Chu Xiao was about to flare up when someone beside him softly said, “First Elder, we got Chu Ning back with much difficulty! You can’t get into conflict with him again because you fought with him. We have important things to do! Important things!”
Chu Xiao could only suppress the anger in his heart. Since he had already written the invitation, it was nothing major to lower himself a little. Even if it weren’t for the Chu family, it was also for himself.
Thinking of this, he pulled a straight face and contained his anger. “Even so, you can’t say it now with so many people standing. What does this look like? Come in first!”
Chu Xiao then turned around to return to the living room first.
A small minority of the others followed him in, while the majority of them looked at Chu Ning as if they were waiting for him to move.
Chu Ji didn’t agitate him anymore and just enthusiastically said, “Big Brother, go in first! You’re the older one, so you have to enter first.”
Chu Ning glanced at him.
Chu Ji’s face did not look upset at all from being humiliated, and it was filled with excitement and flattery.
Seeing that Chu Ning was sizing him up, he hurriedly said, “Big Brother, you haven’t come back in a while, so you might not be very used to everything. But don’t worry, you can just tell me if you have any concerns! I will definitely settle them for you!”
Chu Ning could tell that his sentence was genuine. Chu Ji really didn’t hold a grudge for whatever happened previously and was genuinely trying his best to suck up to him.
How stupid. Chu Ning secretly shook his head and walked to the living room.
The others then followed him in.
…
Chu Ning was arranged to sit at the first seat on the left. This was the most distinguished seat, apart from the one Chu Xiao usually sat on. It was even placed in front of the other elders in the Chu family.
But Chu Ning was too lazy to calculate all of this at this point and directly sat down. “Since everyone is already here, First Elder, you can just directly say whatever you want, right?”
Chu Ning didn’t want to waste any time here as he felt that it was very unbearable to spend a long time with these people. Hence, he planned to settle the matter as soon as possible and return.
Chu Xiao was upset with Chu Ning’s attitude, but he knew that it wasn’t the time to calculate such matters. Thus, he said, “According to what the family head said at first, he should come out of seclusion soon. If he knows about what happened recently, he will definitely be disappointed, so… I got you over today to discuss what we should do.”
Chu Ning smiled lightly, but there was no smiling intent in his eyes. “What else can we do? Since it has already happened, are we still going to pretend as if everything is normal? When the family head comes out of seclusion, I’ll personally explain to him.”
The crowd was stunned as they looked at each other awkwardly; it appeared as if they didn’t expect Chu Ning to actually say that.
Chu Ji couldn’t help but say, “Big Brother, d-don’t you respect Master the most? Breaking ties with the Chu family is akin to breaking ties with Master… If Master knows about this, he’ll definitely be very upset…”
Chu Ning said nonchalantly, “I know. I still respect Master now the same as I did before, but nobody can turn the clock back since things have already ended up like this. Hence, I’ll accept whatever opinion Master will have of me at that point.”
“Are you serious?” Even Chu Xiao could not help but ask this, clearly very shocked by Chu Ning’s words.
The entire Chu family knew that Chu Ning was a very sentimental person. They originally thought that mentioning Master would cause him to regret his earlier decision, but things were unexpected.
Chu Ning nodded. “Of course. I think through every single word that I say.”
The entire living room fell into an awkward silence. He has already said so much. What else can others say?
After a long while, Chu Xiao knitted his brows and said, “Chu Ning, since you’ve already said that, we don’t need to say anything polite anymore. You should know why we called you back today.”
Chu Ning looked genuine. “Sorry, I really don’t know. Do you want to apologize to Yue’er and me to fix our relationship or beg for us to come back? If you don’t say it, how am I supposed to guess?”
The crowd looked awkward once again.
Chu Xiao suppressed his rage. “Chu Ning, don’t be too outrageous!”
“I asked because I really don’t know. How is this outrageous?” Chu Ning stifled a laugh, and his gaze swept past the crowd. “Did you call me back to reminisce about the past?”
“Enough!” Chu Xiao felt that Chu Ning’s words were very jarring, and he finally couldn’t take it any longer. He stood up in anger, stared at Chu Ning, and said, “You just want us to admit that we want to ask you to return, right?”
“It’s not ‘ask,’ it’s ‘beg,’” corrected Chu Ning sincerely.
“…” Chu Xiao’s face turned white and green, and the change was continuous.
“Chu Ning, you’re right. The entire Chu family wishes for you and Liuyue to come back and become part of us again.” Third Elder—who hadn’t said anything from start to finish—suddenly spoke and looked at Chu Ning harmoniously. “It’s the Chu family who let you and your daughter down, so you can choose whatever you want. If you agree to come back, the entire Chu family will be very grateful to you. If you’re reluctant, then you can take as if today’s incident didn’t happen.”
Third Elder’s words made everyone in the Chu family present feel extremely uncomfortable. However, they could only suffer it. After all, someone had to say this. Besides, they were truly the ones doing the begging.
Chu Ning’s expression looked better as he nodded toward Third Elder. “Thank you for enlightening me, Third Elder. My answer is… I disagree.”
The crowd had already expected this answer, and they had long prepared words of persuasion.
“Chu Ning, you should reconsider carefully! The Chu family is still the one who raised you up. Don’t you feel anything for us?”
“Yeah! Big Brother, it’s not worth it if you’re still angry about Chu Yan and his family! You don’t know, right? Lu Yao instigated the Gu family’s Madam Gu to cause a scene at Tian Lu Academy, and she was taught a harsh lesson by the Gu family’s master. Besides, Chu Yan is still lying in bed and can’t get up.”
“The two of them have caused the Chu family to be in big trouble. The Chu family was originally in a perilous situation, and it’s even worse now after the storm they created. Chu Ning, do you really want to stand around and watch? How are we supposed to explain to Master when he comes out of his seclusion?”
“If you’re still upset about what happened before, t-then we’ll let you take your revenge, okay? Oh, and Liuyue! We’ll lock up everyone who bullied her! As long as you two come back, you can do whatever you want to them.”
All sorts of voices mixed together, making Chu Ning more frustrated than ever.
He suddenly sneered. “Oh really? If I remembered correctly, many of you present have done similar things, right? If we really want to calculate this clearly, then… you can’t avoid it either, right?”
The entire living room fell silent.
Chu Ning looked at Chu Xiao and coldly said, “Why don’t we start from First Elder?”
