In broad daylight, while people were talking inside, someone was peeping from outside.

With just one glance from Xia Xiaolan, Ge Jian could have dragged the person inside!

Xia Xiaolan shook her head – this was the Provincial Construction Institute’s staff quarters, what danger could there be? It must be curious neighbors.

Mao Kangshan also put down his wine cup:

“Whoever’s outside, come in!”

The half-closed door creaked open, and a woman entered.

It was none other than the woman who had given Xia Xiaolan directions downstairs.

Behind her was a man with an unhappy expression who bore some resemblance to Mao Kangshan.

Oh? These were Mao family members?

After being urged by his wife for quite a while at home, Mao Guosheng decided to come upstairs and take a look.

His wife said someone had brought many gifts to the sixth floor. After much consideration, Mao Guosheng figured that anyone bringing such heavy gifts must need something from his father. Moreover, Mao Kangshan’s unusual behavior of not throwing out the gifts made Mao Guosheng nervous. He worried his father might be getting senile and accepting inappropriate gifts, making another mistake that would implicate the whole family… Once bitten twice shy, despite being Mao Kangshan’s son, Mao Guosheng was particularly timid.

Upon climbing the stairs, the aroma of meat and fish wafted from the apartment.

Mao Guosheng’s heart sank – clearly, this had been planned, buying food to entertain the gift-givers.

No wonder the gifts weren’t thrown out.

His father was about to tarnish his reputation in his later years, and Mao Guosheng worried deeply.

Moreover, since Mao Kangshan didn’t want neighbors watching the spectacle of Xia Xiaolan kneeling and serving tea, he closed the door.

But the top floor was stuffy, so the windows were open for ventilation. When Mao Guosheng’s wife peeked through the window, she was spotted.

“Guosheng, what are you doing up here?”

His father-in-law’s tone wasn’t particularly warm. The younger daughter-in-law quickly glanced at the items in the living room, her eyelids twitching frantically.

Mao Guosheng wasn’t as superficial as his wife.

While worried about being implicated by his father, he also had some filial concern about his father tarnishing his reputation.

Seeing the many layers of gifts piled up in the living room, Mao Guosheng’s heart was in his throat:

“I heard someone was bringing things to the house, so Shuqin and I came up to see… to see if you needed any help.”

Mao Guosheng rather stiffly added the last part.

But it appeared his parents didn’t need help – there was a table full of sumptuous dishes, and the old man was contentedly drinking wine. Looking closer, it was even Special Edition Maotai!

Mao Guosheng’s expression turned extremely sour!

Mao Kangshan raised his eyelids, “Since you’re here, let me introduce you. This is Xia Xiaolan, my newly accepted final disciple. Xiaolan, this is Guosheng, my younger son who also works at the Provincial Construction Institute and lives on the third floor across the way. This is my younger daughter-in-law, Zheng Shuqin.”

So they were Teacher Mao’s family members.

Xia Xiaolan wondered why Zheng Shuqin, Teacher Mao’s daughter-in-law, hadn’t said anything when giving directions earlier, acting just like an ordinary neighbor.

And what was going on with the Mao family? The young and strong lived on the third floor while letting the elderly couple live on the sixth floor.

Looking at Teacher Mao and Master’s Wife’s age, they were both over sixty. Climbing up and down every day – didn’t the son and daughter-in-law show any concern?

Something was strange about the Mao family; apparently, she hadn’t investigated thoroughly enough.

Though Xia Xiaolan noticed these discordant points, she maintained a welcoming smile:

“What a coincidence! So Sister Zheng isn’t an outsider at all. I just met her downstairs, and she gave me directions. Brother Mao, Sister Zheng, just call me Little Xia. I just performed the discipleship ceremony with Teacher Mao today.”

Mao Guosheng and Zheng Shuqin were stunned.

What?

The old man had taken a disciple?

This was even more surprising than his accepting gifts.

In his early years, Mao Kangshan had been reported by one of his disciples and spent several years in a detention camp.

The whole Mao family had been implicated!

Later, when Mao Kangshan was rehabilitated and returned to work, he was near retirement age within a few years.

Though now rehired after retirement, he no longer managed specific affairs at the Provincial Construction Institute.

Last month when he went to Jiang City for a symposium, Mao Guosheng wanted to go, but Mao Kangshan didn’t take his son.

Even this, Mao Guosheng could endure.

After the symposium, Nie Weiguo was arrested – what did that have to do with Mao Kangshan?

Yet Mao Kangshan couldn’t control his temper and berated the Architectural Society’s leaders. In Hangzhou’s Provincial Construction Institute, besides Mao Kangshan, there were other Architectural Society members. News spread quickly throughout the Institute, infuriating Mao Guosheng.

He no longer hoped for his father’s support – Mao Kangshan was over sixty, and he wouldn’t be active for many more years.

Couldn’t he just endure these few years?

Mao Guosheng had worked at the Provincial Construction Institute for over ten years but hadn’t even become an ordinary director of the Architectural Society, repeatedly “harmed” by his father. He was just an ordinary person who needed to support his wife and children – he didn’t have such lofty ideals.

He felt hurt too.

After Mao Kangshan returned from berating people in Jiang City and the news reached Hangzhou, Mao Guosheng was so angry he didn’t eat for two days.

He hadn’t been up to the sixth floor for half a month.

If it weren’t for Xia Xiaolan’s grand gesture of bringing gifts, Mao Guosheng wouldn’t have come up today.

But having come up, Mao Guosheng’s feelings were even more complicated.

His father was warmly eating meat and drinking wine with others, pointing to a young girl and calling her his final disciple. Such a pretty young thing, obviously raised in wealth, claiming to study architecture and becoming Mao Kangshan’s disciple… couldn’t they stop joking?

Mao Guosheng’s face darkened, feeling his elderly father was showing signs of becoming a dirty old man.

Zheng Shuqin’s eyes fell on the gifts piled in the living room, unable to look away, mumbling:

“Little Xia, how did you come to take Father-in-law as your master?”

Xia Xiaolan noticed the couple’s strange behavior but maintained her composure:

“Teacher Mao is a leading figure in the architecture industry. Being able to become his disciple is my honor.”

Zheng Shuqin opened her mouth.

This girl must be talking nonsense.

Was her father-in-law an ordinary person?

He had offended countless people. Even the Provincial Construction Institute rehired him just because they needed Mao Kangshan’s reputation – surely the Institute’s leaders didn’t particularly appreciate his nasty temper!

Taking her father-in-law as a master – she must have lost her mind.

Mao Guosheng thought differently from his wife, “Dad, is Little Xia studying architecture?”

Mao Kangshan didn’t know what his son and daughter-in-law were up to – perhaps they were letting his newly accepted disciple witness an embarrassing scene. But Mao Kangshan didn’t care; now that Xia Xiaolan was his disciple, there would be plenty more embarrassing scenes to witness in the future.

“Yes, she studies architecture. Xiaolan entered Huaqing’s Architecture Department last year. I met her in Jiang City and felt she had talent. Our temperaments also match, so I accepted her as my final disciple.”

Mao Guosheng’s mind nearly exploded.

Huaqing University was indeed difficult to enter.

The Architecture Department also had a strong tradition, better than when he had studied.

But having just entered university last year, how could her architectural talent be apparent? She’d barely taken any professional courses – his father was talking nonsense.

Moreover, to say their temperaments matched – wouldn’t that mean another nasty temper?

With such an old and young pair together, the Mao family would truly be destroyed.

Mao Guosheng wanted to object – he was the son, after all, shouldn’t such a major decision as accepting a final disciple be discussed with him?

But Xia Xiaolan cut in, wiping sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief while expressing her confusion: “Brother Mao, what’s going on with the Provincial Construction Institute? When allocating housing, didn’t they consider the Teacher and Master’s Wife’s age? The sixth floor is hard to climb, so hot when the sun beats down in summer, and probably very cold in winter too!”