Chapter 436: Chapter 436 We Are One
As soon as these two met, they started bickering, something Lan Yan hadn’t anticipated.
Xiao Si, on the other hand, was rendered speechless by Wei Yuning’s provocation.
He then turned to Lan Yan with a gentle tone, “In the future, keep your distance from her. People like this will lead you astray.”
Lan Yan: “…”
Wei Yuning, upon hearing this, became annoyed, “What do you mean by that? Why should I stay away?”
Xiao Si’s lips curled slightly as he sneered, “If you don’t understand, go home and read more. Stop embarrassing yourself in public.”
“You…”
“You what? Call me brother-in-law, at least show some manners.”
Wei Yuning was taken aback, “You wish! I’d rather eat shit than call you that!”
Xiao Si shrugged indifferently, “Oh, really? I’ll be watching and waiting.”
Wei Yuning: “Hmph, if I ever admit defeat, I’ll take your last name!”
Xiao Si: “I don’t have a daughter as old as you!”
Wei Yuning: “…”
“Alright, alright, Xiao Ning, here, have some water.”
Mrs. Xiao quickly intervened to mediate.
“Don’t take him too seriously. His sharp tongue even dares to argue with me, but he never dares with Yanyan.”
Wei Yuning took the cup from Mrs. Xiao and drank a sip of water.
During dinner, the two mainly exchanged silent glares.
Every time Wei Yuning tried to speak with Lan Yan, someone would interrupt, preventing her from talking further.
The childish rivalry between these two was something Mrs. Xiao and Lan Yan chose to ignore.
As long as no fists flew, Lan Yan wasn’t interested in meddling.
After the meal.
Wei Yuning looked at Lan Yan and said, “Lan, can I invite you out again next time?”
Lan Yan: “I…”
But before she could finish, Xiao Si cut in, “She doesn’t have time. If she does, it’s to date me, not to entertain you.”
Wei Yuning frowned, “Big brother, I wasn’t asking you.”
Xiao Si, righteous yet indignant, replied, “You ask her, it’s like asking me, because we’re one and the same.”
Wei Yuning was utterly speechless!
How could he spout such childishly deceiving words!
Lan Yan noticed how Wei Yuning’s eyes seemed genuinely reddened with anger and turned to Xiao Si, “Alright, stop teasing her.”
Xiao Si: “I’m not teasing; I’m just speaking the truth.”
Lan Yan sighed and ignored him, looking at Wei Yuning, “I’m not sure I’ll have the time, as it’s getting close to the end of the year, and I’m quite busy.”
Hearing that she hadn’t refused outright, Wei Yuning beamed, “No problem. Don’t worry, Lan, I won’t bother you. I’ll reach out when you’re free.”
Xiao Si muttered, “You’re grinning like an idiot.”
Wei Yuning gave him a stern look but said nothing.
“For Lan’s sake, I won’t argue with you today.”
“As if I want to argue with you.”
“…”
Wei Yuning mumbled, “Now I finally understand why Aunt Yun always says you have a sharp tongue. You really do. You look presentable, but your mouth is even sharper than mine!”
With that, she got up to pay the bill.
She was done listening to him.
Xiao Si: “…”
Looks like Wei Yuning can dish out as well as she takes!
Seems like his instincts were spot on.
He turned back to Lan Yan and said, “In the future, if she asks to see you alone, you must tell me. I want to be there.”
Lan Yan: “You seriously believe what she said?”
She was referring to Wei Yuning’s claim that she preferred women over men.
But her instincts told her Wei Yuning was just boasting, and most of what she said couldn’t be trusted.
Xiao Si didn’t care whether it was true or not, “There are exceptions to everything. You need to be cautious and don’t get tricked by her.”
Mrs. Xiao glanced at him and quipped, “Come on, Xiao Ning may be sharp-tongued, but she’s pure-hearted. She’s not like you—not only with a sharp tongue but also with a scheming mind!”
Xiao Si: “Mom, I am your own son, right?”
Mrs. Xiao: “You’ve asked that eight hundred times. I’m tired of answering.”
Then, she turned to Lan Yan and said, “Yanyan, come home for dinner this Thursday. It’s your Uncle Xiao’s birthday. We won’t make it a big event, just a simple family dinner.”
Lan Yan was aware, as Xiao Si had previously mentioned it to her.
“Okay, Aunt Yun.”
When Wei Yuning returned after paying the bill, Xiao Si and Lan Yan were already gone.
“Aunt Yun, where’s Lan?”
Mrs. Xiao smiled, “They left first. Lan had to rush back to work.”
“Oh, alright then.” Wei Yuning said, “Then Aunt Yun, let me drive you home.”
“Sure, let’s go.”
——
Inside the hotel suite.
The assistant looked at Wei Ting and Gao Han and said, “Boss, the house has been cleaned up. You and your wife can move in anytime.”
Hearing this, Gao Han looked at Wei Ting and asked, “Are you really planning to spend the New Year here?”
Wei Ting nodded, “That’s the plan.”
Gao Han: “Alright, I’ll go wherever you go, no matter what.”
Wei Ting looked at the assistant and said, “Let’s move in now. We don’t have much stuff, just pack up.”
The assistant responded, “Okay, boss.”
Half an hour later, they checked out and left the hotel.
Shortly after they left, Wei Yuning returned.
Upon returning, she noticed the hotel room door was open.
She went inside to see a cleaning lady tidying up.
The cleaning lady saw her enter and asked, “Miss, are you checking into this suite? I haven’t finished cleaning; could you wait outside for a bit?”
“I live here,” Wei Yuning replied.
The cleaning lady said, “Oh? But this suite has already been checked out. Didn’t you do it yourself?”
“What? Checked out?”
“Yes, otherwise, I wouldn’t be cleaning now.”
Wei Yuning was bewildered—checked out?
Why had no one informed her?
She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed her mother’s number.
Gao Han answered promptly.
She went straight to the point: “Hey, where are you and Dad?”
“Oh, your dad and I are on the way to our new home. Why?”
Wei Yuning was exasperated, “Why? Did you forget something important?”
Then she heard her mother ask her dad over the phone: “Husband, did you leave something important at the hotel?”
Her dad replied, “No, I packed everything.”
Then her mom said, “Your dad says he didn’t leave anything behind.”
“…”
Wei Yuning rolled her eyes, “So, in your eyes, I’m not even worth mentioning? You checked out without telling me!”
Gao Han finally realized, “Oh right, forgot to tell you, sorry. You know, Mommy’s getting old and forgetful. Be good; I’ll send you the address of the new house. Just take a cab here, and I’ll reimburse the fare.”
“…So if I hadn’t called, you wouldn’t have remembered your forgotten daughter?” Wei Yuning said.
Gao Han chuckled awkwardly but answered frankly, “No, we would’ve remembered eventually. But we wouldn’t let you sleep on the street.”
Wei Yuning feigned a laugh, “Really? Should I thank you then?”
Gao Han: “No need, that’s what Mommy should do. Alright, I’ll send you the address shortly. Make your way here.”
After that, Ms. Gao hung up the call.
“…”
Soon after, Ms. Gao sent her the address.
Standing at the hotel entrance, Wei Yuning hailed a taxi.
“Driver, I need to get to the Lake Heart Villa District.”
“Alright, please fasten your seatbelt.”
“Oh, okay.”
After fastening her seatbelt, Wei Yuning reclined partially back and started browsing her phone.
She just checked the map; it would take at least an hour and a half from the hotel to the villa district.
To pass the time, she decided to scroll through some short videos.
But after a while, she lost interest and became bored.
She wasn’t in the mood for games either.
Glancing at the driver, who appeared to be a middle-aged man, she asked, “Hey, are you a local?”
The driver enthusiastically replied, “Yes, I am.”
Wei Yuning sat up, ready to chat with the driver.
“So, what’s fun or good to eat around here?”
“Oh, there’s plenty! This place has lots of fun attractions, all quite iconic. And every area has its good food. If you have time, you should explore each area.”
“…”
The two chatted intermittently.
Wei Yuning was quite the chatterbox, moving from topic to topic.
“So, how many kids do you have?”
“Me? I’ve got a son and a daughter, both still in school.”
“Oh, right.”
The driver asked, “And you, miss? What’s your place in the family?”
Wei Yuning said, “It’s just me and a sister my dad still hasn’t found yet.”
The driver asked, “Oh, was your sister kidnapped or something?”
Wei Yuning replied, “I don’t know. I just found out a few days ago that I have a sister.”
The driver responded, “Really…”
Just then, a loud crash came from behind.
Wei Yuning felt a jolt from the back of the car.
“Oh, gosh! What happened? Did we get rear-ended?”
The driver hit the brakes and pulled over.
The driver looked in the rearview mirror and saw a black sedan had rear-ended them.
“Miss, I’ll step out to check, okay?”
The driver opened the door and got out.
Still startled, Wei Yuning was glad she had worn her seatbelt; otherwise, she might have slammed into the front seat.
A man stepped out of the black sedan.
Looking at the driver, he said, “Sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t notice the distance. Is everyone in your car alright?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take full responsibility for this incident.”
The driver, seeing the man’s sincerity, decided not to make a fuss.
The man handed him a business card: “Here’s my contact number. Call me for any compensation.”
The driver took the card and looked it over.
The man was well-dressed in a black suit and drove a luxury car, clearly not appearing as a scammer, so the driver agreed.
Meanwhile, Wei Yuning stepped out of the car.
“Mister, can your car still drive?” she asked the driver, “If not, I’ll pay you now and call another taxi.”
The man in black looked at her and called out, “Miss Yuning?”
Startled to hear her name, Wei Yuning looked up.
Seeing him, her eyes widened.
“Y-you… What are you doing here?”
She stared at Chen Yi, almost dropping her eyes in shock.
“You… Aren’t you and he abroad?”
Chen Yi was her little uncle Wei Junyao’s personal assistant, meaning wherever Chen Yi appeared, her uncle couldn’t be far.
Chen Yi replied truthfully, “Fourth Young Master has been back in the country for a week.”
Wei Yuning instinctively glanced at the black Maybach.
Though she couldn’t see anything, she felt as if a pair of steely eyes were piercing her.
Instantly, a chill ran down her spine, and she felt a shiver.
In the Wei family, nothing scared her more than Wei Junyao, the Old Fourth.
Wei Junyao, the youngest son of the Wei family, was only thirty-five this year.
But he wasn’t Old Madam Wei’s biological son, being a result of Old Mr. Wei’s unintentional scandal outside.
Before joining the Wei family, he was known as the illegitimate son outside the family.
But ever since she could remember, he had already moved back with the Wei family.
Most of what she knew about this uncle came from the servants at the Wei family’s main residence.
Wei Junyao was reclusive and indifferent; every time she saw him, he wore a cold, deadpan expression like a dead fish, which gave her an eerie chill.
In fact, it wasn’t just her who feared him; the entire Wei family did, even Old Madam Wei wouldn’t dare provoke him.
Yet, inexplicably, he got along with her dad and was a frequent visitor.
She’d hide every time she saw him, avoiding him whenever possible.
Neither the driver nor she anticipated running into someone familiar during a rear-end collision.
“So, you two know each other, huh? Well, this works; no need for another taxi,” the driver said.
Wei Yuning shook her head quickly, “No, no, we don’t know each other, not at all.”
Sharing a ride with Wei Junyao was unimaginable; she’d go crazy.
No way…
She wanted to escape, wishing desperately that the man in the car wouldn’t call her, allowing her to play dumb and pretend nothing had happened.
“Um, mister driver, here’s a hundred yuan—no need for change, okay?”
She pulled a bill from her purse and handed it to the driver, turning to leave.
But just then, a cold, robotic voice devoid of any emotion called after her, “Wei Yuning, where are you going?”
Those six words froze her in her tracks, paralyzing her legs.
The man’s voice came again, “Turn around.”
Taking a deep breath, she turned, forcing a smile as she faced him, “Ah, Uncle, I didn’t think you’d be here—if I’d known, I would’ve come up to greet you.”
Her expressions bordered on exaggerated.
Not interested in small talk, Wei Junyao simply said, “Get in the car!”
With that, he returned to the vehicle.
“I…” Could I… not?
She didn’t have the chance to finish.
Chen Yi, standing by, politely invited, “Miss Yuning, please.”
Annoyed, she huffed at him but begrudgingly went towards the black car.
But she didn’t intend to sit in the back seat; she opened the front door instead.
“In the back,” the man’s icy voice startled her as soon as she opened it.
“I don’t want to sit in the back,” she said.
Yet nothing more was said as he fell silent.
His silence unnerved her the most.
After a momentary internal struggle, she eventually sighed and spared the back seat a glance, resigned to settling there.
After exchanging a few words with the taxi driver, Chen Yi took his leave and got into the car.
Shortly after, the black Maybach departed.
The ride proceeded in silence.
Unaccustomed to quiet, especially in such settings, and needing something to say, she turned to Chen Yi, the driver.
“Hey, Chen Yi, are you heading home for the New Year?”
Grasping for a topic, she threw out the question.
Yet before Chen Yi could reply, an admonishing voice from behind interjected, “Eager for another crash?”
Immediately, Chen Yi clammed up.
Words failed Wei Yuning: “…”
The man chimed in again, “I heard from your dad that your sister has been found?”
She knew he was addressing her.
But she didn’t want to speak with him.
Not talking, however, seemed impolite.
Reluctantly, she mumbled, “I wouldn’t know; he didn’t mention it.”
…
In the Lake Heart Villa.
Gao Han was surprised when she saw Wei Yuning arrive with Wei Junyao.
Wei Junyao greeted, “Sister-in-law.”
Gao Han responded.
“Junyao, when did you return?”
“Last week.”
“Oh, come in. Your brother is in the study. We just moved in today, so it’s a bit messy—hope you don’t mind.”
“No worries.”
Trailing behind him, Wei Yuning followed inside.
Once inside, Wei Junyao headed straight for the study to find Wei Ting.