Chapter 29 (1/2)

Translated by Karcessel of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Zhao XueMei never could have expected for this trip to ChaoYang Street to end in such a disaster, and she didn’t even manage to see Old Man Yang. Those two brats she never spared a second glance turned out to have been hiding behind an unassuming demeanor all along.

With Xiao Xiao injured by that wolf in sheep’s clothing, Zhao XueMei’s persistent grudge against Old Man Yang and this new hatred mingled together into one bitter mess, and the contempt in her heart swelled. If Old Man Yang hadn’t taken those two brats into his home, fed them and clothed them and kept them, how could something like this have happened?

On top of this loathing, Zhao XueMei recalled her glance inside the XiQin restaurant earlier, and only grew ever more convinced that Old Man Yang was filching money under the table and keeping them in the dark. She had no idea how much money he had kept hidden from them over the years, and yet he wouldn’t even give them one old and worn down restaurant.

Thinking this over, she became ever more convinced that her guess was correct.

After a moment, Zhao XueMei grit her teeth and helped Yang Xiao up.

“I’m not through with the two of you yet!” She spat.

“Mom, let’s just go back. Let’s forget about the house, Grandpa has made up his mind not to give it to us anyway.”

“Forget about the house?” Zhao XueMei sneered. “Fine, but even if I forget about the house, I will never forget this grudge. I refuse to let those two bastard brats go unscathed!”

Yang Xiao just thought that his mother was spitting venom in midst of an angry rage, and failed to catch the clear, burning look in her eyes.

That aside, Shen Fu on the other hand caught up to Lin ShuYi in a few large steps, only to find Lin ShuYi already staring at him.

Shen Fu was immediately cautious. “What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me? Don’t tell me you’re going to start lecturing me. I really didn’t raise a hand against him, only a foot. That shouldn’t count as a fight, right?”

“Did you get hurt?”

Shen Fu was surprised for a moment, then burst out a grin. “Do I look like someone who could be hurt by that?”

Lin ShuYi laughed. “No.”

Surprised again, Shen Fu quickly straightened out his face. “Don’t laugh!”

Though much effort, Lin ShuYi had tried to move on and give Shen Fu some face, but then Shen Fu said this. Lin ShuYi looked at him for a moment, then turned around and left.

Shen Fu stood in place for a long moment. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he mumbled “… I almost couldn’t hold back.”

Eventually, the two of them returned to the XiQin restaurant together. Old Man Yang hadn’t lied down to rest that long ago, but he was already up, sitting at a table. Xiao Wan sat across from him. Old Man Yang’s back was facing them and his face obscured, so it was unclear what they were talking about.

“Xiao Yi gege! Xiao Fu gege!” Xiao Wan’s sharp eyes spotted the two of them as soon as they stepped inside the restaurant, and she called out enthusiastically. Old Man Yang turned around as well.

The customers who had been eating inside the restaurant earlier when Zhao XueMei and her son arrived were already gone, replaced by a new batch of customers. Naturally, no one currently in the shop was aware of the event that just occured. Old Man Yang greeted the two of them happily. “Xiao Wan’s grandmother sent over some pig trotters, come and eat!”

Seeing that Old Man Yang didn’t seem like he was aware of anything that just occured, Lin ShuYi finally relaxed.

What he did not expect was for Shen Fu to open his mouth and immediately say, “Yang Xiao and his mother just came by.”

“…” Lin ShuYi whipped his head around to glare at Shen Fu.

Old Man Yang’s expression changed slightly. He said, “They came again? Didn’t cause any trouble, did they?”

Shen Fu shook his head. They didn’t cause any trouble, despite their original intention to do so.

“I taught Yang Xiao a bit of a lesson. I hope grandpa won’t be angry with me.”

“…” Silence from both Lin ShuYi and Xiao Wan.

Old Man Yang really didn’t expect Shen Fu to just lay everything out like that, straight to the point. He smiled softly. “It’s alright. Yang Xiao that child, with that attitude, he really needs a lesson or two. All he knows is how to rely on his parents and cause trouble. It’s alright, grandpa isn’t angry. I know that you would never go too far.”

Shen Fu smiled warmly.

Old Man Yang gazed out into the distance for a long moment. He sighed, and then began speaking. “When JianGuo was just a small child, his mother passed away. I was too busy earning money to care for him, so he grew up with his grandmother. I was constantly away, only seeing him a few times a year, but I always told myself that it was all for him. All that time away, all that effort making money, it was all to support JianGuo. I thought that even if I wasn’t be his side, it was alright. It wasn’t something I could help.

“It was only much later when one day I came home to see him standing outside the front door. He was so timid, so scared calling out to me, worn down by years of his grandmother’s harsh scoldings and iron grip, but I realised my mistakes too late. His cowardly temperament forged during childhood was already set in stone.

“Later, when he was going to marry Zhao XueMei, I knew it wasn’t right. I was never on board with it. XueMei that girl, she had a powerful personality. With JianGuo’s soft temperament, he was bound to play in the palm of her hand for the rest of his life. But there was nothing I could do. JianGuo loved her, and I tried to convince myself that maybe such a strong personality would be alright, at least JianGuo wouldn’t be bullied by others after I was gone…

“Sometime I still think to myself, this is all my fault. This is all because of my independent, do everything myself attitude. It’s all my fault that my family ended up like this. The Heavens are punishing me for neglecting my son, it’s all because I never raised him properly that everything ended up like this.”