Three Old Men

Gu Xin Ye bragged about her drink-making skills but in fact, as she walked behind the counter, Gu Xin Ye reached for the instant coffee sachet and poured the hot water in them.

In less than a minute, she had prepared two mugs of coffee for the grandpas.

After sending the drinks to the table, Gu Xin Ye stood at the side, waiting for their comments. A breath of relief escaped her upon seeing the smile on the two grandpa's faces.

"How was it?" Gu Xin Ye asked. Although the grandpas had a satisfied look on their faces, Gu Xin Ye was still a little worried. "Was it too sweet?"

"No. No. It's fine," Old Bei answered. "Young miss, you made a good coffee."

The smile on her face widened at the man's compliments. "Grandpa, my name is Gu Xin Ye. You can just call me Xin Ye."

She was determined to learn some new information regarding Qin Zhan from the old men. Before that, she has to be on friendly terms with them.

Old Qian put the mug on the table. The longer he looked at this girl, the more he missed his own granddaughter. "You have been working at this place for a few days. How is it? Are you getting used to it?"

Gu Xin Ye considered her reply. "Hmm… I guess it's alright. It's a new learning experience"

"Qin Zhan did not bully you, did he?" Old Bei asked. "That's right. If he ever bullied you, you can tell us. We'll help you to get justice."

"Thank you, grandpa."

Gu Xin Ye was overjoyed, thinking that it was not that hard to win the elder's heart. Qin Zhan might be a local but the grandpas were soft-hearted towards the female.

"Xin Ye, you can call me Old Bei," the man introduced himself before he turned to his two friends. "This is Old Qiao and this is Old Li. Old Li's wife is the owner of the B&B where you were staying at."

She looked at Old Li and finally understood why she thought that he resembled that idiot. It turned out that they were father and son.

Gu Xin Ye greeted the old men obediently. Her mind whirled to figure out a topic that she could use to warm up to them.

She recalled the first time she had seen them and asked, "Grandpas, the first day I came to this town, I saw that Chef Qin was chasing out a bunch of men from the cities. I saw you flashed out your badge. Are you really policemen?"

The three old men glanced at each other before they burst into a laugh.

"We were policemen but we have retired a few years ago," Old Bei said.

Old Qiao took out the police badge he had used to scare that bunch of men a few days ago. "This one is just a toy, I bought this for my great-granddaughter to play with but she insisted I bring this around with me."

His expression warmed as he thought of the little princess who would always follow him around.

This girl might not be blood-related to him. However, Old Qian really treated her like she was his great-granddaughter.

The corner of her lips twitched.

The bunch of grandpas was not afraid to use these fake badges to scare others. What if the manager inspected his badge and found out that it was only a toy?

Was he not afraid that the manager would call the real police?

Gu Xin Ye looked around to check whether Qin Zhan had returned. Once she was sure that the line is clear, Gu Xin Ye took the initiative to speak. "This town is rather nice. It seemed that everyone here is looking for each other."

The three old men quickly agreed.

"In this small town, everyone knows each other well. Our relationships are very close. It's natural that we have to look after each other," Old Qian said.

From their conversation train, Old Bei could guess that Gu Xin Ye was referring to that day when they had taken Qin Zhan's side. "Because of that, it was natural that we are protective of Qin Zhan."

The bunch of grandpas did not suspect anything ad continued to chat with Gu Xin Ye about the town they loved and the people in it.

Old Li suddenly heaved a sigh. "Qin Zhan is also quite pitiful. I remember back then when Old Chen brought him home, that boy used to stay alone not wanting to get close to the other kids. If it was not because of that mischievous kid, Lin Lin, perhaps he would continue to avoid other kids."

Old Qian's expression turned darker. "Who are you calling mischievous? My granddaughter is the most obedient girl."

Old Bei saw that the two men started to fight and decided to be the peacemaker. However, Old Qian was quite stubborn. He was very protective of his granddaughter. He would not allow others to speak badly about his granddaughter.

Even when Old Li had already apologized, Old Qian was not satisfied and kept on criticizing his friend.

Gu Xin Ye watched this scene before her and did not know how she should interrupt.

She still has many questions about Qin Zhan, but with the old men fighting like this, she could not ask anything.

Moreover, the grandpas' fighting was a little weird. Although they were looking at each other with disdain, it doesn't seem as if Grandpa Qian was really angry with his friend. The grandpas looked as if they were just playing around.

Suddenly, she was curious to know about Old Qian's granddaughter.

Gu Xin Ye had to admit that she was a little jealous of Old Qian's granddaughter. She was fortunate to have a grandfather who really cared about her.

Gu Xin Ye grew up alone after her parents died. It was her father's comrade, Wang Zhi Wei, who she had addressed as 'uncle' who had raised her.

Initially, her relationship with Wang Zhi Wei was quite good. However, their relationship gradually changed after he had been managing the company for a few years.

If she had a grandfather, perhaps he too would protect her the way Old Qian had protected his granddaughter. Then, people around her would not dare to bully her. Then, she wouldn't have to put on a strong front all the time.

As Gu Xin Ye was still thinking about the family who was no longer with her, the surrounding had suddenly turned silent.

Turning around, her gaze met up with Qin Zhan's dark expression.

"I left this stall for five minutes. Gu Xin Ye, is this how you look after my noodle stall?"

Her heartbeat accelerated and her face turned pale.