Chapter 29
Just before leaving work, Chu Yue received a call from her mother. The intention was clear: she deliberately chose this time to remind her, fearing her mother might use "too busy to remember" as an excuse to back out.
Chu Yue had originally planned to tell her family about their relationship only after Ji Mingfei agreed to be with her. Now everything had happened ahead of schedule! What was coming couldn't be avoided, and Chu Yue had mentally prepared herself for the scolding when she got home.
As soon as Chu Yue stepped inside, she sensed a tense atmosphere gathering. She put down her bag and keys, changed into slippers, and went inside.
Dad was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and Mom was cooking in the kitchen. The family atmosphere seemed harmonious, except that no one was paying attention to her.
"Dad, I'm home."
Mr. Chu lowered his chin and looked over from above his reading glasses. "Oh, what brings you back today?"
"I missed you, of course! How have you been lately? Tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll buy it for you next time I come back." Chu Yue stood in front of the coffee table, a forced smile plastered on her face, trying to gauge her father's level of understanding of the situation based on his reaction.
"You've disappeared during the New Year holiday. You should be thanking your lucky stars that you didn't move your things. At least you can still eat what you bought." Mr. Chu said sarcastically, then pushed up his glasses and continued watching TV.
It seems Dad doesn't know anything about it. Chu Yue went to the kitchen again, ostensibly to help, to test Mom's attitude.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Aunt Chu, who was cooking with her back to the door, immediately ordered the newcomer to do some work, "Pick up the chives on the floor for me."
"...Okay, here you go."
The spatula banged against the pot twice, and Chu's mother said in a sharp tone, "Pick it for me. So none of you are going to eat it?"
Chu Yue had just squatted down halfway when she heard her mother's words and knelt down in response, saying, "Eat... I'll pick them for us right away."
The kitchen was suddenly filled only with the sound of the range hood running and the clanging of the spatula and the wok.
The youngest member, who couldn't hold back any longer, spoke up first, "Mom, the truth is this..."
"Stop, let's eat first. I'm afraid I won't be able to eat after hearing this!" Chu's mother ladled the stir-fried dishes into plates and placed them on the table.
The dinner was unusually quiet. If Chu Yue hadn't known that there were only the three of them at home, she would have suspected that there were assassins lurking in the unlit rooms. She thought that Liu Bang's situation at the Feast at Hongmen was no different.
Mr. Chu, who was the first to finish his meal, left the table and took his bowl to the kitchen. When he came back, there was half a bowl of boiled water with oil floating on it.
The steaming water was hard to swallow, so Mr. Chu sat and waited to see what would happen, seemingly drinking water but actually watching the show.
Chu's mother put down her chopsticks, reached into the napkin box, found it empty, and got up to get some paper from the cupboard.
Taking advantage of the brief break, Chu Yue quickly finished the rice in her bowl. Her father watched from the sidelines, not forgetting to add more food to his daughter's plate, saying, "Eat more meat, you're so thin, you even have dark circles under your eyes."
"Thank you, Dad!"
"He's even learned to be polite to me now."
"She's not being polite to you, she's just feeling guilty and afraid to speak. Ask her what good things she's been up to lately," Aunt Chu said, returning to throw the tissues on the table.
"What did you do to upset your mother again? You're already so old, how come you still can't change your stubborn temper! Which omega will want to marry you in the future!" Father Chu tried to divert attention from the situation, but ended up hitting the nail on the head.
"You're overthinking it. Your daughter is amazing! I don't know what kind of magic she used, but she tricked a young girl into giving birth to a daughter, who is now hiding in her home in the new city."
"..."
What a concise and succinct summary!
"Really?" Mr. Chu sat up straight and leaned on the dining table to confirm. "When did this happen? I've never heard you mention it before! How come you have a child before you're even married... The process jumped way too fast! Your mother and I were caught off guard!"
"It's not like what my mom said." Chu Yue tried to make a last-ditch effort. "Think about it! An omega got pregnant with my child, but she won't marry me and will raise the child alone. What does she want?"
Mr. Chu was a little confused. "That makes sense! My Yueyue's circumstances... unless the other person is richer than you."
"..."
This isn't about money! Can you please not be so materialistic?
Chu Yue found that her father was easy to fool, so she continued her all-out offensive against him, saying, "She has no money; the house was bought with a loan."
Chu's mother quickly noticed something amiss and asked, "Why would she live with you if she has her own house?"
"Her house is in Takito."
Upon discovering another interesting point, Chu's mother asked, "So, the two pots of meat you took from me on New Year's Eve were for her?"
Didn't I send you a red envelope?
Suddenly, Chu's mother raised her voice, getting angry as she remembered that two main dishes were missing from the table that noon. "You're so rich and powerful, why don't you go to the market and buy them!"
Chu Yue instantly felt guilty, "I only snatched food from your mouth because I couldn't buy it...!"
"Don't try to fool me. June looks exactly like you when you were little. I know it's yours without even doing a DNA test!" Chu's mother forcefully steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"Does June look like me?" Chu Yue suddenly asked in surprise. She picked up her phone and looked at her face. Although she saw it every day, she still didn't remember the face and couldn't even tell that June looked like her.
"Do you have any photos? Let me see them too." Mr. Chu moved his chair closer.
Chu Yue immediately opened her phone's photo album and showed it off to her dad, "This is a picture of me right after I was born, all wrinkled like a kitchen rag. I looked much better after a month! Look at this one, isn't it beautiful?"
"You look exactly like you did when you were little! This one even shows you blowing bubbles! And this one too, send it to me, send it to me! When are you going to bring it home so Dad can hug it?"
Looking at her husband, who was already happily enjoying family time, Chu's mother slammed her hand on the table, breaking the pleasant moment, and said, "We're discussing your daughter's child out of wedlock right now, why are you getting involved? And holding a granddaughter? You should ask her first if she even acknowledges you as her grandfather!"
"Why... won't you admit it? Yueyue, what did you do?" Chu's happy smile vanished, and he asked his daughter in a panic.
Chu Yue coughed lightly, finding it difficult to speak, and said, "Actually, this child was an accident... I found out when she was already four months pregnant. Ji Mingfei has never admitted that the child is mine, so I let her stay with me first, planning to take it one step at a time."
Mr. Chu slapped his thigh and offered her a suggestion, "Isn't there a paternity test?"
"Dad, it's not that I doubt whether the child is mine, it's that the child's mother doesn't want me to know that the child is mine. Should I get a paternity test? After that, the mother and daughter will have to run away from home!"
"I just don't understand! She's pregnant with your child, but she didn't let you know. How did you two even get together in the first place?"
"..."
One-night stand.
Mrs. Chu was the first to relent, saying, "Alright, alright, we won't ask anymore. Young people these days are so flashy, we can't keep up! Hurry up and wash the dishes, then go back to your own home!"
Chu Yue couldn't believe her ears. She had passed the test? Overjoyed, she began to clean up the dishes and soon the kitchen was spotless.
Before leaving, Aunt Chu chased after me to the door with two insulated containers, instructing me: "This is bone broth, and this is old hen soup. They were both stewed this afternoon. If they get cold when you get home, just reheat them. If you can't finish them, freeze them. They'll last for a few days."
"Thank you, Mom!"
"If you want to thank me, hurry up and win my heart. Your dad and I are waiting to hold our granddaughter!"
"Okay, don't worry."
Chu Yue had just put on her shoes when her mother grabbed her arm again, saying, "You're not allowed to take them by trickery or force!"
"What era are we living in? You've been listening to too much opera." Chu Yue, carrying two insulated buckets, used her elbow to push open the door. "I'm leaving."
Chu's mother waved her hand and said, "Drive carefully on the road."
Chu Yue skipped and hopped into the car, finally getting through another hurdle. On the way, she called Ji Mingfei to ask what she had for dinner, and if she hadn't eaten, to wait a little longer.
No one answered the phone.
Chu Yue rushed home without stopping, pushed open the door and called out, "I'm home." Ji Mingfei didn't come out of the bedroom as usual; the house was so quiet it was as if no one was there.
"Where did she go all this time?" Chu Yue pushed open the half-closed bedroom door and saw June lying on the bed alone, sucking her thumb. She quickly went over, picked up the child, and comforted her, "Where's Mommy? Why did you leave our June here all by herself!"
“Da-bu!” Baby talk came online.
Chu Yue couldn't understand, so she carried Liu Yue around the house looking for Ji Mingfei. After confirming that she wasn't home, she quickly called her.
The cell phone rang from the living room sofa; the cell phone was at home.
Chu Yue had a bad feeling. Ji Mingfei would never leave the child at home and go out, and she didn't even take her phone with her. What could she possibly be doing outside?
After thinking it over, Chu Yue dialed Deng Jie's number and said quickly, "Come to my house right away. Turn on your phone's GPS. We'll talk when you're almost there."
"What happened, boss?"
Holding June in one arm, Chu Yue grabbed her keys and went out. "Ji Mingfei is missing. Can you watch the baby for me for a while?"
"Okay, I'll be right there." Deng Jie hung up the phone and immediately turned on his phone's location services. The map showed that he and Chu Yue were 4 kilometers apart.
They drove at the same time and met up in just over ten minutes. Chu Yue had just handed the child to Deng Jie when her phone suddenly rang; the caller ID showed an unknown number.
Chu Yue answered the phone and waited for the other party to speak first.
"Long time no see, Director Chu. I always thought you were indifferent to women, how come you even have a child? The world changes so fast!"
“Shen Jianan,” Chu Yue said in a deep voice.
Shen Jianan laughed almost maniacally, "You actually remember me? I was just wondering if I should introduce myself first!"
"You've kidnapped Ji Mingfei? What are you planning to do?!"
"Mr. Chu, please don't wrong an innocent person. Mrs. Ji came out of the house on her own, and I didn't mistreat her. We even had red wine together last night! I know you're worried about her, since it's dangerous for an omega to get drunk outside. But don't worry, I've already taken her to a hotel, and no one should disturb her rest now."
Chu Yue gritted her teeth, "Hotel address."
“Room 1302, Wanxin Hotel, the room key is under the carpet in the corridor.”
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