Zhang patted himself on his strong shoulder, as if demonstrating his strength to Mrs. Liu, and the latter grinned from ear to ear.
Ye Guo remained speechless, though he knew Zhang was trying to do credit to his superior. Unfortunately, Ye Guo couldn’t help giving Lu Jinting a hard time whenever he thought his spoilt daughter married him and then suffered in the Lu family.
“Put it in the yard.”
Ye Guo ordered simply, not telling them how to settle down the potted red pine. Such a plant couldn’t be preserved for a long time. Besides, Ye Qiancheng knew his father loved the gift and he just wanted to give Lu Jinting the cold shoulder.
Ye Qiancheng tried to ease the tension and he said, “Come on. Let’s get in. I’ll ask Mrs. Liu to dig a hole in the yard with some helpers and plant it directly.”
Hearing his stupid suggestion, Ye Guo stopped him hurriedly, “This is the finest red pine. It’s shade-requiring. How can you plant it in the foreyard? I’ll handle it myself some other day. A corner in the backyard will be fine.”
Seeing Ye Guo try to protect the red pine himself made Ye Guanguan snigger. Seemed like her father wasn’t as disagreeable as she had imagined.
“Well, let’s get in, then.”
Mrs. Liu and Zhang were left in the foreyard, thinking how to take care of the plant. The rest of them went inside the house, regardless of the previous contradiction.
There came a voice a little way off. Before Ye Guanguan made her way to the living room, she saw two familiar guys sitting on the sofa as if they were real family members.
“Guanguan, finally you’re back. We haven’t met for only three days, but we’ve been missing you intensely.”
Seeing someone approach, Lu Jinting still didn’t let go of Ye Guanguan’s hand. Ye Guanguan felt him seizing her wrist tightly. Some strange feelings flashed across her face and disappeared rather quickly.
“Aunt, miss me? I don’t think so.”
In front of Ye Guanguan stood her second uncle and aunt. In the previous life, they always played dumb and colluded with Ye Qiuran to fool Ye Guanguan.
Ye Guanguan had thought they would be too embarrassed to stay in her home because of what happened on the wedding. What a surprise that they were still here!
“Come on. I have no reason to lie to you. After you got married, we didn’t dare to visit you in case others thought we were too mean.”
Her aunt Huang Lirong looked as hypocritical as she used to be in the previous life. Her uncle Ye Jian also stepped forward, looking rather ebullient. Ye Guanguan couldn’t help feeling disgusted.
She took back her hand silently and cast a glance at her father. Noticing his acquiescence, she no longer restrained her anger.
“Where is Ye Qiuran?”
Ye Guanguan asked directly, looking obviously angry.
On her wedding, their daughter Ye Qiuran made a spectacle of herself. She stole Ye Guanguan’s boyfriend and even had sex with him. Didn’t they even feel threatened?
When Ye Guanguan asked, Huang Lirong forced a smile and replied, “Qiuran is too busy with work lately. We don’t see her every day.”
“You don’t see her every day? Where else can she go, except my home? Oh, I forgot. She’s fooling around with Lu Mingye. She can stay with him.”
Ye Guanguan was questioning, regardless of their relationship at all. Huang Lirong and Ye Jian had no reason to sidestep her question again. They shook off her hand immediately.
“What do you mean, Ye Guanguan? Yes, Qiuran hurt you. But she was also cheated by Lu Mingye! The Lu family should say sorry!”
Filled with righteous indignation, Huang Lirong yelled, blaming Lu Jinting and his family for everything.
Ye Guanguan always defended her husband and she said, “Aunt, Ye Qiuran didn’t hook up with Lu Mingye overnight. You want to fool me? All right. But a couple of days ago, Lu Mingye came to me and told me Ye Qiuran seduced him. How will you explain that?”
“You! You! Brother, your daughter no longer respects us! We’re her elders. How dare she contradict us like that!”
As Huang Lirong argued, she asked Ye Guo to defend her. In the Ye family, elders must be respected. But Ye Guanguan was the only daughter of Ye Guo. Ye Jian didn’t dare to bully her even if he was Ye Guo’s younger brother.
“No matter who was wrong, the problem happened. Jian, why don’t you think about what you’re going to do with Qiuran?”
Ye Guanguan knew it clearly that her uncle and aunt could hardly marry their daughter to anyone if people knew about the scandal. Besides, Lu Mingye wasn’t going to marry Ye Qiuran, either.
“Brother, I know. I know you’re angry. But Lu Mingye wavered between Guanguan and Qiuran. Qiuran was hurt, too. She lost her virginity. We scolded her and beat her. Shouldn’t we give her a way out?”
Sounded like Ye Qiuran was the victim. Ye Guanguan couldn’t help sneering.
“I’m the victim, but I don’t mean to be unreasonable. I’m Lu Jinting’s wife now. Lu Mingye no longer has anything to do with me. But Uncle, Aunt, stop shedding crocodile tears. You’re not welcome here.”
“What’s happening? She used to be close to us like real families. And she wasn’t close to her own father. Why is she behaving so differently today?” Huang Lirong murmured to herself. Yet she couldn’t talk back directly. So, she replied in a tearful voice, hinting Ye Jian to help.
“Oh, God. What a cruel world! Brother, is Guanguan kicking us out? Ye Jian is your own brother! How could Guanguan say that?”
Ye Guanguan laughed scornfully. Ye Jian and his family had lived in Ye Guanguan’s home for most of their lives like parasites, without even paying a penny. Ye Guanguan asked them to move out and they felt aggrieved?
“Sorry, Aunt, but I think you get me wrong. I don’t mean kicking you out. I just want to make it clear. When you moved here from the town, you said you would only lodge with us for a period. It turned out that you lived in my home for over twenty years. And think about what your daughter has done. Please move out. I really feel too embarrassed to see you.”
Ye Guanguan lowered her head. Anyway, she was still softhearted. Even though Ye Jian and Huang Lirong cheated her for a long time, she had regarded them as real families.
She was kind enough not to tell them she no longer wanted to see them. Well, everyone would find it humiliating if they knew what Ye Qiuran had done.
“Brother, is that what you mean too?”
Ye Jian asked when he knew Ye Guo had the final say of the Ye family. Besides, Ye Guanguan had got married. She shouldn’t have been interfering with family stuff.
Ye Guo saw the depression in his brother’s eyes, and he turned away, feeling too sad to look back.
“Guanguan liked Mingye most. But he suddenly hooked up with Qiuran. That’s unacceptable. It’s a scandal anyway. Jian, don’t bring it up again,” replied Ye Guo.
Lu Jinting was looking pale. Ye Guanguan hurriedly took his hand and shook her head secretly.