Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

”Jin Yue.” Jimo Cheng stood behind Luo Qianqian, smiling as he looked at the person opposite, ”How could this matter go without your fiance?”

Luo Qianqian’s face turned red, instantly losing her momentum. Was this really the time to bring that up?

Old Master Jimo, seeing that Luo Qianqian had vented enough, nodded, ”The Jimo Family supports everything their disciple says and does.”

Luo Qianqian’s eyes widened in shock. Obviously, she was just trying to intimidate on behalf of her grandfather. Now that he’d said that, who would dare have any ill intentions?

The person from before, who seemed like they wanted to say something, became instantly timid. Old Master Jimo continued, ”Mo Studio is a place of elegance. I never expected an incident of harming someone to occur here, especially at the apprenticeship banquet of my closed-door disciple, involving an elder from the family of my little grandson’s fiancee. Private and public reasons considered, we cannot take this lightly. Whoever started the fight will be removed from membership...”

”But I am...” The elder started to speak in shock.

Jimo Cheng didn’t hesitate for a moment to interrupt, ”Not anymore.” No matter your status, it is only because of your affiliation with Mo Studio that you have this honor. A person who has never sat among the twelve is inconsequential.

The twelve come from the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac, corresponding to the twelve zodiac signs, which in turn correspond to the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Besides the Jimo and the other two families, they are the highest level of membership in the Mo Studio, with only twelve people in total. They are reassessed every year, and only the strongest can keep their place.

”Plus, those who just now shielded him, are banned from entering Mo Studio for the next three months!” Old Master Jimo showed no mercy.

Luo Qianqian’s face lit up with gratitude, ”Master...”

Old Master Jimo patted Luo Qianqian on the head and looked around at everyone, ”Jin Yue is my little disciple, and my future granddaughter-in-law. To cross her is to make an enemy of the Jimo Family and Mo Studio!”

Old Master Luo wasn’t exactly sure why, but he suddenly let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he had always been waiting for these words?

Old Master Jimo glanced at Old Master Luo, knelt down, touched his wrist, and gave him a sidelong look as if he saw through something.

Luo Qianqian also quickly knelt down, anxiously watching over her grandfather. Right now, nothing else mattered—her grandfather being okay was all that was truly important.

Just then the ambulance arrived, and both Old Master Luo and Yue Tingyu were taken away. Yue Tingyu insisted that Luo Qianqian stay behind, so she reluctantly watched as her grandfather was taken away by the ambulance, her face full of concern.

”He will be fine.” Jimo Cheng patted the top of her head, ”Jin Yue wouldn’t cry here, right?”

Luo Qianqian pushed aside her worries and glared at him defiantly, ”I certainly won’t, Grandpa is going to be fine.”

Who knew, the Elder that Luo Qianqian had called out was still sitting there, quietly eating, and Luo Qianqian blinked, ”Do you think I should give a piece of Chengxin Tang paper to that old man to annoy those few bad old men?”

Intimacy and distance were clearly shown—her grandfather was close, the elder was a stranger, and those disliked were simply bad old men.

Jimo Cheng, of course, knew the man and was taken aback for a moment, then laughed lightly, ”If you want to, then send it.”

”How can they not make better use of such an elder who obviously doesn’t flatter or truckle?” Luo Qianqian whispered to Jimo Cheng.

While others couldn’t hear what the two were discussing, they could still sense the intimacy between them.

The smile on Jimo Cheng’s face stiffened, how else to make better use of him? His status was certainly not lower than Grandpa’s, that’s for sure.

Because the Jimo Family had many people, but the Tang Family had only this one person, and yet he held the position of a single family’s representative. Importantly, this man did not take disciples, yet such a distinct individual remained the most respected there.

Luo Qianqian thought for a moment, then approached the elder, ”Elder, I am Luo Qianqian. May I ask if you’re interested in Chengxin Tang paper?”

Old Man Tang simply raised an eyebrow, looking towards Luo Qianqian, and nodded slowly.

”Phew, that’s good to hear. Next time I come over, I’ll bring one for you,” Luo Qianqian said with a smile.

To her surprise, Elder Tang crinkled his brow, ”What do you want in exchange?”

Luo Qianqian’s face lit up with emotion as she turned to look at Jimo Cheng, ”See, see? That’s the normal reaction, right? Why should they get anything for nothing, really so presumptuous.” She then turned back around and shook her head seriously, ”I don’t want anything. I have three reasons for giving it to you. First, as I mentioned earlier when dissing those few, if I were to give it to anyone, it would be you. Second, I do have two more that I found inside book covers, not part of Grandpa’s collection, but now I deeply understand the saying ’possession of treasure incurs guilt,’ so it’s better to give them away. Third, of course, is because I find you agreeable. I always feel people like you have a temperament that matches well with my grandpa’s.”

Elder Tang raised an eyebrow at Jimo Cheng, then turned back to Luo Qianqian, ”You don’t know who I am?”

Luo Qianqian covered her mouth, her expression timid, ”You’re not Grandpa Kong’s elder, are you?”

”Kind of.” Old Master Jimo looked proudly at Jimo Kong, who was fuming with annoyance and stepped forward, ”Don’t lead my disciple astray. Jin Yuee, this gentleman is Tang Xian, Old Master Tang. He’s a main decision-maker, just like me.”

Luo Qianqian looked sheepish, bowing her head and pouting, stealing glances at Jimo Cheng with her eyes, yet not telling her.

”It’s nice to meet you, Elder Tang.” Luo Qianqian bowed respectfully, having lost her earlier vivacity.

Tang Xian found Luo Qianqian’s demeanor amusing and waved his hand, ”When I visit next time, I hope your grandpa won’t chase me away.”

Jimo Kong’s eyes bulged, ”What? Old Man Tang is going to visit Old Man Luo??? The always routine-driven Old Man Tang???” He thought about how he hadn’t yet visited any friends since returning to the country and immediately said with great enthusiasm, ”Then I’ll come along too. It’s a good opportunity to visit the sick.”

...

Meanwhile, Old Master Luo, who was supposed to be having a thorough checkup in the hospital, looked woefully at his second son who had been called in, and at the thick stack of test orders, frowning deeply, ”I’m really fine, honestly, my dear. Tell him, honey.”

Yue Tingyu turned her head away, not wanting to deal with the old man. If it weren’t for their deep familiarity, she would have been frightened as well.

Jia Ning took Yue Tingyu’s arm directly, ”Mom, since we’re here, why don’t we get a proper checkup? Otherwise, when Qianqian asks about it, we won’t have anything to say. Having lab reports is good for explaining things, right?”

Old Master Luo had already informed the two of the feigned illness; they weren’t worried about the cost of the ambulance but were more concerned about Luo Qianqian, who knew nothing.

Who would have thought that Old Master Luo would still play such childish tricks at his age?

In the end, with persuasion from their son and daughter-in-law, the elderly couple still obediently went for the examination, which found something alarming, ”Master, your blood pressure is a bit high, but your body is quite sturdy,” the doctor said.

...

”High blood pressure?” Luo Qianqian returned and, seeing Old Master Luo sitting on the sofa with a sullen face, showed a look of surprise as she turned to Yue Tingyu, ”Grandma’s okay, right?”

”I’m very well.” Yue Tingyu smiled contently, but still looked worried, ”The doctor said he shouldn’t eat anything too greasy or salty. He’s unhappy about it right now.”

Luo Qianqian frowned, high blood pressure made him faint? That didn’t sound like Grandpa. Isn’t it that people with high blood pressure faint because they get so angry that their faces turn red? Why does it sound a bit like a thermometer? The kind where the bulb bursts and then you faint?

”Celery lowers blood pressure, should we get medication?” Luo Qianqian asked with concern, ”What caused Grandpa to faint at noon?”

Old Master Luo was pretending to read the newspaper, but his attention was on his granddaughter; after all, her excuse for his earlier actions had made him feel very comforting warmth inside.

Hearing this, he quickly pretended to cough, ”Cough, cough cough...”

Yue Tingyu was speechless and, recalling the party line they had devised before Luo Qianqian’s return, slowly said, ”The doctor said... a bit of calcium deficiency, didn’t stand steadily.”

??? Calcium deficiency possible, but not standing steadily? Old Master Luo who exercises every morning, is that likely?