Chapter 565 - 564
"Forest Protection Team? I had no idea."
"It’s as if I’m supposed to report everything to you."
Among those present, Ye Tian teased the two men other than those two women freely, and Zhang Liang was no exception.
Zhang Liang ignored him, his brows furrowed with worry—it was unclear what was troubling him. Zhang’s Mom put a piece of meat into Ye Tian’s bowl, her eyes filled with kindness. While Ye Tian nodded and smiled, his mind was also pondering the family’s attitude toward Zhang Liang.
Through his observations over the past few days, Ye Tian noticed that the family had varying attitudes toward Zhang Liang.
Monk Ku Rong’s demeanor toward Zhang Liang was neither good nor bad, even containing a hint of respect. There was a subtle hierarchical dynamic in the way he spoke and acted. As for the little monk, it wasn’t a matter of good or bad; he simply obediently followed Monk Ku Rong’s orders. This young fellow didn’t seem to read people’s expressions, the only ones he paid attention to were the old monk’s and his master’s, and lastly, he just aimlessly followed Zhang Ling’er around. What made Ye Tian curious was the attitude of Zhang Ling’er and her mother; they didn’t seem very fond of this handsome and well-mannered government official. During this period, Ye Tian hadn’t even seen them exchange a single word with Zhang Liang. The closest they got was setting a pair of bowls and chopsticks for him during meal times—the rest was the distance of strangers.
Ye Tian couldn’t figure out the reason for this, nor did he want to bother Monk Ku Rong with such a trivial question, and he certainly wouldn’t dare to ask the mother and daughter pair. Gossiping is a woman’s natural talent, and nitpicking is their specialty. Even without a brain, Ye Tian wouldn’t trouble himself over this matter.
By the time dinner was over, the sky outside had darkened.
After the heavy rain, the weather cleared up, so this evening wasn’t as dark as usual. On the contrary, the setting sun lit up the sky quite brightly.
Monk Ku Rong and his wife went to the backyard, while the four youngsters played cards in the Buddhist temple. After a while, Zhang Liang excused himself, saying he had some matters to deal with. It seemed that Zhang Ling’er couldn’t have been happier to have him leave. No sooner had he gone than she called over Ye Tian and the little monk for a game of Fight the Landlord. The little monk, thinking himself slow-witted, wanted to decline but was dragged into the game by Zhang Ling’er, who claimed that being slow-witted was all the more reason to play cards, as playing would smarten him up. The naive little monk even asked if that was really true. Ye Tian almost kicked him there and then.