Chapter 741: Chapter 492 Reunion
The first watch of the night has arrived.
———
“Sister-in-law Yin, who’s outside? Why not come in to talk?” The woman’s slightly husky voice carried a trace of impatience. Sister-in-law Yin gave a wry smile as she looked towards Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong, “Shall we go in?”
“Of course.” Chuxia pulled the somewhat disheveled Luo Xiaoqiong along, “Come on, accompany me inside.”
Turning her head to look at the few people who had entered, Wan Yuqiong’s brow clearly furrowed, “Aunt Wan, hello.” After all, she was Old Master Wan’s biological daughter. Chuxia politely smiled at her, greeted her, then cheerfully turned to Old Master Wan, “Grandpa, my dad and mom have arrived, and so have Uncle Gangshun and Fat Auntie.”
“Hello, Grandpa Wan.” Luo Xiaoqiong also greeted. She automatically ignored Wan Yuqiong; after all, she wasn’t Old Master Wan’s official granddaughter and couldn’t be bothered with her.
Hearing that Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan among others had come, Old Master Wan’s originally somber face instantly brightened, “They’ve finally arrived, they’ve finally arrived…”
“Dad, I’m your biological daughter.”
Was this jealousy? Chuxia glanced at Wan Yuqiong, whose complexion had turned even uglier than before, and internally curled her lip. She wasn’t taking proper care of her own parents and now begrudged them for seeking solace elsewhere—how selfish!
“Do you mean to say you know I’m your biological father?” Old Master Wan looked at his daughter with a faint expression, his eyes filled with disappointment, “I thought you didn’t know.”
“Dad, I don’t want to argue in front of others,” Wan Yuqiong said as she rose to her feet, “Dad, you’re not getting any younger. Why must you do things that delight enemies and grieve loved ones? I’ve said what I had to say; you decide what to do. If you really feel happier without me as your daughter, then I won’t say anything more.”
“Bang!”
The sound of the door slamming forcefully startled Chuxia into a reflexive shiver. She looked at Old Master Wan with some concern, “I’m fine, I’ve long been used to it.” Old Master Wan pointed to a seat opposite him and smiled, “Sit down and chat with Grandpa for a while before going over.”
Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong took their seats across from the old man, deliberately avoiding the spot where Wan Yuqiong had been seated.
“Did Aunt Wan come over to ask for your help in reconciling with Grandpa Long again?” Someone had to start the conversation, so Chuxia took the initiative, “If we don’t ask, it really seems like we have something on our minds.”
In fact, she was quite puzzled. As far as she knew, Wan Yuqiong’s husband’s family were supporters of the Long Family, albeit not high-ranking. Back then, it was reasonable to ask Old Master Wan to put in a good word with Elder Long for a promotion, but later on, didn’t they switch their allegiance to the Huang Family because they felt underappreciated?
Since they had already switched to the Huang Family, why come to Old Master Wan for help…or, perhaps, they were thinking of pushing Old Master Wan towards supporting the Huang Family? But that wouldn’t be of much use either. Old Master Wan’s biggest backer was Elder Long, and without Elder Long, what could he do for them? In short, she couldn’t figure it out.
Old Master Wan sighed, “Tell me, what is the fate of fence-sitters?”
“They’re obviously not welcomed by anyone,” Luo Xiaoqiong answered promptly.
“That’s exactly the situation now. Qian Jubing has already been thoroughly dealt with, and his father, Qian Hongmin, has been hung out to dry too. Now she’s desperate, like an ant on a hot pan, coming to me for help.”
Hearing what Old Master Wan said, Chuxia understood. It turned out they wanted to return to Elder Long’s camp. How amusing—did they think this was a game of house played by kindergarten kids, where you could back out at any time?
“Grandpa, have you thought about what to do?”
“Hmm.” Old Master Wan nodded, “Following Xiaomi’s advice, I’ll move in with your parents at the Zhou family’s old residence. If she has the guts, let her go to the Zhou family to find me.
Everybody knows that she has not associated with me for all these years. An old man like me, living with his adopted son’s family—nobody would say anything. If she has the face to spread it around, then let her. I don’t care.”
Elder Wan meant he didn’t care if people thought he acknowledged an adopted granddaughter to sponge off someone or to get into the Zhou family.
After all, once he moved to the Zhou family’s residence, he would definitively be labeled as part of the Zhou family. If anything happened to the Zhou family in the future, he would be inextricably linked.
By doing so, he was deeply hurt by his daughter. On the other hand, he genuinely considered Chuxia and her family as closely related kin and therefore tied his fate to theirs.
Both the Zhou family and the Lin Family would certainly welcome his supportive addition with open arms. Any astute observer could see that currently, Elder Long holds the absolute upper hand.
Political situations change in the blink of an eye, but a foundation isn’t built in a day. Moreover, they couldn’t remain neutral anymore, so it was better to make their allegiance even clearer.
Chuxia understood all these intricacies and was very grateful to Old Master Wan. In contrast, Luo Xiaoqiong couldn’t quite grasp it all. In her eyes, Old Master Wan was the lucky one. With a wave of her small hand, she said boldly, “Grandpa Wan, if I get to stay here in the future, Chuxia and I will take care of you. Don’t worry. With us here, we absolutely won’t let you be wronged!”
“Very good, very good…” Old Master Wan smiled happily, apparently forgetting his earlier gloom. But in truth, could he really do so? She was his biological daughter after all—how could he truly let go that easily?
If it weren’t for his daughter’s sake, if he didn’t understand her so well, he wouldn’t have done this. Only by forcing her to give up any thought of taking shortcuts could she truly reflect and start living an honest life.
Of course, he wanted to guide his daughter, but after all these years, he understood all too well his place in her heart. Better not to advise at all, as doing so would only make things more complicated. It was vexing, so it was best to avoid it. He hoped this approach would work. If his daughter remained unchanged even after this ordeal, then it must be said that she was beyond hope.
Having thought it through, Elder Wan looked at the downcast Sister-in-law Yin sitting on the side: “Xiao Yin, I’ve made up my mind. Do you want to come with me to the Zhou family?”
“I…” Sister-in-law Yin hesitated. Deep down, she wanted to go, but if she did, it would mean living under someone else’s roof along with the head of the family. Was that truly a good idea?
But if she didn’t go to the Zhou family and let Elder Wan arrange another job for her, she would feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, her only choice would be to help her cousin’s son take care of their child.
Her nephew had sought her help precisely because his wife and his cousin’s wife didn’t get along. If she really went, she would inevitably be caught in the middle, and upon reflection, she found it difficult to make a decision.
“You’ve been working with me for more than a day or two. You know my temperament. If you’re uncomfortable with anything, just say it. Don’t beat around the bush,” Elder Wan said.
Sister-in-law Yin then fully disclosed her concerns to Elder Wan.
With a smile, Chuxia responded, “Sister-in-law Yin, you’re overthinking it. When you stayed silent just now, I thought you were too embarrassed to say no to Grandpa because you wanted to help your nephew with the baby. If you’re worried about living under someone else’s roof, I don’t think that should be an issue.
I haven’t been married into the Zhou family for long, but I understand them well enough. If you come over, my husband’s family will only be closer to you, feeling that you don’t consider them outsiders. If you don’t trust me, you can move there temporarily to test the waters.”
Sister-in-law Yin looked at Elder Wan uncertainly. Elder Wan nodded at her: “You’ve known Chuxia for a while now and should know she doesn’t talk nonsense.”
“I’ll move with Elder Wan.” With her concerns gone and her decision made, Sister-in-law Yin visibly relaxed.
“Let’s go, let’s add some fun.” Chuxia said as she reached out to Sister-in-law Yin, “Don’t just sit here by yourself and worry.”
“I…” Sister-in-law Yin felt hesitant, feeling it might be a bit presumptuous to follow along.
“Go ahead,” Elder Wan said as he walked out, “I’ve moved on. What’s holding you back?”
The group entered the Zhou family’s gate amidst the sound of hearty laughter.
The joyous atmosphere is infectious, and Sister-in-law Yin found the anxiety in her heart vanishing without a trace amidst the laughter.
“Uncle Wan!”
Just as they entered, Elder Wan was looking around, while Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan had already hurried over with excited smiles on their faces.
“You’ve finally arrived, finally,” said Elder Wan, grasping the couple’s hands, full of excitement. These years, only they had given him the warmth of a family.
“Sister Yin, hello.” After greeting Elder Wan warmly, Zhao Yulan hugged Sister-in-law Yin and then pulled Fat Auntie over to introduce them.
“Sister Yin, hello.” Fat Auntie was a warm person, and even though it was their first meeting, she embraced Sister-in-law Yin tightly, “I’ve heard much about you from Yulan. I have the utmost respect for educators, and I always admire teachers.”
Luo Xiaoqiong just rolled her eyes quietly. Since when did her mother admire teachers the most?
Luan Dajiang and Luo Hongqi sat awkwardly in a corner, feeling as if they couldn’t breathe properly from the crowded room. Chuxia noticed their discomfort and walked over.
“Dajiang, why are you shaking?” Luan Dajiang’s leg was trembling as if he was sieving chaff, and Chuxia looked on amusedly. “You were so composed when you came last time, what’s got you so nervous today?”
“It hurts… hurts like hell!” Luan Dajiang pointed to Luo Hongqi’s grasp on his arm, barely able to breathe, let alone speak.
“Hey, let go.” Chuxia poked Luo Hongqi’s grip on Luan Dajiang’s arm, “With the strength you have now, if you keep holding on, you might end up breaking Dajiang’s arm.”
“Huh…”
Freed at last, Luan Dajiang took a deep breath of relief.
“Why didn’t you tell him to let go?” Chuxia looked at him incredulously, “If I hadn’t come over, were you planning to just endure it?”
“I wanted to say something, but it hurt so much I couldn’t speak. When you came over just now, he loosened his grip a bit. Otherwise, I couldn’t have answered you,” Luan Dajiang said as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal five deep purple finger marks on his arm that made Chuxia’s scalp tingle. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at .)