Chapter 995 - 960: The Preciousness of Family Bonds

Xu Chunliang returned home and saw the study light was on. He knocked on the door and walked in, noticing his grandfather under the lamp, absorbed in writing something.

Xu Chunliang laughed and said, "Grandpa, working so hard this late?"

Xu Changshan put his brush on the pen rack and said warmly, "There’s not much going on lately, so I’m trying to write down my insights and experiences from all these years of practicing medicine. One must leave something behind in life, hoping it might inspire future generations."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re still young, you’ve got plenty of time ahead of you."

Xu Changshan laughed heartily, stood up, and stretched lazily, "I plan to invite Qingya for a meal, why don’t you set up a time?"

Xu Chunliang said, "No need for that. I’m going to take her to Weishan Lake tomorrow, if you’re interested, you can join us."

Xu Changshan shook his head, "You young people go have fun, I won’t be a burden." He seemed to have something on his mind but hesitated to speak.

Xu Chunliang asked, "Grandpa, is there anything you need to tell me?"

Xu Changshan said, "You’re grown up now, you can tell right from wrong yourself, no need for me to guide you. By the way, has your dad contacted you recently?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head, "No."

Xu Changshan asked, "You haven’t reached out to him proactively?"

Xu Chunliang replied, "Why contact him? I don’t need money, and he has his own life, better not to disturb him."

"Didn’t he get divorced?"

On the surface, Xu Changshan seemed unconcerned about this son, but in reality, he was still very worried.

Xu Chunliang noticed his grandfather missed him, "Okay, I’ll contact him now."

"Forget it, it’s so late."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "There’s a time difference; it’s broad daylight over there."

Xu Chunliang directly connected to a WeChat video call. After a while, someone finally answered, sunlight flooding in, golden and dazzling. Upon looking closely, it was a beach beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes, the golden hair shining brightly.

Xu Jiaxuan cursed in the call, evidently blaming the foreign girl for answering his call, grabbing the phone over quickly. Although it was just a fleeting moment, both grandfather and grandson caught a glimpse of the unexpected ’spring scene’.

Xu Changshan’s face turned dark with anger, "How disgraceful, truly disgraceful. The grandson’s grown up, yet this son remains so unreliable – vexing when seen, missing when not."

Xu Chunliang purposely handed the phone to his grandfather, Xu Changshan waved him off, signaling him to go away, as if he were nonexistent.

Xu Chunliang laughed and said, "Comrade Xu, where are you?"

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Hawaii, on vacation."

"Living it up, huh? Planning to plant your flag all over the world?"

Xu Jiaxuan laughed boisterously; hearing this laugh, Xu Changshan frowned, but at least the stone in his heart eased – the unreliable one was still alive.

"Son, this is called infiltrating the enemy, know both yourself and the enemy, and you’ll fight a hundred battles without defeat."

Xu Changshan cursed inwardly, shameless – is this how a father speaks?

Xu Chunliang couldn’t say much in front of his grandfather, seeing the old man desperately waving him away, probably worried that Xu Jiaxuan might contaminate his ears.

Xu Chunliang took the phone and left the room.

After his grandson left, Xu Changshan shook his head and cursed softly, "No decent stuff around," but the corners of his lips revealed a hidden smile – this unreliable one never lost out anywhere.

Xu Chunliang sat down in the living room, "Old Xu, don’t be like that. Grandpa saw everything just now."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "He’s being fake; inside he’s probably overjoyed."

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help but laugh.

Xu Jiaxuan gave the blonde beauty’s backside a smack, telling her to move aside, don’t block the camera.

Xu Chunliang asked, "What was going on before? Your phone wasn’t on, I thought you got kidnapped."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Ran into some trouble, these damned Americans, their laws are messed up, scheming to suck money from taxpayers. But the issue’s solved now. Son, at least you have some conscience, caring about me."

Xu Chunliang said, "Don’t flatter yourself; it’s grandpa who misses you. It’s always dads worrying about sons in this world, have you ever seen a son worrying about his dad?"

"True, son, you’re getting more mature."

Xu Chunliang said, "Will you come back for Mid-Autumn Festival this year?"

"I’ll try. I just took on a big project recently and barely squeezed two days for vacation, only to have you guys catch me."

Xu Chunliang said, "Do as you see fit."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "How have you been lately? When are you going to marry Xiaoxue and give me a little grandson to play with?"

Xu Chunliang said, "We broke up."

"Broke up?" Xu Jiaxuan paused for a moment, then laughed, "That’s good, you’re free again and can choose anew. There are plenty of good girls in the world, and a handsome young man like my son won’t have trouble finding a good match. By the way, I think Su Qing is nice."

Xu Chunliang said, "Alright, you should worry more about your own affairs. You don’t need to fuss over mine."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Alright, I won’t irritate you then. Do you need money?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I need love!"

Xu Jiaxuan said, "I really can’t give you that. Our family doesn’t have that tradition. Your grandfather didn’t give me much back in the day, so I’m passing on what my dad owed me to you. You’re not the one at loss; the one at loss is me."

Xu Chunliang felt that this logic sort of made sense. "Old Xu, you’re not that young anymore, drifting outside isn’t the way. It’s about time you came back after letting loose."

Ever since attending Chen Biyuan’s funeral in Hu Hai, Xu Chunliang realized his parents were not ordinary people. From their actions, it seemed likely they were involved in secret work. Both had a style of appearing and disappearing like dragons, and frequent disappearances were their lifestyle.

But in the few short interactions, Xu Chunliang could tell they weren’t uninterested in him, just unable to act like ordinary parents. Their identities necessitated being far away from him and the family; they didn’t want to bring trouble to their loved ones.

Xu Jiaxuan said, "I’m in great health. Take good care of your grandfather."

Xu Chunliang said, "Grandfather misses you."

Xu Jiaxuan fell into a long silence and after a while said, "I’ll strive to wrap up my business here. Three years, if everything goes well, I can settle things here within three years. By then, I’ll return to Dongzhou, properly keep him company, maybe help you raise your son. How’s that for paying back some debts?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "It’s a deal."

A round butt appeared in the frame, simultaneously followed by a slap sound from off-screen.

"Get out of the way, don’t block my camera." Xu Jiaxuan hurriedly spoke in Dongzhou dialect.

Xu Chunliang hung up, no longer disturbing his dad’s romantic escapades in Hawaii.

Returning to the study, he conveyed the good news of Xu Jiaxuan’s potential return within three years to his grandfather.

Xu Changshan listened and nodded, not showing much emotion.

Xu Chunliang said, "A prodigal son returns, aren’t you happy?"

Xu Changshan said, "I take what he says as nonsense! He’s never done anything reliable from childhood. Look at him with that Feng... your mom, what are they doing? Had a child and then divorced, an irresponsible pair."

Xu Chunliang said, "Don’t be angry, old man. You have to look at things from both sides. If either of them was willing to raise me, I wouldn’t be in Europe or North America right now; who would be here with you?"

Xu Changshan blinked, seemingly seeing the point.

Xu Chunliang said, "I reckon, Old Xu, he’s not unfilial to you. It’s not that he can’t afford to raise me; why did he leave me to you? Presumably out of consideration. He’s afraid you’ll be lonely, so he painfully left me for you to take care of."

Xu Changshan glared, "You’re also a heartless thing, I raised you for so many years, and you speak for him? Get lost, go to sleep!"

Xu Chunliang thick-skinnedly went over to hug his grandfather’s shoulder, "Grandpa, I’m closest to you. Compared to you, he’s nothing."

Xu Changshan laughed and scolded, "Get lost quickly, stop coaxing me."

"You have an early rest too."

After Xu Chunliang left, Xu Changshan shook his head with a smile, suddenly thought of something, opened the drawer, took out a photo album, flipped through it, and found a photo of his son in his youth, already yellowed.

Xu Changshan’s finger gently caressed the photo of his son, recalling Xu Chunliang’s words earlier. How could he not understand his son’s intentions? Jiaxuan, Jiaxuan, when will you finally return? Don’t you know my true thoughts? I’ve never blamed you.

Xu Changshan sighed deeply, three years, how many three years does he have left?

People often only recognize value after it’s lost. Even Tang Jingwei, who has struggled in the business world for years and considers himself well-versed, felt overwhelmed by consecutive blows.

His son died, his brother was arrested, Hua Nian’s debt restructuring failed, and the relatively better situation at Jiayue Department Store was also hit by scandal.

Tang Jingwei had never experienced such a concentrated period of catastrophes in his lifetime.

In the quiet, dark night, Tang Jingwei sat alone in the empty villa, moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows casting his lonely figure on the ground. He held a glass of wine in one hand and a cigar in the other.

The son’s autopsy indicated suicide. He didn’t believe it, nor accept it, though he suspected this result all along. If they dared do it, they wouldn’t leave evidence.

On the floor, scattered all around were photos with unbearable content, featuring his kept young celebrity, Zheng Tong, shamelessly enjoying his money in North America with a hunk. What truly broke Tang Jingwei was a paternity test; he always thought Zheng Tong’s child was his, but this proof cruelly shredded his last shred of dignity and cut off his final hope.

Tang Jingwei took a strong drag from the cigar and then coughed violently. When he brought the wine glass to his lips, he found it empty, nearly frantic, he hurled the glass against the opposite wall.

The sound was piercing but wouldn’t disturb anyone; he was alone in this empty mansion.