After leaving Zhongnanhai, Yang Chen accompanied Yang Gongming to a decent-looking store for fermented soya milk and snacks.
He purposely found a more quiet place as Yang Gongming didnât want to be bothered by others. After all, he was a bigwig amongst the elderlies.
They didnât talk about the matter that happened at Firstâs office, instead, they chatted about Lanlan and Yang Chenâs lovers.
âYou still havenât reconciled with Ruoxi?â Yang Gongming blurted.
Yang Chen was biting on a bun when he heard that. His expression stiffened, and he smiled sheepishly. âOld man, arenât you stating the obvious? Iâm sure you know everything that happened between us.â
Yang Gongming took a sip of his soy milk and said expressionlessly. âLookers on see most of the game. Give me a date. When are you bringing my granddaughter-in-law home?â
Yang Chen didnât have any confidence. âI promised Ruoxi not to push her. I can only treat her well and so as much as I can for her. As for the rest, I dare not think about it.â
âBrat! Are you still a man!â Yang Gongming barked, his eyes ablaze with fury.
âHey! You donât know how complicated my relationship is with Ruoxi! You canât scold me! Donât think I wouldnât dare to retaliate because youâre two generations older than me.â
Yang Gongming didnât take him seriously at all. He pointed at Yang Chenâs nose and yelled, âMan up! Itâs not a big deal! The only problem here is that you are disloyal and had a child with another woman. Itâs nothing compared to Hongmeng, the Gods, and diplomatic matters!â
Yang Chen was stunned by his question. Then he realized his grandfather did make sense.
âYouâre not a good person, and I bet the three billion dollars you gave up earlier didnât belong to you! You must have gotten it somewhere else, right?!â Yang Gongmingâs wise eyes were gleaming as if he had seen through Yang Chen.
Yang Chen gulped, and Yang Gongming knew he had hit the mark. If that wasnât true, he wouldnât have signed the contract willingly and wouldâve bargained to lessen the conditions.
âI know you well. Youâre good at deceiving women or else they wouldnât fall for you so deeply. They didnât know about your identity beforehand, so that canât be the reason why theyâre dating you. Use your brain and your schemes. Do whatever you can to bring her back, even if you have to lie!â Yang Gongming rebuked.
Yang Chen chuckled awkwardly. âUh⊠old man, I-â
âDonât give me excuses! I donât want to listen to them! None of them are important when it comes to relationships. What, will Earth disappear tomorrow if you two reconcile? No youngsters in affluent families like us are clean. Thereâs no need to sneak around! If anyone knew that Ruoxi dumped you, Iâd be too embarrassed to leave the house. Your mom might have told you to marry someone else but donât listen to her. I never discussed this with you because I believed that youâd never let her act wilfully. Yet, you went against my expectations!â
Yang Chen smiled wryly. âIt sounds like youâre just mocking me. Youâve already described me as a jerk, so how could I intrude on Ruoxiâs life?â
âBrat, youâre really pissing me off!â As if he had pent up his frustration for too long, Yang Gongming couldnât seem to control his volume. âIf you spent 10% of your IQ in cultivation on dealing with family matters, these wouldnât have happened! How would you know youâre harming Ruoxi by keeping her close to you? Youâre not her! She could be lying! Women always say things that they donât mean. I know it better than you, so how could you be so clueless? Think about it. Ever since Ruoxi separated from you, has she ever looked happy? Is she happier than before?â
Yang Chen was stunned. Heâs right. Lin Ruoxi didnât look like sheâs living a better life after leaving me. Wang Ma also told me that she isnât happy. Have I made the wrong judgement?
Yang Gongming slapped the table. âYang Chen, remember this. Do whatever you can to beg for her forgiveness. Cry at her company, hug her legs, do everything to bring her home!â
âThatâs too embarrassing⊠Hug her legs and cry? You just said youâre embarrassed by me.â Yang Chen shuddered and shook his head.
âEmbarrassing? Nothing matters as long as you bring your wife back! A true man will do everything he can to make his wife happy so that sheâll stay close to him! If you two ever want to divorce for real, that should happen because you no longer like her, nor because she chooses to leave you over some random reason!â
Yang Chenâs lips twitched. âOld man, thatâs too much. How could I bear to divorce her? Iâd wake up every day smiling if she agrees to return to my side.â
âUseless! No wonder youâre so easily swayed by a woman!â Yang Gongming barked. âSince you dare to date so many women, you should be able to appease your wife! Otherwise, youâd be henpecked!â
Yang Chen pursed his lips, displeased by his accusations. âDonât make it sound like trash. Iâve told Rouxi about it a long time ago. Even if she refuses to see me, she canât stop me from treating her well.â
âHah, whatâs the point of that? What makes you any different from those fools who only give presents to court a woman? If youâre an ordinary man, I wouldnât have said anything, but youâre not! Youâre the heir of our clan, so you should be respected. Look at your mom. She dared to leave Pojun, but she never dared to bring up divorce because she knew she canât do such things before me. As for Lin Ruoxi, she left in front of me on New Yearâs Eve, and I didnât send a troop to stop her because of you! No one can come to our clan and go as they please! The moment she joined our family, sheâs part of us, even till death! A divorce can never happen ever since she received the amulet from me.â Yang Gongmingâs face contorted with rage, no longer the benevolent man he usually was.
Yang Chen felt the murderous intent from the old marshal. If he were someone else, he wouldâve pissed his pants from fear.
âOld man, I never expected you to be so chauvinistic and unreasonable.â Yang Chen grinned.
Yang Gongming calmed down and returned to his usual nonchalant self. âIâm old, so I prefer to live a peaceful life. If it wasnât for you, I wouldnât have said those words. Chauvinistic? Unreasonable? Hah, those are the cries of a loser. In this world, those who have survived past hell know nothing else matters other than strength!â
Yang Chen chuckled while shaking his head. He stood up, stretched, and said, âAll right, old man. Time for me to go back. This meal is on you.â
Yang Gongming nodded while gesturing for him to leave with his hands. Then he added, âAsk your mom to bring Lanlan back to visit me when sheâs free. Itâs okay to skip a few days of kindergarten.â
Without looking back, Yang Chen waved his hand in acknowledgment.
At that moment, he was eager to meet Lin Ruoxi and talk things out with her.