Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 556: Chapter 536: Elusive and Confusing (18)

”I can’t afford any of these things.” Although Luo Qianqian didn’t know the value of the other items, she had seen a similar inkstone at the auction she went to with Qin Wen last time, and it was priced way beyond her reach.

Old Master Kong was about to say something with a smile when Luo Qianqian interrupted him, ”You giving me the option to choose a gift is already more than I could ask for, but are you looking down on my determination to select a gift for Grandpa’s birthday? There are no discounts when picking out Grandpa’s present.”

Old Master Kong laughed heartily after hearing this, ”Good, very good, come on, let’s go to the storeroom.”

”Thank you, Grandpa, but I’m on a budget here, so please don’t recommend anything too expensive,” Luo Qianqian said as she hurried to keep up with Old Master Kong, a playful look on her face: ”You clearly didn’t need to be in a place like that, Grandpa, so why would someone have their eye on you there?”

”My surname is Jimo, with a single character ’Kong’ for my given name,” Old Master Kong said slowly as he walked ahead.

Luo Qianqian immediately understood, ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grandpa Jimo.”

Who would’ve known that Old Master Jimo would give her a sidelong glance, ”Call me Grandpa Kong. My grandfather is still alive.”

Luo Qianqian’s mouth hung open in disbelief, what the what? Jimo Kong already looked to be well into his years with his white hair, so his grandfather...

”Understood, Grandpa Kong.” But now wasn’t the time to wonder about their secret to a long life; she quickly corrected herself.

”Hey, girl, I’ve introduced myself; shouldn’t you...” Jimo Kong started saying lazily as he turned the corner of the walkway.

Luo Qianqian got the hint and with a giggling smile said, ”Grandpa Kong, my name is Luo Qianqian and I am... ”

”You’re not telling me you’re the granddaughter of that old guy Luo Guohui, are you? I’ve received an invitation, it’s his seventieth birthday,” Jimo Kong cut her off.

Luo Qianqian’s eyes widened in disbelief, ”You know my grandpa?”

”Played together back in the day,” Old Master Kong nodded, his expression one of ’I thought as much’, but Luo Qianqian couldn’t see his face as he turned away.

She only heard the smile in his voice, ”Never thought he’d finally allow his granddaughter to be seen in public.”

”Huh?” Luo Qianqian blinked, not following.

”Hehe, back then we had an arrangement for a marriage alliance between our two families,” Old Master Jimo continued.

”Huh?” Luo Qianqian blinked again, so her aunt had a connection with the Jimo Family?

”But unfortunately, we both had only sons, your grandpa had four, and my wife had two...” Jimo Kong chuckled bitterly.

”That would make for quite the pairing,” Luo Qianqian paused for a moment, then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress a laugh.

”I thought it was a lost cause too until suddenly, here’s a granddaughter popping up. And it all works out since I also have a grandson who is still a minor,” Jimo Kong laughed heartily.

”Wait, that’s not right, Grandpa Kong, hold on... How did you know I’m from the Luo Family? Something to do with Grandpa?” She recalled not disclosing any information about her identity initially, and ’Luo’ could also be ’Luo’ or ’Luo’, right?

”I didn’t know; I was just guessing just now,” Old Master Kong said with a smile: ”And your personality is exactly like that stinky old man’s, you can’t stand injustice.”

Luo Qianqian’s face was a picture of embarrassment. She really didn’t want to admit that she was just a scaredy-cat. It was only because of this chance to start over at the Luo Family, and a series of events had unfolded, that she’d gained the ability to protect herself, right?

If it had been before, she would have still captured the evidence, but she probably wouldn’t have acted impulsively. She would have likely chosen to stay out of trouble.

”No wait, hold on, Grandpa Kong, you just said...” Luo Qianqian’s eyes widened in shock.

”That’s right.” Jimo Kong stopped in front of a room and turned around: ”You have a fiancé now.”

What the what? Luo Qianqian’s mouth twitched, her cheeks twitched, the corners of her eyes twitched, her forehead twitched—what was this situation? Did your grandson know that you’ve sold him off?

And it seemed like a certain issue was being overlooked, wasn’t it?

In the distance, a faint green light shone on Xu Tianyi’s face.

”Wait, wait, Jimo—no I mean, Grandpa Kong, aren’t you too bored? Having nothing better to do... Arranged marriages aren’t in fashion anymore,” Luo Qianqian’s voice trembled as she spoke.

”Indeed, I am quite bored, or else why would I wander around the flea market?” Old Master Jimo candidly admitted without hesitation and then pushed open the door to the room in front of him: ”The things in here might be more in line with your thoughts.”

Luo Qianqian was speechless. Who admits to being bored and having nothing better to do?

But still, she entered the storeroom whose contents were not wrapped in expensive packaging but were casually placed on shelves.

As Luo Qianqian entered the storeroom, Old Master Jimo leaned casually against the doorframe, watching Luo Qianqian search high and low: ”My grandson isn’t half bad, he has looks, a good physique, plus an above-average IQ, and the dowry will make your family happy.”

Luo Qianqian paused in her bending motion, how did the conversation turn to dowries???

”Grandpa Kong, if you have nothing to do, maybe watch some movies or something, don’t be teasing kids for fun—what if they take it seriously? You might lose the pig you’ve raised in your home,” Luo Qianqian squatted down and picked up an old-looking book, which read ’Lotus Sutra’ in three characters.

”Raised pig? Ha, alright, I’ll stop teasing you. I think you’re a pretty good kid and I want to take you on as an apprentice. How about it, passing time with this old man...” Old Master Kong said, claiming he would stop teasing her, yet his eyes were still brimming with playful amusement.

”Huh? An apprentice? Are you recruiting me for a comedy act?” Luo Qianqian stood up, her eyes filled with resignation: ”I want this, how much is it?”

”This?” Old Master Kong examined it closely for a moment, frowning: ”This was just collected with that ink slab on the desk earlier to make alphabet cards, it’s not worth much, you want it, fifty yuan?”

”Fifty yuan?” Luo Qianqian blinked and decisively pulled out her wallet the next second, handing over fifty yuan to Old Master Jimo.

”These alphabet cards aren’t as good as the ones over there, and the paper isn’t very high quality either. They look haphazardly produced.” Old Master Kong pointed to another bookshelf nearby, his brow slightly furrowed: ”Those won’t be particularly expensive either.”

Luo Qianqian shook her head: ”I find it appealing.”

Old Master Kong nodded knowingly; wasn’t antiques shopping all about serendipity?

Luo Qianqian happily exited the room, making sure to close the door behind her.

Old Master Kong watched Luo Qianqian leave with a smile, said nothing more, escorted her to the door of the room they started from, stuffed the Jade Pendant into Luo Qianqian’s backpack, and then accompanied her to the entrance of the hall. Watching Luo Qianqian’s retreating figure, he called out calmly: ”Think over the matter with my grandson well, I’m serious.”