"Why are you being so timid? This isn't like you at all. Why don't you just tell Xia Yingluo directly that you're her grandfather?"
Old Xia sighed: "I'm still a bit afraid. I'm afraid Xia Yingluo won't acknowledge me. After all, she's lived a lonely life for over ten years because of me. I'm worried she'll blame me."
Xiao He shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.
In reality, Old Xia's personality was usually very decisive.
In the past, during project seminars, there was no telling how many times he had slammed his hand on the table in front of the school leadership.
Old Xia's character was one that feared neither heaven nor earth, possessing a spine of steel.
The school leaders were all quite intimidated by Old Xia.
But facing his own granddaughter, Old Xia's overbearing aura vanished completely, replaced by extreme timidity.
Xiao He could understand; after all, Old Xia had lived alone for over 20 years.
Suddenly learning he had a relative left him naturally very cautious.
The more he cared, the more gingerly Old Xia acted.
Moreover, Xiao He knew that for all these years, Old Xia had been living with the self-reproach of his past irrationality.
When drunk, Old Xia would often tell him how much he regretted it—regretted forcing his daughter away.
Therefore, Old Xia now harbored a sense of guilt, knowing it was his own fault that Yingluo's mother was driven away.
Otherwise, Yingluo wouldn't have become an orphan and suffered so much hardship.
It was perfectly reasonable for Old Xia to worry that Yingluo might dislike him or even refuse to acknowledge him now.
Xiao He sighed: "Old Xia, do you plan to keep hiding it like this? Don't you plan on telling her about your relationship?"
Old Xia pondered for a moment and said: "I want to build a bond with Yingluo first. When the time is right, I'll tell her. Otherwise, I'm afraid that if I speak too soon and she doesn't accept me, it might even be hard to see her again."
Xiao He gave a wry smile and said: "And if the time is never right? Will it just stay like this forever?"
Xia Bo gave a bitter smile: "Old Xiao, let me tell you, ever since my daughter left, I felt like my life had no meaning. I didn't even know why I was living. Now that I see Yingluo before me, I feel like my life has a new goal. I feel like I've come back to life."
"I'm truly grateful to the heavens for letting me meet Yingluo and giving me a chance at redemption. Even if Yingluo never knows, it doesn't matter. How many more years do I have left? As long as I can silently look after her from behind the scenes, I'll be satisfied."
Xiao He didn't say anything after hearing Professor Xia's words; he simply patted him on the shoulder.
Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo were also discussing what had just happened after they left.
Ye Chen said: "I always feel like the way that Professor Xia looks at me is a bit strange."
Xia Yingluo also had a look of confusion: "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that the look in Professor Xia's eyes when he looks at me is very complex."
Ye Chen smiled and said: "Who told my girlfriend to be so likable? Everyone loves you."
In fact, Ye Chen also felt that the way Professor Xia looked at Xia Yingluo wasn't quite right; it was the kind of gaze an elder has for their junior."
However, Ye Chen didn't think too much of it.
Because it was also quite normal.
There was nothing wrong with a professor like Old Xia liking a good student, though Ye Chen couldn't help but feel that Professor Xia seemed to have a bit of an issue with him personally.
Soon, the two of them put the matter out of their minds.
After Jingda University started, the first thing was military training.
Occasionally, the counselors and teachers would organize activities to let everyone get to know each other.
The students were still quite relaxed at the start of the semester.
But Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo were different; they weren't just students, they also had a Hot Pot business to run.
They were going to open a Hot Pot Restaurant in Kyoto.
The first task in opening a Hot Pot Restaurant was selecting a location.
After scouting for a long time, Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo felt it was better to open the restaurant nearby.
There were many key universities near Jingda, full of young people.
Furthermore, there were commercial areas around, so some white-collar workers would also become customers.
Being close to the school meant they could handle any situations that arose promptly.
So, opening the first shop near Jingda was the best choice.
During this period, Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo had been constantly looking for a storefront.
But after walking through all the nearby streets, they hadn't found a suitable one.
This was the first shop Ye Chen was opening in Kyoto, so he took it very seriously.
He wanted to make this a flagship store, so the area couldn't be small, and the quality couldn't be low.
For a Hot Pot Restaurant to be successful, the location was crucial.
However, the land near Jingda was worth its weight in gold.
Ye Chen knew this was a good area, and naturally, others weren't stupid either.
Therefore, the prices for storefronts here were extremely expensive, and most importantly, you couldn't buy one even if you wanted to.
The storefronts Ye Chen had his eye on were all in high demand, and the owners weren't interested in renting them out at all.
The two of them spent another day searching, but the result was still nothing.
Xia Yingluo sighed and said, "If this doesn't work, let's try another area."
After several days of searching, they had come up empty-handed.
Xia Yingluo was also starting to feel a bit disappointed.
Ye Chen also sighed helplessly: "If there's really no other way, we'll just have to choose a location elsewhere. After all, this is Kyoto, we're strangers in a strange land and can't find anyone to help."
Even though Ye Chen had money, there was nothing he could do if people wouldn't sell.
In a big city like Kyoto, there were plenty of wealthy people. Although Ye Chen was worth over a hundred million, that didn't amount to much in a city like Kyoto.
Just as the two were thinking about opening a shop elsewhere, Ye Chen's phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, is this Mr. Ye?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'm the owner of the West Street storefront you looked at a couple of days ago. We can rent you that storefront you mentioned."
Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, his face lighting up with joy. "Really?"
The other party said somewhat reluctantly: "Of course it's true."
Ye Chen said: "Great, we'll head over right now."
Ye Chen hung up the phone, looking completely bewildered.
Xia Yingluo asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Ye Chen said: "Do you remember that storefront we looked at a couple of days ago?"
Xia Yingluo thought for a moment and nodded: "Of course I remember. It's that two-story storefront near the school. The location is excellent, and the price was quite high, but didn't the owner say it wasn't for sale?"
Ye Chen nodded and said: "That's the one, but they just called to say it's available for rent again."
Ye Chen kept feeling that this matter was a bit strange.
Actually, Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo had been very satisfied with that storefront; the two floors combined for over 200 square meters.
It was even larger than the shop in Jiangzhou, making it Ye Chen's most ideal location.
The location and area both met Ye Chen's requirements.
Furthermore, this storefront was very close to Jingda and had several high-end enterprises nearby.
It was their favorite shop, but when they had asked before, the owner clearly said it had already been rented out and they didn't plan to rent it again.
So why did the other party suddenly call back? It was just too strange.
When they arrived at the shop, they met the landlord who had hosted them a few days prior.
The landlord was waiting for them. Seeing Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo, the expression on the landlord's face was also very peculiar.
Especially when looking at Ye Chen, there was a faint trace of lingering resentment on his face.
"You two are here. Take a look at the shop, are you satisfied?"
In fact, the two had already seen it and were very satisfied.
The owner sighed and said: "Alright then, let's sign the agreement."
What Ye Chen didn't expect was that the landlord was even more anxious than he was to sign the contract.
The two looked at each other, completely baffled.
When they looked at the contract, they were even more shocked. Was this a business deal? It was practically charity.
The rent on the contract was 50,000 a month, or 600,000 a year.
Although this price was much higher than the shop in Jiangzhou, in Kyoto, this was essentially giving it away for free.