Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 101

Seeing Xie Chengnian suddenly cry made Lu Tang feel a bit sad.

Over the years, life must have been tough for this grandfather and grandson.

“Grandpa, now do you believe me? I really have good friends. They don’t mind how I look,” Xie Yu said with red eyes, walking over to Xie Chengnian and wrapping his big arms around his grandpa’s hunched shoulders. “I really have friends.”

“Good, good, our Yu’er has good friends. Grandpa is happy, very happy.”

“What do you mean, ‘how you look’? Let me tell you, when we’re with you, we feel safe and don’t worry about anyone bullying us,” Zhou Shu joked to lighten the mood.

Xu Shen added, “Come on, he’s as simple as a piece of paper, just has a scary look.”

Guo Dawei rubbed his belly, “Grandpa, do you have any food? I only had two bowls of porridge this morning, and I’m hungry again.”

None of them treated themselves as outsiders, which made Xie Chengnian happy and he wiped his tears, “Yes, yes, you all have fun. Grandpa will make you something good to eat.”

Xie Yu said proudly, “Everyone says the fish porridge at Delight Pavilion is the best, but compared to my grandpa’s, Delight Pavilion is far behind. My grandpa’s fish is also super tasty.”

Guo Dawei: Grumble~

Zhou Shu: Grumble, grumble~~

Xu Shen: Grumble, grumble, grumble~~~

They sat around the stone table in the courtyard, chatting. Lu Tang picked up the book that had been left face down on the table and glanced at the cover, “Treatise on Hydraulic Engineering.”

Zhou Shu said in surprise, “Your grandpa also studies hydraulics? Did you inherit your obsession with hydraulics from him?”

Xie Yu nodded, “My grandpa used to be very skilled. He…”

Lu Tang could see that he wanted to talk about his grandpa’s glorious past, but for some reason, he couldn’t.

“Where should we go this afternoon?” Lu Tang changed the subject.

Zhou Shu immediately said, “I want to go to Lingyin Temple.”

“I want to see West Lake. I heard the girls singing there are as beautiful as fairies.”

“That’s only in the evening.”

Their chatter quickly moved to other topics.

Lu Tang opened the book to the page it had been turned to before, which showed two illustrations of dams.

[These are the plans for the Liyang Dam.]

The system suddenly spoke, startling Lu Tang.

“Liyang Dam?”

Lu Tang suddenly remembered what Song Qingzhan had said. Before the construction of the Liyang Dam started, Xie Chengnian had already left office, but they found drafts of the dam’s plans in his home.

So…

Lu Tang held the book and asked Xie Yu, “Did your grandpa write this book himself?”

“How did you figure that out?”

Zhou Shu and the others were too engrossed in their discussion about the fairies by West Lake to notice Lu Tang and Xie Yu.

Lu Tang thought for a moment and smiled, “You told me how skilled your grandpa is, so I guessed.”

Xie Yu gave a thumbs up, honestly saying, “You guessed right. My grandpa has a whole room full of books on hydraulics, but this one is his favorite. I always see him reading it. It must be because he wrote it himself.”

“Can I see your grandpa’s books?”

Xie Yu jumped up, “Of course.”

“Hey, where are you two going?” Zhou Shu called out as Lu Tang and Xie Yu stood up.

“We’re going to look at Xie Yu’s grandpa’s books. Want to come?”

“Ha! Like you love studying so much.” Zhou Shu waved them off.

Guo Dawei and Xu Shen also weren’t interested.

Just as Xie Yu said, Xie Chengnian had a whole room full of books.

The room had eight large bookshelves neatly filled with books, making it look like a small library.

On the shelves, besides hydraulics, there were books on building houses and constructing bridges.

Xie Yu gently touched the books as if they were his treasures, “My grandpa is amazing. These…”

Lu Tang stood in front of a bookshelf, interrupting Xie Yu, “Your grandpa is the former Minister of Works.”

Xie Yu looked at Lu Tang in shock as if struck by lightning, “How did you know?”

Lu Tang licked her lips, “I also know that he left office because he was accused of plagiarism.”

Clang!

The sound of something dropping to the floor came from behind them.

Lu Tang turned to see Xie Chengnian standing at the doorway, with a spatula at his feet. His face, old beyond his years, was filled with anger. He glared at Lu Tang, the emotions surging in his heart making the veins on his forehead throb, “I didn’t.”

Each word was spoken through gritted teeth.

Xie Yu had never seen his grandpa like this and hurried over, “Grandpa, Little Tang didn’t mean anything by it. She was just joking…”

Lu Tang looked Xie Chengnian in the eyes, “I wasn’t joking. You were accused of plagiarism, which not only affected your career but also haunts you to this day.”

Xie Chengnian’s face turned pale, and he trembled as if his soul had been sucked out, leaning weakly on Xie Yu, his voice shaking, “You’re lying.”

Lu Tang stepped closer, staring at Xie Chengnian, “Lying? If I’m lying, why do you stay up at night studying the plans for the Liyang Dam, which was supposedly completed successfully by Huang Bangyuan?”

Without waiting for Xie Chengnian to respond, Lu Tang continued, “Because you know there were problems with the dam’s construction, and as time passes, those problems grow. If not addressed, the dam could cause a disastrous flood. You know this, which is why you can’t sleep at night. You haven’t completely lost your conscience.”

“That’s nonsense! It’s not me! It’s Huang Bangyuan who stole my design and framed me!” Xie Chengnian couldn’t hold back any longer. He got up from Xie Yu, waving his arms and yelling.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of Zhou Shu and the others.

Hearing footsteps outside, Lu Tang said to Xie Yu, “I need to talk to Grandpa. You take them for a walk nearby.”

Xie Yu looked at Lu Tang suspiciously.

Lu Tang smiled at him, “Trust me.”

Even though Lu Tang had angered his grandpa and said those shocking things, for some reason, Xie Yu believed her.

Maybe it was because his longing for friends was stronger than his love for his grandpa?

As he stepped out the door, Xie Yu suddenly felt selfish and despicable.

To maintain this friendship, he left his grandpa there?

He didn’t even know what Lu Tang planned to do.

Xu Shen and the others rushed over, thinking something had happened to Lu Tang. But seeing Xie Yu stumble out, pale-faced, without Lu Tang, and hearing her steady voice from inside, Xu Shen held back Guo Dawei and Zhou Shu.

“Don’t go over.”

“Why?” Guo Dawei didn’t understand.

Xu Shen glanced at Xie Yu and said nothing.

Zhou Shu seemed to catch on, “Come on, let’s go wait for the porridge that’s supposedly better than the best.”

Guo Dawei, still confused, was pulled away by the other two.

They sat back at the stone table, chatting casually but keeping an ear on what was happening inside.

Watching them, Xie Yu felt a sharp sting in his nose.

This was true friendship, wasn’t it?

They and Lu Tang were true friends.