Xing Zhaozhao smiled and said, "It just so happens that I know your sister-in-law Fu Hong. She's the one who told me about your situation."
“Oh, right.” Xing Zhaozhao pointed at Dong Cang, “That day I happened to run into him causing trouble at your sister-in-law’s teahouse. He’s so old, he even has a great-grandson, and he still went to his widowed sister-in-law to ask for money to support his family. I’ve seen shameless people, but I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as your family.”
The Gao family members looked at the Dong family members with disdain.
Dong Cui also felt ashamed, especially when she saw the disgusted expressions on the faces of her newly recognized son and granddaughter. She couldn't help but glare fiercely at her brother's family.
However, the Dong family was used to taking advantage of others and not only felt no shame, but also took it for granted.
“What’s wrong with taking some of her money? She doesn’t have a son. After she dies, all that money in her house will be mine anyway. What’s wrong with taking some to spend in advance?” Dong Yingjun said.
The rest of the Dong family nodded in agreement.
The Gao family members all rolled their eyes. This family was rotten to the core; there was no hope for them.
Xing Zhaozhao sneered and said, "Your good brother has been sucked dry by you for so many years. In the end, he worked himself to death to pay off your gambling debts. And what do you do? Neither of you knows how to be grateful. One of you, even after losing your brother, keeps sucking your sister-in-law dry and dragging the whole family along with you. The other puts on a show of being loyal and righteous, but forgets about your brother and his family who have been so kind to you. You're all the same, selfish, cold-blooded and ruthless."
After saying that, Xing Zhaozhao looked at Xia Chen and said seriously, "Blood ties cannot be severed, but I still hope that you can open your eyes wide and see clearly who loves you the most, and don't let them down."
Xia Chen tightened his grip on Gao Yue's hand, looked at Xing Zhaozhao, and nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Dong Cui realized something was wrong; she was trying to sow discord between her son and her. This was unacceptable.
“My gambling debts weren’t paid off by my older brother, and his death has nothing to do with me. Don’t make false accusations,” Dong Cui said, glaring at Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao was also quite curious. She looked at Dong Cui and asked, "Where did you get the money to pay off your gambling debts? More than 30 years ago, 4,000 yuan was not a small amount."
Dong Cui's eyes flickered, and she stammered, unable to speak, but her gaze kept drifting towards Xia Chen.
Xing Zhaozhao followed her gaze to Xia Chen, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Why are you staring at Xia Chen? Is it related to him?"
Xia Chen frowned and looked at Dong Cui with a puzzled expression.
Dong Cui panicked and quickly shook her head: "No, no, it has nothing to do with Achen."
Judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to be unaffected.
Xing Zhaozhao narrowed her eyes slightly, as if thinking of something, and tentatively asked, "It's not Xia Chen's father..."
Before he could finish speaking, a series of noisy footsteps passed by outside the private room. There were quite a few people, chatting and laughing. Xing Zhaozhao and Ying Rongrong hadn't closed the door when they came in. The old man at the front glanced over casually, his pupils contracted, and he stopped. Then, a hearty laugh rang out: "Isn't this Chairman Gao?"
Gao Hongfei turned around, smiled, and stood up to greet him: "Oh, it's Old Liu."
Old Liu?
Upon hearing this familiar address, Xing Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but turn her head curiously to look over. She saw an old man of about seventy or eighty years old standing at the door of their private room. He had an elegant demeanor and was dressed in a refined Tang suit. He looked quite respectable. Although he was more than fifty years older than when she last saw him, Xing Zhaozhao recognized him at a glance. It was Liu Feiyue.
Thinking that it was highly likely that this old man had stolen the valuables that her godparents had painstakingly hidden, a sharp glint flashed in Xing Zhaozhao's eyes. She was determined to expose him.
Gao Mingcheng keenly sensed the sudden change in Xing Zhaozhao's emotions the moment she saw Liu Feiyue. He glanced at Liu Feiyue warily, then leaned close to Xing Zhaozhao's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What? Do you know each other?"
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded, tilted her head, and snuggled up to Gao Mingcheng, saying softly, "I'll tell you later."
Liu Feiyue noticed Gao Mingcheng's gaze and looked over. He was stunned to see Gao Mingcheng and Xing Zhaozhao whispering intimately together. Although he didn't know Xing Zhaozhao, he quickly guessed her identity based on a rumor he had heard about Gao Mingcheng not long ago, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.
Even if he's a decorated and valiant general, so what? He's still just an ordinary man like him.
After Xing Zhaozhao finished speaking with Gao Mingcheng, she glanced up and met Liu Feiyue's gaze.
Liu Feiyue looked at Xing Zhaozhao and smiled politely.
Xing Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at him and looked away.
Liu Feiyue was stunned: "..." What does that mean? This seems to be their first meeting, right? He's never offended her before...
"Old Liu is here for dinner with friends?" Gao Hongfei asked Liu Feiyue with a smile, unaware of the subtle exchange between Xing Zhaozhao and Liu Feiyue.
Liu Feiyue snapped out of his daze, looked at Gao Hongfei, and nodded with a smile: "Just got back to Lanyuan and was catching up with my old buddies. I knew you had just opened your business, so I came to show my support."
Gao Hongfei thanked Liu Feiyue and called the manager over, telling him to take good care of him.
While they were exchanging pleasantries, Xing Zhaozhao glanced at the people following Liu Feiyue. Apart from a mother and daughter who were quite old and looked like Liu Feiyue's wife and daughter, the rest were all old guys around the same age as Liu Feiyue.
Xing Zhaozhao also saw two familiar faces inside. They were Liu Feiyue's two henchmen whom she had met not long ago. One was named Erxi and the other Sanchang. They were already quite old, but they were still alive. It could be said that the scourge had survived for a thousand years.
Xing Zhaozhao thought to herself, and couldn't help but roll her eyes again, which Liu Feiyue caught her doing.
Liu Feiyue was talking to Gao Hongfei when he accidentally met that familiar eye-roll again, and his smile faltered: "..."
What exactly does he mean? He asked! He's lived to be this old and hasn't met someone so disrespectful in a long time. The problem is, he doesn't remember ever offending her before. Even if she's General Gao's favorite, it doesn't mean Liu Feiyue is easy to bully.
This time, Gao Hongfei finally realized something was wrong. Following Liu Feiyue's gaze, he turned to look at Xing Zhaozhao and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Xing Zhaozhao shrugged slightly, spread her hands, and put on an innocent look.
Liu Feiyue: "..."
Liu Feiyue chuckled and casually glanced into the private room, asking, "Chairman Gao, is this... a family gathering?" Apart from Gao Hongfei's youngest son, almost everyone in the Gao family was here.
Gao Hongfei hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I guess so."
Liu Feiyue greeted the Gao family with a smile, his gaze finally settling on Xing Zhaozhao.
"Who is this...?" He pretended not to know.
“My lover,” Gao Mingcheng said, giving Liu Feiyue a cold look.
"So it's the old lady." Liu Feiyue smiled innocently.
"Does the old lady recognize me?" he asked.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head: "I don't know him." She had never seen Liu Feiyue here before.
"But it seems like the old lady has some issues with me?" Liu Feiyue asked, still smiling.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head again: "I have no problem with you."
"Then why..." Liu Feiyue continued to ask.
Before he could finish speaking, Xing Zhaozhao said directly, "I just don't like seeing your old face."
Liu Feiyue: "..."
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
"Pfft," someone couldn't help but laugh.
People around couldn't help but look over in surprise, only to find that it was Liu Feiyue's daughter.
Liu Xiao pursed her lips and held back her anger: "I'm sorry."
After saying that, she met Xing Zhaozhao's curious gaze and couldn't help but add, "I think so too."
Xing Zhaozhao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.
Liu Feiyue looked at his daughter with a murderous glare.
Liu Xiao didn't take it seriously at all, and looked at his old father provocatively.
Liu Xiao's mother, however, glared at her daughter disapprovingly at the tense atmosphere between the father and daughter.
Liu Xiao pursed her lips helplessly, but in the end, she compromised and suppressed her anger.
Distracted by Liu Xiao, Liu Feiyue was filled with anger, but he couldn't vent it or quell it, so he had no choice but to hold it in.
He gave Gao Hongfei a stiff smile and said, "I won't bother you anymore..." Then he turned around and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, someone in the group who had come with him exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that old bastard Dong Cang? What's he doing here?"
When Liu Xiao and her mother heard Dong Cang's name, their expressions suddenly changed.
Liu Feiyue paused, then stopped. He had been holding back his anger and almost forgot about something important.
He turned around and looked directly at Dong Cang, who had been cowering to the side like a quail.
Meeting Liu Feiyue's sharp gaze, Dong Cang trembled involuntarily, forcing a fawning smile as he called out, "Brother Liu, it's been a long time..."
"It has indeed been a long time," Liu Feiyue said in a nonchalant tone.
Gao Hongfei looked at Dong Cang, then at Liu Feiyue, and asked in surprise, "You two know each other?"
Liu Feiyue nodded: "I do know him. When we were young, he worked for me for a while, but unfortunately he wasn't very honest, so I fired him soon after."
As he spoke, Liu Feiyue turned to look at Gao Hongfei with a puzzled expression and asked, "So, I was quite shocked when I saw him outside just now. How did this old guy get involved with you, Chairman Gao?" Especially at a family gathering like this. Where did this old guy get such great abilities from?
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Liu Feiyue, frowned, and something seemed to flash through her mind, but unfortunately it ran too fast and she couldn't catch it.
Gao Hongfei hesitated for a moment, then uttered two words: "In-laws."
Liu Feiyue's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Gao Hongfei: "You two have actually become in-laws? What kind of crazy idea is that?"
The Gao family: "..." Where's the politeness? How can you be so sarcastic?
Looking at the Gao family's rather unpleasant expressions, and recalling the two eye-rolls he had just received, Liu Feiyue felt inexplicably relieved.
He barely managed to suppress the smirk that was creeping up his lips: "Sorry, I misspoke."
"Congratulations," Liu Feiyue said. "Is this Mr. Gao? I met him in Beijing before. I didn't expect you to be getting married so soon."
After saying that, he realized something was wrong, looked around, and sure enough, he didn't see Gao Yang: "Where's General Manager Gao? It's his happy occasion, why isn't he here?"
The Gao family: "..."
“It’s not Gao Yang,” Gao Hongfei said.
Liu Feiyue was taken aback for a moment and asked, "Not Mr. Gao? Do you have other children, Mr. Gao?"
As he spoke, Liu Feiyue quickly revealed a knowing smile: "You're quite something, Chairman Gao, I never would have guessed..."
Gao Hongfei: "..."
Liu Xiao sneered dismissively: "Ha, men."
Liu Feiyue was a little embarrassed and turned to glare at his daughter: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
"I have a mouth, I can say whatever I want, it's none of your business," Liu Xiao retorted bluntly.
Liu Feiyue: "..."
Unable to win the argument, Liu Feiyue turned to his wife and vented his anger: "Look at the good daughter you gave birth to."
"Without you, she couldn't have given birth on her own. Don't you have any responsibility?" Liu Xiao continued to berate her father.
Liu Feiyue: "..."
Liu Feiyue pretended to be dead and ignored her.
Gao Hongfei finally seized the opportunity: "I don't have any other children, my daughter Gao Yue is the only one I have."
Gao Feiyue looked at Gao Hongfei in surprise: "Isn't your daughter already married?"
Gao Hongfei nodded: "It's already settled."
"Divorced?" Liu Feiyue asked.
Gao Hongfei: "..."
Gao Yue: "..." Hey, are you being polite?
Xia Chen: "..." Where did this despicable old man come from cursing him? Can I kick him out?
“My son-in-law was abducted when he was a child. We just found his biological mother, whose surname is Dong,” Gao Hongfei said.
Liu Feiyue's expression suddenly changed. His shocked gaze lingered on Xia Chen's face for a moment before he moved to the side and stared intently at Dong Cui sitting next to him as if he wanted to kill her.
Dong Cui was so frightened that her face turned deathly pale, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Xia Chen sensed something was wrong and looked at Dong Cui with concern, asking, "Mom, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Liu Feiyue stared intently at Xia Chen, licked his dry lips, and asked in a slightly hoarse and trembling voice, "Is your mother Dong Cui?"
Xia Chen looked at Liu Feiyue, feeling inexplicably flustered. He nodded slightly, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Xing Zhaozhao's gaze lingered on Xia Chen, Dong Cui, and Liu Feiyue for a moment, and her mind involuntarily recalled what Fu Hong had once mentioned to her: the older brother Dong Cui had followed back then seemed to be... surnamed Liu?!
Xing Zhaozhao stared at Liu Feiyue, her face filled with undisguised shock. Could it be him?
Suddenly, one of Liu Feiyue's men exclaimed, "Hey! The Gao family's son-in-law's biological mother is actually Dong Cui? Brother, didn't you have a son with Dong Cui before? Of course, if that child hadn't been taken away, wouldn't you be the one who's now married into the Gao family?"
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