"Mother?"
Xia Yuwei didn't know when she had pushed open the door behind her. She looked at her continuously sobbing Mother and then saw the notebook in her hand, immediately realizing what her Mother was sad about.
She had never seen her own Father. Her Mother said they had met 20 years ago. At that time, her maternal grandfather was still alive. When she was little, she had asked her maternal grandfather what kind of person her Father was, because Xia Hui refused to tell her.
Whenever this happened, her maternal grandfather would look ahead with a reminiscing expression, then furrow his brows in thought.
"Your Father, ah, he was… he was a very warm-hearted young man."
"Then what did he look like?"
"Cough, cough, he looked like a normal person."
It was as good as saying nothing. Little Xia Yuwei couldn't get any useful answers.
As she slowly grew up, she gradually learned from the neighbors' gossip that her Mother had rashly followed a man, and then that man ran away, leaving her Mother pregnant. Xia Hui chose not to abort but to give birth to her and raise her.
Her maternal grandfather later died of illness, leaving only her Mother.
Until one day, when she curiously rummaged through a drawer, she found this notebook.
When her Mother saw her holding the notebook, her usually gentle face immediately changed color. She almost instantly snatched the book back and reprimanded her with harsh words.
Xia Yuwei had never seen her Mother like this and was so frightened she cried. Xia Hui also felt guilty, held her daughter, and comforted her for a while, and the Mother and daughter cried together.
Later, she learned that her Father had given this to her Mother back then and had written a sentence on the flyleaf.
"To my dearest Xia Hui — Autumn 2003."
"Yuwei?"
Xia Hui looked back at her daughter, quickly wiped away the tears from her face, and choked out, "Why aren't you sleeping, child? Why are you in my room?"
"Mother, are you thinking about Father again?"
Xia Hui pursed her lips, and finally nodded.
Xia Yuwei walked behind her Mother and hugged her from behind: "Mother, Father will definitely come back."
"Alright, don't comfort me anymore. It's been so many years, I've long known that scumbag won't come back." Xia Hui forced a smile, "You still haven't told Mother why you came. Are you deliberately trying to see Mother embarrass herself?"
"Oh, no, it's not that. I just feel like I need to tell you about what happened tonight…"
In the Bai Family villa, in the study.
Ma Xuan calmly recounted the events of the evening. Bai Shuyao lovingly wiped Ling Yun's scratches with an alcohol swab, and when she looked up again, her expression turned sharp.
"How dare he touch my precious son? This fellow named Wang must be tired of living!"
"I heard people say his Father is Wang Tianba. Mother, do you know who he is?"
"Wang Tianba?" Bai Shuyao frowned. She usually didn't remember such minor characters.
"Chairwoman Bai, Wang Tianba is the boss of Ba Mu Construction Materials Company," Ma Xuan behind her reminded.
"Oh, it's him." Bai Shuyao finally had a slight impression. "Xiao Xuan, please organize Wang Tianba's information and send it to me."
"Yes."
After Ma Xuan left, she held Ling Yun's hand in her embrace, letting Ling Yun feel a long-lost warmth.
"Xiao Yun, do you want Mother to help you get revenge?"
"It's not necessary for Mother to personally act. Let me handle this."
"Tell me, what do you want to do?" Bai Shuyao looked at him with interest.
"Their Family is in construction materials, right? I want to make some trouble with that…"
As they spoke, Ma Xuan had already returned to the study with several A4 pages of information collected through special means.
Bai Shuyao carefully read about the situation of the Wang Family members. When she turned to a photo of a beautiful woman, she let out a soft "eh" and pulled out her file information sheet.
"Heh, so it's a little fox spirit born from an old fox spirit!" She looked at Chu Yao's photo with disdain, "But this daughter is too cheap, to actually find an unknown small boss… But that's fine, at least she was married in with proper ceremony, unlike her Mother who had no status!"
Chapter 8: Fox Spirit
"Fox spirit?"
Ling Yun looked at Chu Yao's photo. Her photo must have been cropped from a wedding photo, showing her wearing a white shirt against a red background, with a bright smile.
The woman's eyes were gentle, and her posture was upright. From the photo alone, it was easy to associate her with the phrase "virtuous wife and good Mother."
Bai Shuyao noticed Ling Yun's gaze. She covered the photo and earnestly warned Ling Yun: "Xiao Yun, don't let this woman's good looks deceive you, her heart is very wicked!"
"Mother, just tell me directly, what's her story?"
"It has something to do with your Uncle Chu."
Ling Yun thought of the burly man, Chu Chunqiu, who was also the current Family Head of the Chu Family.
"The story goes like this…"
As the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, the Imperial City has many aristocratic families. But not just anyone with money can be called an aristocratic Family; one must integrate into this circle and gain recognition from other families.
The history of the Chu Family can be traced back more than 500 years, making them quite long-lived in the Imperial City's aristocratic Family circle. Their Family has Cultivated the "Chu Family Mind-Cultivation Technique" for generations, which encompasses Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills accumulated over many years, and should be comparable to the "Fulong Heart Sutra."
Those who join the Chu Family or its collateral branches can only learn superficial knowledge, which are basic Cultivation Techniques simplified from the Mind-Cultivation Technique's general principles, supplemented by military combat training. But even so, it is a force not to be underestimated.
Chu Family members are sent to the military for training when they come of age. Those with ability stay there, and those without return to build up the Family. Their relationships with other aristocratic families are also very good.
And Ling Yun's maternal aunt, Bai Yiyi, due to her outstanding talent, and because the Chu Family's nearly centenarian Old Master and Old Master Bai were once comrades, the Chu Family exceptionally taught the complete Mind-Cultivation Technique to Bai Yiyi.
It was precisely because of this that Bai Shuyao was able to know some internal matters of the Chu Family.
Chu Chunqiu is over 40 this year, in his prime. Everything he has done since taking over the Chu Family from his Father has been praised by outsiders.
He had few blemishes in his life, but at the age of 19, he added a significant mark to his resume.
At that time, Chu Chunqiu was full of youthful vigor, and his Family had found him a suitable wife from a matching Family. According to the rules of aristocratic families, no matter how strong the in-laws were, he could still marry multiple wives, but the first one had to be the chosen one.
But Chu Chunqiu, young and reckless, liked to wander outside and actually hooked up with a seductive woman during a nightclub rave.
He was not supposed to marry until he was 22, but he became a Father at the age of 20.
After learning about this, his fiancée's Family was naturally indignant and insisted on seeking justice from Chu Chunqiu's Father.
Chu Chunqiu was placed under house arrest, but the seductive woman was about to give birth and could not be dealt with casually.
Fortunately, she gave birth to a daughter, who would not receive much attention. The Chu Family's Old Madam took the child for testing and, after confirming it was indeed of the Chu Family's Bloodline, secretly raised the girl and her Mother in a private estate.
Chu Chunqiu's fiancée was already indifferent to him, and this incident made her feel even more disgraced. The Chu Family also paid a considerable price to prevent the conflict between the two families from deepening, barely maintaining the relationship.
But later, for unknown reasons, the seductive woman contracted cancer and passed away shortly after, leaving behind her 14-year-old daughter — Chu Yao.
Chu Yao grew up in this environment, and her values were probably already distorted by her Mother.
Chu Chunqiu also reined in his wild ways after this incident, making compromises for the position of Family Head. While he didn't exactly dislike this daughter, he wasn't very fond of her either, sending money regularly to ensure she lived a life that was neither poor nor rich.
Chu Yao surpassed her Mother; her Mother was actually of average appearance but was seductive enough to ensnare Chu Chunqiu at that time. She inherited the excellent genes of the Chu Family, was beautiful from a young age, and also very intelligent. Her academic performance was quite good, and after graduating at 22, she joined Wang Tianba's company.
The rest of the information in the file also stated that she married Wang Tianba after his wife died in a car accident.
"What was that little fox spirit thinking? She's a Chu Family member after all. If I were Chu Chunqiu, I'd probably die of anger, with my daughter marrying an old man roughly her Father's age."
Bai Shuyao looked disgusted, then crumpled her file page into a ball and threw it into the trash can.
"Mother, do you think Chu Yao could be a Breakthrough point?"
"Hmm?"
Bai Shuyao glanced at Ling Yun: "Xiao Yun, you want to bribe her?"
"According to what Mother said, an unloved illegitimate child, whose Father doesn't particularly like her, yet possesses ambition disproportionate to her strength, then… isn't finding a scapegoat as a stepping stone the quickest way?"
"Even if Wang Tianba isn't very smart, he wouldn't hand over the company's power to her so quickly."
"So I think she must also be figuring out how to get money from Wang Tianba. Isn't this a perfect opportunity?"
Bai Shuyao took out her phone and dialed a number.
"This is Joanna's number. If you need anything, just call her directly, and she will arrange it for you."
"Thanks, Mother."
Ling Yun saved the number of Bai Shuyao's secretary.
"Xiao Yun, I want to emphasize this to you: a woman like Chu Yao has been brainwashed by her fox spirit Mother since childhood. If you are truly interested in her, you can play around, but don't take it seriously. She is not worthy of entering our Bai Family's door."
"Mother, I just want to get revenge on Wang Hao. Where are you getting these ideas?"
"Hmph, 'where am I getting these ideas'? Don't think I don't know you're currently juggling two women." Bai Shuyao poked his forehead, "I haven't even mentioned your Sister Hui yet, you bad boy!"
After speaking, she stood up, swayed her hips, and returned to her room.
"Um, Ling Shao…"
Ma Xuan stood there with her head down, seemingly afraid to look up at him.
"My dear Sister Xuan," Ling Yun said, somewhat gritting his teeth, "Did you just sell me out like that?"
"Mainly, Chairwoman Bai kept asking, I… I had no choice…"
Ling Yun was still very annoyed. He walked over and pressed Ma Xuan's cheek, rubbing it hard.
Ma Xuan's appearance wasn't stunning, but she had a certain toughness from her military background. After being rubbed by the young man, she uncharacteristically blushed, then repeatedly apologized, and finally left the study in a hurry.
"Alright, I'd better confess proactively."
Ling Yun made up his mind, turned off the study light, and went to Ye Hui's door.
Upon hearing the knock, Ye Hui didn't ask who it was, but got out of bed and opened the door directly.
"Sister Hui, actually I have another…"
"No need to say, I know everything." Ye Hui smiled gently, adjusting the collar of his shirt, "Did you have fun tonight?"
Ling Yun stared intently at Ye Hui, then walked straight in, hooked the door with his foot, embraced Ye Hui, and kissed her…
The next day, Friday.
There were no classes in the afternoon, and with the weekend, it was equivalent to two and a half days off.
After spending a pleasant half-day with Xia Yuwei on campus, Ling Yun returned to the Bai Family compound with Bai Shuyao in the afternoon, also giving Ye Hui two days off.
"Xiao Yun, I've already had Anna contact Chu Yao."
"Mother, this still ended up troubling you."
"It's fine."
Ma Xuan was driving, and the two sat in the back.
Bai Shuyao wrapped her arm around Ling Yun's arm, resting her head on his shoulder: "Our group's construction company just Acquired a piece of land. Wang Tianba naturally wants a share. Last night, he found the general manager of the subsidiary company, and the two drank themselves silly. That general manager was someone I transferred, and before I speak, no matter how good his relationship with Wang Tianba is, he wouldn't dare agree to his request."
"So when Wang Tianba came back last night, he was a bit angry, but could only wait for news. And this morning, Joanna contacted Chu Yao, wanting to cooperate with her under the Bai Family's name. What we want is the person, what she wants is wealth, so there's no conflict."
"She agreed?"
"Surprisingly easy, but she proposed to meet us privately, tentatively scheduled for the night after tomorrow."
"Alright."
"I'll have Joanna accompany you. My flight is the afternoon after tomorrow."
Ling Yun looked at the beautiful Mother beside him, smacking his lips: "You wouldn't be trying to avoid seeing her, would you?"
"To be honest, I really don't want to see her." Bai Shuyao didn't make excuses, "My plane ticket was bought long ago, and she's not worth me changing it."
Ling Yun shrugged. Bai Shuyao had the right to say that.
"Xiao Yun, remember what I told you." Bai Shuyao looked up at him, "Don't be deceived by that fox spirit. Women like her are very immodest."
"Okay, Mother, I'll be careful."
Receiving his promise, the beautiful Mother felt a little relieved and continued to lean on his shoulder.
More than an hour later, the car arrived at a mountainside. This entire mountain was the Bai Family's private property, with female soldiers on guard and patrol vehicles at regular intervals — all arranged by Bai Yiyi.
After parking the car, Ling Yun and Bai Shuyao got out. Walking towards them was a woman who bore some resemblance to Bai Shuyao.
[Name: Bai You]
[Value: 172, F, ☆]
[Affection: 99]