After Qin Zheng entered the room, he told Ye Yun exactly what Mu Jingsheng had said.

Ye Yun said she would not accept it.

Just as she said she wouldn't accept, Mu Jingsheng followed her in from behind. He gave a wry smile at this expected answer, but still respected her decision.

Ye Yun noticed that Gu Jin was not there during the meal.

In the past, whenever she and Qin Zheng ate at home, Gu Jin would always be there. Today, it's like the sun rose in the west.

She asked Tian Xiaohui to call Gu Jin.

Tian Xiaohui sat at the table in the courtyard, resting her chin on her hand with an innocent expression, and said, "I just went to call him, and he said not to worry about him."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's probably heartbroken," Tian Xiaohui said, giving Qin Zheng a serious look.

Qin Zheng: "...?"

Ye Yun couldn't help but chuckle, and gently tapped Tian Xiaohui's head with her chopsticks, laughing, "Don't joke like that, your brother Qin Zheng can't stand it."

Tian Xiaohui shrugged. "It's not that I'm joking, but Gu Jin has been acting strange ever since Mr. Mu mentioned wanting to take you to Lin'an..."

Ye Yun paused slightly and gave Qin Zheng an inquiring look.

Qin Zheng set out the dishes, stood up, patted her shoulder, and said, "It's alright, he's probably just overthinking things again. I'll go check on him."

"good."

Ye Yun nodded, watching Qin Zheng leap over the railing and jump into Gu Jin's yard with his long legs.

Beside him, Mu Jingsheng sat obediently at the table, clearly aware that he had caused trouble, and dared not utter a single word.

Someone tugged at Ye Yun's sleeve.

Ye Xia was clinging to her, staring at her longingly, and tugging at her sleeve, trying to get her to sit down quickly.

"Eat...eat..."

She picked up her chopsticks and kept piling meat into Ye Yun's rice bowl, her eyes always gently fixed on Ye Yun, as if afraid that Ye Yun would run away.

Ye Yun smiled at her and obediently picked up some food and put it in her mouth.

When Ye Xia saw her actions, her eyes narrowed with laughter.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Mu Jingsheng's expression relaxed slightly. He diligently picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it into Ye Yun's rice bowl, saying with a smile, "Xiao Yun, eat more fish, it's very nutritious."

Ye Yun raised her hand and coldly flicked it away.

Without any hesitation, the fish meat was shoved out.

The fish fell onto the table, seemingly unintentionally, but it silently expressed Ye Yun's resistance and lack of appreciation.

Mu Jingsheng's expression froze, "..."

Without any hesitation, Tian Xiaohui picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, popped it into her mouth, and said with a smacking sound, "My sister-in-law doesn't like fish, so don't bother trying!"

Although she didn't know what had happened, she could tell that Ye Yun didn't like this father.

Mu Jingsheng lowered his head in shame.

But he didn't know how to ease his relationship with Ye Yun, and after a long while, he could only sigh helplessly.

If only he hadn't gone back to the city back then.

If he had known that Ye Xia was pregnant back then, he would never have abandoned her and returned to Lin'an!

He would rather stay in the remote mountain village for the rest of his life, living a poor life with his wife and children!

Mu Jingsheng felt increasingly distressed. He took a deep breath and said, "Xiaoyun, Dad has a few words to say to you. Can you listen to me for a bit?"

Ye Yun was picking out the bones from the fish when she looked up and glanced at him indifferently.

Her eyes were too indifferent, devoid of any emotion, which made Mu Jingsheng feel even more distressed.

Mu Jingsheng couldn't care less about anything else at this point. He had had enough of his daughter's indifferent gaze. He gritted his teeth and said, "Xiaoyun, whether you believe it or not, Dad has to say that many things aren't as you think. Dad has his own reasons..."

Ye Yun didn't say anything, and continued to carefully pick out the bones from the fish.

There weren't many fish bones, and she had picked up a good piece of belly meat. Soon, the few bones inside were all removed. She checked it again to make sure there were no bones before putting it into Ye Xia's bowl.

Ye Xia was flattered and stared at her blankly.

Ye Yun smiled at her, "Eat."

Ye Xia seemed to snap out of her daze, picked up the fish that Ye Yun had chosen for her, and put it in her mouth. As she chewed, tears welled up in her eyes with satisfaction.

Ye Yun picked up another piece of fish.

She kept her head down, picking at the flaws, seemingly ignoring the person speaking beside her.

Mu Jingsheng could clearly sense Ye Yun's resistance towards him, and his tone became pleading: "Xiao Yun..."

"You continue."

Ye Yun said calmly.

Mu Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, then his tone became filled with ecstatic joy: "Xiaoyun, you're willing to give me a chance to explain? What do you want to hear? Dad will definitely tell you everything you want to know!"

Ye Yun frowned, "Are you sure... this is what I want to hear?"

"No!" Mu Jingsheng realized something was wrong and quickly shook his head. "It's what I wanted to say, it's what I insisted on saying, Xiaoyun, look how confused I am again... It's like this, I want to explain what happened back then to you, is that alright?"

He was afraid that Ye Yun would not give him face, so he gazed at Ye Yun expectantly.

Ye Xia gently took Ye Yun's hand, looking at her with tender eyes, seemingly asking her to give Mu Jingsheng a chance.

Although she is mentally challenged, she occasionally acts like a lucid, normal person.

Ye Yun gave a faint "hmm".

"Tell me, tell me clearly how you returned to the city and how you drove my mother crazy."

Mu Jingsheng's eyes immediately reddened.

Knowing his sins were grave, he choked back tears and said, "Xiaoyun, when I returned to the city, I didn't know your mother was pregnant..."

Back then, his family chose the wrong side.

The situation was urgent. His father and elders fled the country overnight, but he was still in school and had no time to escape. A pampered rich kid was thus branded with a high hat, made to bear the blame for the entire family's mistakes, and sent to a poor rural area to reflect on the family's errors.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!