Xu Qichen knew it was too late to avoid him.
Just a moment ago, he had been giddy, thinking that since he and Song Yuanyan had agreed to go overseas together, he could achieve his happy ending. But now reality was sinking in; even if he had left, given the power of the Xie family, they would surely be able to bring him back.
The mission could never have been completed so easily.
Master Xie got up and took two steps towards him. Leaning on his crutches, he observed Xu Qichen. His old yet resolute face showed some expressions that Xu Qichen could not decipher.
“Are… are you Sun Lin?”
Xu Qichen stepped forward two steps and slightly bowed his head in a display of deference. “Yes, Master Xie.”
Master Xie nodded, “Yes, the shape of your eyes are very similar to Rujun’s, but why is your leg…”
Before Xu Qichen could reply, Mrs. Song explained, “A few years ago, Ah Lin was hit by a car on the road. He got an operation, but… it’s such a pity. He was born very well.”
Master Xie held Xu Qichen’s hand, “No matter, no matter, as long as he’s well.” As he spoke, his other hand came up to pat him, “Child, you have suffered all these years.”
This affectionate drama of returning to his family after years of separation should be very moving, but Xu Qichen was now only thinking about how to save himself, how to change Sun Lin’s ending. He had no time to waste playing with these hypocrites.
Seeing Xu Qichen remain silent, Mrs. Song said to Master Xie with a smile, “Ah Lin has always been very quiet, please don’t take offence.”
Master Xie chuckled, “No matter, his father was like this too. It’s not surprising that he takes after him.”
This remark reminded Xu Qichen that he didn’t know what the current situation of Xie family’s young master was, whether he was alive or dead. If he was dead, there should have been an obituary. Since there was no news about it, he might still be alive.
Xu Qichen thought, Master Xie came here so early, more than a month earlier than the original story, probably because of the changes he made to story.
Could it be that his running across the Liu’s at the banquet made them increase the dose of poison to Xie Rujun, and accelerate Xie Rujun’s death?
“Come back to the Xie mansion with me today. It’s time for you to meet your father.” Master Xie’s voice was slightly choked. “He thought you were dead all these years, and fell sick out of despair.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Mother, I’m quite tired, I’ll retire to my room now.”
With that, Song Yuanyan left the cold reunion scene.
Mrs. Song was a little embarrassed. “This child… He grew up with Ah Lin from childhood, and he treats him like a brother.” Then she laughed dryly, “He probably can’t bear being separated from him.”
Master Xie nodded, “I understand. The Song family is also this child’s family. Even if he returns with me, he will still be allowed to visit here often.”
After hearing this, Master Song, who had been sitting on the sofa without saying a word, put down his cigarette and said to Xu Qichen in a deep voice, “Ah Lin, please greet your grandfather.”
Xu Qichen now understood that the Song family’s plan was to ‘borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha’. They wanted to form connections with the Xie family through his relationship. After all, they were business people. Rather than cause a conflict, it was better to take this opportunity to form a business alliance.
‘I’ve raised your kid for so many years, surely you owe us this much,’ that was probably what Master Song was thinking.
Xu Qichen raised the corners of his mouth, showing a smile that could be called very sincere. “Grandfather.”
The style of the Xie family was more exaggerated than that of the Song family. In the original timeline, Sun Lin was brought back to the Xie family after the death of Xie Rujun. Due to his father’s recent passing, it was not appropriate to have a celebration, so they only published a notice in the newspaper announcing his identity as the legitimate son of the Xie family.
But now the plot had changed. Xie Rujun was not dead yet, and his return was even more worthy of a celebration. The disputes and grievances within Xie’s family had long been the topic of discussion among the outsiders. It had long been said in the city that “the Yangtze River is long, the Yellow River is wide, and Jiangqu’s Xie family is going extinct.” Even three- and four-year-olds can recite the nursery rhyme, which was very embarrassing for Master Xie.
Therefore, Sun Lin’s return to his family this time is bound to be a great undertaking, which will be known by all of Jiangqu city.
Xie Mansion began to arrange the banquet three days ago. Xu Qichen was used to staying in the Song family and couldn’t stand his new status of being the centre of attention..
Looking at himself in the mirror, Xu Qichen vaguely saw the shadow of Song Yuanyan. When he turned around, there was no one else in the huge room.
His heart felt empty, as though missing a piece.
He missed him.
If he were here, he would fasten the tie for Xu Qichen.
Subconsciously, he sighed, took out the mahogany cane Song Yuanyan gave him, and gently stroked the grain on it. This was the only thing he took away from the Song family.
And the only thing that truly belonged to him.
There was a knock at the door, “Young master, the master says the guests have arrived. It is time for you to enter.”
Holding the cane in his hand, he could not help asking, “By the way, is anyone from the Song family here?”
The servant replied, “The elder young master of the Song family is here.”
Xu Qichen’s heart sank. “… What about the younger young master?”
The servant gave it some thought, “I heard he rejected the invitation due to his poor health, but it might just be a rumour.”
His footsteps became extremely heavy, but he could also understand that if he was Song Yuanyan, and such a change happened when he had made all the preparations to leave, all the expectations he had had before would have to be extinguished, which would probably be very upsetting.
However, he had thought he would come, and that they would meet anyway.
Xu Qichen’s mood suddenly hit rock-bottom. Standing upstairs looking at the hall full of guests, he could not even muster a smile. In this way, he walked to Master Xie and greeted him, “Grandfather.”
Smiling, Master Xie nodded, picked up a glass of wine and introduced him to all the guests. “Thank you for coming today. Let me introduce to you my grandson who has been lost for many years, Xie Lin, and also the only son of Rujun. I took great pains to find him. Fortunately, my efforts have not been in vain. My poor grandson has been returned to the Xie family!” He held Xu Qichen’s hand. “Today is a good day for our Xie family, and I hope you all enjoy yourselves!”
After saying these polite words, Master Xie gently pushed Xu Qichen, “Go, make some friends.”
Xu Qichen replied, “En.” But before he could make a move, many young masters had already gathered around him with friendly greetings. They were from all sorts of businesses and banks. Xu Qichen could not remember all of them, so he simply smiled and nodded.
Aside from those deliberately trying to please him, there was also some gossip.
“So the Xie family’s bastard grandson was still alive after all.”
“What bastard? That’s the true heir of the Xie family.”
“Why does he look so familiar? Like I’ve seen him before…”
“Of course he looks familiar! That’s the one who was raised in the Song family, Song Yuanyan’s talisman…”
“Oh! That’s him? No wonder…”
Xu Qichen was too lazy to pay attention to these people. He saw Liu Mingde’s face in mourning from a distance. The other party was too lazy to give him even a fake smile. The cup in his hand was close to breaking with how tight he was pinching it.
Catching Xu Qichen’s eye, Liu Mingde put the glass down and swaggered over, “Ah, who would have expected that the grandson whom Master Xie was looking for for so many years, would be the sickly Song Yuanyan’s talisman? Now you’re suddenly a member of the Xie family, aren’t you afraid that guy would up and die?”
Xu Qichen had not intended to have any conflict with him, especially since he was generally a pacifist, but Liu Mingde’s words rubbed him the wrong way. He subconsciously frowned, “Cousin, you’re mistaken. In fact, on the day my grandfather picked me up, many people knew this news. As soon as I got home that day, I thought I should say hello to my cousin.” He showed a gentle smile, “I missed you so much, that I forgot you don’t live in Xie Mansion.”
After hearing this, Liu Mingde’s face turned red. He gritted his teeth and went away.
Seeing him like this, Xu Qichen, who had never been competitive, felt much more comfortable. Turning around, he saw Song Yuanfeng, the elder young master of the Song family. He smiled at Xu Qichen and raised the wine glass in his hand from afar, clearly not having any intention to approach him for a chat.
Frankly, Xu Qichen had no such intention as well, so he simply smiled back.
In his eyes, any of these people could be his murderer.
T/N:
Sorry about the sudden break! Real life got really hectic for me, and I can’t promise weekly updates for the coming weeks either >< I’ll try to get back on schedule ASAP.
Special thanks as always to our brilliant editor Sarcasm for bearing with me hehe
It’s okay and thank you for the update🥹❤️
thanks for the chapter! <3
♥️🥰♥️
aww I feel bad for SYY :((