Ye Qing frowned slightly but did not respond to Yuan Xiaoyu's words, really not wishing to pay her any mind.
"Are you going to speak, or have you gone mute? What exactly did you do, Ye Qing, did you betray me!" Yuan Xiaoyu's anger escalated with every word, and by the end, she was pointing fingers at Ye Qing.
"What's all this noise about!" Ye Changwen erupted angrily, saying, "Qingzi is your brother; how could he betray you? He's been back home for so long and hasn't even had a bite to eat, running back and forth twice just for your job. You don't even ask if your brother is hungry; instead, you're constantly complaining about him. That's incredibly disappointing!"
Yuan Xiaoyu paused, turned to look at Zhou Hongxia, and said, "Mom, is Uncle scolding me? I just don't understand where I've gone wrong. I was fine at work, doing a good job without any mistakes. But then, as soon as Ye Qing came back, everything changed. First, I lost my job, then I was given false hope, and now there's this sort of response. Am I not allowed to grumble a bit? Everything was fine before he came back, so why does everything change the moment he returns?"
Zhou Hongxia was also angry, saying, "Old Ye, Xiao Yu might not be your own flesh and blood, but that doesn't mean you guys from the Ye family can mistreat my daughter. What does this matter have to do with my daughter, and why should it affect her job? You don't even ask what your son has done; instead, you yell at my daughter. What's this, do you see me as a stranger and not family?"
All at once, the room turned noisy again, and Ye Qing felt an indescribable pain in his heart. His reluctance to return home was for this very reason. And his brother's departure was due to the same reason. Five years had passed, and this was his first time back home, yet everything was still the same with the endless quarreling.
"Stop quarrelling!" Ye Qing suddenly stood up, yelling loudly, stopping all three of them in their tracks.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to Shenchuan!" Ye Qing dropped the words coldly and strode out of the room.
"Qingzi! Qingzi!" Ye Changwen hurriedly followed him out, grabbing Ye Qing and asking frantically, "Where are you going?"
"Dad, take care of yourself," Ye Qing sighed softly, "I'll stay at a friend's house tonight, and tomorrow I'm headed to Shenchuan. Don't worry, I'll definitely bring Xiao Jun back!"
"The house has room for sleep; why must you go to someone else's place!" Ye Changwen said, "Don't mind the two of them; I am still the one who calls the shots in this house!"
"Dad, I know you care about me. But I don't want you and Aunt to fight over me. Rest assured, I'm all grown up now, not a little kid anymore!" Ye Qing patted Ye Changwen's shoulder, then slowly walked away along the path.
Watching his son's lonely figure walking away, Ye Changwen hugged his head in pain, tears silently flowing.
Inside the house, Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu sat face to face, with Zhou Hongxia speaking in a lowered voice somewhat sheepishly, "Xiao Yu, weren't we a little too harsh just now?"
"Harsh in what way!" Yuan Xiaoyu glared and said, "What sort of person Ye Qing is, don't I know in my heart? Him coming back at this time, isn't it all for the demolition compensation money? That's fine, you share the Ye surname, and so you're entitled to a portion of the compensation; I have nothing to say about that. But him coming back just for his share of the money is one thing, why should he sabotage me? Was it easy for me to find this job? Does he know how much hardship I've endured to reach this position? He can't make something out of himself, and he weathers seeing us do well? He's lost me my job now; what exactly is he scheming!"
"That shouldn't be the case," Zhou Hongxia mumbled, her head lowered, "Although Qingzi is not very talkative and can be quite stubborn, I doubt he harbors any ill will!"
Yuan Xiaoyu snorted dismissively, "You can know someone's face, not their heart. If he could come back early from military service just for that little compensation money, what else is he incapable of doing!"
Just then, someone entered the yard; it was Lin Mengjie.
"Is Mr. Ye, Ye Qing at home?" Lin Mengjie asked respectfully from the yard.
Hearing the voice, Yuan Xiaoyu immediately rushed out and said with a smile, "Manager Lin, you're here! Please, please come inside."
"Thank you," Lin Mengjie said with a polite smile, "So, has Mr. Ye returned?"
Yuan Xiaoyu and Zhou Hongxia exchanged glances, with Yuan Xiaoyu saying, "Manager Lin, are you looking for him for anything in particular?"
"Nothing much," Lin Mengjie smiled lightly, "I'm mainly here to express Boss Yang's thanks to Mr. Ye."
"What?" Yuan Xiaoyu was startled, Zhou Hongxia's eyes widened too, both baffled by Lin Mengjie's words.
"Thanks for what..." Zhou Hongxia asked curiously.
"Hehe..." Lin Mengjie just smiled faintly and didn't explain, only asking, "Where is Mr. Ye? Hasn't he come back yet?"
"Well..." Yuan Xiaoyu and Zhou Hongxia were both embarrassingly taken aback. Ye Qing had stormed off because of their argument, and of course, they couldn't tell Lin Mengjie that now.
Yuan Xiaoyu said, "He... He's out dealing with something..."
"Oh, then I'll just wait inside for him," Lin Mengjie said, proceeding into the house.
Yuan Xiaoyu and Zhou Hongxia were at a loss, this was trouble. Lin Mengjie waiting here all night, and Ye Qing might not even return.
Yuan Xiaoyu, rather astute herself, quickly ran into the room to pour Lin Mengjie a cup of tea and said, "Manager Lin, please have some water first."
"Thank you," Lin Mengjie said with a faint smile, glancing at Yuan Xiaoyu. "Xiao Yu, I've discussed your work situation with Boss Yang. He suggested that you can start by managing the lobby here to gain some experience and learn some skills. Once you're capable of handling things on your own, Boss Yang has plans to open a new venue in the new district, and he wants you to manage it!"
"What?" Yuan Xiaoyu's eyes widened, and it took her a moment to process the news. She couldn't help but wonder if she had misheard or if she was dreaming.
Zhou Hongxia reacted even more directly, pinching herself to feel the pain and confirm that it was real.
"This... this..." Zhou Hongxia was so excited that she was at a loss for words.
"Manager Lin, what... what's going on?" Yuan Xiaoyu didn't know what to say either.
Lin Mengjie laughed and said, "That's just the kind of person Boss Yang is. He treats Mr. Ye like his own brother. His brother's affairs are his affairs. So, your job situation is something he takes to heart!"
"Bro... brother?" Yuan Xiaoyu almost went numb, and with a trembling voice, she asked, "He... he considers whom... as his brother?"
"Who else could it be, if not your brother, Mr. Ye Qing?" Lin Mengjie gave a secretive smile and continued, "Moreover, Boss Yang asked me to bring a contract. As long as Uncle Ye signs it, once the new residential area is completed, there will be an apartment that's at least one hundred and fifty square meters belonging to Uncle Ye!"
"What?" Zhou Hongxia, too, exclaimed in shock. Yuan Xiaoyu's mouth hung open, unable to speak.
As compensation, everyone in the village who had to relocate could buy an apartment in the newly built district, but the apartments were generally small, and having over one hundred square meters was already considered good. The Ye family's house was too small to fetch anything substantial in exchange, probably not even enough to buy a seventy or eighty square meters apartment. But now, out of the blue, a one hundred and fifty square meters apartment was offered – it was even more exciting than if a chunk of gold had fallen from the sky!
At this moment, both mother and daughter were pondering the same question: What kind of relationship did Ye Qing have with Old Fifth Yang, and why was he so generous towards him?
Before they could figure out the answer to that question, their thoughts shifted to another urgent matter: Where was Ye Qing now?
"Although Boss Yang had already discussed it with Mr. Ye," Lin Mengjie chuckled, "to show his sincerity, he wanted me to get the contract signed first. By the way, where is Mr. Ye? When will he be back?"
"Ah..." Yuan Xiaoyu looked at Zhou Hongxia, who was equally anxious. After a bit of hesitation, Zhou Hongxia finally blurted out hurriedly, "That... I'll... I'll go call for him now. Manager Lin, please wait a moment..."
"No problem," Lin Mengjie replied with a smile. "If Mr. Ye is still busy, let him finish up. I'm not in a rush."
As Zhou Hongxia reached the door, she stumbled to hear such words. Lin Mengjie's remarks made it clear she had great respect for Ye Qing. It seemed that the bond between Ye Qing and Old Fifth Yang was really strong. Otherwise, why would Lin Mengjie behave with such an attitude?
What she didn't know was that Ye Qing had once saved Old Fifth Yang's life. Having firmly decided to win Ye Qing over to his side, Old Fifth Yang was exceedingly polite to him. Ye Qing represented a guarantee of safety for him!
Zhou Hongxia ran along the path for a while before she saw Ye Changwen sitting by the roadside, cradling his head. She immediately approached him and said urgently, "Old Ye, where's Qingzi?"
Ye Changwen looked up, his eyes red and swollen with anger. "Zhou Hongxia, are you even human? Qingzi was driven out of the house by you and your daughter; isn't that enough for you? You chased him all the way here, what now, you're not going to rest until you drive him out of Jiuchuan County? How could I have been so blind to marry such a malicious woman like you?"
Zhou Hongxia's face flushed with shame, and in that moment, she didn't dare talk back to Ye Changwen, merely whispering, "Old Ye, we were wrong earlier, and I've scolded Xiao Yu for it. Look, I came out here specially to find Qingzi and bring him back home. After all, Qingzi is part of our family!"
Ye Changwen was taken aback, surprised that such words could come from Zhou Hongxia's mouth.
"So, where has Qingzi gone now?" Zhou Hongxia pressed on.
Ye Changwen sighed and said, "I don't know where he's gone. He said he was going to a friend's house. But he hasn't been back in five years; what friends could he possibly have left?"
"He went to a friend's house?" Zhou Hongxia was seriously anxious; someone was waiting back home, and what would she say when returning empty-handed?
"It's all because of you and your daughter! He can't even stay in his own home, what do you expect him to do?" Ye Changwen said irritably.
"What... what should we do now..." Zhou Hongxia was in a panic, at a loss for where to look for Ye Qing.
With no other options, Zhou Hongxia could only return home with Ye Changwen, telling Lin Mengjie that Ye Qing hadn't finished his business yet.
Lin Mengjie might have been a woman, but she was certainly no fool. Just as she had twice persuaded Ye Qing to come out before, she was a shrewd person. Having visited the Ye family twice, she had already gotten a pretty good sense of the situation there. Seeing Ye Changwen's swollen eyes, she had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
"Since Mr. Ye is busy, I shall take my leave!" Lin Mengjie stood up, smiling lightly. "Boss Yang would like to invite Mr. Ye to lunch tomorrow. The matters I mentioned earlier can be discussed in more detail then. Therefore, I hope Mr. Ye can make it on time, so as not to delay these two matters!"
After speaking, Lin Mengjie left, leaving Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu in the house, anxious and fuming.
It was clear from Lin Mengjie's words that these two matters could only be discussed with Ye Qing. But if they couldn't find Ye Qing, wouldn't these two issues be left unresolved?