Dada da—
At this moment, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs could be heard.
Several people followed the sound and saw Qing Muye, dressed in a suit, walking down the spiral staircase.
His cold eyes swept over, and he immediately saw Qiao Ziqian standing in the living room, his face instantly turning colder.
"Why is he here?" Qing Muye questioned Meng Jingwei in a cold voice, his expression visibly chilling.
Old Mrs. Qing sensed something was amiss and quickly asked, "Mu Ye, who is this? Do you know him?"
"No," Qing Muye denied directly.
Everyone was in a fog, only Lan Shu, standing nearby, remained silent.
"Who are you, and why are you being mean to Xing Xing?" Qiao Ziqian, seeing the 'stranger' full of anger, resembling a dangerous person, immediately walked in front of Meng Jingwei, spreading his arms to shield her. He glared at Qing Muye, "With me here, you won't bully Xing Xing!"
With that, he turned back to Meng Jingwei, saying, "Xing Xing, don't be afraid, I'll protect you."
Meng Jingwei: "..."
I am truly speechless.
"Mu Ye, what exactly is going on?" Old Mrs. Qing, always shrewd, immediately spotted the anomaly.
Qing Muye's face was somber, clearly showing no intention of answering.
Not receiving an answer, Old Mrs. Qing immediately asked Meng Jingwei, "Jing Wei, you tell me."
Meng Jingwei looked at Qing Muye. This was a private matter of the Qing family, and although Old Mrs. Qing was advanced in age, she still deserved to know.
She hoped Qing Muye would tell Old Mrs. Qing himself.
The brief silence between them angered Old Mrs. Qing. She tapped the armrest of the sofa and sighed, "Alright, I'm old now, and my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. You all don't take me seriously anymore. Forget it, forget it."
Old Mrs. Qing waved her hand, her face full of years written with disappointment and helplessness.
"Dad, Mom, can you take Yi Yi and Hang Hang out to play for a while?" Meng Jingwei handed Yi Yi to Du Juan and used this as an excuse to send them away.
Meng Tianhua and his wife exchanged glances, understanding dawned in their eyes, and they nodded, "Yi Yi, Hang Hang, let's go! Grandma will take you to see the fish in the yard, okay?"
"Let's go see the little fish!" The couple, each holding a child, walked out of the hall.
Lan Shu, being perceptive, also followed Meng Tianhua and his wife out of the hall.
In an instant, only Qiao Ziqian, Meng Jingwei, Qing Muye, and Old Mrs. Qing were left in the living room.
Old Mrs. Qing sat up straight. Despite her frail appearance, her presence remained undiminished.
Her cloudy eyes fixed on Qing Muye, holding her cane, waiting for him to answer.
Qing Muye walked to the sofa, crossed his legs, took a cigarette from his pack, placed it in his mouth, lit it, and took a silent puff.
After a long moment, he finally said slowly, "Qing Kangyu's son."
His concise answer truly embodied the meaning of "getting straight to the point."
However, even these few words delivered a significant blow to Old Mrs. Qing, "What? Qing... his son? He... when did he return?"
Qing Kangyu had insisted on leaving the Qing family for Qiao Shuang back then. From then on, the Qing family had officially announced that 'Qing Kangyu was dead.' However, Old Mrs. Qing knew the truth.
For years, she had secretly searched for Qing Kangyu and knew he was doing very well in the capital.
Since then, Old Mrs. Qing's worried heart had finally settled, and she didn't disturb Qing Kangyu's life.
Who would have thought that Qing Kangyu would actually return now.
Qing Muye held the cigarette between his fingers, drawing on it, puffing out faint smoke from his nostrils, "Not long ago."
Old Mrs. Qing looked at Qiao Ziqian incredulously, then nodded, "This child's eyes and brows resemble your father..." She suddenly felt that saying it this way was inappropriate and immediately changed her words, "He still looks like him. But is this child's mind a bit..."
The rest of Old Mrs. Qing's words remained unspoken.