The Kitty Became a Cutie and Was Pampered in the 80s
Chapter 549: Overwhelming Luck (8)_1

Chapter 549: Chapter 549: Overwhelming Luck (8)_1

The painting depicted only the upper body of a little girl, dressed in a small jacket from the Republican era, with two tiny pigtails, looking straight ahead as if gazing at something.

In the bottom right corner of the painting was the date and signature: 1939~1945, Yuan Manman

Jiaojiao didn’t know why this painting caught her eye the moment she stepped into the room, although there were countless ink paintings on this floor, but the first one she saw was this one beside the staircase.

Looking at it, she felt an indescribable sensation.

"Jiaojiao, come here." Seeing her daughter transfixed by a painting, Shu Jiao called out and led her into the grand hall of the Yuan Family mansion.

Jiaojiao withdrew her gaze and let herself be led to the hall.

The Yuan Family truly had a rich heritage, with a large set of sofas placed right in the middle of the hall, and all the furniture around looked very high-end, even the large vase in the corner, Jiaojiao guessed, might be an antique.

Jiaojiao looked at the bright and spacious hall, then back at her father, who was carrying dried goods, and inexplicably felt as if they had entered a world that didn’t belong to them.

Jianguo also clearly felt it and, unusually for him, seemed a bit constrained.

Only Shu Jiao and Xiu Xi seemed normal, Shu Jiao perhaps because she had grown up in such an environment and didn’t find it unusual, while Xiu Xi, Jiaojiao felt, just didn’t understand; to him, everywhere was the same.

"Jiaojiao, come sit over here, come." The old lady called Jiaojiao over immediately after sitting down with the help of Yuan Hui.

"You all sit too, make yourselves at home, don’t be shy." Seeing Jianguo set down the burlap bag, looking somewhat constrained, the old Mrs. Yuan said with a smile.

Yuan Hui also invited them to sit, then went back to his room to bathe and change clothes. He was a doctor and had developed the habit of taking a bath and changing his clothes as soon as he got home from the hospital.

Shu Jiao and Jianguo walked over and sat down together, and after Xiu Xi took a seat next to Jiaojiao, footsteps were heard from a side door on the other side of the hall.

A woman, who looked about the same age as Yuan Hui but was well-maintained and appeared rather youthful, walked out, followed by an old maid carrying a tray of fruit.

The woman glanced at them, her eyebrows inadvertently furrowing, especially upon seeing the burlap bag by the door. A look of distaste crossed her face but quickly vanished.

Her gaze lingered on Jiaojiao for a moment, then moved away as she forced a smile, saying to the old Mrs. Yuan, "Mom, are these the guests you invited?"

Her tone was undeniably sarcastic.

Even Jiaojiao, so young, could detect it, let alone Shu Jiao and Jianguo.

The old Mrs. Yuan, who had been smiling, immediately turned stern at those words, "What is that supposed to mean? Do I need your approval for whom I invite?"

"Mom, what are you saying? Your daughter-in-law wouldn’t dare." The woman covered her mouth with a handkerchief, feigning a wronged expression. When her gaze swept past Jianguo’s leather rain boots, it again flickered with disgust, and she didn’t bother to greet them, instead telling the old lady, "Mom, I’ve got a mahjong date with Mrs. Wu and the others, so I won’t be home for dinner. You and your guests enjoy your meal." Saying this, she sashayed away.

The old Mrs. Yuan’s expression had darkened since the woman appeared and only lightened slightly after she had left the room, then turning to Jiaojiao and the others, she said, "Don’t mind her, come on, have some fruit, Jiaojiao, you eat."