Fu Zhen said to Xie Zhang, "Mr. Xie, please have a seat. Our General Pei will be coming over soon, and Sister Yu is also here. Please stay and have lunch with us."
Xie Zhang instinctively wanted to decline, but Mrs. Ning said, "Just stay. No need to be an outsider."
With those words, Xie Zhang fell silent.
Watching as Fu Zhen and Yang Yi headed to the backyard, disappearing from sight, he withdrew his gaze and asked Mrs. Ning, "This Mr. Yang seems quite extraordinary. Could he be a relative of yours?"
Mrs. Ning replied, "He is an old friend of my late father. Just arrived in the capital city."
"It seems then, they must have had a very deep and old friendship?"
"You could say that." Mrs. Ning smiled, "Their acquaintance was rather serendipitous."
Xie Zhang nodded, saying no more.
Looking at the smiling Mrs. Ning and listening to his friendly remarks, recalling yesterday and today, her mention of Yang Yi, and their recent interaction, Xie Zhang suddenly felt unsettled.
