fu Tinghan didn’t deny it.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Zhao Hanzhang recalled her reputation at school, fearing it looked bad on her youthful prestige, she quickly added, "Actually, I have always been well-mannered and gentle."

Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but laugh, gazing at her with gentle eyes, "I know, you kicked Teacher Jin because he was too annoying."

Zhao Hanzhang: "... How did you know I kicked him? He always claimed I shoved him."

"That’s why I testified saying I didn’t see you shove anyone."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him speechlessly, "That anonymous testimonial was from you?"

"It originally wasn’t necessary for anonymity, but the director said since I teach at the same school, it wouldn’t look good if disclosed. Everyone trusted me, so they used my testimony, just hiding my name from both parties involved."

Zhao Hanzhang sincerely said, "Thank you, without your testimony at that time, I might’ve been the one leaving school."

So Fu Tinghan had always known her? Then...

"Then, about the arranged marriage before coming..."

Fu Tinghan switched the topic, "Zhao Changyu left you so many things; can you obtain them all?"

She looked at his reddened ears, after watching quietly for a while, replied, "Hmm, it’s not a big problem unless Ji Yuan backstabs."

After chatting for a while, Zhao Hanzhang’s mind relaxed, and she indeed started to feel sleepy; her eyes slowly closed, her head nodding bit by bit.

Seeing her head drooping, Fu Tinghan quickly reached out to hold it, gently guiding her to lean on his shoulder.

Unconsciously, Zhao Hanzhang opened her eyes for a moment; seeing it was him, she closed them again.

Watching her fall asleep with her eyes closed, Fu Tinghan began to relax, shifting his shoulder to make her more comfortable.

Fu Tinghan looked down at this familiar face in memory, momentarily lost in thought. More than once he’d met her at the school gate, just across the street, every time surrounded by many people. Everyone enjoyed befriending her; whenever he passed by her, he could hear her hearty laughter.

Fu Tinghan reached out his finger wanting to touch her cheek, but before he could, Zhao Hanzhang’s head suddenly moved. He immediately withdrew his hand, sitting upright and proper...