Xia Zi realized that Ye Zhongjue seemed to be out of sorts.
She suddenly yelled at him. âYe Zhongjue, whatâs wrong with you!â
That jolted him back to reality. He shook his head and said, âNothing, letâs go!â
He then started the engine and headed for the Mo family home. The both of them were silent throughout the ride.
Ye Zhongjue saw Mo Zhenfeng walk out just as he arrived.
Ye Zhongjue was surprised to see him. He did not inform them beforehand that he was visiting tonight, so why did Mo Zhenfeng come out just as he arrived!
He had always felt that the circumstances of Xia Yanranâs death were questionable. His car hit Tang Mo during the accident, so Tang Moâs death was directly caused by him.
However, he clearly remembered that Xia Yanran was not very heavily injured at the time, and he always felt that there was something fishy going on. He got his men to investigate and found out that Xia Yanran had met Bai Lian before the accident happened. He found this to be rather dodgy. Something unexpected must have happened, thus Ye Zhongjue had been looking into this in an attempt to uncover the truth.
This was why he did not avoid Mo Sulian even when she approached him since he might be able to make use of her to find some clues to what happened in the past.
Mo Zhenfeng smiled as he saw Ye Zhongjueâs car. Although Mo Suqing went missing, Ye Zhongjue still visited them from time to time in the past five years, and he felt that the relationship between Ye Zhongjue and Sulian seemed to have improved overtime.
The Mo Groupâs status had been elevated because of their ties to Mighty Empire, and Mo Zhenfeng could only smile at the thought of always being under the protection of Mighty Empire.
Aunt Wu had turned back to inform him that Ye Zhongjue came to visit since she happened to see his car on her way out to get the groceries, or else he would have no idea that Ye Zhongjue had arrived.
Sulian was also at home tonight, and since she seemed to be on rather good terms with Ye Zhongjue, he believed that it would not be a problem for the Mo family to continue having Ye Zhongjue on their side. He was akin to a treasure trove for them.
Mo Zhenfeng watched the car as he began formulating a plan.
Ye Zhongjue smirked as he saw the expression on Mo Zhenfengâs face. He could not believe that there would be a father who continued shamelessly making use of his son-in-law even after his own daughter went missing. Such a father even wanted to matchmake his other daughter with his son-in-law in blatant disregard for his missing daughter.
Were benefits that important to him?
Ye Zhongjue tried to calm himself down before turning to Xia Zi.
âLetâs go!â
Xia Zi nodded.
Ye Zhongjue alighted first, his poker face betraying none of that anger he had just felt.
Mo Zhenfeng pulled Mo Sulian along with him as he saw Ye Zhongjue alight.
âXiaoye, youâre here! Come on in!â
Mo Sulian looked at him shyly. After Mo Suqing went missing, she had maintained a close relationship with Ye Zhongjue for the past five years and accompanied him to various events and functions. She had been a frequent visitor to his office as well, and he had visited the Mo family home rather often. Isnât it obvious that heâs here to see me?
This was what Mo Sulian thought, but the color drained from her face when she saw the person who exited the door from the other side.
Ye Zhongjue caught the look of surprise on Mo Zhenfeng and the shock on Mo Sulianâs face.
He looked at Xia Zi and said, âSuqing, didnât you say you miss home? Letâs go in now that weâre back!â
Xia Zi glanced at him and nodded.
Mo Zhenfeng was a sly old fox, and he literally abandoned Mo Sulian instantly after seeing Xia Zi and how Ye Zhongjue interacted with her. He rushed forward in a show of emotion. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âMy dear daughter Suqing, youâre finally back! Do you know how much Dad misses you?â
He wanted to take Xia Ziâs arm in his, but Xia Zi instinctively shrunk away from him.
Instead of answering, Xia Zi simply gave him a look of disdain.
Ye Zhongjue tried to suppress the laughter in him. Xia Zi was completely different from Mo Suqing in this aspect. Mo Suqing would usually give in to Mo Zhenfeng, since she had grown up under his care.
It was just that her home no longer felt like a home, and her father did not feel like a father anymore.
He looked at the stunned Mo Zhenfeng who probably did not expect his own daughter to shrink away from him like that.
Ye Zhongjue then spoke to alleviate the awkward situation. âSuqing just returned and she had forgotten everything that happened in the past, so please donât mind her!â
Mo Zhenfeng gave a polite laugh and waved. âNo worries, I donât mind it at all!â
Ye Zhongjue then took Xia Ziâs hand and walked into the house.
Mo Sulian was left alone in the yard as she watched Xia Zi and Ye Zhongjueâs figures. Now that Mo Suqing is back, does it mean I donât have a chance with Ye Zhongjue anymore?
Anger consumed her at the thought.
She quickly chased after them, telling herself that she would not give up no matter what!
Mo Zhenfeng instructed the helper to prepare a few more dishes in order to show how glad he was that Mo Suqing had returned, but Bai Lianâs expression was awful when she saw Mo Suqing.
In mere minutes, Xia Zi could already tell how Mo Suqing had been treated in the Mo family. Her life was not an easy one after her father remarried.
She could feel the enmity directed towards her in the house, and that made her feel even more upset.
She was trying hard not to gag in her disgust when she saw how Mo Zhenfeng acted. I wonder what sort of father treated their daughter like that. Was there even any love and affection he felt for her??This was such a huge sham!
Xia Zi ate without caring how the others looked at her. She had her meal in silence and she chose to ignore Bai Lian when the older lady asked her how she had been for the past five years.
Bai Lian was embarrassed and angered, yet she had no choice but to swallow her pride, since she knew that their entire family had to rely on Ye Zhongjue. If they wanted to continue relying on him, they had to acknowledge Mo Suqing as part of their family.
She glared at Mo Sulian in her anger, as if annoyed at how useless her daughter was.?If only my daughter was as capable as I was, Ye Zhongjue would probably be wrapped around her finger now. We wouldnât have had to go through these five years only to get nothing in return!
Her chances are very slim now that Mo Suqing has returned.
Iâm reminded of that slut, Xia Yanran, every time I see Mo Suqing. Didnât she act all high and mighty in the past? She still ended up dead!
Thinking of this, Bai Lian regarded Xia Zi with a vicious look.
Though Ye Zhongjue looked down as he had his meal, he was able to catch that look from Bai Lian.
After dinner, he told Mo Zhenfeng that he had some company matters he wanted to discuss and suggested they talk in the study.
Mo Zhenfeng smiled and gladly followed him into the study, but confusion quickly appeared in his eyes when he saw Ye Zhongjue pull Xia Zi along with him.
âXiaoye, Suqing isnât familiar with such matters. Youâre going to ask her to join in too?â
He wondered if Ye Zhongjue was just confused in the moment, but he did not expect for Ye Zhongjue to say, âShe knows everything about me, so thereâs no need for her to stay away from such discussions!â
Mo Zhenfeng did not give up. âXiaoye, these are business secrets!â
Ye Zhongjue turned and shot Mo Zhenfeng a cold glare.
âSheâs your daughter, and my wife. Get your facts right!â
Mo Zhenfeng was stupefied. He could tell that Ye Zhongjue was angry.
Thus, he added in a haste, âYouâre right, Xiaoye. Letâs go upstairs!â
Ye Zhongjue ignored him and continued his way upstairs.
Ye Zhongjue turned around the moment they stepped into the study. He looked at Mo Zhenfeng with a rather peculiar expression.
âSuqing, take a look at Dadâs hair. Is there a strand of white in there?â
He shot a meaningful look at Xia Zi right after.
Xia Zi understood what he was getting at and nodded slightly.
Mo Zhenfeng reached up to touch his head. I have white hair?
Ye Zhongjue continued, âSuqing, look at your dad. Heâs grown so many strands of white hair in the time you were gone. Go help him pluck them out!â
Xia Zi went forward immediately and plucked out two strands of hair when Mo Zhenfeng was still in a daze.
She then placed the strands on her palm and said, âJue, you were mistaken. These are black!â
Ye Zhongjue wanted to laugh when he saw Xia Zi acting all serious and Mo Zhenfengâs pained expression.
She plucked out more than one!
Ye Zhongjue then sat down on the armchair in front of the desk.
He looked at Mo Zhenfeng and said, âDad, donât stand on ceremony. Take a seat!â
Mo Zhenfeng felt like he was on tenterhooks. Everything Ye Zhongjue said seemed to be targeted at him now.
This was my house and my study. What do you mean by telling me not to stand on ceremony in my own home?
He felt so pitiful in the current situation, but there was nothing he could do about it if he wanted to continue relying on Ye Zhongjue.
Mo Zhenfeng sat on a chair at the side and felt rather uncomfortable as he saw how the younger man was watching him.
After a while, Ye Zhongjue finally spoke. âDad, did Suqing have a twin sister?â
Xia Zi was shocked at how direct Ye Zhongjue was.
She turned to look at Mo Zhenfengâs expression.
Mo Zhenfeng seemed astonished at what he just heard.
He looked at Ye Zhongjue in disbelief. âXiao, xiao⦠Xiaoye, how did you find out?â
Xia Zi clenched her fist, those strands of hair scrunching up in her palm.?Judging from his reaction, it was likely to be true!
[1] Mo Zhenfeng uses âXiaoyeâ to address Ye Zhongjue as a term of affection.