Hearing Jiang Zhao’s words, Old Master Jiang let out a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone. “You know very well that Youli doesn’t want anything more to do with your family. Why insist on making a fool of yourself? If you attend Youli’s birthday banquet, it won’t make her happy. It will only annoy her.”
“I know… But I really want to give her my blessings in person. Whenever I think about how, in the twenty years I was her older brother, I never celebrated her birthday even once, and how I treated her that way after she came home—all for Jiang Yonghe’s sake—I feel terrible, Grandpa. I only want to give her my blessings. I won’t do anything else.” Jiang Zhao’s voice began to tremble with emotion.
There was a brief silence on the other end before Old Master Jiang said, “I’ll ask her for you. If Youli refuses, there’s nothing I can do. You should focus on your music instead of continuing to devote your attention to Youli.”
“All right. Thank you, Grandpa.” Knowing that his grandfather was willing to help, Jiang Zhao felt a glimmer of hope.
Old Master Jiang sighed. “Every time this happens, I can’t help thinking, if only you had known then what you know now. When Youli first came back, I warned all of you. Youli was your biological sister, yet you insisted on making things so ugly before you finally realized your mistake.”
Jiang Zhao was so ashamed that he had nothing to say.
“If I weren’t old and unwilling to see our Jiang family fall apart before I died, I would never have forgiven your father for hiring someone to kidnap your aunt and then trying to seize the family fortune by force right in front of me,” Old Master Jiang said sternly. “Youli was already showing the greatest mercy she could by agreeing to detoxify your older brother, Jiang Xing. You must not hope for anything more.”
“I know, Grandpa. We’re the ones who wronged Xiao Li—and wronged you, too.”
Old Master Jiang sighed again. “Wait for my news.” With that, he hung up.
…
Night had fallen, and the city lights had just come on. After a busy day, Jiang Youli finally returned to her home in the villa district on the eastern side of the city.
The moment she opened the door, she saw two people sitting in the living room. One was her handsome father, Jiang Yehan, and the other was her kind-hearted grandfather.
At that moment, Jiang Yehan was speaking with Old Master Jiang in his deep, magnetic voice. “…The details of our cooperation with the Zhou family have basically been finalized…”
Hearing someone come in, Old Master Jiang looked up, and his eyes met Jiang Youli’s. The corners of his mouth lifted into a kindly smile. “Youli, you’re back.”
Jiang Youli walked over and sat down on the sofa before asking directly, “Grandpa, did you come here because you need something?”
Old Master Jiang couldn’t help giving her an exasperated smile. “What’s this, child? Does my coming here necessarily mean I need something from you? Can’t I simply come by for a chat?”
Jiang Youli blinked and replied playfully, “Grandpa, if that’s what you say, then you can only chat with me about everyday things later. You’re not allowed to bring up anything else.”
Old Master Jiang clearly hadn’t expected her to answer that way. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. “Ha ha! You little rascal. There’s really no point in putting on a polite front with you.”
“So what is it?” Jiang Youli already had a pretty good idea, but she still asked out of respect for her elder.
Old Master Jiang looked at his granddaughter and was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “Grandpa just wanted to ask whether you’ve really decided not to let your second uncle and his family attend your birthday banquet.”
Zhang Susu, who had been cutting fruit in the kitchen, walked out just in time to hear Old Master Jiang’s question. She stopped in her tracks.
Jiang Youli nodded without hesitation. “Yes, Grandpa. I’ve made up my mind. This is the first birthday I’ll be celebrating at home, and the first one I’ll be celebrating together with my parents. I want it to be happy and enjoyable. Grandpa, you want me to have a wonderful first birthday after returning to the Jiang family, too, don’t you? So I absolutely won’t let Jiang Yangxu and his family come and spoil it.”
Jiang Yehan immediately added, “Dad, you know my position. After what happened to Su Su last time, I completely severed ties with Jiang Yangxu. If he weren’t my brother, I would have reported him to the police and had him arrested long ago.”
Ever since that incident, Jiang Yehan had been unwilling even to refer to Jiang Yangxu as his second brother.
Jiang Youli continued, “I already showed their family my final act of mercy by detoxifying Jiang Xing last time. Grandpa, you should understand that. If you keep pressuring me to accept Jiang Yangxu and his family in other ways, then I really will fall out with you.”
Old Master Jiang said solemnly, “I understand. In fact, I already knew what your answer would be.”
“The food’s ready. Since you’re here, Dad, why don’t you stay for dinner?” Zhang Susu said as she came over with a fruit platter. After setting it on the coffee table, she spoke at just the right moment.
Old Master Jiang knew that if he continued, he really would become unwelcome, so he nodded. “All right.”
After dinner, Jiang Yehan took an electronic guest list from his study.
“Since you’re here, Dad, take a look at this. This is the guest list for Youli’s birthday banquet. Is there anyone else you think we should invite to celebrate with her?”
Old Master Jiang took the list and glanced through it. There were far fewer names than at the welcome banquet last time, and most of those invited this time were people with close ties to the family.
There were many names he had never heard before.
“The people coming with Chairman Zhou are the uncles and aunts from Youli’s village,” Jiang Yehan explained to Old Master Jiang. Then he turned specifically to Jiang Youli and added, “Youli, when we held your engagement banquet last time, we didn’t arrange for anyone to pick up Uncle Zhou and Aunt Meng from the village. There will be quite a few guests this time, so I’ll arrange for someone to drive them here.”
“All right.” Jiang Youli nodded, then didn’t forget to praise him. “With my handsome dad taking care of it, I feel completely at ease.”
Jiang Yehan blushed at the compliment. He had never realized how happy it could be to have a daughter who was so affectionate. Just a few words of praise from her were enough to make his heart bloom.
Covering her mouth, Zhang Susu giggled. Then she teased him, “Ahan, do you understand now why I wanted a daughter so badly?”
“Mm, I understand,” Jiang Yehan admitted. Having a daughter really was wonderful!
Watching the happy, harmonious scene before him, Old Master Jiang couldn’t help feeling moved. Perhaps it really was best not to let the second branch of the family come and disturb this happiness.
…
Jiang Zhao didn’t receive a call from Old Master Jiang until nine that evening.
He asked anxiously, “Grandpa, how did it go? What did Xiao Li say?”
“She made it very clear that she won’t invite your family,” Old Master Jiang said seriously. “I used to think that if I could get all of you to let go of the past, it would be best for the family to live together in harmony. But now I’ve come to understand that the best thing is for you not to disturb Youli and her family.”
“That’s enough. From now on, don’t come to me again about anything concerning Youli. I won’t help you anymore, either.” Old Master Jiang’s tone was firm. “At this point, all I hope for is to see the Jiang family continue to prosper under Youli’s leadership and avoid being left behind by the times. As for everything else—especially your family—whether you live or die is none of my concern from now on.”
“Although I’ve given Youli all of the Jiang family’s businesses and properties, you still have plenty of cash in your hands. Your father and your eldest brother should have no trouble starting a small business on their own. And as for you, you’re a singer, so making money shouldn’t be a problem either. I hope you’ll learn to cherish the life you have and stop bringing trouble upon yourselves.”
