Chapter 576Gifting the Granddaughter
In that moment Yang Chen realized, that Jane had helped the previously incurable Master Tang recover in a matter of days!
Standing by the both of them was Hannya dressed in her corporate attire. She looked every bit like a businesswoman and less like a female ninja. She was standing out in the corridor when she noticed Yang Chen. Immediately, she bowed and greeted, “Master.”
Jane and Tang Zhechen turned around to the sound of Hannya’s greeting. Jane raised her eyebrows and said, “So you have finally decided to come. I waited three whole days for you. I was starting to think if I should should’ve gone and fetched you here myself.”
Yang Chen gave an awkward laugh. Nobody should have known that he had just returned from abroad, but she knew due to her connection with Catherine who was in Europe. He said, “I had to get a few pressing errands done before coming over. I didn’t think I’d be so surprised by coming here today.”
“What’s there to be surprised about? I promised you several things before you left and I intended to see them through. Master Tang was treated and healed even before your return,“ she said with such confidence and continued, “At the very least, I deserve a big thank you for all the work I had done here, don’t I? ”
Yang Chen replied, “Well, I’ll just have to wait for Tang Wan to gift me with something, and I’ll give that to you. How does that sound?”
“Hey! How could you be so insincere?” exclaimed Jane. She knew that Yang Chen was just kidding, but still felt dissatisfied.
Yang Chen laughed and swept his gaze across the table to Tang Zhechen, who had been staring at him silently from his arrival.
Tang Zhechen looked a lot better now compared to a few days prior. The old man had a seriousness to him but at the same time held fondness and curiosity toward Yang Chen.
“So you’re Yang Chen?” asked Tang Zhechen, somewhat unsure.
Yang Chen smiled and asked, “You don’t think I’m him?”
Shaking his head, Tang Zhechen said, “You don’t look like him.”
“Why don’t I look like him?” he asked curiously, but unsurprisingly, since the old man didn’t even recognise him at first.
Tang Zhechen then smiled and said, “You look too normal. Just like any other person in this city. But I guess that is exactly why you are extraordinary. To be honest, I find the aura within you quite surprising for someone your age.”
Yang Chen decided not to comment on that, but he sighed in his heart regardless. Tang Wan’s true motive for wanting the old man to recover quickly was not a very hard thing to guess. Though it was mainly because he was her family, judging solely from his ability to tell Yang Chen’s unique quality, it was apparent that the old man hardly missed out any details.
[TL note: In Confucian philosophy, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors.]
That morning, Yang Chen had a great realization which changed the strength within his body. However, it did not show up on his appearance. Unless it was someone deeply familiar with him, it was incredibly difficult for the average person to discover any abnormality on Yang Chen.
According to Tang Wan, Tang Zhechen had retired from politics many years ago. However, he was the only one who could control of the Tang clan. As expected of an outstanding man.
At the side, Jane jokingly asked, “Yang Chen, what have you been filling Master Tang’s mind with? What did he mean by being normal is not normal?”
All Yang Chen did was smile. Even if she was the most intelligent person in the world, little bits of intricate and mysterious details would still elude her.
“I’d like to congratulate you on your recovery, Master Tang. Are you going back to Beijing today?” asked Yang Chen curiously.
Smiling, Tang Zhechen replied, “Since I’ve already recovered, would there even be a difference if I went back or not?”
Yang Chen nodded at the realization of what he meant. He was right, if the tigers of the mountain had recovered their ferocity, why would the hyenas continue to roam about freely?
“Well actually, the air here in Jiangnan is pretty humid. It’s not something that I can get used to. If I wasn’t waiting for your return, I might’ve left today,” said Tang Zhechen.
Being the man he was, Yang Chen nodded in acknowledgement and said, “I don’t have many friends and Tang Wan would be a close one if anything. If there’s anything I can do to help, I would.”
“Oh?” Tang Zhechen smiled and said, “Speaking of which… you and my granddaughter… Are you really just friends?”
Jane widened her eyes with curiosity once the question was asked. Out of everything she knew and wanted to know in life, Yang Chen’s private life piqued her curiosity the most.
It was really hard for Yang Chen to give an answer. They had done things that have gone beyond the boundaries of friends and did in fact, hol feelings for one another. However, as he remembered what Lin Rouxi said yesterday, Yang Chen decided not to drag Tang Wan into the hot mess as well.
It took him a while, but Yang Chen finally came up with an answer. “For now we’ve not gotten into anything serious, honestly.”
That was all Tang Zhechen was waiting for. He now knew whom to set his granddaughter up with.
He did not expect Yang Chen to be so direct. After a sigh of relief, he laughed out loud before saying, “Then I hope something more serious happens in the future, eh?”
Yang Chen was shocked. Was the old man trying to push his granddaughter to him? Was this his way of showing his gratitude, to gift her granddaughter?
After chatting for a bit, an oval-faced girl who wore a pale yellow spring dress came into the courtyard. It was Tang Wan’s cousin, Tang Xin.
Tang Xin served some boiling hot tea in quite a peculiar purple tea set.
Seeing Tang Xin carry the tea over, Hannya who was standing at a corner came forward. She stopped Tang Xin and said, “Miss Tang, let me get it there.”
Tang Xin got annoyed at the request and said, “Grandpa! Why is this woman so annoying?! Why is she stopping me from serving you? Tell her to go away!”
“Oh, dear Xin’er, she’s only looking out for me. I know you don’t think that this is a reasonable request but can you do it for me? You need to understand that your elder sister holds other good intentions,” Tang Zhechen said.
Pouting, Tang Xin muttered, “Elder Sister should only stop the evil man Tang Huang from coming over. Why isn’t she letting even one of our own get close to you? Urgh!”
Saying that, Tang Xin still handed the tea set over to Hannya, and let her serve the tea on the table.
Just noticing Yang Chen, Tang Xin perked up and said, “Oh! Mr Yang, when did you come back? Grandpa is well now all because you sent Miss Jane over!”
Yang Chen smiled and asked, “Where is your sister?”
Looking at Yang Chen, with a teasing tone, she asked, “You really miss Elder Sister, don’t you? Be careful, Miss Jane might be jealous! Don’t you worry, she’s busy at work She’ll be back as soon as she’s done to see Grandpa.”
Yang Chen nodded, feeling a little bit disappointed. It had been quite a while since he last saw Tang Wan. He missed that curvy and elegant silhouette of hers.
From this point forward, he really did not know what else to do. Any woman who gets into a relationship with him now is another potential headache. But a mature and aggressive woman like Tang Wan really made his heart itch.
I shouldn’t hold sinful thoughts like this. It has been said that only a clear mind could lead to great results in cultivation. Because my desires are never fulfilled, could it be that I am my own limiter? thought Yang Chen.
Tang Xin had a chat with Tang Zhechen before leaving to prepare lunch. Only the four were left in the courtyard while silence ensued.
Yang Chen asked curiously, “I must admit that I assumed the past few days to be eventful one’s. I was wondering why the courtyard was so quiet. My take is that no one is really allowed in here”
“That goes without saying,” Jane explained, “Through my research, the poison that plagued Master Tang was one never before seen in this world. It was specifically designed for the host to not show any symptoms. Since there is no data I can compile on this matter, I cannot know for sure how it was applied. So right now, we are limiting food’s and bodily contact to a minimum. Even Miss Tang Wan has deliberately stayed away from him.”
Yang Chen frowned at the thought. “Do you mean you haven’t figured out exactly what it is?” Yang Chen was shocked to hear the news. Although Jane successfully extracted the poison from his body, she was unable to determine its nature.
This could only mean that the inventor of the toxin was certainly on par with Jane. That was exactly why she had used quite a bit of time before being able to craft the antidote.
“It took me quite a while, but I did it nonetheless,” said Jane, “Don’t you worry. Though our opponent seems to be quite formidable this time around, I still managed to create a cure. Since that i s possible, I’m sure I’ll be able to get all the information I need on the toxin.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Chen asked, “Do you mean you’ll continue staying here in China?”
“What? Am I not welcomed here?” asked Jane with grimace. She continued, “You want me to leave now that I am of no use to you?”
Astonished, Yang Chen waved his hands in denial. “No, no, I was just worried that someone might want to take their revenge on you. We haven’t caught the culprit yet, remember? I was thinking that England would be a safer place for you to be in.”
“Don’t worry, I have Hannya here with me. I’ll be fine,” assured Jane.
Yang Chen then looked towards Hannya and said, “I guess I’m going to need to trouble you again. If you think you need a time off, don’t hesitate to call up a few Jounin’s to help out.”
Yang Chen knew that only a Jounin was sent as a representative to the secret meeting in Europe because Hannya was still in China. Although Yamata Sect had lost its leader Noriko Okawa who was a Chinnin, it was still largely influential throughout the entire Asia.
Hannya immediately bowed her head and said humbly, “It’s my honor to protect Miss Jane. Master, there’s no trouble.”
Yang Chen didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Having stayed with the old psychopath Noriko Okawa for too long, she displayed servitude to a terrifying level. Kindness and care would her she would feel uncomfortable and frightened.
It would definitely be exciting for this sort of woman to play a certain role. If he were to act the way he did back then, he would most likely seek pleasure from Hannya. However, he thought that since he couldn’t even take care of his current women, where would he find the time to do so with yet another one?
Without saying much more, Yang Chen was prepared to have Jane examine his brain. So he let Hannya stay by Tang Zhechen’s side before heading to the lab with Jane.
Hannya realised that Yang Chen did not have any intention of asking her to go back to Japan, so calmed down and nodded in agreement.
Jane was shocked to hear that Yang Chen wanted her to check up on his old problem. Although she was aware of his recent expansion of powers in Europe, she did not think that it was enough for his illness to resurface. To avoid wasting time, she quickly pulled him over and urged him towards the treatment room of the sanatorium.
Looking at the two leave so swiftly, Tang Zhechen sat back down on his little stool. He looked down on the unfinished board game, and sighed while he shook his head. He might be old, but he knew exactly what Yang Chen’s ‘old problem’ was.
The sanatorium was already fully equipped ever since her several days ago. But the work she had done here demanded a different set of tools. So she had more than enough equipment to examine Yang Chen’s brain thoroughly.
As soon as they entered the treatment room, Jane changed her expression. Wearing a white coat, she was as tense and serious as she could be.
The western beauty, whose face was no different from a painting, now was so serious that she looked like a teacher ready to discipline her students. She pointed at the enormous equipment and ordered, “Remove all metal objects, including your belt, then lie on the surface. Do it quick!”