"Well? Where is Yun Liu? Why didn't she come home with you?" Gu Wei asked worriedly.
"She'll be back soon," Yun Zhang reassured. Only then did Gu Wei relax.
"Mom, why don't you ask about Yun Nan?" Yun Zhang looked at Gu Wei as he inquired.
"What…what could happen to her?" Gu Wei was confused. "Who could bully an unruly girl like her? Yun Liu, on the other hand, isn't like that. Yun Liu has lived a very sheltered life. She is different from those girls who are left to grow wild like weeds!"
Yun Zhang suddenly thought of Yun Nan's calm and indifferent gaze when he got angry at her at the Mo family's house.
It wasn't that he didn't hear the onlookers' comments about Yun Nan and Yun Liu. He stood on Yun Liu's side both rationally and emotionally. She was the younger sister he had raised since she was young, so naturally, he treated her differently.
However, at the Mo family's house today, he suddenly remembered that Yun Nan was also a member of the Yun family. And yet, whether it was his parents, him, or Yun Nan herself, none of them seemed to realize this.
Yun Nan's dissatisfaction must have been accumulating for a long time.
"Mom, Yun Nan didn't bully Yun Liu," Yun Zhang mumbled. No matter what happened in the past, Yun Nan didn't bully Yun Liu this time.
Unconcerned, Gu Wei waved her hands and said, "Oh, don't mention her anymore! That wretched girl has no heart at all! Look, she moved out just like that. She has such a temper! We may have said a few harsh words, but nothing we said was wrong!"
"She did snatch Yun Liu's boyfriend! Keep an eye on the Shi family. When Old Master Shi returns, we'll immediately go and reason with him!"
"I don't care if they have a marriage certificate or not. In any case, this marriage is Yun Liu's, not Yun Nan's! 'First come, first served.' Yun Liu has liked Shi Nian for a long time, and Yun Nan clearly knows that, yet she still did such an immoral thing! She's deliberately doing this to spite us!"
The more Gu Wei spoke, the angrier she became. She wished she could drag Yun Nan before her and scold her right now.
Yun Zhang's head throbbed when she brought the matter up. He, too, became very mad at Yun Nan.
As the mother and son were talking, Yun Liu returned home. Her eyes were red—she'd obviously been crying. Her heart aching, Gu Wei hugged her daughter and remarked, "Oh, sweetheart! Did that wretched girl bully you again?"
When Yun Liu heard this, she thought Yun Zhang didn't tell Gu Wei about the incident. She immediately looked at Yun Zhang gratefully.
Yun Zhang lowered his eyes. He did not know what was wrong with him today, but he felt a little uncomfortable. He watched as Yun Liu and Gu Wei helped each other up the stairs; the mother-daughter pair were as thick as thieves.
Yun Nan had returned to this family for more than two years, but his mother had never treated Yun Nan like this.
It wasn't all his mother's fault; Yun Nan also had issues. Her personality made it difficult for people to get close to her, unlike Yun Liu, who always stuck to them like glue.
Yun Zhang sighed.
When Shi Nian returned to the company, Chang Yuan immediately came over with documents for him to sign. Noticing his pale face, Chang Yuan inquired, "What's wrong? The garden party shouldn't be over yet, right?"
Shi Nian couldn't have stayed until the end of the garden party. Looking at the time, Chang Yuan surmised that he must have left midway through the party and returned directly to the company.
'I can't possibly tell Chang Yuan that I got spooked by someone and only recovered after a long time!' Shi Nian thought.
He closed the folder in his hand and said, "Yun Liu's manager wanted to scam me, but I avoided it. They might take some petty actions these next few days. Also, I admitted before Mr. Mo that I'm married."
Chang Yuan instantly understood and replied, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on the media and make sure they won't do anything stupid."
Shi Nian hummed in acknowledgment.
The phone suddenly vibrated. After Shi Nian picked up the call, he could hear Xi Cheng's voice mumbling, "Shi Nian, come… Come, drink with me!"
"Did you have too much to drink?" Shi Nian frowned.
"Shi Nian! If we're… we're buddies… should come… drink with me!" Xi Cheng continued to mutter drunkenly and didn't answer him.
"Where are you?" Shi Nian asked.
Xi Cheng didn't reply. He seemed to have dropped his phone, and Shi Nian could hear the sound of a bottle being opened.
Shi Nian frowned and hung up the phone. He told Chang Yuan, "Find out where Xi Cheng is. I knew something was wrong with him the other day. I hope nothing bad happened."
Chang Yuan called Xi Cheng's assistant straightaway. A moment later, he gave Shi Nian an address and even the passcode to the door.
Shi Nian entered Xi Cheng's house without any obstruction. The place reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke, and the living room was a mess.
Xi Cheng sat on the ground between the sofa and the coffee table, drinking up a storm all by himself.
When he saw Shi Nian, he held a glass of wine in his hand and smiled at him. "Hey, buddy, you're here! Quick, have a drink with me!"
Shi Nian inspected the house. Other than the living room, the rest of the house was clean and tidy. It was cozy and tastefully decorated. Based on his understanding of Xi Cheng, this was not his style. This house probably has a mistress—or perhaps, it had a mistress before.