Chapter 48 - I Can Be Stupidier Than You, Grandfather!
The breakfast with the Li family turned out to be something Chen Yi could not have expected in any way. Everyone was sitting around the table in a pin drop silence having nothing to do than stare at each other's faces while they waited for the food to be served by servants. She could have expected being not allowed to dinner. She could have expected being insulted openly. She could have accepted countless well thought out conspiracies to demean her.
But she couldn't have expected what was happening.
"Why your is grandfather staring at me like that?" Chen Yi whispered to Li Yuan. Li Yuan was sitting next to her following the family order. While other family members took turns staring at each other faces, she had observed grandfather wouldn't stare at anyone else than her.
What merit Chen Yi earned to win this privilege of having the head of the family exclusively stare at her?
She felt special!
"He is not staring at you, sister-in-law. He is glaring at you." Li Yuan kindly corrected following a light cough.
Could his sister-in-law not even tell this much?
"But why would he not look away? Does he have to be this persistent?"
"He is trying to scare you. Only once you look down, would he stop. That's how he does it with us too." Li Yuan understood it would take some time for Chen Yi to get used to his grandfather's antics. After all, his grandfather wasn't just any other normal grandfather. He had his special antics.
"But why would he even glare at me?!" Chen Yi was puzzled.
Li Yuan: "..."
Because, perhaps, you married his grandson without even informing him? Did she need to even ask that?
"Let's not talk during breakfast. We should give him an excuse to rebuke us." Especially now, his grandfather was like a solider on high alert in pursuit of a single mistake to last out at everyone.
Li Fu Tong's eyes were fixed at Chen Yi like a hawk as picked up his forks and cut the fish. He didn't even look down; maintaining his stare at her as he guided the fish to his mouth and munched down on it.
Chen Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. She could never have guessed to get in a situation like this. Not until a week ago since she met Li Luxian. Her life used to be so simple.
"I feel uncomfortable." Uncomfortable wasn't the right word. She felt more comical than uncomfortable. This situation was ludicrous.
The warmth of a hand enveloped her hands. On her right side, Li Luxian was seated. He leaned in towards her. "I'll give you a tip. Just don't look away from him. That would do the trick." Saying that he returned back to breakfast.
This Li family was totally weird. Was there not a single normal person within this family?
Father sends his younger son to spy on his wedding night.
The younger son readily agrees to do the deed for whatever bribe his father offered him.
Mother-in-law tells her to be wild because she got the room soundproof. Okay, that might not be worst.
But that grandfather-in-law. He crossed all the lines and wanted to engage in some sort of staring competition with her?!
Chen Yi sighed. She decided not to look away following Li Luxian advice. 'Oh well, let's see who wins this stupid stare competition, grandfather. If you can act stupid, then I can act stupider than you.' She continued to stare without blinking. In the silence, she guided the vegetables to her mouth and munched down at them without even looking down. She perfectly mirrored grandfather's actions.
The whole family was looking at those two lunatics with incredulity. No one said a word but everyone was thinking the same thing. They aware of Li Tu Fong antics but they hadn't expected Chen Yi to turn out to be the same.
Li Luxian was the least surprised. He merely chuckled after shaking his head and continued his breakfast. Under the table, he gave her a thumbs up. 'You are doing great'.
His grandfather had finally found his match.
"I see, you are not what I had first expected you to be." Li Fu Tong broke the long oppressing silence of a never-ending match of staring. He harrumphed loudly. He wasn't the one to admit openly if he was impressed by someone. If he truly looked up to someone, he used other methods to show his care. "You have persisted so far so you better not disappoint me in the future too." Saying those words, he went back to his breakfast finally looking down and breaking the stare.
'Is he telling me that he accepted me?' However, there was also an undertone of warning. 'He accepted me only on the premise that I don't disappoint him.'
Chen Yi's lips curled up into a smile. 'Oh, well. Grandfather, I won't disappoint you.'
"Does that mean I win, grandfather?'