Indeed, the two people sitting next to Yan Shao at this moment are Zong Zhe's parents, Zong Mao and Liu Su.
Yan Shao had a million thoughts churning inside him, but his face remained calm as usual, and the turmoil in his heart did not show on his face at all.
"Elder Zong, I am foolish and do not understand why Elder Zong and Madam Zong have come here in this way."
As he spoke, he unusually showed the courtesy due to a host and junior, standing up to pour tea for the two guests.
Zong Mao remained unmoved, showing no intention of even drinking the tea, and simply stared intently at Yan Shao.
"Young Master Yan has always been smart, when did he start pretending to be confused?"
Fortunately, Yan Shao himself is a person with a strong aura, otherwise he would have been defeated in less than two seconds under Zong Mao's strong gaze.
"Elder Zong, I'm not pretending. If I have offended either of you without realizing it, please tell me."
Yan Shao was determined to deny it to the death, but in his mind, he was quickly searching for clues to find out what went wrong and made the two people in front of him notice something amiss.
"Young Master Yan, logically speaking, you and A-Zhe are good friends, so we should trust you. But since you and A-Zhe are good friends, how can you bear to watch his child wander outside?"
Zong Mao spoke slowly and deliberately, but the accusations he made were quite obvious.
Yan Shao looked at Zong Mao in surprise, "Elder Zong, I am very saddened by A Zhe's situation, but this is the first time I have heard that his children have been separated from their parents. Could it be that Elder Zong and Madam Zong are so eager to see their son that they have developed this misconception?"
Yan Shao silently said "I'm sorry" to the deceased Zong Zhe in his heart. As Zhu Qianying's husband and Bai Shao's friend, he felt obligated to protect the safety of Bai Shao and her daughter.
Moreover, whether Bai Xiaolu should return to the Zong family is a decision Bai Shao can make, but Yan Han cannot.
Right now, he is simply fulfilling his friend's request, and therefore, he can only apologize to his deceased friend and show disrespect to the elders in front of him.
Zong Mao's face gradually turned angry, and when he heard Yan Shao's last words, he couldn't help but slam his hand on the table.
"How dare you! Yan Han, don't think you can fool me just because you deny it!"
Madam Zong, who had remained silent until now, probably fearing that Zong Mao would strain their relationship, tugged at Zong Mao's arm before finally speaking to Young Master Yan.
"Young Master Yan, as you know, A-Zhe left suddenly, without leaving anything behind. Now, please take pity on our clan and return the child to us!"
This couple worked side by side to build a vast empire decades ago; they were the ones who essentially conquered most of the Zong family's territory.
Despite her gentle and weak appearance, Madam Zong is a ruthless character who hides her true strength.
Others might be deceived by her appearance, but Yan Shao will not.
Therefore, Yan Shao was not particularly moved by her current act of playing the victim and trying to reason with him.
"Madam Zong, I don't understand what you mean by 'child'?" Young Master Yan was determined to play dumb.
Zong Mao's body tensed up, and it looked like he was about to have another outburst. Madam Zong quickly pressed him down and spoke first.
"Young Master Yan, Bai Shao has been staying at your house for some time now, hasn't she? Her child, Bai Lu, is A Zhe's flesh and blood."
Yan Shao's surprise deepened. "Madam Zong, you must be mistaken. Bai Shao has been studying abroad for many years. If it weren't for her father's illness, she wouldn't have returned to China. Perhaps Bai Lu's father is still abroad waiting for them to come back."
Knowing the truth, Yan Shao continued to make up stories without changing his expression, as if he was absolutely certain that there was a man abroad waiting for the mother and daughter to return.
Madam Zong looked at him with a mixture of belief and doubt, then exchanged a glance with Zong Mao.
"Young Master Yan, you don't know that A-Zhe's girlfriend is Bai Shao, do you?"
"What? Bai Shao is Ah Zhe's ex-girlfriend whom he dated for two years?" Yan Shao's acting skills were off the charts, and his expression of surprise was even greater than before.
Madam Zong nodded. "That's right, Bai Shao is A Zhe's girlfriend."
Yan Shao then suppressed his surprise and spoke very seriously.
“Madam Zong, Bai Shao is my wife’s best friend and confidante. I never knew she was A Zhe’s ex-girlfriend. Moreover, I do not agree with your idea that Bai Lu is A Zhe’s child.”
The Zong family is a dangerous place, and throwing Bai Shao and her daughter back there would likely lead to their demise. Therefore, Yan Shao would never admit Bai Lu's true identity.
Of course, if Bai Shao made this decision herself, that would be a different story.
Zong Mao, who had been persuaded several times by Lady Liu Su, could no longer restrain himself.
“Yanhan, although Bailu doesn’t look exactly like Azhe, her expression and mannerisms are exactly the same. Moreover, I’ve checked her birth information, so I can deduce that Baishao became pregnant during the time she was with Azhe.”
Hold!
Yan Shao cursed inwardly, wondering where this old fox had found Bai Xiaolu's information.
Could it be that they already knew about Bai Lu's existence from the very beginning when they had Jiang Qi approach Bai Shao?
Yan Shao was half right about this.
Speaking of which, after breaking up with Zong Zhe, Bai Shao quickly went abroad, using a quota for Zong Group employees to study abroad.
It's likely that Zong Zhe treated this as a breakup fee for her. In any case, although she used Zong's quota to go abroad, she had no obligation to return Zong's services.
So, after graduation, she stayed abroad to work, and no one paid any attention.
Moreover, Zongzhe passed away not long after she went abroad. Her whereabouts became even less of a concern.
It wasn't until she returned to China and took a job at a large multinational corporation that news about her gradually reached the Zong family.
It's unclear what Zong Mao and his wife's mindset was at the time, but in any case, they had someone inquire about Bai Shao's situation.
Then, Bai Xiangdong and Bai Lu's basic information was soon delivered to Zong Mao and his wife.
At the time, they didn't pay much attention to Bailu, after all, their son had passed away five or six years ago, and it was perfectly normal for Bai Shao to have another partner and child.
Their focus at the time was solely on Bai Xiangdong.
When their son passed away, he expressed his concern for Bai Shao. Now that Bai Xiangdong has encountered such a situation, it seems that they can offer some assistance.
So they had Jiang Qi contact Bai Shao.
After Jiang Qi accompanied Bai Shao and her father abroad, their gaze returned to Bai Lu.
At first, they were just curious about what kind of girl Bai Shao's child was. Unexpectedly, this meeting planted a seed of hope in their hearts.
However, the Zongshige couple were worldly-wise people and would never act rashly.
After sneaking a glimpse of the egret, they didn't rush to demand the person back. Instead, they sent someone abroad to investigate the egret's detailed information.
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