Jiang Wenfang’s confidence when he spoke was like the final straw that crushed the last ounce of hope left in Su Jifeng’s heart.
Su Jifeng gritted his teeth. The torn expression remained on his face, making it seem like despite being unwilling to concur with Jiang Wenfang, he had to admit that she was right.
Looking at Su Jifeng’s expression, Jiang Wenfang sighed and said, “As Xiao Qi’s brother, you know her temperament better than anyone else does. She claimed that she had nothing more to do with Ye Yan. I am sure you can tell whether she is really adamant about cutting ties with him or is just stubbornly refusing to admit that she is connected to him. So, you should know that Xiao Qi just said that to ease our concern. Jifeng, you love your sister the most. Can you really bear to do nothing and watch her suffer?”
One had to say, as a mother, Jiang Wenfang was so much better than Mu Tingfeng when it came to hitting one where it hurt most. Upon hearing what she said, Su Jifeng went silent immediately. It was only after a long time that he said reluctantly, “Are we just going to give in to that guy this easily? What about all the suffering Xiao Qi went through? Were they for nothing?”
Jiang Wenfang sighed again in a resigned manner, “Well, Xiao Qi likes him. Haven’t you heard the expression, when it comes to love, the one who falls in love first is always at a disadvantage?”
Mu Tingfeng, who had been sitting quietly by the side, glanced at Zhao Youlin subconsciously. A second later, he had to admit that Jiang Wenfang was quite right about that. Between him and Zhao Youlin, he was the one who fell for her first, wasn’t he?
And unsurprisingly, a man like him, who had never gone after a girl before, had to go through a hard path to woo her for more than a year before he finally got her heart. Only he himself knew the bitterness of his journey.
Su Jifeng was still pouting, so Jiang Wenfang steered the conversation to a different track and said mockingly, “But…”
Su Jifeng was a little caught off guard. He turned to his mother. “But?”
“But I understand your feelings, Jifeng. Xiao Qi has been the apple of our eyes for so many years. It makes no sense for us to do nothing after what she had been through, so…”
“So?”
“So, although I don’t object to him and Xiao Qi being together, we still have to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, he will think it’s easy to get Xiao Qi’s hand, and he might not cherish her in the future.”
Su Jifeng’s eyes lit up a little. His anger had turned into delight as he said, “Well, I certainly have no objection to this.”
Zhao Youlin was speechless.
As a result, the conversation between the mother and the son once again took a completely different turn. They had been previously debating as to whether they should accept Ye Yan as her son-in-law and his brother-in-law, and somehow, it had moved into a conversation about how they should teach him an unforgettable lesson so that he would not dare to break Su He’s heart again.
Regardless, Su Jifeng had been tricked by Jiang Wenfang into accepting Ye Yan now.
And Zhao Youlin had no intention of interceding again as she watched them engage in an intensive discussion on their own. It was their right to punish him for Su He as her elders. So, no matter what they wanted to do to Ye Yan, she had no say in it, but that was as long as these elders would not overly interfere with Su He and Ye Yan’s relationship. As a junior, she did not have the right to stop them.
Zhao Youlin had figured out who was the real master of the Su family in just one morning. Zhao Youlin could finally be relieved now as she had also confirmed that the Su family would not do anything horrible to Ye Yan and even the Ye family for the time being.
She chatted a little bit more with Su Ruixin and Jiang Wenfang before she turned down their enthusiastic offer to stay and have lunch with them. Then, she got in the car with Su Ruixin and Mu Tingfeng.
The second they got in the car, the smile on Su Ruixin’s face faded away. There was a rare stern look on her face as she looked at Zhao Youlin and Mu Tingfeng. She said in a cold tone, “You two have quite the nerve. How could you not notify me in advance about something so important? If I hadn’t come with you today, were you, Jifeng and Xiao Qi just going to keep your uncle and aunt in the dark?”
Her expression turned even gloomy as she said that. “You got lucky that your aunt was in a good mood today, so she didn’t blame you. And Mr. Ye happened to show up in time, which attracted most of Wenfang and the other’s attention. Have you thought about what could have happened if he didn’t?”
Her face was completely red when she finished her sentence, and she could not help but pant.
Mu Xiaoyang frowned as he saw her like that. He reached out to pat her back so that she could breathe smoothly. “Why are you so mad? They had their reasons. If you ruin your health because of this, I’m the one who’ll feel hurt.”
Su Ruixin snorted coldly, but her rage had dissipated a little after hearing what her husband said. “They had their reasons? It’s because they insisted on acting on their own that they did as they wanted and wouldn’t tell us anything. They have no respect for us at all.”
Seeing that his wife was about to erupt in anger again, Mu Xiaoyang immediately turned to them and gave them a signal.
Zhao Youlin and Mu Tingfeng were caught off guard for a moment, but they understood him immediately. Zhao Youlin’s lips curled up. She slid into Su Ruixin’s side and held her hand and spoke in an endearing voice, “Mom, we know we made a mistake on this. The truth is, we were shocked as well when we learned about it at the beginning. The situation at that time was too chaotic. We couldn’t even clear up our minds. How could we think of informing you? After that, we saw that you were busy running around working on our wedding, so that was all the more reason we didn’t want you to find out and get worried.”
Zhao Youlin’s meekness made Su Ruixin feel a little better, though she still would not just forgive them like this. “Fine, I understand that you didn’t tell me because you did not want to distract me before your wedding, but what about after your wedding? When you said you went to visit Xiao Qi that day, I even asked if anything wrong had happened to Xiao Qi, yet you didn’t even say a word to me about Xiao Qi being pregnant. You even lied that you were just dropping by her house to get something!”
The expression on Zhao Youlin’s face stiffened. She uttered awkwardly, “Mom, I’m sorry. I admit that one of the reasons why I didn’t want to tell you was because I didn’t want you to worry, but the other reason was Xiao Qi didn’t want too many people to find out.”
After Zhao Youlin said that, as she expected, Su Ruixin’s expression softened a little.
Seeing that, Zhao Youlin struck while the iron was hot. “As you know, Xiao Qi is pregnant out of wedlock. No matter what, it would taint her reputation if word got out. If those people who like to gossip and hold grudges against the Su family find out, they might take advantage of this and attack them. Therefore, Xiao Qi and Jifeng felt that the fewer people know about this, the better. As the people in the know, it is only right that we respect their decision, that’s why we kept it from you.”
Zhao Youlin’s explanation was reasonable. Su Ruixin’s expression softened a lot.. She let out a light cough and said, “I understand what you are saying, but are your father and I outsiders? I understand that Xiao Qi didn’t want words to get out and ruin the Su family’s reputation, but aren’t you aware of how the Su family is related to the Mu family? Do you think your father and I will sabotage Xiao Qi? Even if you can’t tell us upright, you should at least give us a hint in private so that your father and I got a clue of what was going on!
