melodramatic
The old lady slowly sat up and said, "Wait for me a moment, I'll find you something good to eat on the way."
Her aged voice fell to the ground, and her cane supported her aged body once more.
Zhou Ji'an was startled by the wind created by Deng Yi's rapid movement. After calming down, he looked at Deng Yi again and found that he had already helped the old lady up.
The old lady seemed to be the only one among those present who had feelings for Deng Yi, but she appeared to be mentally impaired.
"Do you know whose son he is?" an angry voice broke the astonishment that filled the room. "Do you know how you became like this?"
Deng Wencheng and Deng Yi's grandfather hurriedly approached Deng Yi and the old lady, but Deng Yi and the old lady seemed to have entered another world, completely oblivious to the anger of the father and son.
Zhou Ji'an turned his head and saw Wei Jinglin with a gloating expression.
If Zhou Ji'an hadn't had some knowledge of Alzheimer's disease, she would have thought that Wei Jinglin had orchestrated the conflict.
Zhou Ji'an glanced at the reactions of the others around him; most of them had an expression of watching a show.
It seems everyone knows the family's story except her.
“It seems Deng Yi really is using you, otherwise you wouldn’t still not know that he is actually an illegitimate child.” Wei Jinglin walked behind Zhou Ji’an, revealing his joy with each word. “Back then, he was dating Qin Xirang for less than half a month, but he told Qin Xirang everything about him. If it weren’t for my jealousy and forced them apart, you wouldn’t have a place in Deng Yi’s life.”
"People only reveal their wounds to those they trust unconditionally, don't you think?"
"I heard from A-Rang that you and she attended the same feminist symposium. There are so many boring and pretentious symposiums like that in Ji City, how did she know that you attended the one?"
Zhou Ji'an didn't understand the actions and reactions of everyone in the room, especially Deng Yi's father and grandfather. Why would they expose their family's shameful situation in front of so many people? Normally, wouldn't they try their best to cover it up because they felt ashamed?
Moreover, Deng Yi is a public figure; aren't they afraid of being laughed at if word gets out?
"Are you wondering how Uncle Deng and the others could have the nerve to say it themselves?" Wei Jinglin asked with a hint of smugness.
Zhou Ji'an glanced at him sideways, preparing to step forward and help Deng Yi support the old lady.
Wei Jinglin added, "It was your mother-in-law who exposed it in front of everyone before."
At this point, Zhou Ji'an remained unmoved.
Whether Deng Yi is an illegitimate child or not is none of her business; she sees no impact whatsoever on her from today's events.
She grew up in the countryside with her grandparents. The relationships between the adults in the village were a mess. There were always one or two children who didn't look like their fathers at all, but looked like other people's fathers. She was used to such things.
In addition, Zhou Ji'an has been paying close attention to public opinion about Deng Yi over the years. She had actually seen rumors that Deng Yi was the illegitimate son of his mother and an actress from the 1980s or 1990s, but she hadn't paid much attention to them at the time. Now, Wei Jinglin's words reminded her of them.
Zhou Ji'an thought that illegitimate children were extremely common in wealthy families. Besides, since Shen Ruoheng publicly exposed her shameful behavior, there might be other hidden reasons, at least that's how it was portrayed on TV.
Zhou Ji'an stopped and turned around to ask, "What? Are you envious?" He couldn't understand what Wei Jinglin, whose private life seemed so chaotic, was so excited about.
"Zhou Ji'an!" Wei Jinglin said through gritted teeth.
Zhou Ji'an pursed his lips, ignored him, and decided to move closer to Deng Yi again.
A clear female voice rang out, "Grandpa, Uncle Deng, what happened?"
Wei Jinglin bent down, put his head on Zhou Ji'an's shoulder, and slowly asked, "Do you know why Deng Yi's grandparents didn't attend Deng Yi and your wedding?"
Even though Zhou Ji'an hadn't watched many melodramatic dramas, he could still smell the melodrama at this moment.
Wei Jinglin answered his own question: "Because Grandpa Deng Yi wants Deng Yi to marry Qin Xirang, who is the only granddaughter of the most powerful and influential person in Jishi."
As Qin Xirang was descending the stairs, he ran and jumped, taking three steps at a time, and shouted joyfully, "Deng Yi!"
Grandpa Deng and Deng Wencheng suppressed their anger, while the old lady and Deng Yi turned into the room next to the kitchen.
"Oh? Ji'an, you're here too!" Qin Xi glanced at Zhou Ji'an as he ran, then glared at Wei Jinglin. "Brother, didn't you even call me?"
Then she gracefully headed in the direction where Deng Yi was.
Wei Jinglin's words contained so much information that it took Zhou Ji'an a while to get a general idea of what was going on.
Qin Xirang lied, and Deng Yi's words were not entirely true either.
At the same time, Zhou Ji'an also figured out why Shen Ruoheng was so humble in front of Deng Wencheng. Perhaps everyone, including Shen Ruoheng herself, thought that she was the one who caused the old lady to develop dementia.
Seeing that Zhou Ji'an made no other move and stood there helplessly like an abandoned person, Wei Jinglin was just like when they first met.
He stood beside her and asked, "How does it feel to know the truth?"
Although Zhou Ji'an's trust in Deng Yi did waver, it was far from enough to make him believe that what Wei Jinglin said was the truth.
Moreover, what Wei Jinglin was talking about concerned the previous generation, or even the generation before that, and she didn't think it had anything to do with her and Deng Yi.
She simply... simply noticed that Qin Xirang's way of addressing Deng Yi had changed again.
"What kind of truth is this?" Zhou Ji'an felt uneasy and talked nonsense. "If Deng Yi and you were a couple, and in order to avoid being discovered, he asked me to be his wife, then that would be more like the truth."
Wei Jinglin scoffed, "Why would I look down on an art student like him?"
“He looks down on athletes like you too,” Zhou Ji’an said, preparing to sit down and wait for Deng Yi to come out.
Wei Jinglin chuckled, drawing out his words: "You're just like an old lady now, completely out of your mind. Believe me, it won't be long before you regret always siding with him."
The living room was filled with all sorts of conversations and chatter. Zhou Ji'an stared at the door of that room, his ears feeling swollen and uncomfortable.
She touched the plain ring on her ring finger and said softly, "I won't regret it."
Wei Jinglin caught Zhou Ji'an's voice in the noisy environment. His face grew cold, but a hint of resentment surfaced in his eyes. "Don't be so confident. After all, things are unpredictable."
The old lady rummaged through drawers and cupboards for a while, but couldn't find the snacks she had left there. She leaned on her cane, looking unsteady, and said strangely, "I'm afraid the Wei family brat stole them again."
Qin Xirang laughed and said, "Grandma, then I'll go find Wei Jinglin and get it back."
A hand covered in age spots grabbed her arm. "No, no, let him eat it. I also bought some peach shortbread."
Deng Yi was only concerned with supporting the old lady's arm, which was wrapped in thick winter clothes, to prevent her from falling.
He neither wanted to nor could stop someone from entering into memories.
"How about I have someone go and buy a pack of peach shortbread?" Qin Xirang whispered.
“No need,” Deng Yi replied. “She’ll soon forget what she’s doing right now.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the old lady yawned and exclaimed, "My eyelids are all drooping, why won't you let me sleep?"
The old lady then started shouting. Upon hearing this, the caregiver quickly ran into the room to calm her down and helped her undress and cover herself with a blanket.
Deng Yili stood by the bedside, watching the old man close his eyes at an extremely fast speed, as if entering another memory, a memory in which he, the grandson, was obviously not present.
The old lady's shouting disturbed the people in the living room. Zhou Ji'an originally wanted to rush into the house with those people, but when she hesitated for a long time before standing up, the old lady's shouting had already stopped.
A moment later, Deng Yi and Qin Xirang walked out side by side. Qin Xirang's rosy lips moved slightly as she walked and said something to Deng Yi beside her. Deng Yi lowered his head slightly and listened attentively.
Someone blocked their way, and the two stopped at the same time. Qin Xirang seemed to remember something, tiptoed closer to Deng Yi, and spoke while laughing. Deng Yi frowned, his lips opening and closing, and he replied with something.
"No wonder she's the Deng family's most favored granddaughter-in-law; her filial piety is beyond compare," Wei Jinglin praised, glancing at the dazed Zhou Ji'an.
Zhou Ji'an was unsure whether to sit or stand, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Qin Xirang and Deng Yi.
She didn't know how much Qin Xirang pleased Deng Yi's family, but she knew that Qin Xirang and Deng Yi were a perfect match in appearance, even more so than Yu Xi and Deng Yi.
Qin Xirang feigned anger and said, "Don't talk nonsense, Ji'an is still here."
Wei Jinglin scoffed and said, "Stop pretending. You love hearing this kind of talk."
"Hey, you..." Qin Xirang's face turned pale with anger, and he turned to Deng Yi for help, "Deng Yi, you should teach him a lesson."
Deng Yi stepped past Wei Jinglin, took Zhou Ji'an's hand, and said, "Ji'an, let's go."
Zhou Ji'an's wavering heart calmed down slightly. Without even glancing at Qin Wei and the other man, he followed Deng Yi out the door.
The thick fog had dissipated, and the car quickly drove out of the village.
The people around him were unusually quiet. Deng Yi turned his head and glanced at them, then asked, "Isn't there anything you want to ask me?"
Zhou Ji'an thought about it for a while, then shook his head.
"Don't you care?" Deng Yi's eyelids twitched.
Zhou Ji'an shook his head again, then sat up straighter. "I don't care."
Deng Yi smiled and said with relief, "That's good."
Zhou Ji'an glanced at him secretly, thinking to herself that although she didn't care about his family conflicts and disputes, she did care about the way he treated Qin Xirang.
The courage to seek answers is getting shorter and shorter, just like the distance to home.
After repeatedly reminding herself that she couldn't interfere with Deng Yi's freedom to make friends, date, and so on, Zhou Ji'an still couldn't help but ask with her heart pounding wildly, "Have you and Qin Xirang known each other since childhood and kept in touch all these years? Did you also tell her the name of the symposium I attended?"
Deng Yi answered one by one: "We've known each other since we were little, but we rarely keep in touch. Just as I told you on the phone before, Qin Xirang is Wei Jinglin's friend."
"I don't have her contact information, and I never even thought about getting her contact information."
"As for the symposium you mentioned..." Deng Yi paused briefly, then said with a hint of disappointment, "Jian, since we said goodbye, you have never taken the initiative to share your life over the years with me."
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