Xie Heng’an and Lu Wenhua were both startled by Old Master Xie’s roar. Hadn’t the old man gone back to his study to write out his family rules?
When had he appeared?!
Xie Heng’an raised his head toward the second-floor railing. “Old Master, you’re being shameless at your age. Why are you eavesdropping like some nosy gossip?”
Lu Wenhua immediately shifted the blame. “Old Master, this has nothing to do with me! It was all your good son’s idea!”
Old Master Xie was so furious that his beard practically stood on end. “You two are birds of a feather. What are you pretending to be innocent for?”
“Just you wait, Xie Heng’an. When Ningning comes back in a couple of days, I’ll tell her that you two were pretending to be antis and calling her a shorty!”
“I recorded your entire conversation just now. I’ll send it to her later!”
Although Xie Tangning was the youngest in the family, she was capable of keeping every single one of them in line.
Because whenever that little brat started making a fuss, she was no different from a demon king descending upon the world.
Xie Heng’an’s expression changed at once. It was obvious that his weak spot had been exposed.
“I really did delete the comment. Can’t you just not send it?”
What if the Little Old Man actually succeeded in tattling, and his beloved granddaughter misunderstood him?
That little girl was determined to grow to a height of one meter seventy. Whenever the word “height” was mentioned, she would kick up a fuss no matter whether it was true or not—one hundred percent of the time.
Old Master Xie ignored him completely. In an excellent mood, he returned to his room without writing any so-called family rules.
As he walked, the Little Old Man muttered to himself, “A bunch of little rascals. Did you really think this old man couldn’t see through you?”
“You’ve got so few tricks up your sleeves, yet you still have the nerve to show them off. How embarrassing~”
He had lived for nearly a century and was one of the most clear-sighted people around. He had long since learned to take everything in stride.
How could he not know that the younger members of his family were hiding certain things from him?
It wasn’t because they didn’t trust him. It was because they loved him.
The Little Old Man had always known, but he had no intention of digging into that so-called force of the plot.
As long as his family was still by his side, he would walk with them until the very end.
If it was their family’s destined calamity, then it was simply a trial they had to face. He would not force anything.
In any case, whether the ending was good or bad, not one of them would ever let go of the others’ hands.
The younger generation hoped that his later years would remain peaceful and undisturbed, so naturally, he would not betray their good intentions.
He had lived to this age. Now he deserved to eat well, drink well, and enjoy himself!
Watching the Little Old Man turn away with a smug look on his face, Xie Heng’an could only smile helplessly. “What an old child. How can someone his age still be so ridiculous?”
In truth, how could he not know? With the old master’s insight, how could he possibly have failed to see what the younger members were hiding?
It was simply that, after living for so many years, the old master had learned to take everything lightly. He was willing to let the younger ones make their own arrangements.
After sighing over the matter, Xie Heng’an finally became serious.
“Your parents-in-law, we’ll have to trouble you to keep a close eye on things here in Haicheng. Tomorrow, Linmei and I will fly to Huacheng and oversee matters there.”
After the chaos of the war years, the Xie family had fallen into decline before rebuilding itself in the south. The south had been the first region to open up back then, and Hong Kong in particular had been the most prosperous place of all.
Huacheng was close to Hong Kong and could be said to be the place where the Xie family of Haicheng had made its fortune.
Even after the company headquarters were moved to Haicheng, the family still maintained a branch in Huacheng. The market there remained equally important.
Lu Wenhua nodded. “Be careful. Although, according to the plot the children told us about, the process of our deaths was only glossed over…”
“But these are unusual circumstances. There could be unexpected developments. Remember to arrange more people in the shadows.”
Xie Heng’an nodded to show that he would take note.
Someone had to sit in Huacheng. Although S.D. had joined forces with Leyuan Industries and was targeting the Haicheng market directly, who knew whether they might use a diversion to invade Huacheng’s vast market instead?
It was necessary to prepare for both possibilities. After all, better safe than sorry.
Qi Rou sighed, but the fierce determination in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest. “So being in your seventies really is the perfect age to charge into battle!”
She, too, had spent decades making waves in the business world. Even now, legends of her younger years still circulated throughout the industry.
Now that her good-for-nothing grandson had dragged her out of retirement to fill in for him, she felt as though she were reliving the glory and excitement of her youth.
Lu Wenhua looked at the excitement gleaming in his wife’s eyes and curled the corners of her lips into a smile.
Giving their quiet retirement a limited-time taste of their younger days didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Chen Linmei was in much the same mood as Qi Rou. After growing tired of the business world and enjoying her retirement, she had devoted herself to fashion.
It was clear that she had always been a woman with boundless energy. Even after all these years, the tricks of the business world were still firmly within her grasp.
A Ferrari was still a Ferrari, even when it had grown old!
For the next hour, the four old men and women discussed their upcoming schedules, hoping to finish everything before that little brat returned home.
Otherwise, the eldest might follow the second brother’s example and start leaping around the house and causing a scene.
There was no helping it. Being the elders of these little demons was no easy task!
…
It was eight o’clock in the morning.
All the guests of Ta’s Journey had gathered once again, but the atmosphere seemed different from before.
Shi Jiahui, Su Yue’er, and Li Boyan all looked visibly troubled. Clearly, they already knew about the torrent of negative publicity aimed at the production team the previous day.
Shi Jiahui, in particular, had been unable to calm down since seeing the revelation that Su Xiaoye was not her biological daughter.
What disturbed her even more was the news that Su Xiaoye’s adoption certificate was also a forgery. If Su Xiaoye found out the truth and made up her mind to leave the Su family, wouldn’t the inheritance she had waited so many years for be lost?
She could not accept that outcome.
Compared with the money she and Su Yue’er had earned in the past, an inheritance worth only a few million was hardly worth mentioning.
But times had changed. That inheritance, worth several million, was something she was determined to obtain.
After all, people were greedy by nature.
The moment she saw the trending searches last night, Shi Jiahui had gone straight to Su Xiaoye’s room. She had hoped to say a few comforting words and persuade Su Xiaoye not to believe the nonsense circulating online.
Her thinking was simple. She had always known that Su Xiaoye deeply longed for a mother’s love.
As long as she, in her role as “mother,” gave Su Xiaoye even the slightest glimpse of hope, Su Xiaoye would definitely trust her unconditionally, just as she had in the past.
Unfortunately, Xie Tangning, Qin Shuchun, and the others who knew the truth had tricked Su Xiaoye into sleeping with them early that night.
Xie Wanwan was with them as well. After filming ended, the four children had continued playing around for quite some time. The rumors and vicious gossip online had not affected them in the slightest.
As a result, Shi Jiahui had been unable to find Su Xiaoye in time to “explain” the truth about her origins. From the moment she woke up that morning, Shi Jiahui had already glanced at Su Xiaoye countless times.
What was more, she had no idea whether Su Xiaoye had seen the things circulating online. If she had, why was she acting so calm?
Shi Jiahui spent the entire morning feeling uneasy.
Su Xiaoye could sense her anxiety, but she pretended not to notice.
She knew only that she would soon be leaving the Su family behind and heading toward the bright future that awaited her.
When the show became embroiled in controversy, every guest was mindlessly vilified without exception—especially the three Xie siblings.
But aside from Li Boyan and the other two, no one took it to heart.
