Si Lin blocked Rong Yu’s path.
"Miss Rong, have another drink. My treat."
"Treat your father instead." Ji Zhouye shoved him aside. "I warned you—Rong Yu isn’t someone you can set your sights on. Otherwise—"
Si Lin gritted his teeth.
Last time, at a birthday party, he’d merely struck up a conversation with Rong Yu. And what happened? That bastard Ji Zhouye actually tattled to Old Master Ji, who then called Si Lin’s grandfather. The result? He’d been chased around and beaten by the old man.
Such a petty thing to snitch about—how ridiculous!
"What’s it to you if I pursue Miss Rong?" Si Lin sneered. "Who are you to warn me?"
Hai Chang'an frowned. "We’ve all grown up together as brothers. Arguing over a woman isn’t worth it. Zhouye, if Miss Rong isn’t your girlfriend, what’s the harm in letting Si Lin try?"
Si Lin straightened up triumphantly. "See? Even Chang'an thinks I’m not in the wrong."
Rong Yu tossed Ji Zhiyuan into the backseat of the car before turning around with a faint smile. "Hai Chang'an, is your grandfather Hai Dadun?"
Hai Chang'an was stunned.
Hai Dadun was a name his grandfather had used decades ago, never publicly disclosed. How did this Miss Rong know about it?
Rong Yu then looked at Si Lin. "And your grandfather—Sima Gang?"
Si Lin scowled. "How dare you address my grandfather by his full name?"
Rong Yu chuckled.
Hai Dadun and Sima Gang—these two were cousins and childhood playmates of Yingbao. Back then, they’d often teamed up to make Yingbao cry.
"I’ll pay your grandfather a visit sometime," Rong Yu said, patting Si Lin’s shoulder. "It’s been a while since I last saw Sima Gang. I miss him a little."
With that, she bent down and got into the car.
Only after Ji Zhouye drove off did Si Lin snap out of his daze. "She—she… Who does she think she is, calling my grandfather by his name like that?"
Hai Chang'an frowned.
Something about Rong Yu’s demeanor didn’t feel like that of a young woman. Instead, she carried herself like an elder.
The way she addressed their grandfathers didn’t seem out of place at all.
It was downright eerie.
Early the next morning, a Sunday, Rong Yu woke up at six due to her biological clock and took Old Master Ji out for exercise.
After half an hour of workout, they sat down at the dining table just as Ji Zhouye came downstairs. The young man immediately started complaining. "Old Master, you have no idea how shameless Si Lin was. He actually dared to pursue Great-Grandma! Who does he think he is? He’s not worthy!"
Old Master Ji snorted. "I’ll pay that brat a visit myself and teach him a lesson."
Rong Yu took a bite of bread and looked up. "After I left, did Hai Dadun and Sima Gang ever bully you?"
"They did!" Old Master Ji said indignantly. "They mocked me for being an orphan and picked on me all the time. If not for Uncle Tang stepping in to warn them, I would’ve been tormented to death."
Rong Yu’s fingers stilled. "Uncle Tang… Tang Che?"
A complicated emotion surged within her.
She and Tang Che had grown up together. Their families were close, and the elders often joked about arranging a marriage between them.
But both of them despised the idea of an arranged union.
Later, she married someone else.
Tang Che remained single.
Then, after her husband died in the line of duty, Tang Che suddenly confessed his feelings to her… She rejected him outright.
Strangely, Tang Che didn’t seem affected by her refusal. He continued treating her as a friend, and she assumed he had moved on. Yet, he never married.
Gradually, she realized he hadn’t let go. She began distancing herself, and they lost contact for years.
The year she died, he was thirty—still alone.
So, even after her death, he had watched over Yingbao.
Seventy years had passed. Was he… still alive?
"Speaking of Uncle Tang, I almost forgot." Old Master Ji quickly instructed Steward Yu to fetch an invitation. "Uncle Tang is about to turn a hundred. The Tang family is throwing a grand celebration. Mom, will you come with me?"
A weight lifted from Rong Yu’s heart. "Tang Che is still alive? That’s wonderful."
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a call from her aunt, Wan Jing.
"Xiao Yu, today’s your cousin’s son’s full-month banquet at the Shangri-La Hotel. Should I ask your cousin to pick you up?"
Rong Yu had been so busy she’d nearly forgotten. Since she now occupied this body, she had to maintain some familial ties on behalf of the original owner.
"No need, Auntie. I’ll go myself."
Old Master Ji rubbed his hands eagerly. "Let me tag along. I’d like to meet them."
Rong Yu shook her head. "Stay home and prepare a birthday gift for Uncle Tang. I’ll go with you to the Tang family’s celebration later."
She had the driver take her to a jewelry store, where she picked out a set of gold and jade accessories for the baby before heading to the Shangri-La Hotel.
Following the signs at the entrance, she arrived at the banquet hall.
Before she could step inside, a shrill voice rang out. "In-laws, this is the Yu family’s first grandson! My daughter risked her life to give birth to your heir, and all you give is a measly bracelet? How stingy!"
Beside Wan Jing stood Rong Yu’s uncle, Yu Shun.
At these words, Yu Shun looked ready to explode, but Wan Jing held him back, forcing a smile. "This bracelet isn’t cheap—it’s worth over ten thousand. It’s just the right weight for a child—"
"Stingy is stingy. Don’t make excuses," the middle-aged woman—the mother-in-law of the Hong family—scoffed. "My poor daughter married into your family and got nothing! Even after giving you a son, you still don’t appreciate her!"
Yu Shun had a fiery temper. Years ago, when his sister had been wronged by the Rong family, he’d stormed into their home and raised hell. He wasn’t one to swallow insults.
He slammed the table and stood up. "Our Yu family paid the dowry, bought a house, and even got a car—everything according to tradition! But what did you do? You stole the household register and forced my son into a matrilocal marriage! The grandson doesn’t even carry our surname! A ten-thousand-yuan bracelet is more than generous. What more do you want?"
"If not for your son marrying into our family, do you think the Hongs would even glance at country bumpkins like you?" The woman sneered. "Yu Qingbai, are you just going to let your parents cause a scene at the banquet?"
Yu Qingbai’s face darkened.
He took a deep breath and addressed his mother-in-law. "My parents earn barely five or six thousand a month combined. A bracelet worth over ten thousand is already expensive for them. You shouldn’t criticize their gesture."
"Yu Qingbai, how dare you!" His wife snapped. "You’re humiliating my mother in front of everyone? Who gave you the right? Without my parents, you wouldn’t even have a job! You eat our food, use our things, and still have the nerve to disrespect my family? How did I end up married to someone like you?"
Yu Qingbai clenched his fists.
At first, he hadn’t known the truth about his wife’s family. He’d thought it was an ordinary relationship.
It wasn’t until she got pregnant and stole his household register that he realized—the Hongs had targeted him all along, planning to make him a live-in son-in-law.
Perhaps it was because he was tall, handsome, and highly educated...
He found himself sinking deep into the quagmire.
