Mi Xiaotian glared at Yan Zi and said, "You joke about everything, making the kids laugh at you."
Yan Zi pursed her lips. "If I don’t joke around, I’ll suffocate! Tell , I hardly nagged at Shuoshuo, yet he still holds a grudge against and won’t co ho. I never forced him to marry Lan Ji either!"
"Aunt, I know a bit about this." Tong Airui helped Yi Luowa fix her hair and turned to Yan Zi, "Did you break up my third brother’s first love?"
Yan Zi froze. "There was sothing like that. But I did it for their own good! Back then, your third brother was twenty, and that girl was only eighteen. Both were still in school. Tell , if they were together, what kind of outco could they have? The key point is, if your third brother’s relationship was exposed, his career would undoubtedly go downhill."
Yan Zi recalled, "I didn’t say much to him back then. I just explained the pros and cons to him and let him decide."
Tong Airui chuckled, "Are you sure that’s all you said? Maybe recall it properly."
Yan Zi shot him a glare. "I did talk to the girl, fine! Nothing gets past you!"
"After you talked to her, that girl disappeared. She’s only recently shown up again. I figure my third brother is upset with you because of this." Tong Airui stood up and walked to Yan Zi’s side, placing his hands on her shoulders and saying, "Auntie, you’ve identified the root cause. The rest of the matter is up to you."
Yan Zi instantly deflated. "That girl has reappeared?! Xiaotian, you need to handle this one. That girl is really not suitable for Shuoshuo. He doesn’t have to marry Lan Ji, but he absolutely cannot marry the Su girl’s daughter."
Mi Xiaotian helplessly shook his head. "Let the kids make their own decisions."
"You don’t understand!" Yan Zi raised a hand to stop him from speaking further. "I investigated back then; her mother was a singer—not that I look down on singers—but the point is, she doesn’t even know who her daughter’s biological father is. Imagine how chaotic she must be. With a mother like that, how can that girl ever be suitable to marry into our family?"
Yan Zi seed at a loss for words, and tears suddenly stread down her face.
Yi Luowa quickly ran over with tissues. "Aunt, don’t be upset yet. My third brother didn’t say he wanted to marry her. Maybe it’s just hard for him to process her sudden reappearance. He’ll feel better in a few days."
"Luowa, you don’t understand him. He’s such a determined man. He hasn’t shown interest in anyone for so many years—it’s abnormal. I’m sure he’s still thinking about that Su Qing."
Yi Luowa exchanged a glance with Tong Airui. Tong Airui slowly lowered his hands, bent slightly, and asked, "Wait, who’s Su Qing now? Wasn’t it Su Wanrou before?"
"Who’s Su Wanrou?" Yan Zi imdiately lost her composure.
"She’s the leading actress in a popular drama recently. What’s the title of that drama again..." Yi Luowa scratched her head.
Tong Airui ruffled her hair. "It’s *Out of the Mist*."
Yi Luowa nodded frantically. "Yes, that’s the na."
Yan Zi frowned slightly. "Both surnad Su? I need to check this out."
Mi Xiaotian saw Yan Zi walking to the study and followed her inside.
"Luowa, we can search on our phones too. Let’s take a look." Yi Luowa’s reminder prompted everyone to pull out their phones.
Yi Luowa typed "Su Wanrou" into the search engine, and as soon as the three characters were entered, hundreds of news items instantly appeared below.
Yi Luowa clicked on one of Su Wanrou’s photos and enlarged it. Upon seeing her face clearly, both she and Tong Airui froze.
Connie walked over with her phone. "Luowa, we’ve seen this person before! Isn’t this the one who sat with that fake lady in that restaurant?"
"It’s her! That fake lady called out to her, didn’t she? Called her Qingqing, right?" Yi Luowa asked.
"Seems like it. Let see if Su Wanrou is her stage na." Connie clicked through one by one. "Strange, it only ntions her birthday and height; nothing else is listed."
"Maybe celebrities do that, to keep a sense of mystery." Yi Luowa put away her phone and looked at Tong Airui.
Tong Airui raised an eyebrow slightly. "Looking at won’t help. Save your brainpower!"
"Fine, I’ll stop! I’m going to check on Tong Aino!"
Yi Luowa had just turned her head when she saw Tong Aino pick up a cushion and cover his face with it.
"Haha..." Tong Airui burst into laughter.
Yi Luowa pouted. "Grandpa, they’re both bullying ."
Teng Tianxiang laughed. "Grandpa will teach them a lesson for you later."
Tong Airui quickly stopped laughing. "Why hasn’t Ai Ni co back yet? I’m starting to feel hungry."
The ntion of Teng Ai Ni imdiately distracted Teng Tianxiang from scolding his two grandchildren to avenge Yi Luowa. He picked up his phone and dialed Teng Ai Ni.
"Grandpa, I’m already at the door." Teng Ai Ni entered, her arm hooked around You Jia’s.
"Where were you? Coming back so late, your brother’s hungry." Teng Tianxiang huffed as he stood up. "Go to the study and call your aunt to co eat."
Yan Zi didn’t need calling; she ca out on her own. Tong Yao saw her pale expression and took her hand, asking, "Was it just one person you saw?"
"Yes, but she’s changed quite a lot, almost like a different person. I can’t eat anymore; you all go eat. I’ll call Shuoshuo and ask him about this."
Tong Airui walked over, holding her shoulders and saying, "Auntie, now’s not the ti to call my third brother. I’ll talk to him after dinner. If there’s any news, I’ll inform you first."
Yan Zi sighed. Mi Xiaotian nudged her. "Eat first; we’ll talk about everything else later."
Madam Jing Ya glanced at her daughter and slowly stood up. "Let’s all eat. Let the kids handle their own issues. I didn’t interfere with you or your brother, and both of you turned out fine."
"Exactly. Listen to Grandma so you won’t worry yourself old." Tong Airui grinned as he dragged Yan Zi to the dining room.
"What happened?" Teng Ai Ni looked at Yi Luowa, puzzled.
Yi Luowa whispered, "I’ll tell you later. Let’s eat first."
Yan Zi ate very little during dinner and wanted to go ho afterward.
Tong Yao, worried for her, held her hand and said, "Shuoshuo isn’t ho, and Xuanxuan is at camp. Why don’t you and Xiaotian move here instead?"
Yan Zi glanced at her brother’s large family and shook her head. "I’d rather go back ho."
After seeing Yan Zi off, Long Che called for Tong Airui. "Call your third brother and ask him what exactly he wants. If he keeps this up, I’ll put an end to him!"
Tong Airui didn’t dare object. He grabbed his phone and stepped into the study.
Mi Chenshuo, who was staying in a hotel, was browsing articles about Su Qing one after another on the Internet. It took him a few monts after hearing his phone ring to reach for it.
"Getting senile in your old age?" Tong Airui laughed softly.
"Almost." Mi Chenshuo lit a cigarette and took a hard drag. "What is it?"
"Your uncle wants to ask you what exactly you’re trying to accomplish. You’ve upset his sister so much she can’t even eat, and he’s ready to put an end to you!"
Mi Chenshuo tightened his grip on the phone. "My mother’s sick?"
"The way you’re going, she’ll be soon!"
Realizing his mother wasn’t ill, Mi Chenshuo exhaled deeply, leaned back on the sofa, and chuckled. "Tell Uncle to end quickly. Living like this is suffocating."
"What’s going on? Tell us, and we’ll all help you figure it out."
"It’s sothing none of you can help with." Mi Chenshuo’s hand, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly. "Old Fourth, if you and Luowa couldn’t be lovers, could you still be friends?"
"Go to hell!" Tong Airui felt like slamming the phone down in frustration. This guy’s ssed up and still drags his siblings into it.
"I was just using an analogy; why are you so mad?" Mi Chenshuo sighed. "Su Qing’s back. After disappearing all these years, she’s suddenly reappeared. But when she sees , it’s like looking at a stranger. I call her; she doesn’t answer. I go to find her; she won’t see . I try to arrange a project with her agent, but her agent says she won’t work with Wanzhou Films."
"You still love her?" Tong Airui asked in a serious tone.
"Love her? It’s a love that’s carved into my bones—never-ending, relentless. You’ve never been in love before, so you wouldn’t get it even if I told you. Maybe now you can understand. Back then, in her youthful pri, she gave her all to unreservedly. But I couldn’t hold onto her...
The day she left, it was pouring rain. She stood by the school gate without an umbrella. As I took a step forward, she took one back. Crying, she asked , ’Do you care about my background?’ I said I didn’t. Then she asked, ’Would you dare run away with ?’ At that mont, I should have shouted aloud, ’I dare!’ But I hesitated ever so slightly, and she ran off—and it’s been five years now."
"Why did you hesitate?" Tong Airui’s tone carried noticeable anger.
"I wasn’t hesitating about running away with her; I was wondering how badly hurt she must’ve been to say sothing like that." The cigarette burned down to the end, scalding Mi Chenshuo’s hand. He shook violently and threw the cigarette butt away. "Old Fourth, your third brother’s a cautionary tale. Learn from my mistakes. If Luowa asks you to run away with her soday, don’t say a word—just grab her hand and go."
Tong Airui snorted in frustration. "Don’t tell what to do! Third Brother, just answer this question: do you hate Auntie?"
"...I did. When I found out she talked to Su Qing back then, I hated her. Think about it; she risked her life for Dad and gave birth to Sis. How could she not understand how I felt?"
"Third Brother, I’m not trying to justify Auntie’s actions, but Su Qing’s background really is complicated. Let’s put ourselves in a parent’s shoes. Would you let your son marry a wife with such a background?"
Mi Chenshuo gripped the phone tightly, frowning as he shouted into it. "Su Qing’s background is complicated, but what about Luowa? Hers isn’t complicated? Why does your relationship with Luowa get everyone’s blessing while mine had to be forcibly broken apart?"
"..." Tong Airui slamd his fist onto the table, suppressing his anger as he yelled, "Are you crazy? You’ve been biting at all night! I’ll get to the bottom of Luowa’s background, but even if she’s a beggar’s daughter, I won’t let anyone mistreat her! If this family accepts her, we’ll stay here together. If not, then I’ll leave with her—because I’m a man, and I’ll protect my woman!"
Mi Chenshuo pursed his lips. "Old Fourth, you’re a real man. But take it from your big brother—don’t go digging."
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