Chapter 1444: Reunion

"So I really can’t bring Xu Ying back with me?"

"Heh, you’re still like this. Just stay here. The Tao Family brothers and sisters have come over. Tomorrow we’ll settle everything. Then I’ll bring her over to see you."

"Zhongyi, I want to go back."

"Mom, you can’t go back. If my dad doesn’t agree, you’ll never go back. And if you stay with Xu Ying for too long, even if she leaves later, you still won’t be able to go home."

Who knows what kind of poison that woman poured into his mom’s ears?

"Zhongyi, will it really be like that? How about you marry Xu Ying?"

"Heh, saying you’re harming the Yang Family really wasn’t wronging you at all. Enough, I’m heading back. There’s still a lot going on at home."

Liu Hong watched her son getting ready to leave. Now she really panicked.

Yang Zhongyi was truly chilled to the core. For the sake of an outsider she actually wanted to harm her own biological son—there were just no words for that.

"Zhongyi, I won’t care about Xu Ying anymore. I’ll go back with you."

As soon as Liu Hong finished, Xu Ying came into the room. Her eyes were red. "Aunt Liu, you’re not going to care about me either? Didn’t you say you’d take care of me for a lifetime?

Fourth Brother, you’re really going to treat me like this? We grew up together. Other people don’t know me, but you don’t know me either?"

Liu Hong felt extremely embarrassed. She really did pity Xu Ying, and she had indeed told her she would look after her. But now she herself was practically unable to go back home.

Living here was just too suffocating. She had to do everything herself. And just now Zhongyi said that if she stayed too long she really wouldn’t be able to go back—what was she supposed to do then?

"Xu Ying, I’ve long known what kind of person you are. I remember clearly what you did to that girl."

"What girl? What did I do?" Xu Ying asked, refusing to give up.

"On your fourteenth birthday."

When Xu Ying heard that, her face went white on the spot. How could Yang Zhongyi possibly know?

"Alright, Mom, I’m going back. You think it over properly. Don’t end up wanting to come back later only for my dad to refuse to take you in."

"Zhongyi, I’m your own mother."

Yang Zhongyi didn’t even turn his head. He brushed past Xu Ying and walked out of the room.

It wasn’t until she heard the car outside drive away that Liu Hong finally reacted.

"Xu Ying, you’ll have to figure something out yourself. I really have no way. I’m just a woman, I don’t have the ability to help you. And I want to go home."

"Aunt Liu, you’re really not going to care about me anymore?"

"Xu Ying, I don’t have any ability left either. I just want to go home."

Ever since marrying Yang Jiu Long, she’d been living the kind of life where clothes and food were all prepared for her. Now she had to do everything herself—she was truly fed up.

"Fine, I won’t cling to you anymore, Aunt Liu. I’ll leave tomorrow." Xu Ying said, then ran off crying.

Liu Hong felt awful inside as well. She wasn’t actually stupid. The question her son had just asked Xu Ying had to be based on something real. That meant Xu Ying wasn’t at all the person she pretended to be in front of her.

Now she was starting to regret it. If the Yang Family really refused to take her back, what would she do?

Xu Ying went back to her own room, her face twisted with ferocity. Why was everyone treating her like this? Why did she have to suffer something like that?

Heh, trying to shake her off was absolutely impossible. Right now her only way out was to cling to Liu Hong. Otherwise, how was she supposed to live? What if she got arrested again? No, absolutely not.

If they wanted to shake her off, that was simply impossible.

By the time Yang Zhongyi got home, lunch was already over. He didn’t have any appetite anyway.

After taking a shower, he went into the study.

Yang Run Tai handed him a file. Once Yang Zhongyi finished reading it, he sighed. "He Run, you were afraid I’d go soft and be fooled by my mom and that woman?"

Yang Run Tai chuckled and nodded.

"You really underestimate me. How could I ever do something like that? Nothing is more important than the Yang Family."

"As long as you understand, Uncle. And letting Xu Ying out is so we can find out who the hidden person really is."

In the previous life, they hadn’t been able to get the full picture. This time they had to completely and thoroughly root out whoever harbored malice toward the Yang Family.

"Mm, I get it. I won’t go out to the suburbs myself either. Once Tao YanZhen agrees, I’ll just take her to see my mom once."

The two of them then talked about matters concerning the Tao Family. It was already four o’clock by the time Yang Zhongyi got up. "I’m treating them to dinner tonight."

The other three Yang brothers and their families had come over but ended up finding no one. No one dared skip this. Everyone knew that in the old man’s heart, the first priority was the Yang Family as a whole, the second was Old Fourth, then He Run. The rest were all pushed to the side.

When Yang Zhongyi arrived at the hotel, he went straight to knock on the door of Tao Chunhe’s room. "Let’s go out to eat? How about roast duck? I haven’t had it in years."

"Sure, let’s go. I’ll go call them."

The hotel wasn’t far from the roast duck restaurant—only about a fifteen-minute walk—so the group went over on foot.

Although Yang Zhongyi hadn’t been back for years, the management of the roast duck place still recognized him.

"Hey, Zhongyi, you’re back?"

"Director Wang, long time no see. Get us a big private room."

"Come on, I’ll take you upstairs."

Everyone ate that meal with great satisfaction, especially the two kids.

On the way back they agreed that Yang Zhongyi would come over earlier. After all, it was their first visit, and as juniors paying respects to elders, gifts were a must.

After the two children returned to the hotel and Li Manjiang washed them up, they fell asleep within minutes.

Now Li Manjiang was holding on to Wang Menglin and not letting go.

Over on the other side, it was the same with Tao Chunhe. They hadn’t been married long, and they’d spent almost a whole month on the train. He really had missed her.

Lao YanZhen lay in bed unable to sleep. Tomorrow everything would be settled. They’d probably get married once they went back, right? To be honest, she didn’t want to get married.

Even though she knew, rationally, that marriage was good in every respect, emotionally she rejected it.

She thought of Lv Guodong far away and gave a self-mocking little laugh. She really was just like her aunt—both of them were fools for love. The only thing that made her slightly better than her aunt was that she was more rational.

Forget it, it is what it is. How many couples in this world look united on the surface but are split inside? Her union with Yang Zhongyi was something that made everyone happy; only the two of them, the ones directly involved, didn’t care either way.

When you thought about it, it was actually pretty ridiculous—both husband and wife had fallen under the spell of the Lv Family siblings. What kind of fate was that?

The next morning, bright and early, Yang Zhongyi came over again, and they had breakfast together. They were going to visit the Yang Family together, so they bought lots of gifts. Wang Menglin and Tao YanZhen each carried a child, while the three men lugged all the presents.

Everyone from the Yang Family was home today. Even if it wasn’t Old Fourth’s future wife coming, the Tao Family being here meant they all should be present.

Once the Tao Family arrived, Yang Zhongyi introduced them to everyone.

It was Yang Jiu Long’s first time meeting Tao YanZhen, and he was very pleased. You could tell at a glance she was someone carefully groomed at home, and that made her an excellent match for Old Fourth.