An Kexin and Lin Jie returned to Xiangtai Apartnt, just after nine thirty in the evening.
As soon as they entered the house, Lin Jie heard Yuanyuan's whimpering cries, along with Zhang Xiaoxiao's relieved voice, "Alright, alright, now your dear uncle is here, don't cry anymore, okay?"
Lin Jie handed the food packaging box he was carrying to An Kexin and picked up Yuanyuan, who ran over with open arms.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying like a little tabby cat again?"
Yuanyuan sniffled a few tis, wiped her eyes with her little hand, and said with a sobbing voice, "I miss mommy! Uncle, mommy isn't coming back, why doesn't she even call ho?"
"I miss mommy, I want to talk to her."
Lin Jie had to make up an excuse, "Mommy went sowhere very far away, so far that even the phone can't reach it."
"Hey, look, I've followed through with our agreent and brought you so delicious treats."
An Kexin tily brought the packaged food box closer to Yuanyuan and tempted, "Yuanyuan, have a sll, doesn't it sll good? These are exquisite pastries that your Uncle Jie specially bought from Xinyu Tea House."
"Your Aunt Miaomiao and Sister Nannan love eating these."
An Keng, nearby, afraid of being forgotten, added, "I also love eating them."
Yuanyuan twitched her little nose and broke into a smile, happily saying, "It slls good!"
She wriggled in Lin Jie's arms and said, "Uncle, I want to eat sothing yummy, and I want to be lifted high!"
"Lifted high?"
Lin Jie looked curiously towards Zhang Xiaoxiao, Lin Miao, and others.
Lin Miao chuckled and explained, "Brother, after dinner, Sister Shen brought Ye Chen over. Ye Chen played with Yuanyuan and lifted her up repeatedly."
Lin Jie understood and laughed, "Alright, lifted high!"
He supported Yuanyuan under her armpits, occasionally lifting her high and then putting her down, and, in high spirits, even tossed her a bit.
This made Zhang Xiaoxiao and An Kexin stop him quickly, but Yuanyuan was delighted and kept giggling.
Lin Jie steadily placed Yuanyuan on the ground and said, "The lifting high is over, now go eat treats with Aunt Miaomiao, Aunt Keng, and Sister Nannan."
"But soon it's ti to sleep, so you shouldn't eat too much."
Yuanyuan trotted over to Yao Henan, looking at the food box on the table, waving her little hand, eagerly shouting, "Eat treats, sister, wipe hands..."
Zhang Xiaoxiao tugged Lin Jie's sleeve, leading him to the floor-to-ceiling window away from Yuanyuan and the others by a few ters, speaking softly, "Yuanyuan's mom's landlord called, saying stuff in the room..."
Lin Jie thought for a mont and said, "Xiaoxiao, you and Guan Muhua find a ti to tidy it up."
"Like photos, computers, personal items with so commorative value, just pack them up and find a suitable place to store them."
"For other furniture, ho appliances, forget about them."
He glanced at Yuanyuan happily smiling while eating with Lin Miao and Yao Henan and said, "When she understands and grows up, there should always be so things left for her to rember, right?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao sighed softly, "I'll handle it well."
"Oh, the landlord also ntioned one more thing. In recent days, several small loan companies and online credit companies have co to inquire about Yuanyuan's mom and Yuanyuan's situation."
"The landlord said he told them about Yuanyuan's mom, but gave no information about Yuanyuan."
Lin Jie responded with an "oh," suddenly recalling that insurance worth over a million.
"Xiaoxiao, do you think the money used for the insurance was borrowed by Yuanyuan's mom from various loan companies?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao nodded, chuckling bitterly, "Ajie, I think the sa way."
"I guess Yuanyuan's mom thought that after her death, everything would be settled, and she could still leave so future security for Yuanyuan."
Lin Jie couldn't help but shake his head.
While he didn't approve of Yuanyuan's mom's approach, he could understand her thoughts.
"Ajie, how do you plan to handle this matter?"
Lin Jie scoffed, "Let's pretend not to know about it for now."
"Those online loan companies are essentially loan sharks. Do they dare co to my door to collect debts?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, yes! The Ajie of today is not what he used to be; stamping his foot, he can shake the earth. He is no longer the skinny, weak, bullied little boy of the past."
Rembering the past, Lin Jie chuckled, "Back then, it wasn't that I was weak; I was kind-hearted."
"Xiaoxiao, imagine if soone bullied at that ti, and I simply lay on the ground; at least I could extort half a year's inco from their family."
"Well, you're right. Given your condition at that ti, you might be more formidable than those elderly folks, surely catching them out with one tumble."
Zhang Xiaoxiao agreed and then asked quietly, "Ajie, have you made a decision regarding Ye Hongqing's family?"
Lin Jie scratched his head and said, "I'll talk to Ye Hongqing."
Finding that this matter could no longer be delayed, he directly dialed Ye Hongqing's number.
The phone was answered quickly, and upon learning Ye Hongqing was at the Night Charm Bar, Lin Jie planned to reschedule, but Ye Hongqing expressed he would co back right away.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Xiaoxiao said, "Ajie, I can see that Ye Hongqing, Shen Hui, and Ye Chen's family really do like Yuanyuan."
"Yuanyuan would surely be pampered as a little princess with them."
Lin Jie worriedly said, "Being a little princess is not what I fear; I'm just worried that Yuanyuan might end up becoming a delinquent girl with them."
Zhang Xiaoxiao chuckled, "Surely not, Ye Chen seems quite polite!"
"That's certainly a facade!"
Lin Jie humd softly, "It's said that in the university, he was quite a big shot in their class..."
Ye Hongqing arrived when it was almost eleven o'clock.
Lin Jie invited him to the study, and they drank tea together.
Ye Hongqing took a big sip of tea and said, "Brother Lin, I know what you want to talk to about. Before you make a decision, let tell you about my story with my family and Ah Hui, okay?"
"I'm all ears!" Lin Jie refilled his tea.
Ye Hongqing reminisced, "Back then, I was just a loafer, following the boss and making so money, which was all spent on eating and drinking."
"At that ti, Ah Hui's family ran a restaurant."
"We often went to her family's restaurant to drink and eat, and that's how we got to know each other."
"There were seven or eight of us back then, and I wasn't the most handso, but for so reason, she liked ."
"Honestly, I was also a bit foolish at the ti, just hanging out with her with a playful attitude. Until one day, she told she was pregnant with my child."
"I, who had been muddling along, felt like I'd been hit on the head with a hamr and suddenly woke up, knowing I couldn't continue like this anymore and wanted to settle down to a peaceful life."
Ye Hongqing chuckled bitterly, "But I was uneducated, without much capital; the only thing I knew was bartending, learned out of trying to be cool and interest at the ti."
"After a few months of failure, I decided to go back to the old business and run a small bar myself."
"Ah Hui, with her big belly, went back to her parents' ho, and after half a month of persuasion, got her parents' savings out."
"The bar was set up, and business was okay."
"However..."
Pain flashed across Ye Hongqing's face, "Back then, things were much more chaotic than they are now. Running a business wasn't easy, especially in the bar industry."
"One night, a few people ca to cause trouble. Ah Hui got hit while protecting ."
"The baby was lost; it was a girl!"
With a faint tone, Ye Hongqing said, "After settling Ah Hui down, I went alone to take it out on them."
"Since then, basically no one dared to trouble again..."
"But our first daughter with Ah Hui was just gone like that."
He lifted his teacup and drank it dry, then continued, "Ah Hui always wanted a daughter, but after we finally had little Chen, she never got pregnant again."
"When we first saw Yuanyuan, not sure if it was fate, Ah Hui said, she was our daughter."
"Brother Lin, Yuanyuan is very cute; Ah Hui likes her, I like her, little Chen likes her."
"I know we don't et your requirents in many ways."
"But I can assure you, our family will truly treat Yuanyuan well."
Ye Hongqing picked up the teapot, filled Lin Jie's cup sincerely, "Brother Lin, Yuanyuan calls you Uncle; in a way, you're her maternal family, and our families live so close, Yuanyuan can co back anyti."
"Yuanyuan being with us ans she has two families loving her, taking care of her."
Uncle? Yuanyuan's maternal family?
Lin Jie felt a stir in his heart.
Finding Yuanyuan a good family doesn't an he has to sever ties with her.
He can fully involve himself in her life as Yuanyuan's uncle, focusing on her education and growth.
This way, with the nice relationship with Ye Hongqing's family...
He heard Ye Hongqing continue, "Brother Lin, if there's anything we do wrong in Yuanyuan's education or other aspects, you're welco to criticize us."
He laughed, saying, "Just in case, Brother Lin, if you think we did sothing terribly wrong and want to take Yuanyuan away..."
"Given your current prestige and status, I wouldn't dare disobey."
"Brother Lin, I'm done talking. You can say what you need to."
Lin Jie shook his head and chuckled bitterly, "You've said everything so thoroughly, I can't bring myself to say what I wanted to say."
He pondered for a mont and said, "Let's do this, since this matter can't be rushed, I won't make any decisions right now."
"You can have more contact with Yuanyuan, and if Yuanyuan indeed likes being with you, I won't object."
Ye Hongqing patted his belly, as happy as a child, "Brother Lin, rest assured, we'll definitely be good to Yuanyuan and not let her suffer at all."
"Hey... Brother Lin!"
Ye Hongqing asked again, "That auction this morning, there's inside news saying that the mysterious buyer competing with Li Ao'ge for Qushui Garden, was it you?"
Lin Jie nodded, admitting, "Yes, it was . I originally wanted to buy it to open a private club, hosting dical salons."
"Do you have any updates on Li Ao'ge's subsequent reactions?"
Ye Hongqing shook his head, saying, "Nothing particularly noteworthy."
"It's just that after the auction, Li Ao'ge didn't show the slightest joy of winning; his face was terrifyingly dark, and he smashed his phone to pieces right on the spot."
With disdain, he said, "In this auction, he really ate his own words."
"Bidding up the price and the total cost for Qushui Garden exceeded the initial bid, making it a joke among many."
Ye Hongqing asked with concern, "Brother Lin, do you have any specific requirents for the place to open the private club? Perhaps I can help look for suitable venues."
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