Although the matter of whether Long Zhaozhao should accompany Ye Tiancheng’s daughter, Ye Qingcheng, was clarified by Ye Tiancheng and Long Miaomiao, they were still on their journey and did not immediately ask for Long Zhaozhao’s opinion.
Ye Tiancheng intended to wait until they reached Ye Qingcheng’s location and they could all temporarily stop and rest before asking Long Miaomiao to discuss it with Long Zhaozhao. There was no need to rush this matter on the road.
Regardless of Long Zhaozhao’s own opinion at that time, Ye Tiancheng would choose to respect it.
To maintain the secrecy of their movements and maximize Ye Qingcheng’s personal safety, Ye Tiancheng had taken many detours. They repeatedly confirmed that no one was following them before daring to head directly towards their true destination.
During this process, among the humans and non-humans attempting to probe Ye Tiancheng’s whereabouts, Ye Tiancheng even detected people sent by Pangzi, as well as non-humans.
From this, Ye Tiancheng could infer that the person behind Pangzi was more likely to be a non-human, given such a collaborative partnership.
However, despite being able to make calm judgments and rationally handle the situation, and skillfully shaking off the pursuers, Ye Tiancheng couldn’t help but feel a mix of complex emotions.
While his emotions were stirred, Ye Tiancheng was not someone who disregarded the bigger picture, and he did not hesitate when action was required.
After taking several days to detour, Ye Tiancheng finally reached his destination.
The place Ye Tiancheng had chosen was indeed extremely secluded, making it difficult to find.
He recalled how he had personally sent Ye Qingcheng to this place for her safety but had not seen her for many years. Thinking of this, Ye Tiancheng couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Ye Tiancheng couldn’t help but care, and he wondered if his daughter, Ye Qingcheng, resented him.
The emotional turmoil caused Ye Tiancheng’s actions to momentarily falter.
The little fox looked at Ye Tiancheng with confusion and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
Ye Tiancheng snapped back to attention and shook his head.
"Nothing."
After speaking, he walked towards the entrance, with the little fox and Long Miaomiao following behind him.
Since Ye Tiancheng had arranged for people to stay and look after Ye Qingcheng, this place where Ye Qingcheng was hidden had many personnel specifically assigned to secretly care for her.
Therefore, as soon as Ye Tiancheng, the little fox, and the others entered through the entrance, they were immediately discovered by the guards at the entrance.
The guards were initially puzzled as to who would trespass at that time and were a little worried that the place might have been discovered. However, upon seeing Ye Tiancheng’s face, they were startled and immediately stepped forward to greet him.
The guard greeted Ye Tiancheng, saying, "Mr. Ye, is that you? You’re back? Why are you here?"
The people left here were all confidantes of the Hou family, and naturally, they recognized the husband of their young lady, Miss Hou. Moreover, with Ye Tiancheng’s status and his two marriages with Hou Mingzhu, he had considerable recognition within the Hou family, and most people could identify him.
Upon seeing the guard, Ye Tiancheng nodded and said, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, I haven’t been able to attend to matters here for a long time. I was too worried about Qingcheng, so I came to visit her."
The guard replied, "I see. We have heard a little about these matters here."
These people were assigned to care for Ye Qingcheng but were not completely cut off from the outside world. After all, they still needed to receive living supplies from the outside, so it was impossible to be completely isolated.
Therefore, the people here could also receive some news from the outside.
Especially a major event like Ye Tiancheng’s disappearance, and his vanishing for a full three years, such news had naturally reached this place, and everyone here was aware of it.
However, for the sake of secrecy, it was not convenient for the people here to interact too frequently with the outside world, lest they arouse suspicion and eventually lead to Ye Qingcheng’s whereabouts being discovered.
Therefore, even though they maintained communication with the outside and received supplies, the frequency was not particularly high, and it took a considerable amount of time for the people inside to receive information from the outside.
Ye Tiancheng had disappeared for three full years with no news, and now he had suddenly returned. Not much time had passed since then, so the people here had not yet received the latest news that Ye Tiancheng had returned.
However, there was no longer a need for outside news, as Ye Tiancheng had come to them himself.
The guard’s surprise upon seeing Ye Tiancheng was partly due to this reason.
These people were very trustworthy, and there were quite a few of them. They supervised each other and were even more afraid of offending the Hou family and Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng did not need to worry that they would mistreat his daughter.
They did not have the courage, nor would they have such intentions.
Ye Tiancheng believed that they had taken good care of Ye Qingcheng.
So, after a brief conversation with the guard, Ye Tiancheng began to inquire about Ye Qingcheng’s situation.
The guard informed Ye Tiancheng that Ye Qingcheng had been living a regular life here for the past three years, and her daily routine was quite normal. Ye Qingcheng was a very well-behaved and worry-free child.
She never threw tantrums or acted spoiled, which seemed unlike Hou Mingzhu.
When Hou Mingzhu was younger, she was certainly not good-tempered. As a pampered young lady from a powerful and influential family, she had the capital to be arrogant. Unless she was excessively pure-hearted, it was difficult for anyone with such a family background to develop a truly good temper.
However, Ye Qingcheng had both Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng as her parents. Logically, her background and upbringing should have been even more privileged.
But perhaps because Ye Qingcheng, despite her good looks and the doting affection of both her parents, had already experienced so much at such a young age.
Moreover, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu’s on-again, off-again relationship had somewhat affected their child. Hou Mingzhu was not the type of mother who excessively spoiled her child, and she had raised Ye Qingcheng quite well, making Ye Qingcheng perhaps a bit too sensible.
Thinking of this, Ye Tiancheng felt a pang of guilt.
After a general understanding of Ye Qingcheng’s situation over the past three years and clarifying where Ye Qingcheng might be at the moment, Ye Tiancheng did not linger at the entrance and left to see Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Tiancheng’s arrival was opportune, happening in the morning.
Normally, Ye Qingcheng would be in class at this time, with a specially hired teacher responsible for her education. If it were a rest day, Ye Qingcheng would also read on her own.
This day happened to be such a rest day.
When Ye Tiancheng found Ye Qingcheng, she was reading in the library specially built for her.
The moment he clearly saw his daughter, Ye Tiancheng was stunned.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally beforehand, Ye Tiancheng had not anticipated that over three years would leave such a noticeable mark on his daughter.
Ye Tiancheng’s memory of Ye Qingcheng was from when he had to part with her three years ago. However, after three years, Ye Qingcheng’s appearance had changed quite significantly.
Although she still looked like a child, after all, Ye Tiancheng had only been gone for three years, not ten.
Ye Qingcheng had also grown considerably. Although she was still slender and small, Ye Tiancheng could clearly feel that Ye Qingcheng was now a big girl.
Children change day by day and grow rapidly. Three years were enough for Ye Qingcheng to grow a lot.
Ye Tiancheng’s heart trembled. He had unknowingly missed so much of Ye Qingcheng’s growth; he was not a qualified father.
Ye Qingcheng, holding a book, sat by the table. Suddenly, she seemed to sense something.
Ye Tiancheng’s gaze was very obvious, and he made no attempt to conceal or restrain it. Under such prolonged scrutiny, it was indeed difficult for someone to remain completely unaware.
Ye Qingcheng looked up, and then she froze in place.
Father and daughter looked at each other, neither speaking, and both remained still for a moment.
Ye Qingcheng looked at her father, and after a long pause, she slowly blinked her eyes, then lowered her head again, focusing on the book in her hands, appearing to have returned her attention to the content.
If not for her reaction, it would have betrayed her.
Ye Qingcheng looked at the content of the book, but in reality, she couldn’t absorb anything. Her heart was no longer on the book’s content.
Seeing his daughter’s reaction, Ye Tiancheng felt a dull ache in his heart.
He tentatively called out, "Qingcheng, Dad is back. Dad is here to see you."
The grip Ye Qingcheng had on the book pages tightened abruptly, creasing the paper.
She still kept her head lowered, remaining silent for a long time.
Ye Tiancheng moved closer and closer to Ye Qingcheng. Only when he was right beside her did he see that the book in Ye Qingcheng’s hands was already stained with several water marks, having been dampened by her tears.
He felt both heartache and guilt.
Ye Tiancheng immediately reached out and hugged his daughter. "Qingcheng, I’m sorry! I’m not a good father! In these past three years, I haven’t been able to truly take care of you, and I haven’t come to see you. You must blame me. I’m sorry!"
It was only at this moment, held in her father’s arms, that Ye Qingcheng truly felt that all of this was real.
Her father had truly returned!
It was only now that Ye Qingcheng finally had a significant reaction.
She released the book in her hands, raised her hand, and clutched her father Ye Tiancheng’s clothes. Her voice was hoarse, with a hint of a sob.
"Dad… Dad!"
Tears welled up in Ye Tiancheng’s eyes, but he quickly patted his daughter’s back and carefully wiped away the tear streaks on Ye Qingcheng’s face. "Dad is here. Dad has come."
The father and daughter, reunited after more than three years, broke down into tears.
Fortunately, there was no one else around.
To avoid disturbing the father and daughter’s reunion and to steer clear of other matters that needed to be avoided, the little fox and Long Miaomiao had not accompanied Ye Tiancheng to the library, choosing to leave the space for the father and daughter.
Even the people left here to care for Ye Qingcheng were not present at this moment.
After the father and daughter had a good cry and released their emotions, they finally calmed down and were able to calmly discuss the events of the past three years and their respective experiences and encounters, having a heart-to-heart talk and exchanging comforting words.