Chapter 152: Is He an Illegitimate Son of the Han Family?

After work, Meng Ze did as he usually did: instead of going straight home, he first went to a small restaurant to eat, and after eating, he went to a bar for a couple of drinks before heading home.

It was already past 9:00 PM when he returned home. The streetlamp at the entrance of the alley was broken today, and there was no light left on for him in the courtyard, so he had to turn on his phone's flashlight to see.

Hearing him return, the light in Meng Xinghua's room flickered on.

Meng Xinghua smelled the alcohol on Meng Ze and naturally showed his disdain again: "Drinking again? Drinking every single day, aren't you afraid of drinking yourself to death?"

Meng Ze replied: "You smoke every single day, why aren't you afraid of smoking yourself to death?"

"You want to rebel again, is that it? Shall I beat you to death?" Meng Xinghua went to grab a stick.

This time, Meng Ze did not resist; he just stood where he was and even pointed to his own forehead: "Hit me, hit me right here, just beat me to death!"

"You think I don't dare, do you?" Meng Xinghua swung at him, but he didn't hit his head, only striking his buttocks a few times to vent his anger.

Meng Xinghua dropped the stick, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and asked breathlessly: "How is work at the company lately?"

Meng Ze said: "Same as always."

"What's the situation with Bai Shuruo? You staged a life-and-death rescue last time, and you still couldn't win her heart?"

Meng Ze sneered: "A pot matches its own lid. If it were you, even if you gave her your life, she would only give you a funeral allowance. Wanting her to give herself to you? How naive. Her husband is countless times better than me, I don't know how many times over."

"Countless times better? How much better can he be? How could you be any worse than him? If you also lived in a big Manor like that, if you could just be a bit more ambitious, you would be a hundred times more outstanding than Han Yangting."

Meng Ze gave a cold snort, "I was raised by you; the environment makes the man."

Meng Xinghua didn't argue with Meng Ze anymore; he lit the cigarette hanging from his mouth and returned to his room.

Meng Ze didn't care much about it; he boiled a bucket of water himself, carried it to the courtyard to take a quick rinse, and then went to sleep.

……

The Manor.

During this period, Han Dongbei had been trying harder and harder to please Ye Caiyue.

In the morning, he would instruct the cook to stew bird's nest for her, order the freshest Hokkaido salmon for her, and have fresh roses air-freighted from Africa.

It could be said he had exhausted every trick in the book.

Ye Caiyue's heart wasn't made of steel either. With someone by her side showing concern, and this person being her own legal husband, she sometimes thought it might be better to just forgive him and spend the rest of her life with him like this.

However, having suffered so much over these years, she also felt she couldn't let him off too easily. If he wanted to be a sycophant, then let him continue; she would see how long he could keep it up.

"A-Yue, the weather forecast said recently that there will be a heatwave soon, 42-degree high temperatures every day. Are you really not considering going on vacation abroad with me?"

Ye Caiyue said: "If you want to go, go yourself. We have air conditioning at home, why would I be afraid of the heat?"

Han Dongbei then said: "Fine, since you like being at home, then I will build you an indoor garden so you can see flowers every day even in the scorching heat."

"Suit yourself," Ye Caiyue said.

It was this very phrase, "suit yourself," that gave Han Dongbei hope.

"A-Yue, have you forgiven me?" Han Dongbei asked.

A man over fifty acting coquettishly looked rather comical.

At that moment, Ye Caiyue let out a laugh.

Seeing her laugh, Han Dongbei felt he was one step closer to success. He even started dancing an African dance in front of Ye Caiyue, making her burst into laughter.

"You are so unserious."

"We're a married couple, what need is there for seriousness? I hear other couples are even less serious," Han Dongbei said.

Han Dongbei asked again: "Do you want a cup of milk tea? With a croissant? I'll have the chef make it for you."

"If I want to eat, can't I ask for it myself? It's not like I don't have a mouth."

"……"

The two were flirting when the butler came over and said: "Madam, Sir, there is someone outside who wishes to see you. He says... he says that the Sir had an illegitimate son in the past, who is now 26 years old, and he wants you to meet him."

Time stood still in that instant.

The butler was also at a loss.

He should have reported to the Madam first; after all, it had been the Madam paying his salary all these years.

And precisely because the Madam had been paying his salary all these years, he felt it was better for everyone to know about this matter, otherwise, it would be unfair to the Madam.

As for the chaos, it was bound to be chaotic.

Hearing this, Han Dongbei couldn't help but say: "How could I have any illegitimate son? I've been in Africa all these years, I haven't even returned, okay? Who could I have an illegitimate son with? An elephant? A tiger?"

Ye Caiyue's heart, which had just begun to soften, now closed tight once again.

It just so happened that Bai Shuruo and Han Yangting were coming downstairs at this time.

Han Dongbei sought justice from Han Yangting and Bai Shuruo: "You two judge this for me, how could I have an illegitimate son, where would an illegitimate son come from? It's impossible. I've clearly been in Africa the whole time, and I never had any women there."

Bai Shuruo felt no ripples in her heart now; she didn't want to deal with the Han Family's affairs at all. Now that Han Dongbei was complaining to her, she actually felt a bit like a spectator watching the chaos unfold.

Han Yangting asked: "Is that so? Then do I have a younger brother? Where is he?"

Han Dongbei said angrily: "You're adding fuel to the fire? Where is that person outside? Hurry up and chase him away."

"Wait!" Ye Caiyue was unwilling.

She said: "Isn't paternity testing quite advanced these days? Whether he is your son or not, just do a test. If he really is yours, you can't escape it. If he isn't, it won't be too late to chase him away then."

She then said to the butler: "Where is the person? Please bring him in."

Ten-plus minutes later, Meng Xinghua arrived inside the Castle on the Manor's sightseeing cart.

Meng Xinghua looked left and right, excited by everything he saw.

He regretted it; he regretted not bringing Meng Ze over to acknowledge his kin sooner.

His original plan was to cultivate Meng Ze well, and once Meng Ze entered the company and could stand on his own two feet, then acknowledge his kin; that way, the Han Family would be more likely to accept him.

And while he was at it, pry the sister-in-law into his hands, making Han Yangting feel lost and heartbroken, so that Meng Ze could seize the opportunity to usurp power and the position.

No one here knew Meng Xinghua, except for Bai Shuruo.

Upon seeing Meng Xinghua, Bai Shuruo asked in surprise: "It's you? Aren't you Meng Ze's maternal grandfather? Could it be that the illegitimate son you're talking about is Meng Ze?"

Han Yangting was also startled: "Meng Ze?"

When Meng Xinghua saw Ye Caiyue and Han Dongbei, he acted like a boorish man; without waiting for them to greet him, he sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said to Han Dongbei, "Han Dongbei, surely you don't remember that little Xiao Caiyun from back then, do you?"

"Li-little Xiao Caiyun?" Han Dongbei thought for a long while before remembering, "That... bar waitress from back then?"

"That's right, it's her."