Qi Yan was stunned. He looked up at the old lady and she gave him a kind smile. Then, she got up and walked out of the arena.
Everyone was just ordinary people who were skilled, so it didn’t take much time to finish a few rounds of competition. In the end, Qi Yan and a representative from another community were left to compete for the championship.
Qi Yan’s opponent was a gentle man in his thirties, with a handsome appearance and a bookish air, some people called him a teacher. Qi Yan guessed that this person was likely to work in the education industry.
After the game officially started, the man smiled and made a gesture of invitation to Qi Yan, indicating that Qi Yan could go first.
Qi Yan did not decline and took the first step.
The venue for the community sports event was borrowed from a cultural association. The venue is relatively wide, so it can be divided. The chess arena was very quiet, but the uncles and aunts standing outside the window were not quiet at all.
They all felt that the participant from their respective community would win. One said that their representative was a smart university professor and would definitely win. The uncles and aunts led by Aunt Wang were upset, and immediately retorted that the young man from their community graduated from a prestigious university, and he would definitely not lose.
The staff maintaining law and order in the community were worried that the senior citizens would start fighting.
But fortunately, these seniors were still restrained. Even if they were emotional, no one said any vulgar words, nor did anyone get physical.
The staff breathed a sigh of relief. These seniors were talented. They had been dissing each other for nearly half an hour, but they did not repeat any words. Their vocabulary was really rich.
“It’s over, the game is over.”
An old man screamed, and the uncles and aunts didn’t care about each other anymore, and they squeezed in the door one after another.
“Who won?”
“Who got the first place?”
Soon the results of the competition were announced, Qi Yan won first place, and the rewards were some fitness equipment, basketball, football, badminton, table tennis, rackets and so on. Although these things were not worth much money, they were prized items. When the rankings were posted on the bulletin board outside and the uncles and aunts saw Qi Yan’s name followed by the name of their community, they instantly stood up.
As soon as Qi Yan came out, he was warmly greeted by Aunt Wang. An aunt gave him a cup of ginseng tea, because she was worried that he was using his brain too much, so she wanted to replenish it.
Later, they found out that their community did not win first place in other competitions. Qi Yan’s first place came too soon, and it simply saved their dignity. The young people didn’t care about this at all, but the aunts and uncles had a good time. Qi Yan didn’t want to be a wet blanket, so he cheered with them.
“Qi Yan, it’s been a while since you’re home. Today’s lunch is on us. Your uncle called just now and said that the meal is ready.” Aunt Wang smiled and said to Qi Yan, “Your uncle’s cooking skills are unparalleled.”
“As the saying goes, the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach, right?” Qi Yan asked with a smile, Aunt Wang was so beautiful when she was young, so there must be many people who pursued her. If her husband wanted to pursue her, how could he do so without having some skills?
“What nonsense are you talking about,” Aunt Wang stretched out her finger and poked Qi Yan’s forehead, but there wasn’t any annoyance in her expression, “Okay, let’s go back now.”
Qi Yan turned around and saw a beautiful woman wearing a long skirt and a trench coat. She looked gentle, had fair skin, and a gentle smile on her face. Standing in the crowd, she would make people look twice.
“Jia Yang,” this beautiful woman seemed to have seen someone, and the smile on her face suddenly became brighter, like a flower that just bloomed. Qi Yan followed her line of sight and saw that she was calling out to the man with glasses who was his opponent just now.
The man named Jia Yang strode to this beautiful woman, smiled at her, and the two stood side by side.
“This couple is well-known in our community. The man is a professor in a university. I heard that he was also an associate professor. The woman is a troupe actor.” Aunt Wang seemed to see that Qi Yan was interested in these two. “I don’t know how many people envy their relationship.”
“Really?” Qi Yan turned to look, the couple was about to leave the activity room, the woman reached out to take her husband’s hand, but the man was uncapping a bottle of drink for her, so the woman didn’t get to hold his hand, but got a bottle of drink instead.
At noon, Qi Yan went to Aunt Wang’s house. Aunt Wang’s husband seemed to be a very particular old man. The dishes and chopsticks in the house were traditional and placed properly on the table
“Are you Qi Yan?” Uncle Cui put the stewed duck soup on the dining table and said with a smile, “Sit down and have a taste of my cooking.”
“Thank you, uncle,” Qi Yan sat down on the dining chair. There were several dishes on the table. It seemed that he specially prepared them for him, and he felt a little warm in his heart.
“Do you drink?” Uncle Cui said, “I don’t have the habit of drinking, but I have wine at home, both red and white. You can take whatever you like.” After speaking, he pointed to the wine cabinet in the corner.
Qi Yan glanced at the wine cabinet, and there were indeed several bottles of wine in it, which didn’t look cheap.
“I don’t like drinking either,” Qi Yan retracted his gaze and said with a smile, “I’m not interested in tobacco and alcohol.”
“They are not good for your body anyways,” Uncle Cui sat down beside Aunt Wang, “Try it and see if you like it?”
“I don’t need to taste it to know it’s delicious,” Qi Yan picked up a piece of pork, “Aunt Wang bragged about it, so it’s definitely delicious.”
Uncle Cui looked at Aunt Wang cheerfully, and she glared at him. Uncle Cui was not annoyed, but gave a pair of chopsticks to Aunt Wang.
Seeing them banter with each other, even if Qi Yan were blind, he could see that they had a good relationship. He sighed silently, he thought that seeing the Cen brothers and their wives interact was the only time he had to watch some public display of affection
Uncle Cui was good-natured, slow-talking, graceful and humorous, while Aunt Wang was relatively straightforward and kind-hearted. Although it was the first time Qi Yan came to their house, he felt at home.
After eating, Aunt Wang packed up the dishes and chopsticks and prepared to wash them in the kitchen, but was stopped by Uncle Cui, “Chat with Qi Yan, and let me wash the dishes.”
After Uncle Cui entered the kitchen, Qi Yan said sincerely, “Uncle treats you so well.”
Aunt Wang brushed her hair and smiled without refuting. After a while, she looked at Qi Yan’s injury, “When your master bought a house in this community, I thought he was finally willing to return to the Capital City, but I didn’t expect that to be the last time I saw him.”
Qi Yan suddenly stopped cutting the fruit, “Aunt Wang, do you know my master?”
“Of course I do. I helped pick the house you live in now,” Aunt Wang smiled and shook her head, “In the early years, your master was considered a famous person in Capital City, but he left without a word more than 20 years ago. I was surprised to know that he had accepted such an excellent apprentice as you.”
Qi Yan suddenly remembered the old lady who competed with him in the morning. She was a Celestial Master and knew Aunt Wang, and Aunt Wang knew his master. Was Aunt Wang also a master?
How great was Aunt Wang’s cultivation that he couldn’t detect it at all?
“Don’t be surprised, I used to learn from a master in my early years, but later I chose to marry, so I gave up my career,” Aunt Wang pointed to the apple in Qi Yan’s hand, “Keep going, don’t stop.”
The corner of Qi Yan’s mouth twitched and he lowered his head to peel the fruit, and soon the peel came out whole.
“Ah,” Aunt Wang sighed, “Your master is good at everything, but he’s a little out of touch. He did things casually, didn’t care about what he said, and liked to run around, the Capital City couldn’t keep him in. I didn’t expect that he would stay in the same place for you for more than ten years.”
Qi Yan handed the apple to Aunt Wang and said with a smile, “Yes, he often said that I should have a short life. Because of good fortune, I got to live when I met him.”
“Luck is part of fate. He saved you and then got a talented apprentice. It’s your good luck and his good luck,” Aunt Wang looked at Qi Yan with admiration. “But your master was right, you should have died early. Even if you were lucky enough to survive, you would not have lived past twenty-three.”
Qi Yan was not surprised by Aunt Wang’s words, he looked at Aunt Wang calmly, and suddenly smiled, “But nothing is absolute, right?”
“Yes, nothing is absolute,” Aunt Wang nodded. “When you meet a noble person, your fate will change.”
Qi Yan fell silent.
“I didn’t study metaphysics well in my early years, I am only good at telling fortune,” Aunt Wang thought that Qi Yan didn’t believe her words, “It’s difficult to tell from your face, I can’t fully understand it, but I can be sure of one thing, your disaster is over.”
Thinking of Cen Baihe, Qi Yan couldn’t help laughing and said, “Yes, I did meet a noble person.”
“The initial fate of early death has turned into profound blessings and a fulfilling life. This noble person who helped you must be extremely blessed,” Aunt Wang said. “I heard Hao Meili say that Capital City has not been very peaceful recently. It seems that someone has thoughts about the dragon vein. You should pay more attention.”
“Living with the Cen family is a good choice.”
Qi Yan looked up at Aunt Wang, “You knew?”
“We old men and old ladies usually gossip around in the WeChat chat group when we have nothing to do. We know some stuff,” Aunt Wang said proudly, “We would go and report suspicious activities that violate the law and discipline, you young people still have much to learn.”
