Ji Ye wasn't interested in listening to those voice messages, but just as he was about to do something else, the phone rang again. To avoid future trouble, he chose to answer it.

"Why didn't you answer the phone?" Mei Xue questioned immediately. "Don't tell me you were busy. What could have kept you busy for so long?"

Ji Ye chuckled lightly: "I just didn't want to be disturbed by you guys, so I deliberately turned off my phone."

Seemingly surprised by his bluntness, Mei Xue choked for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Do you know that yesterday was Xiao Jiao's birthday?"

"What does her birthday have to do with me?"

"You're her brother, shouldn't you do something for her birthday?"

"Heh..." Ji Ye chuckled sarcastically, while Mei Xue's cheeks felt hot.

So she softened her tone: "Mom knows you're upset that we didn't celebrate your birthday last time, but didn't we give you a birthday present later? It's just that you didn't come to pick it up."

Ji Ye scratched Xiao Wu's chin, who was acting up: "That's perfect, then give the gift that was given to me to Mei Jiao."

“Ji Ye, you…” Mei Xue held back her words, “How can you lump these together? Those were carefully selected by your sister and me.”

"Since it was carefully selected, it must be something you all like. Wouldn't it be perfect to give it to Mei Jiao?"

"Are you trying to drive me crazy?" Mei Xue was furious again. "You two are siblings. When I get old, won't you have to support each other? I'm doing this for your own good. You are the heir of the Ji family. How can you not have someone by your side? Xiao Jiao is the most suitable."

"You want me to unilaterally support her, right?" Ji Ye didn't beat around the bush with her anymore. "My surname is Ji, hers is Mei. Who does she think she is? Don't I have my own wife and children? Why should I let her interfere in my affairs?"

"Even if you marry a wife in the future, she may not be of one mind with you. What is more reliable than blood ties?"

"So you and your current husband are having marital problems and you're getting a divorce?"

Hearing this nonsense, Mei Xue was completely furious. The things she cherished most in her life, besides her daughter Mei Jiao, were her relationship with her husband. No one was allowed to say anything bad about their relationship in front of her.

"How could we get a divorce? What nonsense are you talking about? Our relationship is great."

"So you two are the only ones in this world with true love, and everyone else isn't?" Ji Ye said sarcastically. "In that case, Mei Jiao will definitely divorce her husband when she gets married in the future. When Mei Jiao gets a boyfriend, I will definitely tell him this."

"Ji Ye, are you determined to go against me?"

"How did I go against you? Didn't you say that yourself? You're denying what you just said. Who's being unreasonable here?"

Mei Xue took a deep breath: "Xiao Ye, Mom knows you have resentment in your heart, and you blame Mom for not taking care of you enough over the years, but Mom has no choice. When Mom and your father divorced, your grandfather was very domineering and wouldn't allow Mom to interfere in your life and studies. Can you try to understand Mom? You are the eldest son of the Ji family. Although your sister's surname is Mei, your maternal grandparents have never given in. Can you bear to see her suffer in the future?"

Ji Ye casually teased the dog: "I'll say it again, Mei Jiao has nothing to do with me, and you shouldn't even think about taking anything from me for her."

Mei Xue started yelling again: "Are you determined to go against your mother? You've started to trust Song Xia now? What did she say to you? You weren't like this before. You've changed since she came."

"It has nothing to do with her." Ji Ye's tone remained calm. "It's just that on my birthday I suddenly realized something: you are the real family, not me. I accept that my parents' relationship with me was shallow in this life. You say Mei Jiao is pitiful, but how is she pitiful? She has parents who love her and money that ordinary people can't earn in a lifetime. Isn't she satisfied? How much more do you want to take from me? Back when you divorced Ji Jianfei, the assets that the Ji family and the Mei family gave you were already an astronomical figure."

The calmer he was, the more panicked Mei Xue became: "Xiao Ye, it was my oversight on your birthday. I was too busy. Please understand me. I will definitely treat you well in the future. Don't say things like that. It makes me feel bad."

"Is this the first time you've forgotten?" Ji Ye sneered. "How come you've never forgotten your current husband's and Mei Jiao's birthdays even once?"

“When your grandfather was at home, it wasn’t appropriate for your mother to visit him.”

"You're still making excuses now. If you really cared, wouldn't you have sent a gift? Grandpa isn't that cold-blooded, and he's never stopped us from interacting." Ji Ye took a deep breath. "From now on, let's just treat each other like strangers. Let's not make things too ugly, or do you think I might try to harm Mei Jiao after I inherit the Ji family business?"

Mei Xue panicked: "Ji Ye, how dare you!"

"If you continue to bother me like this and demand property that doesn't belong to you, let's see if I dare to do it. Since we've never had any feelings for each other, why bother pretending in front of me? I'm all grown up now, and I don't need your hypocritical pretense anymore. That's it."

Ji Ye hung up the phone without hesitation. Mei Xue was both angry and flustered, and finally realized that she was starting to regret it. If she had known it would turn out like this, she would have asked if he would have asked if he would have asked if he would have asked if he would have asked. How could she have forgotten his birthday that day?

"Mom..." Mei Jiao looked at her nervously, "Does my brother not like me?"

"It's alright." Mei Xue forced herself to remain calm. "Our Xiao Jiao is so well-behaved and sensible, how could anyone not like you? Your brother just hasn't spent much time with you yet. How about Mom transfers you to your brother's school next semester?"

“Okay.” Mei Jiao nodded solemnly. “I will definitely try my best to make my brother like me, and then clear up the misunderstanding between my mother and brother.”

"Then I'll leave everything to Xiaojiao. Your brother has never received much love. As long as you get close to him, there won't be any problems. But the most important thing is to be patient."

"Don't worry, Mom."

"You should also be careful around those disreputable girls, lest you bewitch your brother. Only when you become a true family member in your brother's heart will your mother feel at ease about your future."

Mei Jiao's eyes flickered: "Don't worry, Mom."

Mei Xue said with resentment, "If it weren't for your uncle's daughter who suddenly appeared, why would Mom be so anxious? Originally, everything in the Mei family belonged to you. Before, because of the cooperation between the Ji and Mei families, a portion was promised to Ji Ye. Your maternal grandfather has been unwilling to agree to the latter portion. They all have the surname Mei, so aren't they all his granddaughters? Your maternal grandfather was clearly so happy when he gave you the surname Mei."

Mei Jiao was also angry, but what could she do? Her uncle had clearly said he was against marriage, how could he break his promise like this? And that Mei Yin, she was clearly more favored by her grandfather now, she was really annoying.

The mother and daughter complained back and forth, but they never thought about how much Mei Xue got when the Ji and Mei families were married off. Even though she had squandered a lot of her wealth over the years, what was left was still enough for ordinary people to only dream of. Why were they still not satisfied?