Just as Bi Xia said, this story isn’t very long, and it’s incredibly lodramatic.
According to Hao Xisheng, Mr. Yao took him in when he was ten years old and lived with him since then. From this, we can guess that Mr. Yao lived with Katrina and her family before Hao Xisheng was ten.
The story Katrina told next confird this guess.
Originally, Mr. Yao didn’t have his current na. He reverted to a Chinese surna after returning to China, but this doesn’t an he was from Country A. He was an overseas Chinese. However, in Country A, he used a foreign na.
Mr. Yao was a famous figure in the antique world of Country A. Many people abroad liked ancient Chinese antiques, so whenever they auctioned or found so valuable ancient artifacts in China, they would invite Mr. Yao to authenticate them.
In their eyes, Mr. Yao had keen insight and extensive knowledge and experience.
But gradually, as Mr. Yao’s fa grew, he started to repurchase artifacts, tamper with them, and then sell these altered fake artifacts for higher prices under his reputable na.
Eventually, this matter was discovered. His family was heartbroken over Mr. Yao’s actions. Due to their inner principles that valued truth, they took the initiative to report Mr. Yao, who had gone into hiding. However, Mr. Yao received the news in advance and had already left Country A. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find Mr. Yao.
This year, they finally received news about Mr. Yao. They learned that Mr. Yao had abandoned his surna in Country A and switched back to his original surna, Yao. They still hoped to gradually reach Mr. Yao, at least let his granddaughter acknowledge her roots.
Bi Xia stroked his chin, silently watching Hao Xisheng, who was widening his eyes, then suddenly smirked and looked at ng Chi, who was gazing at him with puzzlent. Bi Xia winked at ng Chi, then turned to Hao Xisheng.
Hao Xisheng took a deep breath, "But Master never ntioned it."
Katrina smiled faintly, "It’s okay, I understand. After all, in Grandpa’s heart, we betrayed him."
"The ones who should have been his most trusted family betrayed him and sold him out at his most vulnerable mont. Anyone would find that hard to accept..."
Hao Xisheng stayed silent, pondering sothing. Suddenly, Katrina looked up at Hao Xisheng, excitedly grabbing his hand, "Can you tell if my grandpa is here? Isn’t this his store? Why are you here, and where is he?"
"Calm down," Hao Xisheng’s tone was no longer as harsh as before, "Master has gone out. I don’t know when he’ll be back."
"You’re his apprentice, and you don’t know when he’ll be back?!"
"Master has always been like this. Sotis he goes out for a while. I don’t know where he goes or what he does, but he always returns when he says he will, but..."
Hao Xisheng hesitated for a mont, "He told he’d be back in a month when he left, but it’s been half a month over that, and he still hasn’t returned."
Katrina frowned, "Aren’t you going to look for him?"
"How can I look?" Hao Xisheng beca gruff again, "I don’t know where he went, leaving this store for . There’s no business, and I’m more anxious than you!"
"You really don’t know where he’s gone?" Katrina asked again.
"I don’t know!" Hao Xisheng said with a stern face, "You’re his granddaughter; why would I lie to you? If I knew, I would have gone looking for him already, instead of keeping this store?"
At this mont, Bi Xia asked softly, "Speaking of which, this store doesn’t seem to have any business. Why is it still open in such a serious manner?"
Hao Xisheng’s face froze. Facing his idol, he coughed lightly and sheepishly said, "Because I’m too lazy to open the door, so I installed an automatic door. They also provided sensor lights, which were just right for , saving the trouble of even turning on the lights, so I installed everything."
"But who knew, because this is the last store on the last street, and combined with what I did, everyone thought it was a haunted house and dared not enter. They just ran away, and eventually, no one dared to co anymore."
ng Chi twitched his mouth, "Didn’t your master beat you?’’
Hao Xisheng proudly raised his chin, "He wants to, but he can’t catch now; I run faster than he does, so..."
He gave an awkward laugh, "That’s why he got so mad, kicked things over, beca a hands-off manager, and left the store to ."
Saying this, he looked at Bi Xia with a tearful face, "So far, I’ve been running a loss-making business."
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