“I won’t go back to Shangdu.”

“And I won’t call him father!”

“If you stand with him, you’re not my brother either. My brother would never cause Mom and Dad’s deaths…”

These words sounded like mere petulance.

But coming from Tina, they cut Xu Changle to the bone.

After speaking, Tina buried herself under the covers to sleep.

Two days had passed, and she still refused to eat or drink, leaving both Xu Changle and Xu Zhongyi at their wit’s end.

But in Shangdu, Grandmother Yu knew nothing – how could they let the elderly woman keep waiting? They could only leave Tina in Hong Kong, where if she wouldn’t eat, she could at least be sustained by nutritional fluids while under 24-hour surveillance – truly the most desperate solution!

When Xia Xiaolan met Xu Zhongyi and his son at Shangdu airport, she understood why Tina wasn’t with them.

Tang Honen couldn’t possibly travel with Xu Zhongyi.

Though Xu Zhongyi claimed he wasn’t a grave robber, his business dealings weren’t exactly clean either.

How could Tang Honen travel with such a person? Old Tang went to Shangdu just to see Liu Fen. While Tang Honen was surely happy for Grandmother Yu’s family reunion, the future arrangements remained uncertain.

Tang Honen privately told Liu Fen:

“This man endured humiliation for 19 years to finally exact his revenge – his willpower is incredible. He didn’t dare contact Sister Yu for fear of bringing her trouble, afraid Zhang Jiadong might harm her, but also afraid his revenge plan would fail… He acted like a man, but hardly a filial son!”

While wife and children were certainly important, wasn’t one’s mother equally so?

Tang Honen didn’t think highly of Xu Zhongyi.

Liu Fen hadn’t expected such dramatic changes either. Grandmother Yu had been waiting in Shangdu for Cui Yiru to return with Xu Changle and Tina.

Instead, everything changed overnight – Cui Yiru was dead, and Xu Zhongyi had appeared.

Xu Changle hadn’t lost his memory.

But Tina refused to accept the truth and wouldn’t return to Shangdu.

Liu Fen shook her head, “I still don’t know how to tell Sister Yu. You’re right – Xu Zhongyi can be ruthless. He says he deliberately arranged for someone to guide Xiaolan to rent that apartment, so why couldn’t that person have passed a message to Sister Yu?”

Liu Fen remembered when she and Xiaolan rented in Shangdu, it was shortly after Xiaolan had started selling clothes at street stalls, and mother and daughter had moved to the provincial capital for business.

That was three years ago!

Even if Xu Zhongyi didn’t have today’s capabilities then, surely three years ago he could travel freely between Hong Kong and the mainland?

Why couldn’t he have sent word?

Just like at the American airport, he could have passed Sister Yu a note, at least letting her know he was alive!

Waiting 19 years couldn’t compare to waiting 16 years.

Liu Fen was feeling indignant on Grandmother Yu’s behalf when another thought nearly made her explode:

“Wait, if Xiaolan’s rental was deliberately arranged by Xu Zhongyi, then he knew about our search in America from start to finish – he just watched us go to San Francisco?”

Traveling to America wasn’t the issue; Liu Fen considered it a vacation.

But San Francisco’s gangs were dangerous, and Xu Zhongyi could stay silent… Liu Fen didn’t understand strategies like “luring the snake from its hole,” and even if she did, she couldn’t comprehend Xu Zhongyi’s actions.

No one would be happy being used as “bait” to lure out a snake.

Moreover, the bait wasn’t just Liu Fen herself – her daughter Xiaolan had stayed in America, in that unsafe environment!

Liu Fen was nearly driven mad with anger.

She was honest, not stupid!

She hadn’t realized it at first, but Tang Honen’s words made everything clear.

Tang Honen quickly patted her back, “Don’t be angry, why get angry now? Xu Zhongyi isn’t the main culprit – he’s the victim in this old case. He’s not a bad person, but whether he’s a good person remains to be seen. I just wanted to remind you that Sister Yu and Xu Zhongyi are different people – don’t automatically feel close to this man.”

Close?

Liu Fen felt like hitting someone!

With Tang Honen’s insight, Liu Fen’s expectations for Xu Zhongyi and his son’s return to Shangdu greatly diminished.

Grandmother Yu had cleaned the courtyard exceptionally well, polishing furniture and windowsills until they shone, even scraping old dirt from between floor tiles. The neighbors had all heard that this lonely old woman’s overseas relatives were returning. The street office that had once taken her in as a street sweeper now visited several times daily, eager to see when this son who’d gone to America would finally come home.

Some people were genuinely happy for Grandmother Yu.

A reunion after 20 years of separation – such a happy ending always brought joy.

Others had more selfish motives, hoping to gain some advantage.

They’d forgotten Grandmother Yu’s formerly peculiar temperament – she was thoroughly annoyed but didn’t show it, only because she was too excited.

In this atmosphere, Xu Zhongyi and his son arrived in Shangdu, with Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng meeting them at the airport.

From an observer’s perspective, Xu Zhongyi appeared very uneasy throughout the journey.

True, he had anticipated this reunion for years, but now that he could openly meet his mother, Xu Zhongyi felt apprehensive.

Xu Zhongyi had brought quite a few people back to Shangdu.

Years of being hunted had made him extremely cautious; even with Zhang Jiadong dead, Xu Zhongyi wasn’t completely at ease.

No, perhaps it wasn’t just about Zhang Jiadong – the antique business Xu Zhongyi now ran wasn’t exactly straightforward either.

“Dad, do you want to calm down before seeing Grandmother?”

Gentleness was just Xu Changle’s exterior.

How could someone who grew up hiding his thoughts truly be gentle?

But he wasn’t a person filled with resentment either.

After meeting at the airport, he formally apologized to Xia Xiaolan – his previous words to her hadn’t been his true intent. Back then, he hadn’t known the extent of Xu Zhongyi’s influence and didn’t want Xia Xiaolan investigating the past, knowing Zhang Jiadong too well.

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t heeded his warnings, persisting alone. Xu Changle had vaguely suspected then that she might be working for his birth father Xu Zhongyi. At the party, he’d tested this by beating up Harold to draw everyone’s attention – otherwise, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have met his mother Cui Yiru so easily.

Of course, Xu Changle hadn’t used other methods, only targeting Harold, because he’d wanted to beat Harold anyway – this was a brother’s protective instinct toward his sister, perhaps too extreme and ungentlemanly, but Xu Changle still had no intention of apologizing to Harold!

On the way, Xu Changle suggested letting Xu Zhongyi compose himself.

Xu Zhongyi shook his head in refusal.

“No, we’ve already kept your grandmother waiting too long.”

Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng exchanged glances, sharing similar thoughts.

In this whole affair, Grandmother Yu’s family were all victims. The 20-year separation involved historical mishaps, and even Cui Yiru herself couldn’t have predicted that one wrong step would cause such a massive chain reaction.

Yet among the family members, Grandmother Yu had endured the most.

Xu Zhongyi at least knew Cui Yiru and his son Xu Changle were alive.

For 20 years, Grandmother Yu had no idea of Xu Zhongyi’s family’s whereabouts, imagining countless times they had met with misfortune, repeatedly having to convince herself that miracles could happen – Grandmother Yu’s husband, Old Mr. Xu, hadn’t survived such torment, passing away early. Who knew how much resilience it took for Grandmother Yu, a woman alone, to endure until this moment?