Seeing the tension in the living room, the butler hurriedly spoke up. “The Old Master knew the Eldest Young Miss was coming home, so he had the kitchen prepare a whole spread of your favorite dishes. Would you like to go take a look?”
Xu Shichu didn’t bother to spare him any face. “Oh? After all these years, Dad still has a place for me in his heart? I thought he’d had another daughter and cast me off into the farthest reaches of the universe long ago!”
Old Master Xu clutched his chest as his heart pounded wildly. He felt that familiar, long-forgotten sensation of breathlessness.
He stopped looking at his troublesome daughter and turned instead to his quiet, well-behaved eldest grandson beside him. At last, he felt a little better.
“Jingheng and Xing Si are still the well-behaved, sensible ones. Unlike you—you come home and start upsetting me right away.”
The butler took the cue and hurried forward to rub the Old Master’s chest. “Please don’t get angry, Old Master. Everyone knows the Eldest Young Miss is the apple of your eye. After she went missing all those years ago, you could neither eat nor sleep properly. Now you’re finally reunited as father and daughter. It’s a joyous occasion!”
Hearing that, Xu Shichu couldn’t keep up her stern expression any longer. She looped her arm through Old Master Xu’s and smiled as she coaxed him, “I knew Dad still missed me.”
Seeing his daughter’s familiar, charming manner, Old Master Xu felt his heart soften.
All the love and tenderness in his life had been lavished on this daughter. Now, with his lively, mischievous girl standing before him and acting coy, his heart melted into a puddle.
He tapped her on the nose and asked, “Where have you been all these years? Why didn’t you let us know anything?”
Xu Shichu gave him the same explanation as before. “A friend took me to a secret research institute for treatment. I’ve recovered now.”
Afraid her father wouldn’t be easy to fool, she added, “It has something to do with the research I’ll be doing next, so it has to stay confidential.”
Old Master Xu was left speechless.
He turned to Xu Jingheng beside him. “I heard that girl from the Song family tried to set you up?”
As they chatted as if no one else were there, Xu Man nearly snapped a fingernail. Did they think she didn’t exist?
Xu Jingheng didn’t look at her either. He simply answered, “She nearly did. Luckily, Mom got there in time.”
“Then…” The Old Master thought for a moment before asking, “I heard you sent that girl to the police station. Does that mean you don’t intend to go through with the engagement?”
Xu Shichu answered before Xu Jingheng could. “What engagement? The Song family made that up and used my name to spread nonsense. That’s just how they are. Old man, you should’ve put a stop to it.”
Old Master Xu was left speechless. When she wanted to butter him up, he was Dad; when she didn’t need anything from him, he was “Old man.”
He glared at her. “Weren’t you close to her in college? How was I supposed to know the engagement was fake?”
Xu Man immediately came over and chimed in. “That’s right, Older Sister. Since the engagement was arranged, it would be better to honor it. If you back out at the last minute, it won’t reflect well on the Xu family!”
She had come today because of He Wan. He Wan was worried Old Madam Jiang wouldn’t be reliable, so she had approached Xu Man again, hoping Xu Man would help smooth things over with Old Master Xu.
Xu Shichu didn’t care in the least. “Even if there were such a thing as an engagement, so what? I could break it openly, and the Song family still wouldn’t be able to do a thing to me.”
Her words were outrageously arrogant. Xu Man dug her nails into her palm, seething with hatred. “Weren’t you very close to He Wan?”
Xu Shichu gave a snort of laughter. “We got along well enough, but not well enough for me to sell my son.”
Xu Jingheng, who had heard her, let the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly.
It felt so good to have Mom protect him!
“All right, all right. If that’s the case, cancel the engagement. It’s not a big deal.”
Old Master Xu disliked the Song family too. Quite apart from the girl’s character, their attitude toward the adoptive mother who had switched the babies was simply astonishing.
That adoptive mother had deliberately switched the babies and even abused the real heiress for sixteen years. Yet the Song family hadn’t sent her to prison; instead, they gave her a huge sum of money, effectively buying out her ties to the fake heiress.
Old Master Xu couldn’t abide such muddleheaded behavior.
“This isn’t over.” Xu Shichu turned to Xu Jingheng. “The Song family genuinely hurt you. They’d better be prepared to pay the price.”
The Old Master nodded along. “Right. Cut off our cooperation with the Song family. There’s no reason to keep letting them benefit from us.”
Xu Jingheng looked at the Old Master in surprise. He hadn’t expected his maternal grandfather to say that.
His grandfather had always been strict with him. When it came to the company, in particular, he had expressly forbidden Xu Jingheng from letting personal feelings affect his work. And yet this time, he was making an exception?
Old Master Xu didn’t notice Xu Jingheng’s surprise. Instead, he held his daughter’s hand and looked her up and down without end. They hadn’t seen each other for so many years; they had a mountain of things to say, more than they could ever finish.
For a while, the atmosphere was warm and affectionate.
Xu Jingheng had long since grown used to sitting quietly on the sofa. He refilled his maternal grandfather’s and mother’s cups with fresh tea, then returned to his seat without trying to join the conversation.
Xu Man, however, was having a hard time being ignored. She nudged her silent daughter, urging her to ingratiate herself with the Old Master, but the girl merely glanced at her and lowered her head again.
Xu Man cursed under her breath. Useless.
Then her eyes shifted as she thought of that illegitimate son in the Jiang family.
Xu Shichu had only just returned. Surely she didn’t know yet that her husband had an illegitimate son?
Xu Man looked at Xu Shichu with an expression of deep concern. “Older Sister, have you seen CEO Jiang since you came back?”
Xu Shichu turned to her. “You mean Jiang Li?”
Xu Man’s face was full of ill intent. “Yes. You disappeared for thirteen years without even saying goodbye. It would be only natural if CEO Jiang had found another woman. Don’t take it too hard.”
At that, Old Master Xu and Xu Jingheng both looked stricken.
Xu Shichu paused. “He has another woman?”
Xu Man hastily covered her mouth, as if she had let it slip by accident. “Oh! You didn’t know? I didn’t mean to tell you.”
This time, Old Master Xu was truly furious. He slammed his hand on the table and glared at her. “If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak at all. We’re about to have dinner. You’d better go home!”
“Dad, are you asking me to leave?”
Xu Man looked astonished. Over the past few years, she had often come to the old residence to keep the Old Master company. At first, he had indeed disliked her, but gradually, his attitude had softened.
But now Xu Shichu had barely returned, and his attitude had changed at once. He was even asking her to leave!