Kiss With Mr. CEO - Chapter 156

What appeared after the unwrapping was the worn-out, decrepit scrolls. It appeared to be taken grabbed out of a random antique shop. The sort that would charm the ignorant and be kept around for cheap decoration.

“This…” Ye Zan appeared as if she was trying hard not to say something. “Sister-in-law, was it you who told Chen Yi that Mother-in-law is a Buddhist devotee?” She asked as she gave those scriptures a worried glance.

Li Bai Yuan’s eyes dimmed.

It was alright if Ye Zan had not said it. But with those words, Ye Zan had pinned the nails in the coffin. Anyone could extrapolate the story. Li Shanguaan told Chen Yi that Li Bai Yuan was a Buddhist devote. Chen Yi, in order to get to Li Bai Yuan’s good side, went around to randomly buy some scriptures and presented them as a gift.

How facile and insincere.

Without actually being a believer.

Even Li Shanguaan was roped in.

“This… I… It’s not like this.” Li Shanguaan was like a fish in a net. Chen Yi has asked her about Li Bai Yuan’s likes and dislikes. Li Shanguaan couldn’t have guessed their discussion would come to this.

“Aunt-in-law was so eager to see what I brought then she couldn’t wait for me. I’m flattered.” Chen Yi approached with a smile. The smile had a cold glare to it when she spoke to Ye Zan. However, when she faced Li Bai Yuan, all signs of hostility disappeared.

“Did Grandmother like it?”

Li Bai Yuan was about to say something along the lines ‘take it back’, ‘I have no need for this’ when she noticed something and paused.

Ye Zan looked somewhat embarrassed. From the act before Li Bai Yuan earlier, Ye Zan thought that this girl Chen Yi was just like Li Shanguaan. Reserved and unable to hold her back.

But Chen Yi’s tone right now felt quite fierce, bringing Ye Zan to the spotlight.

“I hope niece-in-law would not mind. Since I arranged the gathering, I didn’t want you to be put in a difficult spot. After all, it’s your first time meeting Mother-in-law. You might have misjudged her preference.” Ye Zan painted her intentions white.

So to say Ye Zan opened the gift behind her back so Chen Yi wouldn’t be embarrassed?

What a laughable excuse.

Just don’t open the gift if you are that worried about Chen Yi losing face.

Chen Yi stretched her lips into a smile. “Since Aunt-in-law is so thoughtful, I won’t let you be disappointed.”

“Grandmother,” Chen Yi faced Li Bai Yuan. “I might not be a devotee but my Mother was a believer. This scripture is in this state because it is one of the few original texts surviving to date. This was something my Mother held dear to her. When I heard from Li Luxian that Grandmother is a devotee, I realized that these texts were merely collecting dust in my inventory. Perhaps it was fate. But I believe only you can appreciate them.”

When Chen Yi explained the history, the color drained of every face. Those who had scoffed and dismissed those scrolls now did a double back. All eyes zeroed on them.

“Little niece-in-law, about this, are you certain?” Ye Zan quickly said before a plethora of praises gushed out. “Arent the original only in the Royal family possession?”

In fact, Ye Zan had once wanted to look for some such scrolls and gift them to Li Bai Yuan. But she searched far and wide and came to nothing.

Astonishment replaced with skepticism, everyone looked again.

In the face of collective distrust, Chen Yi’s smile didn’t falter. “Aunt-in-law is indeed knowledgeable. And here I doubted you for a second since you have failed to recognize them. Yes, but the Royal family is in the possession of many of such scrolls. What is abundant has but little value. My Mother had someone close to her from the royal family. The person had gifted them to her.”

Ye Zan was unconvinced. “About this friend of your mother…”

“But… would your mother be alright with you gifting me this?” Li Bai Yuan interjected all of sudden, cutting Ye Zan short. She had long ago picked up the scrolls and traced her fingers across them. Reading the text, she just knew it was the original.

Confirming this, Li Bai Yuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Never had she ever received a gift that amazed her so much. So much that the conversation going about blocked out and she looked at Chen Yi with a fervor.

“Is this… really…” Ye Zan decided it was not opportune to speak. Since Li Bai Yuan had recognized them, they couldn’t be fake.

Facing Li Bai Yuan’s question, Chen Yi’s smile receded somewhat. “My mother has passed.”

“Oh…” With the way Chen Yi dropped down her head, Li Bai Yuan felt this girl was somewhat pitiful. With a heavy heart, she said. “But this is your mother’s belonging. How could you part with it?”

“I do not need a physical object to remember my Mother.” Chen Yi smiled. “As for the scrolls, it would best be in hands of someone who could appreciate their worth.”

“Is this why you were late?” Surprisingly, Li Bai Yuan remembered to ask.

Chen Yi ducked down her head. “It was my fault to make Grandmother wait. Unfortunately, the fathering came all of sudden, and these scrolls needed to be handled with care being packaged.”

“What nonsense. Such a precious gift. It was right you took your time and didn’t damage them.” Li Bai Yuan looked down again at the scrolls. It was not that Li Bai Yuan was unwilling to accept the gift. It was just too precious, too expensive. Looking at the scrolls alone, she felt an emotion akin to worship. “Little girl, then rest assured. These scrolls would be appreciated in my hands.” With this, she placed them back into the box, careful and reverent.

When she looked up at Chen Yi, all signs of dislike and reservation disappeared.

Li Shanguaan who had been holding in her breath for who knew how long finally let out a sigh. She knew that Chen Yi would not disappoint her. Still, she feared… At last, everything settled.

“Your Mother was a devotee. I think we might have a lot to chat on. Come, sit with me.” Li Bai Yuan beckoned Chen Yi and engaged in discourse.

If others had any suspicion that Chen Yi was just cooking up a story to go by her gift side, they were disappointed when Chen Yi kept up with Li Bai Yuan’s conversations.

In fact, Chen Yi knew so much if she had passed herself to be a believer then no one would have been able to detect.

And just so the grandmother who viewed Chen Yi as an eyesore went on to view her as someone who was quite acceptable.