Grandfather Ruan put on a well-grounded air that was coupled with a magnificently refined temperament. He smiled and said ‘hello’ in the most exquisite manner possible.
Beside him, Grandfather Qi’s mouth twitched askew. Deep down, he said to himself, ‘This guy knows how to put on a façade.’
It was then that Ruan Keshan and Chen Minxia came over, to which Ruan Keshan greeted his father.
Everyone turned to see and noticed that the old man, Ruan Keshan, Ruan Danchen, and another young man looked very similar to each other. Anyone who saw them would say that they were one family, and it was only then that they believed the story of the long-lost family.
Grandmother Qi was still using that as a chance to flaunt the family off. “This is Danchen’s grandmother, one of our country’s foremost pianists. You must know Qin Lang, right? Qin Lang was her student, but later on, she didn’t accept any more students due to the search for Danchen.
“And this one! Our Danchen’s uncle, a professor in A University,” Grandmother Qi said. “A whole family of mathematicians! This is Danchen’s younger cousin brother, first in the International Mathematical Olympiad who will surely get enrolled in A University.”
The old lady was feeling more than content. She was merely waiting for Ruan Danchen’s first three months of pregnancy to be up, after which she could then flaunt the pregnancy to the world.
The old lady regarded herself as the winner amongst all the families in the district!
It was truly bustling there due to the sheer amount of people surrounding them. The old man’s chess friends; the old lady’s dancing buddies; even the housekeepers Aunt Liu got to know through grocery shopping.
One person was obstructed by the crowd.
Wu Qiaoyin listened to the old lady’s words from behind the crowd.
She began doing her research on Ruan Danchen after knowing that Ruan Danchen was married to Qi Chenglin. She did not even need to hire a private investigator since a cursory web search would reveal all of Ruan Danchen’s information.
Detailed specifics were missing of course, but most of it were not hard to dig up.
An example was Ruan Danchen’s status as an orphan; by far her biggest weakness even though the Qi family did not place much importance on family background.
In spite of that, Ruan Danchen’s family had surfaced and they even had a good background. Perhaps they may not be as well-off as some of the great families, but they were renowned people, so much so that those who placed high importance in family backgrounds might not reject a daughter-in-law like her.
Wu Qiaoyin’s expression turned sullen and she left.
No one there noticed her coming and going. They all went to Dynasty, and meeting some familiar faces there were inevitable. After all, those who frequented Dynasty often were definitely amongst the higher-tier families.
In the same vein, the old lady seized the chance to introduce everyone to the Ruan family. After that day, she believed that everyone within their circle would know that her daughter-in-law had found her family.
That was another one of her intentions, other than showing off.
Ruan Danchen’s background was never a make-or-break factor for the Qi family to begin with, but they did not like the way outsiders looked at her through colored lenses. For Ruan Danchen’s sake, the Qi family would be happy to use the opportunity to shut all their mouths.
True enough, many began looking at Ruan Danchen differently after all those introductions were made. All of them were especially respectful toward Grandfather Ruan.
Grandfather Ruan was up to the task at that time. His character was that of a person who knew his worth but was very approachable, like an accomplished veteran artist that received recognition.
Along the way, they met countless families and young businessmen, leaving Grandmother Qi feeling nothing short of content as they went to Qi Chenglin’s private room.
Since it was the formal meeting between Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen’s elders, Qi Chenglin’s room was definitely going to be the room of choice.
Qi Youxuan had his bowl of vegetables and began playing in a corner all teary-eyed.
Little Youjin was full too, so Song Yu placed him on the carpet to crawl and play. Qi Youxuan looked at the silly baby crawling here and there, before thinking for a moment and walking out.
At that point, he saw an attendant coming toward him. He crooned to the attendant, “Uncle.”
“Little Master Qi.” The attendant stood straight.
The little boy looked guiltily at the room door and beckoned the attendant using his fat little hands.
The attendant stooped and leaned over. Qi Youxuan then voiced out his request.
A convoluted expression appeared on the attendant’s face, but after staring blankly for a moment, he nodded hesitantly.
“Uncle, you’d better get going. I’ll be waiting here,” the little boy urged.
The attendant nodded and left. Sometime later, he saw the attendant come back with one of Dynasty’s takeout boxes. The box was still warm when passed to Qi Youxuan.
The little boy opened the box and saw that it really was some birds’ nest cake1. He smiled and said, “Remember, it’s on my dad!”
After saying that, he stuffed the box into his clothes and retracted his stomach as far back as he could. He opened the room door and walked in sideways like a crab. With his back to the dinner table, he made his journey to Little Youjin’s side.
When he finally sat with his back to the dinner table, he carried Little Youjin to his front and used the baby to block his line of sight.
Little Youjin smelled the aroma and immediately walked into Qi Youxuan’s embrace. Like a little puppy, his nose twitched and immediately located the source of the fragrance. He then pressed his face against his tummy.
“Ee-ee-ee, yah-yah!” Little Youjin mumbled and frantically began gesturing to Qi Youxuan.
“Shh!” Qi Youxuan placed a finger to his mouth. “Be quiet, then I’ll let you have delicious food.”
Little Youjin uttered a couple of syllables before keeping quiet. His little hands were constantly reaching for Qi Youxuan’s tummy.
Qi Youxuan then took out the takeout box and turned around carefully to look at the adults. They were still busy talking and did not look over to his side, so he opened the box and fed one birds’ nest cake to Little Youjin.
He had decided to secretly fatten up Little Youjin once a week, whenever he went to the old manor. If he kept that up, Little Youjin would definitely be fattened up.
The birds’ nest cake was exceptionally soft and melted in one’s mouth. Little Youjin held one in his hand, with half of it gone after just one lick. It was refreshing and sweet, exciting him tremendously as that was the first time that he ate such a thing. He moved his two little feet, causing his little butt to shuffle against the soft rug.
After finishing one cake, his mouth was stained with glistening drops of cake.
Qi Youxuan ate while watching Little Youjin eat. At the same time, he revealed a naughty smile and said, “Lil’ Bro, oh, Lil’ Bro. Big Brother loves you. Eat more okay, so you’ll become nice and fat.”
“Yah-yah!” Little Youjin exclaimed in delight and grabbed another cake. He was just teething, so it was rather difficult for him to bite on it.
Qi Youxuan stopped eating and looked on gleefully as Little Youjin ate happily.
Back at the table, the old lady was already bringing up the Ruan Danchen’s wedding with Grandmother Ruan. “The invitations are already prepared. We were just about to send them out, but since your family is now reunited with Danchen, your friends and family must come and join too. When we get your confirmed name list, I’ll let someone lump it along with the others before handing over those invitations.
Grandmother Ruan thought for a moment and said, “How many tables were originally planned?”
The old lady caught on immediately and said, “You don’t need to worry about the number of people. We can change to a hall if there’s not enough space. We know Dynasty’s boss; he’ll make things easy for us.”
Grandmother Ruan nodded and the old lady proceeded to tell them about the plan for the wedding, just to see if the Ruan family had any thoughts about it. There was still time for them to make adjustments.
The Ruan family had nothing to add though, and Grandmother Ruan simply said, “As long as Danchen’s happy.”
Grandmother Ruan looked at Ruan Danchen and said, “Our reunion came at just the right time. When the time comes, Keshan can lead Danchen into the hall. She doesn’t need to walk the red carpet alone.
Ruan Danchen had earlier prepared herself to face it alone, but with her uncle now present, she felt very relieved.
“Have you chosen the bridesmaid?” Guan Liya asked.
Ruan Danchen nodded. “Most of those I know are already married and I don’t think it’s appropriate to choose one of Qilin’s employees. I chose my high school classmate, Gao Xiaoyang.”
Guan Liya nodded. The bridesmaid should be dealt with by the bride, so Guan Liya had no objections with whoever that was chosen.
It was just like Song Yu’s wedding last time. Song Yu chose Ruan Danchen, and as fate would have it, Song Yu’s bridesmaid—someone whom Guan Liya did not particularly remember clearly—became Guan Liya’s own daughter-in-law.
“Chengji can’t come back earlier this time. He can only make it in time for the wedding feast, so he can’t be the best man. Have you found anyone yet?” Xia Wenna asked Qi Chenglin.
“Mm, we’ll let Jiang Yuan be the best man.” Qi Chenglin felt that the best man required someone reliable. Yan Beicheng and the others were completely out of the question.
The best man would need to go table-to-table to make a toast. Any one of Yan Beicheng and co would easily get distracted by other people.
After dinner, Qi Chenglin paid the bill without noticing the contents in too much detail. The box of birds’ nest cakes slipped past his attention.
When Song Yu picked up Little Youjin, she noticed a dewy drop by his lips. As she wiped it off, she mumbled curiously to herself. “How did you dirty your mouth?”
Little Youjin simply uttered a few syllables and moved his limbs excitedly.
When everyone went out of the room, they bumped into a bunch of people coming out from the opposite.
A white-bearded old man led the group. Upon seeing Grandfather Ruan, the old man’s eyes lit up. “OLD MAN RUAN!”
Grandfather Ruan knew who it was simply by listening to that voice. Only one person would call him that. He jumped up, pointed at Grandfather Xiao, and said, “Old Man Xiao! The hell are you shouting for?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in America now? Why are you back here instead of making your country proud? Is your enlightenment limited to that extent?” Grandfather Xiao panted with rage. Even his bread was swaying in the wind.
“Don’t tarnish my name in front of my granddaughter!” Grandfather Ruan surged forth to grab Grandfather Xiao’s beard. “All these years and you still pretend you’re the Sweeper Monk!”
Grandfather Xiao’s hobby was known to all—he loved Wuxia novels and enjoyed pretending to be a higher person, especially the Shaolin Temple’s Sweeper Monk from Demi-Gods and Semi-Evils.
Grandfather Xiao stared blankly. “Your granddaughter. You found her?”
It was then that he looked over and saw that Grandfather Ruan was accompanied by the Qi family.
If Grandfather Ruan had a beard, the beard would already be soaring high into the sky.
He pulled Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan over, while Qi Chenglin went and stood behind Ruan Danchen as though he was merely going according to the sequence of events.
“I don’t only have a granddaughter. I have a son-in-law and a great-grandson!” Grandfather Ruan said cockily, stopping short of a swagger in his step. “I rushed back because I was told that they found her!”
Grandfather Xiao looked over and thought, ‘WHOA, his grandson’s so big already!’
“Old man, my granddaughter-in-law is now on her second child!” Grandfather Xiao proclaimed, for he was not one to be outdone.
“Second child? So what?” Grandfather Qi retorted, “I despise your cockiness. My eldest grandson’s wife has already given birth, my second grandson’s son is already seven years old, and my youngest granddaughter is pregnant. Do you see me showing off?”
Grandfather Xiao was so angry that he puffed his beard and glared intently. Nevertheless, the feeling of being put down was just too terrible!
It took everyone a great effort to calm the three old men down. Eventually, they even agreed to meet for a game of chess, but as they made such arrangements, an argument broke out once more.
“You and your poor moves in chess. I’ll let you have three advance moves!” Grandfather Xiao said to Grandfather Qi.
“Hehehe, if you have what it takes, let Old Ruan have those three advance moves!” Grandfather Qi jerked his chin and shot Grandfather Xiao a look of disdain.
His in-law was a mathematician!
With that kind of prowess, it was a piece of cake!
Offering to play chess was merely a small gesture.
“How about I let you have three moves in advance?” Grandfather Ruan smiled smugly and asked.
Ruan Danchen looked at the three of them from one side—it was practically a love-hate exchange between them!
It was another struggle to advise the three of them, after which they finally went their own way. In spite of that, Grandfather Xiao kept a mental note to ask about Grandfather Ruan’s granddaughter at a later date.
…
“Hello, Miss Chang,” Wu Qiaoyin greeted politely after first introducing herself to Chang Jingqiu.
One of the young ladies within the upper-class circle had their birthday and a party was thrown specifically for the birthday girl. Many of the rich families’ daughters were invited.
Although Wu Qiaoyin had just only returned to the country, most of them knew Wu Qiaoyin due to the Wu family’s recent socializing as well as Wu Chuanshu’s business dealings. The party was an opportunity for the hosts to invite Wu Qiaoyin over, as that might facilitate better opportunities for business dealings in the future.
It was also rumored that Wu Qiaoyin was the daughter of Guan Liya’s childhood friend. Regardless of how deep their friendship was, it was never a bad thing to be associated with Zhao Fengchun. If Zhao Fengchun really was on such good terms with Guan Liya, then bringing it up during normal conversation would prove to be advantageous as well.
As for Chang Jingqiu, the Chang family—despite offending the Qi family—still had business dealings with some of the other families.
The Qi family merely put word out on professional matters—they could choose only one between the Chang family or the Qi family.
The person whom the party was thrown for was still single, so the invitees were all single women too. The family was not close to Song Yu or Ruan Danchen either, and Qi Chengyue could not join due to the pregnancy. As the daughter of the Qi family, she was not very close to them, and even if she was not pregnant, she would not be so kind as to offer any dignity to anyone. Thus, they decided to invite Chang Jingqiu over.
If it was a formal occasion, even if the Qi family did not come, no one would dare to invite the Chang family over. However, that was not too much of a consideration because it was a private party.
Chang Jingqiu looked at Wu Qiaoyin in front of her. It was their first meeting, so Chang Jingqiu put on a magnanimous and dignified air. She smiled warmly at Wu Qiaoyin and said, “Hello, Miss Wu.”
“Miss Wu’s mother is Madam Qi’s childhood friend,” said the hostess to the party, Liang Jingyu. “I heard you’re neighbors?”
“We are. We live right beside Big Brother Qi,” Wu Qiaoyin smiled and said softly. She tilted her head to one side and put on a coy expression as if she was pure and does not hold any ill-will. Merely bringing up Big Brother Qi was enough to make her cheeks go red.
Chang Jingqiu’s gaze darted away. Hearing Wu Qiaoyin say ‘Big Brother Qi’ was so repulsing that it made goosebumps form all over her skin.
Evidently, plenty of those there were rather turned-off by Wu Qiaoyin’s ‘pure and adorable’ demeanor, but they simply did their best not to show it.
“Oh yes, I heard Ruan Danchen was reunited with her family? And it seems her family are quite reputable people,” Liang Jingyu raised the subject and turned around obviously to look at Wu Qiaoyin.
Wu Qiaoyin immediately felt that the question was part of the reason why she was invited there.
After returning to the country, she did not have many opportunities to get to know many people. Liang Jingyu had no reason to invite her in the first place.
At the mere mention of that, Wu Qiaoyin pretended to shoot a careless glance at Chang Jingqiu before saying, “Yeah, you heard rumors, but I saw it with my own eyes! They were at the Qi family manor. I saw her and her family walking together with the Qi family. Every member of the Qi family was there, even Qi Chengji, who came from the army.”
Chang Jingqiu’s expression changed dramatically, but she quickly suppressed it notwithstanding the frightful gloominess that was still present.
Everyone knew that she liked Qi Chenglin and hated Ruan Danchen. Whenever they were gathered together, there was no shortage of sarcasm from Chang Jingqiu about Ruan Danchen’s background.
Now that Ruan Danchen had a family that was of high status, they all predicted that Chang Jingqiu would get angry, but what puzzled them was a look on her face that seemed as though the world was about to crumble.
What did Ruan Danchen’s reunion with her long-lost family have to do with Chang Jingqiu?
Chang Jingqiu’s fingers grasped the stem of the champagne glass so strongly that she looked like she could just snap it in half.
“Regarding Ruan Danchen’s family, how much do you know? Is that really her family? Could it be that the Qi family found someone to play the part because they were ashamed of her background? I heard their wedding will be soon. Maybe the Qi family just wanted to pull things together so she had someone to walk her through the red carpet?” Chang Jingqiu said in a weird tone. She downed all the champagne in one go as if to drown out the burning fire in her head.
Everyone’s expression turned odd immediately. No one knew if Chang Jingqiu was being serious when she made such a blatant accusation to the Qi family.
It was not like anyone there were her true friends.
A trending piece of advice was, ‘Guard against fire, theft, and your bestie’. She was not at all afraid that someone might relay what she said to the Qi family. Even if the Qi family chose to ignore her, the added aversion they would have toward her was not going to do her any good.
Wu Qiaoyin was slightly shocked silly by Chang Jingqiu’s words. Wu Chuanshu and Zhao Fengchun called Wu Qiaoyin an idiot, but she believed that they would finally realize how smart their daughter was if they saw Chang Jingqiu.
Nevertheless, Wu Qiaoyin pretended not to understand that. She smiled coyly and explained, “It should be real, I think? If it was some last-minute replacement, the Qi family wouldn’t have shown off like that. The old Qi matriarch personally made the introduction herself. Plenty of neighbors were around and everyone knew about it.”
“Furthermore, Ruan Danchen’s grandfather is Ruan Lichuan.” Wu Qiaoyin looked at Chang Jingqiu and the latter was seemingly unable to accept that fact. Wu Qiaoyin then looked at everyone else and silently called them out as idiots who spent money so frequently and did not even know who Ruan Lichaun was despite gossiping so often behind people’s backs.
She did not realize that she, too, had no idea who he was before hearing all those elders say who he was.
Wu Qiaoyin smiled. “Ruan Lichuan is our country’s most famous mathematician.”
She then held a thumbs up. “He’s from the Chinese Academy of Science. He’s famous not only in the country, but also in the world. He even got the Fields Award. Don’t you know what the Fields Award is? There’s no Nobel Prize for math, right? So, the Fields Award is like the Nobel Prize. If there was ever a Nobel Prize for math, Mr. Ruan would definitely get it.
“A famous person like him even made the news. It’s impossible to get him to play the role, right? He’s a scientist, not someone who’s involved in business or politics. He doesn’t need to give that much respect to the Qi family, does he? He even looked touched when people recognized him.”
Chang Jingqiu believed it ever since the name was mentioned. “Ruan, you said?”
“Of course. He’s Ruan Danchen’s grandfather. Of course his surname is Ruan,” Wu Qiaoyin said laughably.
Chang Jingqiu remained quiet. She was pulling a long face and her thoughts were indecipherable. All she heard was Liang Jingyu say, “Ruan Danchen’s really lucky. With her grandfather’s status, his reputation is good even if his family doesn’t have that much money. It’s almost the same as those families who connect their clans by marriage.”
“I heard that Mr. Ruan has a good relationship with the Xiao family’s patriarch. Grandfather Xiao used to be a senior army official before retirement, right? Those nuclear projects and weaponry require precise calculations, and Mr. Ruan was the one who spearheaded the research. The collaboration with Grandfather Xiao went on for quite some time, actually. There are many other leaders besides Grandfather Xiao, too. Grandfather Ruan’s position and connections are no joke,” someone added.
Liang Jingyu took a deep breath. “Yo, if that’s the case, then they’re much stronger than any other family!”
“Of course they are! Ruan Danchen’s lucky. Her family members she reunited with are all so accomplished,” another person chimed in softly.
Chang Jingqiu’s heart got colder and colder as she listened to that. If Ruan Danchen already managed to find her family, does that not mean that she knew about the Chang family and was aware that Chang Jingqiu was a fake?
Ruan Danchen was originally supposed to be a darling daughter, but because of a swap, people made fun of her and her status when she was with Qi Chenglin.
After knowing everything, Ruan Danchen must be fuming!
If Chang Jingqiu was in Ruan Danchen1‘s shoes, she would have hated herself to death.
Chang Jingqiu’s hands broke out in cold sweat. She was completely in the dark as to what Ruan Danchen was planning to do and whether there was any intention of exposing Chang Jingqiu’s status.
The earlier DNA test that was done with Huang Pinggui and his wife was already burnt, so Ruan Danchen would have no evidence to expose her.
Since Ruan Keyu and Chang Yuehuan were no longer alive, she had no one else to do a test with.
In addition, Grandmother Chang had an unfavorable impression toward the Ruan family, so whatever they said will not mean anything to her.
Chang Jingqiu left the party feeling apprehensive. Since she already knew the situation, she could no longer feel at ease. Her scrutiny of the Ruan family thus began.
She finally knew how great Grandfather Ruan was. She also found out that Ruan Keshan was everyone’s future hope—it was possible that he would assume the mantle after Grandfather Ruan retired. With a few more years of training, he could succeed the old man’s position.
The Ruan family’s nobleness and present position might cause Grandmother Chang to no longer be averse to the Ruan family.
The more she thought about it, the colder her hands turned. She thought that she could have a breather after dealing with Liu Ronghua once and for all, but in the end, the Ruan family appeared once more.
She trembled suddenly, and her shoulder was suddenly touched by someone.
Chang Jingqiu was so startled that she nearly jumped up. She shuddered and turned around to see Chang Zhiyuan standing in front of her. He reached across the dining table and patted her shoulder.
“What are you thinking of? I’ve been sitting here so long but you didn’t even react,” the curious Chang Zhiyuan smiled and asked.
Chang Jingqiu once again returned to work, but Chang Zhiyuan recently noticed that she had plenty of things on her mind. He thought it was because she was still unable to bounce back from the earlier matter, but even though he did not support the way she plotted against Ruan Danchen, she was still his niece. Chang Zhiyuan then called her to have a meal and talk her out of it.
“It’s nothing,” Chang Jingqiu’s gaze darted about and she shook her head in denial.
A moment of silence ensued. Chang Zhiyuan ordered some dishes, and when they were finally served, she asked hesitantly, “Uncle, do you know…what my dad was like? And who are his family members?”
Chang Zhiyuan was surprised that she would ask about that. He asked her, “Why would you suddenly ask this? I’ve never seen you ask this in the past.”
Chang Jingqiu’s expression dulled down slightly and she gazed downward before saying, “Grandma doesn’t like this question. She gets angry whenever it’s brought up. That’s why I never asked about it before. I don’t know why, but recently I’ve been thinking a lot about it. All these years, hasn’t anyone from dad’s family ever searched for me before? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot, so… Uncle, can you tell me anything about it if you know?”
Chang Zhiyuan frowned and said, “Well, I don’t really know much actually. When my elder sister left home, I was still in senior high. At the time, I couldn’t interfere in family matters. All I know is, my brother-in-law came to visit once, but our family kicked him out. They didn’t accept him and they weren’t willing to let him enter. He came a few times after that but was always left to stand outside because no one opened the door for him. Later on, they locked Big Sis inside the house, but after that, she sneaked out of the house. Our family called her and said that she wouldn’t be allowed to come back home if she didn’t come home right then. From then onward, she really never came home.”
Chang Zhiyuan sighed heavily and had a despondent look on his eyes.
“When Brother-in-Law came the first time, he didn’t have the chance to even make an introduction. When our family heard that he was a student whose family was poor because they were teachers, our family was very unhappy. So, even until now, I don’t know who his family is, what they do, or what his family background is like. Maybe your grandmother knows, or maybe she doesn’t. The point is, no one ever brought it up before,” Chang Zhiyuan said in a solemn tone. “No one at home dares to ask.”
Chang Zhiyuan’s frown tensed up even more than before. “Sometime later, you were brought here by someone. I was still in school at that time so I didn’t meet the person. All these years were shrouded in vagaries, and I don’t think your father’s family knows that you’re with us. They may still be looking anxiously for you, but they don’t know what we know, much less you being sent back here to us. Their efforts all these years were futile.”
He pursed his lips bitterly and sympathized with his brother-in-law’s family.
In truth, if he knew who they were and could locate them, he would be more than happy to ease their worries and tell them that their granddaughter was at the Chang family home. If the family were good people, he would have no qualms about hiding it from Grandmother Chang. He would just let Chang Jingqiu meet with them and have their own private relationship between each other. It was much better than leaving them in the dark about where their granddaughter was and whether she was alive. That worry and sadness would always be a thorn in their heart.
Grandmother Chang might know about them, but she was hell-bent on keeping her mouth shut and not divulging the slightest bit of information.
Chang Zhiyuan sighed. He would have hated the old lady if she was not his birth mother.
Her heart was too evil, too calculative, and too selfish.
She was still his mother however, so he could not do anything about it.
Chang Jingqiu heard Chang Zhiyuan’s explanation and breathed a sigh of relief.
Her aunt, Liu Xiangwen, was always forthright, so Chang Jingqiu had previously asked about it to Liu Xiangwen before. Even so, Chang Zhixing was younger than Chang Zhiyuan at that time, so other than terrorizing and oppressing everyone else despotically, he did not care much about things that happened at home. Chang Yuehuan was significantly older than him, so his relationship toward her was not as strong as Chang Zhiyuan’s.
From Liu Xiangwen’s words, Chang Jingqiu knew that Chang Zhixing’s knowledge of the situation paled in comparison to Chang Zhiyuan.
Back then, Liu Xiangwen said that she might as well ask Chang Zhiyuan because he knew much more than her.
When everything happened, Chang Zhixing was an adolescent who was still in junior high. Even Chang Zhiyuan was unable to say too much about it. If Grandmother Chang really wanted to find out about it, no one would question her by virtue of her status.
Grandmother Chang could not stand Ruan Danchen, so she would definitely not want Ruan Danchen to be her granddaughter.
Even if Grandmother Chang had doubts, Chang Jingqiu was quite certain that the old lady—with that temperament of hers—would rather feign ignorance.
It was then that Chang Jingqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She was still unable to fully set her mind at ease, but as long as she was given some time, she could think of a way.
…
Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen’s weekend plans were to head back to the old manor on Saturday and rest at their own home on Sunday. Now that Ruan Danchen had her newfound family—and one that had been lost for twenty-seven years—their original schedule of resting at home on Sunday was changed to visiting Grandfather Ruan’s place.
Grandfather Ruan brought back so much chocolate, but he did not let Qi Youxuan have any of them. Grandfather Ruan watched as the little boy became restless for the sake of some chocolates—the more restless he was, the more excited Grandfather Ruan became.
The little boy surrounded Grandfather Ruan and hinted, “Great-Grandpa, is there anything sweet at home that your grandson can munch on?”
“Hehehe, your great-grandpa is old and his brain doesn’t work that well anymore. What sweet things do we have around the house?” Grandfather Ruan picked up a slice of apple and said, “Would you like to have some apples?”
“Oh, I remember the chocolates that Great-Grandpa bought the other day.” The little boy felt that his great-grandpa was too shameless. Remaining aloof was not a tactic to be used on him.
“That? Oh yes, there are chocolates. But aren’t you on a diet now? How about I help you munch on those sweet things and taste them for you,” Grandfather Ruan said. He ran to the kitchen and took a box of chocolates.
“Dad, diabetes. I’m worried you’ll get diabetes,” Ruan Keshan reminded.
Grandfather Ruan looked at Qi Youxuan’s agonized face and opened the box. “Yeah, here go you. Eat some. Great-Grandpa still adores you a lot!”
Qi Youxuan opened his mouth immediately. He grabbed a few pieces and stuffed it into his mouth, filling his cheeks completely.
He reached out to take one more, but he felt a sudden chill on the top of his head. When he looked up, he noticed that Qi Chenglin was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
The little boy had already touched the chocolates, so he took it up and laughed dryly before handing it over to Ruan Danchen. “Mom, this one’s for you.”
“Why aren’t you feeding it to Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa’s the one who bought it for you, yeah!” Grandfather Ruan voiced out the injustice. He could feel his heart being crushed to pieces by his grandson. He placed his hand to his heart and looked to be in pain.
Everyone was speechless.
The little guy smacked his lips in delight and said, “Aren’t you diabetic?”
Grandfather Ruan was stumped and did not say anything further.
Qi Chenglin took the chocolates and put them away in the kitchen.
Saddened because he was unable to eat all the good food in front of him, the little boy pinched his waist, which was already down by one size.
When Qi Chenglin was not paying any attention, Ruan Zeer seized the chance to wave at him. “I’ll bring you out to play and get some good food while we’re at it.”
Qi Youxuan’s eyes lit up and he nodded immediately.
Ruan Zeer thus informed his family that he would be bringing Qi Youxuan to play. Chen Minxia was still rather worried, so she had a word with them before letting them leave.
…
Under Qi Youxuan’s insistence, Ruan Zeer brought him to a food street. Qi Chenglin did not allow him to eat much of those snacks anyway, so when he started to go on a diet, he was not even allowed to eat meat, let alone those snacks.
Sunday brought a crowd to the food street. Ruan Zeer was feeling stressed as he was worried that Qi Youxuan would get lost or suffer from the pushing and shoving around. The little boy meanwhile, was strutting about without a care, with grilled squid skewer in his right hand and a deep-fried banana skewer in his left. He did not even look like he was bothered by the oiliness.
As he was munching on happily, a little boy came surging from ahead. It was too sudden and too quick, plus the distance was only about a couple of steps away, so Ruan Zeer did not manage to put his guard up on time.
The little boy’s banana fritter fell from his hand and turned into a pile of mushed banana upon hitting the ground. The grilled squid skewer nearly fell too.
He looked at his shirt to see whether there was any sauce, and once he confirmed that there was none, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and was surprised to see that it was someone he knew.
The person who bumped into him was Chang Jianan.
Chang Jianan was originally headed to a boarding school, but Grandmother Chang went on a hunger strike at home and insisted that her grandson should not be left to suffer.
Chang Zhixing watched as his mother kept it up for real and neither ate nor drank at home. Hospitalization was a real possibility after she kept at it for three days. In the end, Chang Zhixing could do nothing except transfer Chang Jianan to a different prestigious school.
Grandfather Ruan put on a well-grounded air that was coupled with a magnificently refined temperament. He smiled and said ‘hello’ in the most exquisite manner possible.
Beside him, Grandfather Qi’s mouth twitched askew. Deep down, he said to himself, ‘This guy knows how to put on a façade.’
It was then that Ruan Keshan and Chen Minxia came over, to which Ruan Keshan greeted his father.
Everyone turned to see and noticed that the old man, Ruan Keshan, Ruan Danchen, and another young man looked very similar to each other. Anyone who saw them would say that they were one family, and it was only then that they believed the story of the long-lost family.
Grandmother Qi was still using that as a chance to flaunt the family off. “This is Danchen’s grandmother, one of our country’s foremost pianists. You must know Qin Lang, right? Qin Lang was her student, but later on, she didn’t accept any more students due to the search for Danchen.
“And this one! Our Danchen’s uncle, a professor in A University,” Grandmother Qi said. “A whole family of mathematicians! This is Danchen’s younger cousin brother, first in the International Mathematical Olympiad who will surely get enrolled in A University.”
The old lady was feeling more than content. She was merely waiting for Ruan Danchen’s first three months of pregnancy to be up, after which she could then flaunt the pregnancy to the world.
The old lady regarded herself as the winner amongst all the families in the district!
It was truly bustling there due to the sheer amount of people surrounding them. The old man’s chess friends; the old lady’s dancing buddies; even the housekeepers Aunt Liu got to know through grocery shopping.
One person was obstructed by the crowd.
Wu Qiaoyin listened to the old lady’s words from behind the crowd.
She began doing her research on Ruan Danchen after knowing that Ruan Danchen was married to Qi Chenglin. She did not even need to hire a private investigator since a cursory web search would reveal all of Ruan Danchen’s information.
Detailed specifics were missing of course, but most of it were not hard to dig up.
An example was Ruan Danchen’s status as an orphan; by far her biggest weakness even though the Qi family did not place much importance on family background.
In spite of that, Ruan Danchen’s family had surfaced and they even had a good background. Perhaps they may not be as well-off as some of the great families, but they were renowned people, so much so that those who placed high importance in family backgrounds might not reject a daughter-in-law like her.
Wu Qiaoyin’s expression turned sullen and she left.
No one there noticed her coming and going. They all went to Dynasty, and meeting some familiar faces there were inevitable. After all, those who frequented Dynasty often were definitely amongst the higher-tier families.
In the same vein, the old lady seized the chance to introduce everyone to the Ruan family. After that day, she believed that everyone within their circle would know that her daughter-in-law had found her family.
That was another one of her intentions, other than showing off.
Ruan Danchen’s background was never a make-or-break factor for the Qi family to begin with, but they did not like the way outsiders looked at her through colored lenses. For Ruan Danchen’s sake, the Qi family would be happy to use the opportunity to shut all their mouths.
True enough, many began looking at Ruan Danchen differently after all those introductions were made. All of them were especially respectful toward Grandfather Ruan.
Grandfather Ruan was up to the task at that time. His character was that of a person who knew his worth but was very approachable, like an accomplished veteran artist that received recognition.
Along the way, they met countless families and young businessmen, leaving Grandmother Qi feeling nothing short of content as they went to Qi Chenglin’s private room.
Since it was the formal meeting between Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen’s elders, Qi Chenglin’s room was definitely going to be the room of choice.
Qi Youxuan had his bowl of vegetables and began playing in a corner all teary-eyed.
Little Youjin was full too, so Song Yu placed him on the carpet to crawl and play. Qi Youxuan looked at the silly baby crawling here and there, before thinking for a moment and walking out.
At that point, he saw an attendant coming toward him. He crooned to the attendant, “Uncle.”
“Little Master Qi.” The attendant stood straight.
The little boy looked guiltily at the room door and beckoned the attendant using his fat little hands.
The attendant stooped and leaned over. Qi Youxuan then voiced out his request.
A convoluted expression appeared on the attendant’s face, but after staring blankly for a moment, he nodded hesitantly.
“Uncle, you’d better get going. I’ll be waiting here,” the little boy urged.
The attendant nodded and left. Sometime later, he saw the attendant come back with one of Dynasty’s takeout boxes. The box was still warm when passed to Qi Youxuan.
The little boy opened the box and saw that it really was some birds’ nest cake1. He smiled and said, “Remember, it’s on my dad!”
After saying that, he stuffed the box into his clothes and retracted his stomach as far back as he could. He opened the room door and walked in sideways like a crab. With his back to the dinner table, he made his journey to Little Youjin’s side.
When he finally sat with his back to the dinner table, he carried Little Youjin to his front and used the baby to block his line of sight.
Little Youjin smelled the aroma and immediately walked into Qi Youxuan’s embrace. Like a little puppy, his nose twitched and immediately located the source of the fragrance. He then pressed his face against his tummy.
“Ee-ee-ee, yah-yah!” Little Youjin mumbled and frantically began gesturing to Qi Youxuan.
“Shh!” Qi Youxuan placed a finger to his mouth. “Be quiet, then I’ll let you have delicious food.”
Little Youjin uttered a couple of syllables before keeping quiet. His little hands were constantly reaching for Qi Youxuan’s tummy.
Qi Youxuan then took out the takeout box and turned around carefully to look at the adults. They were still busy talking and did not look over to his side, so he opened the box and fed one birds’ nest cake to Little Youjin.
He had decided to secretly fatten up Little Youjin once a week, whenever he went to the old manor. If he kept that up, Little Youjin would definitely be fattened up.
The birds’ nest cake was exceptionally soft and melted in one’s mouth. Little Youjin held one in his hand, with half of it gone after just one lick. It was refreshing and sweet, exciting him tremendously as that was the first time that he ate such a thing. He moved his two little feet, causing his little butt to shuffle against the soft rug.
After finishing one cake, his mouth was stained with glistening drops of cake.
Qi Youxuan ate while watching Little Youjin eat. At the same time, he revealed a naughty smile and said, “Lil’ Bro, oh, Lil’ Bro. Big Brother loves you. Eat more okay, so you’ll become nice and fat.”
“Yah-yah!” Little Youjin exclaimed in delight and grabbed another cake. He was just teething, so it was rather difficult for him to bite on it.
Qi Youxuan stopped eating and looked on gleefully as Little Youjin ate happily.
Back at the table, the old lady was already bringing up the Ruan Danchen’s wedding with Grandmother Ruan. “The invitations are already prepared. We were just about to send them out, but since your family is now reunited with Danchen, your friends and family must come and join too. When we get your confirmed name list, I’ll let someone lump it along with the others before handing over those invitations.
Grandmother Ruan thought for a moment and said, “How many tables were originally planned?”
The old lady caught on immediately and said, “You don’t need to worry about the number of people. We can change to a hall if there’s not enough space. We know Dynasty’s boss; he’ll make things easy for us.”
Grandmother Ruan nodded and the old lady proceeded to tell them about the plan for the wedding, just to see if the Ruan family had any thoughts about it. There was still time for them to make adjustments.
The Ruan family had nothing to add though, and Grandmother Ruan simply said, “As long as Danchen’s happy.”
Grandmother Ruan looked at Ruan Danchen and said, “Our reunion came at just the right time. When the time comes, Keshan can lead Danchen into the hall. She doesn’t need to walk the red carpet alone.
Ruan Danchen had earlier prepared herself to face it alone, but with her uncle now present, she felt very relieved.
“Have you chosen the bridesmaid?” Guan Liya asked.
Ruan Danchen nodded. “Most of those I know are already married and I don’t think it’s appropriate to choose one of Qilin’s employees. I chose my high school classmate, Gao Xiaoyang.”
Guan Liya nodded. The bridesmaid should be dealt with by the bride, so Guan Liya had no objections with whoever that was chosen.
It was just like Song Yu’s wedding last time. Song Yu chose Ruan Danchen, and as fate would have it, Song Yu’s bridesmaid—someone whom Guan Liya did not particularly remember clearly—became Guan Liya’s own daughter-in-law.
“Chengji can’t come back earlier this time. He can only make it in time for the wedding feast, so he can’t be the best man. Have you found anyone yet?” Xia Wenna asked Qi Chenglin.
“Mm, we’ll let Jiang Yuan be the best man.” Qi Chenglin felt that the best man required someone reliable. Yan Beicheng and the others were completely out of the question.
The best man would need to go table-to-table to make a toast. Any one of Yan Beicheng and co would easily get distracted by other people.
After dinner, Qi Chenglin paid the bill without noticing the contents in too much detail. The box of birds’ nest cakes slipped past his attention.
When Song Yu picked up Little Youjin, she noticed a dewy drop by his lips. As she wiped it off, she mumbled curiously to herself. “How did you dirty your mouth?”
Little Youjin simply uttered a few syllables and moved his limbs excitedly.
When everyone went out of the room, they bumped into a bunch of people coming out from the opposite.
A white-bearded old man led the group. Upon seeing Grandfather Ruan, the old man’s eyes lit up. “OLD MAN RUAN!”
Grandfather Ruan knew who it was simply by listening to that voice. Only one person would call him that. He jumped up, pointed at Grandfather Xiao, and said, “Old Man Xiao! The hell are you shouting for?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in America now? Why are you back here instead of making your country proud? Is your enlightenment limited to that extent?” Grandfather Xiao panted with rage. Even his bread was swaying in the wind.
“Don’t tarnish my name in front of my granddaughter!” Grandfather Ruan surged forth to grab Grandfather Xiao’s beard. “All these years and you still pretend you’re the Sweeper Monk!”
Grandfather Xiao’s hobby was known to all—he loved Wuxia novels and enjoyed pretending to be a higher person, especially the Shaolin Temple’s Sweeper Monk from Demi-Gods and Semi-Evils.
Grandfather Xiao stared blankly. “Your granddaughter. You found her?”
It was then that he looked over and saw that Grandfather Ruan was accompanied by the Qi family.
If Grandfather Ruan had a beard, the beard would already be soaring high into the sky.
He pulled Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan over, while Qi Chenglin went and stood behind Ruan Danchen as though he was merely going according to the sequence of events.
“I don’t only have a granddaughter. I have a son-in-law and a great-grandson!” Grandfather Ruan said cockily, stopping short of a swagger in his step. “I rushed back because I was told that they found her!”
Grandfather Xiao looked over and thought, ‘WHOA, his grandson’s so big already!’
“Old man, my granddaughter-in-law is now on her second child!” Grandfather Xiao proclaimed, for he was not one to be outdone.
“Second child? So what?” Grandfather Qi retorted, “I despise your cockiness. My eldest grandson’s wife has already given birth, my second grandson’s son is already seven years old, and my youngest granddaughter is pregnant. Do you see me showing off?”
Grandfather Xiao was so angry that he puffed his beard and glared intently. Nevertheless, the feeling of being put down was just too terrible!
It took everyone a great effort to calm the three old men down. Eventually, they even agreed to meet for a game of chess, but as they made such arrangements, an argument broke out once more.
“You and your poor moves in chess. I’ll let you have three advance moves!” Grandfather Xiao said to Grandfather Qi.
“Hehehe, if you have what it takes, let Old Ruan have those three advance moves!” Grandfather Qi jerked his chin and shot Grandfather Xiao a look of disdain.
His in-law was a mathematician!
With that kind of prowess, it was a piece of cake!
Offering to play chess was merely a small gesture.
“How about I let you have three moves in advance?” Grandfather Ruan smiled smugly and asked.
Ruan Danchen looked at the three of them from one side—it was practically a love-hate exchange between them!
It was another struggle to advise the three of them, after which they finally went their own way. In spite of that, Grandfather Xiao kept a mental note to ask about Grandfather Ruan’s granddaughter at a later date.
…
“Hello, Miss Chang,” Wu Qiaoyin greeted politely after first introducing herself to Chang Jingqiu.
One of the young ladies within the upper-class circle had their birthday and a party was thrown specifically for the birthday girl. Many of the rich families’ daughters were invited.
Although Wu Qiaoyin had just only returned to the country, most of them knew Wu Qiaoyin due to the Wu family’s recent socializing as well as Wu Chuanshu’s business dealings. The party was an opportunity for the hosts to invite Wu Qiaoyin over, as that might facilitate better opportunities for business dealings in the future.
It was also rumored that Wu Qiaoyin was the daughter of Guan Liya’s childhood friend. Regardless of how deep their friendship was, it was never a bad thing to be associated with Zhao Fengchun. If Zhao Fengchun really was on such good terms with Guan Liya, then bringing it up during normal conversation would prove to be advantageous as well.
As for Chang Jingqiu, the Chang family—despite offending the Qi family—still had business dealings with some of the other families.
The Qi family merely put word out on professional matters—they could choose only one between the Chang family or the Qi family.
The person whom the party was thrown for was still single, so the invitees were all single women too. The family was not close to Song Yu or Ruan Danchen either, and Qi Chengyue could not join due to the pregnancy. As the daughter of the Qi family, she was not very close to them, and even if she was not pregnant, she would not be so kind as to offer any dignity to anyone. Thus, they decided to invite Chang Jingqiu over.
If it was a formal occasion, even if the Qi family did not come, no one would dare to invite the Chang family over. However, that was not too much of a consideration because it was a private party.
Chang Jingqiu looked at Wu Qiaoyin in front of her. It was their first meeting, so Chang Jingqiu put on a magnanimous and dignified air. She smiled warmly at Wu Qiaoyin and said, “Hello, Miss Wu.”
“Miss Wu’s mother is Madam Qi’s childhood friend,” said the hostess to the party, Liang Jingyu. “I heard you’re neighbors?”
“We are. We live right beside Big Brother Qi,” Wu Qiaoyin smiled and said softly. She tilted her head to one side and put on a coy expression as if she was pure and does not hold any ill-will. Merely bringing up Big Brother Qi was enough to make her cheeks go red.
Chang Jingqiu’s gaze darted away. Hearing Wu Qiaoyin say ‘Big Brother Qi’ was so repulsing that it made goosebumps form all over her skin.
Evidently, plenty of those there were rather turned-off by Wu Qiaoyin’s ‘pure and adorable’ demeanor, but they simply did their best not to show it.
“Oh yes, I heard Ruan Danchen was reunited with her family? And it seems her family are quite reputable people,” Liang Jingyu raised the subject and turned around obviously to look at Wu Qiaoyin.
Wu Qiaoyin immediately felt that the question was part of the reason why she was invited there.
After returning to the country, she did not have many opportunities to get to know many people. Liang Jingyu had no reason to invite her in the first place.
At the mere mention of that, Wu Qiaoyin pretended to shoot a careless glance at Chang Jingqiu before saying, “Yeah, you heard rumors, but I saw it with my own eyes! They were at the Qi family manor. I saw her and her family walking together with the Qi family. Every member of the Qi family was there, even Qi Chengji, who came from the army.”
Chang Jingqiu’s expression changed dramatically, but she quickly suppressed it notwithstanding the frightful gloominess that was still present.
Everyone knew that she liked Qi Chenglin and hated Ruan Danchen. Whenever they were gathered together, there was no shortage of sarcasm from Chang Jingqiu about Ruan Danchen’s background.
Now that Ruan Danchen had a family that was of high status, they all predicted that Chang Jingqiu would get angry, but what puzzled them was a look on her face that seemed as though the world was about to crumble.
What did Ruan Danchen’s reunion with her long-lost family have to do with Chang Jingqiu?
Chang Jingqiu’s fingers grasped the stem of the champagne glass so strongly that she looked like she could just snap it in half.
“Regarding Ruan Danchen’s family, how much do you know? Is that really her family? Could it be that the Qi family found someone to play the part because they were ashamed of her background? I heard their wedding will be soon. Maybe the Qi family just wanted to pull things together so she had someone to walk her through the red carpet?” Chang Jingqiu said in a weird tone. She downed all the champagne in one go as if to drown out the burning fire in her head.
Everyone’s expression turned odd immediately. No one knew if Chang Jingqiu was being serious when she made such a blatant accusation to the Qi family.
It was not like anyone there were her true friends.
A trending piece of advice was, ‘Guard against fire, theft, and your bestie’. She was not at all afraid that someone might relay what she said to the Qi family. Even if the Qi family chose to ignore her, the added aversion they would have toward her was not going to do her any good.
Wu Qiaoyin was slightly shocked silly by Chang Jingqiu’s words. Wu Chuanshu and Zhao Fengchun called Wu Qiaoyin an idiot, but she believed that they would finally realize how smart their daughter was if they saw Chang Jingqiu.
Nevertheless, Wu Qiaoyin pretended not to understand that. She smiled coyly and explained, “It should be real, I think? If it was some last-minute replacement, the Qi family wouldn’t have shown off like that. The old Qi matriarch personally made the introduction herself. Plenty of neighbors were around and everyone knew about it.”
“Furthermore, Ruan Danchen’s grandfather is Ruan Lichuan.” Wu Qiaoyin looked at Chang Jingqiu and the latter was seemingly unable to accept that fact. Wu Qiaoyin then looked at everyone else and silently called them out as idiots who spent money so frequently and did not even know who Ruan Lichaun was despite gossiping so often behind people’s backs.
She did not realize that she, too, had no idea who he was before hearing all those elders say who he was.
Wu Qiaoyin smiled. “Ruan Lichuan is our country’s most famous mathematician.”
She then held a thumbs up. “He’s from the Chinese Academy of Science. He’s famous not only in the country, but also in the world. He even got the Fields Award. Don’t you know what the Fields Award is? There’s no Nobel Prize for math, right? So, the Fields Award is like the Nobel Prize. If there was ever a Nobel Prize for math, Mr. Ruan would definitely get it.
“A famous person like him even made the news. It’s impossible to get him to play the role, right? He’s a scientist, not someone who’s involved in business or politics. He doesn’t need to give that much respect to the Qi family, does he? He even looked touched when people recognized him.”
Chang Jingqiu believed it ever since the name was mentioned. “Ruan, you said?”
“Of course. He’s Ruan Danchen’s grandfather. Of course his surname is Ruan,” Wu Qiaoyin said laughably.
Chang Jingqiu remained quiet. She was pulling a long face and her thoughts were indecipherable. All she heard was Liang Jingyu say, “Ruan Danchen’s really lucky. With her grandfather’s status, his reputation is good even if his family doesn’t have that much money. It’s almost the same as those families who connect their clans by marriage.”
“I heard that Mr. Ruan has a good relationship with the Xiao family’s patriarch. Grandfather Xiao used to be a senior army official before retirement, right? Those nuclear projects and weaponry require precise calculations, and Mr. Ruan was the one who spearheaded the research. The collaboration with Grandfather Xiao went on for quite some time, actually. There are many other leaders besides Grandfather Xiao, too. Grandfather Ruan’s position and connections are no joke,” someone added.
Liang Jingyu took a deep breath. “Yo, if that’s the case, then they’re much stronger than any other family!”
“Of course they are! Ruan Danchen’s lucky. Her family members she reunited with are all so accomplished,” another person chimed in softly.
Chang Jingqiu’s heart got colder and colder as she listened to that. If Ruan Danchen already managed to find her family, does that not mean that she knew about the Chang family and was aware that Chang Jingqiu was a fake?
Ruan Danchen was originally supposed to be a darling daughter, but because of a swap, people made fun of her and her status when she was with Qi Chenglin.
After knowing everything, Ruan Danchen must be fuming!
If Chang Jingqiu was in Ruan Danchen1‘s shoes, she would have hated herself to death.
Chang Jingqiu’s hands broke out in cold sweat. She was completely in the dark as to what Ruan Danchen was planning to do and whether there was any intention of exposing Chang Jingqiu’s status.
The earlier DNA test that was done with Huang Pinggui and his wife was already burnt, so Ruan Danchen would have no evidence to expose her.
Since Ruan Keyu and Chang Yuehuan were no longer alive, she had no one else to do a test with.
In addition, Grandmother Chang had an unfavorable impression toward the Ruan family, so whatever they said will not mean anything to her.
Chang Jingqiu left the party feeling apprehensive. Since she already knew the situation, she could no longer feel at ease. Her scrutiny of the Ruan family thus began.
She finally knew how great Grandfather Ruan was. She also found out that Ruan Keshan was everyone’s future hope—it was possible that he would assume the mantle after Grandfather Ruan retired. With a few more years of training, he could succeed the old man’s position.
The Ruan family’s nobleness and present position might cause Grandmother Chang to no longer be averse to the Ruan family.
The more she thought about it, the colder her hands turned. She thought that she could have a breather after dealing with Liu Ronghua once and for all, but in the end, the Ruan family appeared once more.
She trembled suddenly, and her shoulder was suddenly touched by someone.
Chang Jingqiu was so startled that she nearly jumped up. She shuddered and turned around to see Chang Zhiyuan standing in front of her. He reached across the dining table and patted her shoulder.
“What are you thinking of? I’ve been sitting here so long but you didn’t even react,” the curious Chang Zhiyuan smiled and asked.
Chang Jingqiu once again returned to work, but Chang Zhiyuan recently noticed that she had plenty of things on her mind. He thought it was because she was still unable to bounce back from the earlier matter, but even though he did not support the way she plotted against Ruan Danchen, she was still his niece. Chang Zhiyuan then called her to have a meal and talk her out of it.
“It’s nothing,” Chang Jingqiu’s gaze darted about and she shook her head in denial.
A moment of silence ensued. Chang Zhiyuan ordered some dishes, and when they were finally served, she asked hesitantly, “Uncle, do you know…what my dad was like? And who are his family members?”
Chang Zhiyuan was surprised that she would ask about that. He asked her, “Why would you suddenly ask this? I’ve never seen you ask this in the past.”
Chang Jingqiu’s expression dulled down slightly and she gazed downward before saying, “Grandma doesn’t like this question. She gets angry whenever it’s brought up. That’s why I never asked about it before. I don’t know why, but recently I’ve been thinking a lot about it. All these years, hasn’t anyone from dad’s family ever searched for me before? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot, so… Uncle, can you tell me anything about it if you know?”
Chang Zhiyuan frowned and said, “Well, I don’t really know much actually. When my elder sister left home, I was still in senior high. At the time, I couldn’t interfere in family matters. All I know is, my brother-in-law came to visit once, but our family kicked him out. They didn’t accept him and they weren’t willing to let him enter. He came a few times after that but was always left to stand outside because no one opened the door for him. Later on, they locked Big Sis inside the house, but after that, she sneaked out of the house. Our family called her and said that she wouldn’t be allowed to come back home if she didn’t come home right then. From then onward, she really never came home.”
Chang Zhiyuan sighed heavily and had a despondent look on his eyes.
“When Brother-in-Law came the first time, he didn’t have the chance to even make an introduction. When our family heard that he was a student whose family was poor because they were teachers, our family was very unhappy. So, even until now, I don’t know who his family is, what they do, or what his family background is like. Maybe your grandmother knows, or maybe she doesn’t. The point is, no one ever brought it up before,” Chang Zhiyuan said in a solemn tone. “No one at home dares to ask.”
Chang Zhiyuan’s frown tensed up even more than before. “Sometime later, you were brought here by someone. I was still in school at that time so I didn’t meet the person. All these years were shrouded in vagaries, and I don’t think your father’s family knows that you’re with us. They may still be looking anxiously for you, but they don’t know what we know, much less you being sent back here to us. Their efforts all these years were futile.”
He pursed his lips bitterly and sympathized with his brother-in-law’s family.
In truth, if he knew who they were and could locate them, he would be more than happy to ease their worries and tell them that their granddaughter was at the Chang family home. If the family were good people, he would have no qualms about hiding it from Grandmother Chang. He would just let Chang Jingqiu meet with them and have their own private relationship between each other. It was much better than leaving them in the dark about where their granddaughter was and whether she was alive. That worry and sadness would always be a thorn in their heart.
Grandmother Chang might know about them, but she was hell-bent on keeping her mouth shut and not divulging the slightest bit of information.
Chang Zhiyuan sighed. He would have hated the old lady if she was not his birth mother.
Her heart was too evil, too calculative, and too selfish.
She was still his mother however, so he could not do anything about it.
Chang Jingqiu heard Chang Zhiyuan’s explanation and breathed a sigh of relief.
Her aunt, Liu Xiangwen, was always forthright, so Chang Jingqiu had previously asked about it to Liu Xiangwen before. Even so, Chang Zhixing was younger than Chang Zhiyuan at that time, so other than terrorizing and oppressing everyone else despotically, he did not care much about things that happened at home. Chang Yuehuan was significantly older than him, so his relationship toward her was not as strong as Chang Zhiyuan’s.
From Liu Xiangwen’s words, Chang Jingqiu knew that Chang Zhixing’s knowledge of the situation paled in comparison to Chang Zhiyuan.
Back then, Liu Xiangwen said that she might as well ask Chang Zhiyuan because he knew much more than her.
When everything happened, Chang Zhixing was an adolescent who was still in junior high. Even Chang Zhiyuan was unable to say too much about it. If Grandmother Chang really wanted to find out about it, no one would question her by virtue of her status.
Grandmother Chang could not stand Ruan Danchen, so she would definitely not want Ruan Danchen to be her granddaughter.
Even if Grandmother Chang had doubts, Chang Jingqiu was quite certain that the old lady—with that temperament of hers—would rather feign ignorance.
It was then that Chang Jingqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She was still unable to fully set her mind at ease, but as long as she was given some time, she could think of a way.
…
Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen’s weekend plans were to head back to the old manor on Saturday and rest at their own home on Sunday. Now that Ruan Danchen had her newfound family—and one that had been lost for twenty-seven years—their original schedule of resting at home on Sunday was changed to visiting Grandfather Ruan’s place.
Grandfather Ruan brought back so much chocolate, but he did not let Qi Youxuan have any of them. Grandfather Ruan watched as the little boy became restless for the sake of some chocolates—the more restless he was, the more excited Grandfather Ruan became.
The little boy surrounded Grandfather Ruan and hinted, “Great-Grandpa, is there anything sweet at home that your grandson can munch on?”
“Hehehe, your great-grandpa is old and his brain doesn’t work that well anymore. What sweet things do we have around the house?” Grandfather Ruan picked up a slice of apple and said, “Would you like to have some apples?”
“Oh, I remember the chocolates that Great-Grandpa bought the other day.” The little boy felt that his great-grandpa was too shameless. Remaining aloof was not a tactic to be used on him.
“That? Oh yes, there are chocolates. But aren’t you on a diet now? How about I help you munch on those sweet things and taste them for you,” Grandfather Ruan said. He ran to the kitchen and took a box of chocolates.
“Dad, diabetes. I’m worried you’ll get diabetes,” Ruan Keshan reminded.
Grandfather Ruan looked at Qi Youxuan’s agonized face and opened the box. “Yeah, here go you. Eat some. Great-Grandpa still adores you a lot!”
Qi Youxuan opened his mouth immediately. He grabbed a few pieces and stuffed it into his mouth, filling his cheeks completely.
He reached out to take one more, but he felt a sudden chill on the top of his head. When he looked up, he noticed that Qi Chenglin was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
The little boy had already touched the chocolates, so he took it up and laughed dryly before handing it over to Ruan Danchen. “Mom, this one’s for you.”
“Why aren’t you feeding it to Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa’s the one who bought it for you, yeah!” Grandfather Ruan voiced out the injustice. He could feel his heart being crushed to pieces by his grandson. He placed his hand to his heart and looked to be in pain.
Everyone was speechless.
The little guy smacked his lips in delight and said, “Aren’t you diabetic?”
Grandfather Ruan was stumped and did not say anything further.
Qi Chenglin took the chocolates and put them away in the kitchen.
Saddened because he was unable to eat all the good food in front of him, the little boy pinched his waist, which was already down by one size.
When Qi Chenglin was not paying any attention, Ruan Zeer seized the chance to wave at him. “I’ll bring you out to play and get some good food while we’re at it.”
Qi Youxuan’s eyes lit up and he nodded immediately.
Ruan Zeer thus informed his family that he would be bringing Qi Youxuan to play. Chen Minxia was still rather worried, so she had a word with them before letting them leave.
…
Under Qi Youxuan’s insistence, Ruan Zeer brought him to a food street. Qi Chenglin did not allow him to eat much of those snacks anyway, so when he started to go on a diet, he was not even allowed to eat meat, let alone those snacks.
Sunday brought a crowd to the food street. Ruan Zeer was feeling stressed as he was worried that Qi Youxuan would get lost or suffer from the pushing and shoving around. The little boy meanwhile, was strutting about without a care, with grilled squid skewer in his right hand and a deep-fried banana skewer in his left. He did not even look like he was bothered by the oiliness.
As he was munching on happily, a little boy came surging from ahead. It was too sudden and too quick, plus the distance was only about a couple of steps away, so Ruan Zeer did not manage to put his guard up on time.
The little boy’s banana fritter fell from his hand and turned into a pile of mushed banana upon hitting the ground. The grilled squid skewer nearly fell too.
He looked at his shirt to see whether there was any sauce, and once he confirmed that there was none, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and was surprised to see that it was someone he knew.
The person who bumped into him was Chang Jianan.
Chang Jianan was originally headed to a boarding school, but Grandmother Chang went on a hunger strike at home and insisted that her grandson should not be left to suffer.
Chang Zhixing watched as his mother kept it up for real and neither ate nor drank at home. Hospitalization was a real possibility after she kept at it for three days. In the end, Chang Zhixing could do nothing except transfer Chang Jianan to a different prestigious school.
