Chapter 185: The Photo Wall
“She really looks like…” As soon as Mr. Zheng started speaking, Mr. Zheng Jr. quickly coughed lightly.
Mr. Zheng laughed and handed a heavy gold lock to Zhao Zhaodi, saying, “Little Zhao, take this. It’s a gift from Grandpa for our first meeting.”
Zhao Zhaodi quickly shook her head, “Grandpa Zheng, this is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”
The gold lock was quite large, solid, and intricately made. From a casual glance, it seemed to weigh around two or three hundred grams. Xu Youyou couldn’t help but marvel at the Zheng family’s generosity—a gold lock worth tens of thousands of yuan as a first-time gift.
Mr. Zheng insisted, “It’s a gift from an elder. Just accept it. Don’t refuse.”
Zhao Zhaodi still hesitated, turning her eyes toward Xu Youyou for help.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Youyou said, “The old man means well, just accept it.”
However, Xu Youyou hadn’t expected that after Zhao Zhaodi accepted the gold lock, Mr. Zheng, with a swift movement, pulled out an identical gold lock and pretended to offer it to Xu Youyou.
Xu Youyou quickly waved her hands, “Grandpa Zheng, you’re too kind. I’m not a child. I can’t accept this.”
Mr. Zheng laughed heartily and said, “You, Miss Xu, only look a couple of years older than little Zhao, yet you’re acting like an adult? In my eyes, you’re all children. Just take it.”
Reluctantly, Xu Youyou accepted the gift, feeling strange about receiving care from someone of her grandfather’s generation for the first time.
The rest of the Zheng family, seeing Mr. Zheng’s gift given, seemed eager to follow suit, but with a single glance from Mr. Zheng Jr., they quietly withdrew the prepared red envelopes.
Before the meal began, Mr. Zheng asked his younger family members to take Xu Youyou and Zhao Zhaodi on a tour of the garden.
The more Xu Youyou walked, the more she admired the beauty of the garden. With its pavilions, towers, artificial mountains, and flowing water, every corner was exquisitely designed. Apart from the different names for each courtyard, everything else seemed to perfectly align with the descriptions of the Grand View Garden in “Dream of the Red Chamber.”
The dinner was authentic Huaiyang cuisine, and it was said that the Zheng family’s chef had once worked as a state banquet chef. The meal was thoroughly enjoyable, and Xu Youyou once again felt the urge to hire the chef.
During the meal, Xu Youyou mentioned the garden outside.
Mr. Zheng proudly smiled and said, “This garden took me twenty years to build. Every plant, every stone, I supervised personally. Some people think it’s modeled after the Zhuozheng Garden, but actually, I was trying to recreate the Grand View Garden from Dream of the Red Chamber.”
It’s said that Cao Xueqin, the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, may have been inspired by Zhuozheng Garden when describing the Grand View Garden. So, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say this garden resembled Zhuozheng Garden.
Xu Youyou didn’t expect Mr. Zheng to be a fan of Dream of the Red Chamber. She had originally planned to shoot the series at the Grand View Garden in the capital, but due to the garden’s poor condition and the inconveniences of shooting in a public space, she thought it would be much better to borrow the Zheng family’s garden.
Before she could speak up, Mr. Zheng said, “Miss Xu, I heard you came to Suzhou for the casting of Dream of the Red Chamber. In the past, people have asked to borrow my garden for filming, but I turned them down.”
“But Miss Xu, you’re different. You saved little Zhao from a terrible situation, and you helped expose the traffickers. You’re a person of good character. Regardless of whether little Zhao is my granddaughter or not, I’m willing to offer you the use of this garden for your filming, free of charge. I believe you’ll make a great show.”
Xu Youyou was touched and said, “Grandpa Zheng, you’re very perceptive. I did want to borrow your garden, but please don’t say ‘free of charge’. Our production team isn’t short of money. I can’t let you lose out.”
Mr. Zheng thought to himself that despite Xu Youyou’s young age, she was straightforward, and no wonder Lu Jingyao had spoken so highly of her.
“Money is not an issue. We’ll discuss it when the time comes to use the garden.” Mr. Zheng smiled and changed the topic.
Zhao Zhaodi sat quietly next to Xu Youyou, and her eyes suddenly fell on a photo wall nearby.
The Zheng family had a photo wall filled with pictures of family members. The largest photo was of Miss Zheng winning the Winter Olympics skiing championship.
Zhao Zhaodi turned to look at her with admiration, “Zheng Sister, you’re amazing.”
Miss Zheng affectionately patted her head, saying, “I’m not that great. It was just that my family noticed my talent early on. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to win.”
Miss Zheng’s path to victory was both easy and difficult. At the age of three, she was discovered to have a natural talent for skiing. She loved the sport and persisted, ultimately achieving success.
But skiing was not a cheap sport.
Many people might never have the chance to even try real skiing, let alone discover their potential.
Seeing Zhao Zhaodi’s gaze fixed on the photo of Miss Zheng’s championship win, Miss Zheng explained, “This is a photo of the aurora I took in Finland. Isn’t it beautiful? But it’s even more stunning in person. I’ll take you there when you’re older…”
“Ahem.” Mr. Zheng interrupted.
Miss Zheng didn’t want to pressure Zhao Zhaodi, so she changed the subject and introduced another photo, “This one is from when I fed the pigeons in Prague Square. Whenever I’m feeling down, I go there to play with the pigeons.”
Miss Zheng paused, realizing that every time she felt down, it was because of the atmosphere at home.
Whenever they spoke of her missing little sister, the atmosphere would become heavy, as if it were about to freeze, and almost everyone was in pain. Even her late grandmother had muttered “Nuo Nuo” on her deathbed.
“Are the pigeons abroad better behaved? Aren’t there pigeons in China?” Zhao Zhaodi asked softly.
Miss Zheng couldn’t help but laugh.
Zhao Zhaodi flinched, thinking she had said something foolish.
To her surprise, Miss Zheng explained, “Pigeons are the same everywhere, but when you’re far away, your thoughts change.”
Xu Youyou looked at the photo wall, noticing that the Zheng children had lived incredibly privileged lives over the years—seeing the aurora in Finland, feeding pigeons in Europe, and buying a whole vineyard just because they liked wine…
If Zhao Zhaodi was truly their daughter, and if it weren’t for the traffickers, she would have grown up just like Miss Zheng—confident, pursuing her hobbies, and enjoying life.
“This photo?” Zhao Zhaodi’s gaze landed on a particular photo with confusion in her eyes.
Xu Youyou looked over and almost mistook it for a black-and-white photo of Zhao Zhaodi herself.
“This is a photo of my grandmother when she was young,” explained Mr. Zheng Jr.
Zhao Zhaodi felt as if she were looking in a mirror. The woman in the photo looked a few years older than her, dressed in an old-style qipao, holding a book, smiling with eyes full of warmth. She looked almost identical to Zhao Zhaodi.
Mr. Zheng opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Mr. Zheng Jr., who didn’t want to give Zhao Zhaodi too much pressure before the results of the paternity test were in.
The next morning, Xu Youyou received a call from the testing center.
The results were in.
