Despite maintaining his health over the years, Father Jiang was ultimately not young anymore. Earlier, Ye Zhou had tripped him, causing his entire body to ache. Just as the pain was subsiding, Ye Zhou flipped him to the ground again.
The bones all over his body felt like they were falling apart. He could no longer maintain his composure and winced in pain, occasionally letting out a groan, looking utterly pathetic.
Ye Zhou squatted in front of him, extended his hand, and said, “I’ve long heard of your reputation, Uncle. My previous manners were lacking, so please consider this a proper introduction.”
He straightened his clothes, brushed off imaginary dust from his sleeves, and smiled leisurely, “Let me formally introduce myself.”
“My name is Ye Zhou, and I’m Jiang Tingyuan’s boyfriend.”
Ye Zhou’s face returned to a friendly smile as he extended his hand to help him up. However, as soon as he reached out, Father Jiang, who had been lying on the ground, quickly rolled away twice, moving out of Ye Zhou’s reach.
This reflexive action was almost instinctive for Father Jiang. When his father was alive, he was often beaten for being incompetent, leading Father Jiang to develop a set of evasive techniques from a young age. After his father’s passing, Father Jiang had not utilized these avoidance skills for a long time.
Had it not been for Ye Zhou’s appearance, Father Jiang might have forgotten these skills entirely. Yet, standing before him now was just a seemingly frivolous young man, but he inexplicably reminded Father Jiang of the fear he once felt under his father’s control.
Father Jiang’s newly married wife was utterly stunned. She had been with him for so many years, and although she was aware of his flaws, he had always been generous with money and carried an air of authority when speaking to her and her son. She had never imagined that the man she saw as a mountain would cower like this in front of a mere young man.
Ye Zhou was also amused by Father Jiang’s actions. He did not approach further but gazed at him from a distance, his tone amiable, yet his words undisguised in their threat.
“Don’t be nervous, Uncle. Though I’ve offended you this time, I won’t hesitate to do so again.”
At this point, Ye Zhou’s tone shifted, his voice carrying a hint of provocation, “However, I’m different from you. You don’t distinguish between right and wrong before resorting to violence. If you treat Jiang-ge well, then I’ll treat you well. If you treat him poorly, then I’m afraid the next time I raise my hand, it won’t be as gentle as today.”
“If you lay a hand on his arm, I’ll break yours. If you touch his leg, I’ll cripple you. If you even think of touching his face, well, I’m afraid I’ll have to make sure you lose your head.”
Father Jiang had never encountered such a situation before. Raised in luxury and privilege, although uneducated and prodigal, his status as the heir of the Jiang family afforded him respect. Aside from the old master, no one dared to lay a hand on him, let alone openly threaten him.
At most, they would make veiled, ambiguous remarks to mock him. But to be directly threatened with having his head knocked off as Ye Zhou did was something Father Jiang had never experienced in his entire life.
“You… you!” Father Jiang pointed at Ye Zhou, gritting his teeth through the pain, his vision blurring with anger. After a long struggle, he finally managed to utter, “I’m disciplining my son! Who do you think you are to meddle?”
Ye Zhou looked at him with pity. “It seems your age has affected your memory. Didn’t I just introduce myself? I’m your son’s boyfriend.”
“I have no objection to you disciplining your son, but your son is my boyfriend. I’m afraid I have to voice my opinion on that. As long as I’m here, if you dare lay a finger on him, you’re welcome to try and face the consequences.”
As he said this, Ye Zhou’s gaze suddenly shifted from Father Jiang to the middle-aged woman with exquisite makeup and an alluring demeanor standing beside him. With interest, he remarked, “This must be Ms. Xiang.”
“I’ve long heard that Ms. Xiang has been infatuated with Uncle Jiang for over twenty years. Now, it seems that lovers have finally become family? Oh, congratulations, congratulations. Ms. Xiang, it hasn’t been easy for you all these years. Now you’ve flown onto a branch. Although this branch is a bit crooked, it suits a pheasant just fine. How delightful. Please accept my sincere blessings!”
As soon as Ye Zhou spoke, the middle-aged beauty, who was already startled and dubious because of her husband’s earlier cowardice, instantly flared up, her eyes turning red with anger.
His words left no face for either of them, as if he had ripped away the facade that Xiang Zhifu and Father Jiang so painstakingly kept up in public.
Infatuated for over twenty years? Twenty years ago, Father Jiang hadn’t even divorced Jiang Tingyuan’s mother! This was tantamount to accusing Xiang Zhifu of being Father Jiang’s mistress for over twenty years!
And the more cutting part followed: what did he mean by a crooked branch and a pheasant on a crooked branch? It was a blatant insult to Father Jiang Father. He was essentially calling Father Jiang a twisted and worthless man, implying that Xiang Zhifu had hoped to soar as a phoenix but ended up as a mere pheasant on a crooked branch.
Although Xiang Zhifu was a mistress, she considered herself different from ordinary mistresses. The Jiang family was a prestigious household, and being Father Jiang’s mistress meant that if her son could inherit the Jiang family’s business, her status would be far more noble than that of some small company’s wife.
However, these were matters best kept private. Now, Ye Zhou had openly mocked them. No matter how thick-skinned, Xiang Zhifu couldn’t help but flush from embarrassment.
Instinctively, she turned to Father Jiang, expecting him, as always, to stand up for her and support her at the slightest hint of her tears.
Yet, she had clearly forgotten that Father Jiang was still sitting on the ground, unable to stand up. As their eyes met and she saw his cowardly expression, Xiang Zhifu found herself unable to shed a tear.
Worse still, Ye Zhou’s temper had reached its peak, and he had no intention of letting them off easily. Pouring salt on their wounds, he continued, “If I remember correctly, you two have a son, right?”
“The so-called investment genius, Jiang Yu, who fails at everything he does and loses money in every venture, am I correct?”
“It must be acknowledged that as the fruit of your love, Jiang Yu has perfectly inherited your strengths – he’s both stupid and venomous, constantly envious and resentful, without a single accomplishment to his name.”
Ye Zhou stood up and walked over to Father Jiang, looking down at him as he touched his ear. “If I heard correctly when I came in, you wanted Jiang Yu to inherit the family business?”
“If Old Master Jiang knew of your decision, choosing an incompetent over the business genius Jiang Tingyuan to inherit the empire he built with his own hands, he might just come back to have a heart-to-heart with you.”
As he spoke, Ye Zhou strolled around the silent living room and grabbed two apples from the fruit platter on the coffee table. He handed one to Father Jiang and took a bite from the other, leaning casually against Mr. Jiang’s shoulder as he observed them.
The sound of him crunching on the apple created an inexplicable sense of pressure, as if he were chewing their bones instead.
Stunned by Ye Zhou’s rapid-fire barrage, the Jiang family relatives, who had been unable to find an opportunity to speak, finally could no longer hold back in the suffocating silence.
Jiang Family’s eldest uncle took a deep breath and looked at Ye Zhou, “Young man, I must say…”
But before he could finish his sentence, he felt something hard hit his head. The partially eaten apple fell to the floor with a dull thud, rolling a short distance until it came to rest at Father Jiang’s feet.
Jiang Tingyuan timely handed Ye Zhou a tissue. Ye Zhou slowly wiped the apple juice off his hands. After cleaning them, he finally looked towards the person who had spoken earlier.
“I’m talking to Uncle here. What business is it of yours? Shut up.”
Upon seeing her husband being rebuked, Jiang Family’s eldest aunt immediately let out a shrill scream. In all her years, she had never encountered someone as uncouth and lawless as Ye Zhou.
“Where are the guards? Are you all dead?” Second Aunt remained relatively calm, not attempting to reason with Ye Zhou, and decided to call the guards to kick him out directly.
The guards did show up, but unfortunately, they were not Second Aunt’s guards or Father Jiang’s, but Jiang Tingyuan’s.
“Mr. Jiang, Mr. Ye!”
Ye Zhou clearly understood that Mr. Jiang was helping him handle the aftermath. He immediately beamed, grinning at the familiar guards, “Brothers, thank you for your hard work. It’s the first day of the New Year, and Jiang-ge and I don’t want any bloodshed. Please escort these people out.”
Jiang Tingyuan gazed at Ye Zhou’s feisty demeanor with utmost tenderness, not intending to undermine him. When the guards looked to him for confirmation, he gave a slight nod.
With the boss’s order, the guards had no reason to disobey. They exchanged glances and promptly herded the group out of the living room like they were chasing chickens.
Those who left willingly were fine, but for those who resisted, the bodyguards showed no mercy. They twisted their arms and threw the protesters out amidst cries and curses.
The last to be escorted out was Father Jiang. Given his age and poor mobility, Ye Zhou thoughtfully had two bodyguards lift him by the arms and carry him out.
With the hall quiet once more, Ye Zhou sighed with satisfaction. He bent down to pick up the gifts he had tossed aside when entering earlier.
To avoid embarrassing Mr. Jiang, Ye Zhou had his assistant buy expensive gifts – even a small box of supplements cost tens of thousands, not to mention the jewelry and such. Originally, he had been reluctant to give these gifts to those troublesome relatives, but now it seemed unnecessary, and his mood instantly became brighter.
After gathering the items from the floor, Ye Zhou approached Mr. Jiang and extended his empty hand, “Let’s go home.”
Jiang Tingyuan took his hand and gazed at him intently for a moment before suddenly asking, “Those people are still my family members. Aren’t you afraid I’ll get angry at you for offending them like that?”
Ye Zhou glanced at him, his expression serious as he countered, “Will you get angry?”
“No.”
Ye Zhou beckoned with his finger, and Jiang Tingyuan indulgently leaned closer, hearing Ye Zhou whisper in his ear, “Those people hardly qualify as your family. They don’t deserve it.”
“Oh? If they don’t deserve it, then who does?” Jiang Tingyuan patiently inquired.
Ye Zhou straightened his back and arrogantly pointed at himself, shamelessly blurting out, “Me!”
“Aren’t you my boyfriend?” Jiang Tingyuan asked with a smile in his eyes.
Ye Zhou thumped his chest confidently. “Who do you think you’re looking down on? I can handle multiple roles, so I have nothing to fear. Not only can I be your boyfriend, but I can also be your family.”
“Then, you must be very tired,” Jiang Tingyuan said.
“Just so-so. Your boyfriend here is an all-rounder,” Ye Zhou boasted shamelessly. After a thought, he added another self-praising remark, “A great boyfriend like me is hard to come by.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Tingyuan’s usually calm eyes now rippled with emotion as he fixed his gaze on Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou felt a bit uneasy under his stare but still had the thick skin to stammer out the rest of his words.
“So…so you must cherish me well, under…understood?”
As soon as the words left his lips, his wrist was gripped tightly, and he found himself enveloped in a warm embrace, the faint scent of pine surrounding him. Ye Zhou could feel Jiang Tingyuan’s warm breath against the tip of his ear.
“Yes, absolutely.”
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