Ye Jingxing brought Nuannuan back to the old residence. Everyone in the old residence had arrived today, much like Nuannuan's first visit.
"Precious! My precious, let Grandma have a look." Liu Ruhua excitedly stepped forward and hugged Nuannuan.
Nuannuan's eyes were still red. Ye Jingxing had been trying to comfort her all the way.
"Grandma~" Nuannuan muffled, looking unhappy.
Everyone was watching Nuannuan, especially Ye Jinghuai, who clenched his fists but dared not step forward.
He thought children always longed for their mothers, and he didn't know how to tell Nuannuan that her mother was a bad woman. He was even more afraid of what would happen if Nuannuan wanted her mother and wanted to be with her.
"Was Grandma's precious scared? There, there, it's okay now." Liu Ruhua cooed, holding Nuannuan like a treasured gem.
"Nuannuan, your uncle is here. Don't be scared." Ye Jingzhi leaned over, staring at Nuannuan nervously.
Nuannuan glanced at him without a word, then looked around. Seeing Ye Jinghuai sitting still, her lip trembled, and she started crying again.
"Daddy~ Daddy~"
Nuannuan reached out towards Ye Jinghuai, straining to reach him. Ye Jinghuai felt his heart melt and immediately rushed to embrace Nuannuan.
"Daddy is here, Nuannuan, don't cry."
Ye Jinghuai skillfully shifted his hold on Nuannuan, gently patted her back to stop her hiccups, and kissed the top of her head to comfort her.
"Daddy~ hic~ Nuannuan wants Daddy. hic~" Nuannuan mumbled, hiccuping.
"Daddy is always here, my baby, stop crying."
Ye Jinghuai patiently soothed her and gently wiped her tears with a wet wipe.
"Nuannuan, look at the gift your third uncle brought you."
Ye Jingming took out the gift he had carefully selected, intending to cheer Nuannuan up.
"Thank you, Third Uncle~ Nuannuan really likes it."
Nuannuan blinked, and another tear rolled down the corner of her eye. With a red little nose, she took the small gift box from Ye Jingming's hand and slowly unwrapped it with her small hands.
"Second Brother, has it all been investigated?" Although Ye Jingxing had said those words to Du Ruo, he understood the situation.
No one would dare to spread such rumors. He was only asking now to know why that woman had suddenly appeared.
"Yes, it's her. I didn't want to pursue this woman before, so I didn't bother to investigate her. I thought she wouldn't dare to show up again." Ye Jinghuai's lips curled with a cold smile.
"She might not have dared to appear before, but now she knows how much our family dotes on Nuannuan, so she's shown up for personal gain," Ye Jingming said casually from the side.
"I also did some investigation. After that... she returned to her hometown, and then went to look for you during your second filming session."
Ye Jingchen was about to say "after she abandoned Nuannuan," but then he remembered Nuannuan was present and paused.
"Second Brother, you can't be foolish! You absolutely cannot let this woman near Nuannuan." Ye Jingzhi became increasingly anxious as he listened. He had warned his fourth brother not to take Nuannuan out, but something always happened.
"Jinghuai, we're all here today to know your thoughts, as you are Nuannuan's father." Ye Jianming, who sat at the head of the table, finally spoke.
"Of course, I don't want Nuannuan to be in contact with her. I wish she would disappear as far as possible. However, I'm afraid Nuannuan might want to," Ye Jinghuai said, looking down at Nuannuan in his arms. Nuannuan was still looking down, silently fiddling with the box, appearing as if she hadn't heard their conversation.
"Nuannuan, do you want a mother?" Ye Jinghuai finally asked. Everyone in the hall was now intently watching Nuannuan.
"Mama?" Nuannuan looked up confusedly.
"Yes, the person today is Nuannuan's mother, not a bad person who steals children. Do you want to see her?" Ye Jinghuai thought that as long as Nuannuan wanted to, he could endure even if that woman was disgusting and detestable.
"No." Nuannuan shook her head resolutely and refused. After speaking, she burrowed into Ye Jinghuai's arms and hid herself.
"I knew Nuannuan was so smart, she wouldn't be fooled by that bad woman." Ye Jingzhi jumped up from his seat happily.
"It's not about whether Nuannuan is fooled now. This matter can no longer be handled simply," Ye Jingxing said suddenly, holding up his phone to show everyone a sentimental confession from Du Ruo.
"Hello everyone, I am Nuannuan's mother, my name is Du Ruo. I know many of you want to scold me for abandoning Nuannuan back then. What mother doesn't love her child? She was born from me after ten months of pregnancy, she is a piece of my flesh!" Du Ruo was already in tears at this point.
"I really didn't mean to abandon Nuannuan, I had no choice. My health was not good since I became pregnant, and I spent half the time in the hospital. After giving birth to Nuannuan, my body also collapsed, and I have been seeing doctors and taking medicine all these years. These are the hospital receipts from back then and the receipts for my medical treatment over the years. These years of medical treatment and medication have put me into heavy debt. I had no choice, I really couldn't take care of Nuannuan, so I sent her to the welfare institute. But I have always secretly watched her." As she spoke, she pulled out many photos of Nuannuan at different stages in the welfare institute.
"I really went to see her, but I didn't dare to show myself. I was afraid that if the welfare institute knew Nuannuan wasn't an orphan, they wouldn't raise her. I was afraid that Nuannuan would have a worse life with me than in the welfare institute. So I could only secretly watch her and secretly take photos. These are all Nuannuan. I'm not saying this to clear my name; I just want to tell the Ye family that I know it was wrong of me to secretly give birth to Nuannuan without telling you. I was wrong back then, I admit it and am willing to accept punishment. But I really miss Nuannuan, and I really have no other requests. This is a mother's longing for her child. Please, let me see my child! I won't take her away. She's living so well in the Ye family, how could I bear to let her suffer with me." The video ended with Du Ruo crying helplessly, clutching her chest in grief.
Looking at Du Ruo's performance on the screen, everyone's expressions were grim.
"I have to say her acting is quite good, but there isn't a trace of emotion in her eyes. However, she only needs to make the public see her outward sadness," Ye Jingxing put down his phone and shared his thoughts with everyone.
"What does she really want to do?" Ye Jingzhi couldn't understand the woman's baffling behavior.
"Of course, she wants to strike it rich," Ye Jingming said with sarcasm in his tone.
"Third Brother, by doing this, she has completely offended our Ye family. It's already very kind of us not to send her for national rehabilitation," Ye Jingzhi became more confused as he listened.
"She has offended our family, but she has public opinion on her side! If we don't want to be drowned in public condemnation, we can't do anything to Nuannuan's biological mother," Ye Jingxing replied while browsing online comments.
"What's more, children always long for their mothers, especially those who grew up in orphanages. And she knows how much we dote on Nuannuan. If she can get hold of Nuannuan, the Ye family will be at her mercy," Ye Jingshen turned to Ye Jingzhi with a meaningful look.
"But Nuannuan doesn't want her, does she?" Ye Jingzhi remembered Nuannuan's refusal just now.
"Exactly! Big Brother is referring to what would happen in her plan. But she never expected that the entire internet would sympathize with her and even forgive her, yet Nuannuan, who she most needed to win over, rejected her," Ye Jingxing shook his phone at everyone, showing comments from netizens.
"The most crucial thing now is that we cannot simply issue a statement to resolve this, nor can we handle it privately. Public opinion has been stirred up by her. Even if we go out and say that Nuannuan doesn't want to see her, people will only think that our Ye family is forcibly severing the mother-daughter bond," Ye Jingming analyzed the current situation carefully.