Chapter 91: Father Has Returned

Han Yangting stayed in M Country until the end of the lunar month.

This trip to M Country was not only to handle official business, but also had the task of bringing his father, Han Dongbei, back.

Nowadays, various epidemics are rampant in Africa, and Han Dongbei had also contracted a very serious case of malaria; after much maneuvering, he was finally cured at a top-tier hospital in M Country.

The two of them took Han Yangting's private jet back, but they barely exchanged a word on the plane.

Han Yangting used his computer to handle official business, while 56-year-old Han Dongbei read the newspapers brought back from M Country.

After finishing the newspaper, Han Dongbei felt somewhat bored; seeing that Han Yangting wouldn't say a word, he cleared his throat and said, "Yangting, I'd like a cola."

It could be considered him putting on the airs of a father for once.

Han Yangting didn't even look up: "I'm busy, ask the flight attendant to get it for you."

The private jet was equipped with flight attendants, and when they saw Han Dongbei needed something, they brought him a can.

Han Dongbei pulled the tab and drank it gloomily.

He had been very ill in Africa this time and had nearly died; it was Han Yangting who had gone through a great deal of trouble, sending a medical team and then transferring him to M Country to get him cured.

He had always felt that he was young, strong, and robust, and that he could take care of himself alone without a wife or children, but after experiencing this, he suddenly realized that he was already old and could not do without children.

He sat opposite, carefully scrutinizing this son of his again: he had grown so tall and handsome, even more imposing than he had been in his youth.

His personality was likely a blend of his and Ye Caiyue's; Ye Caiyue was a woman of swift and decisive action, while he was relatively cold, so he felt his son was both swift and decisive and cold.

He hadn't returned for several years at a time in the past, and returning this time, his biggest realization was that his son had already grown so much, handling things with such decisiveness, calmness, and stability, with abilities so strong that he could only look up to him; compared to his son, he was just a disheveled old man with long hair and a long beard, his back nearly hunched from illness.

He also unconsciously reflected on himself; over these years, he had indeed been absent from his son's life and had not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father, so it was no wonder his son was not affectionate toward him.

……

The plane landed in Beishi, and Han Yangting and Han Dongbei returned to the Castle.

Ye Caiyue and Han Weimin were waiting for them in the Castle's living room.

Han Weimin was already at his wit's end regarding this willful son of his, and since his heart and soul had been poured into Han Yangting all these years, he had only been anxious when he learned Han Dongbei was ill, not wanting to see a white-haired person bury a black-haired one.

Later, when he learned Han Dongbei had been cured, he stopped feeling anything, thinking it made no difference whether he returned home or not, as long as he was alive; in any case, he had grown used to it over these years, and he wasn't afraid of having no one to provide for his old age and bury him—if he didn't have a son, he had a grandson.

As for Ye Caiyue, she looked calm on the surface, but the index fingers of her hands would unconsciously pinch together.

Han Dongbei was, after all, the only man in her life; in those first few years, she had hoped every day that he would return, but later...

At this moment, the butler came over to report: "Sir, Madam, they have arrived!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Han Yangting's long legs strode in, followed by the very disheveled-looking Han Dongbei.

Having stayed in Africa for nearly thirty years, Han Dongbei had the air of a down-and-out artist about him; his hair was long, his beard was long, and his originally burly frame looked very thin due to his serious illness, making him appear a bit dull.

"Grandfather, Mother, we are back," Han Yangting said as he entered the room.

Han Dongbei followed him in, first calling out "Dad," then looking toward Ye Caiyue.

In the past, he had always treated her with indifference, never deigning to take more than a glance at her.

Now, after a major illness, he found that his mindset had changed, and he began to yearn for a home.

Of course, a home was not a castle or a room; a home was a place with a woman and children.

It was also at this moment that he realized Ye Caiyue, whom he had previously disdained to look at, still possessed charm and vigor despite being middle-aged; as she sat there quietly, she was capable and elegant, and her aura was powerful.

Ye Caiyue didn't even look at him once; her gaze was entirely on her son the whole time.

"Yangting, Grandfather has brewed some tea for you, it's for health and replenishing Qi to relieve fatigue; come over and drink some," Ye Caiyue only greeted her son.

Han Dongbei had no choice but to sit on the sofa opposite Han Weimin and call out "Dad" again.

Han Weimin wasn't very warm toward him either, only asking indifferently: "Is your body completely cured?"

Han Dongbei said: "It's cured."

"As long as it's cured, when are you going back to Africa?" Han Weimin used the word "back."

It seemed as if Han Dongbei were already an African now.

For some reason, Han Dongbei actually glanced at Ye Caiyue and Han Yangting.

The former's attention was only on her son; she was chatting with Han Yangting: "Yangting, did you wear a mask the whole way on this trip? Do you feel any discomfort?"

Han Yangting said: "Mom, don't worry, I've already had several nucleic acid tests, there's no problem."

Ye Caiyue held Han Yangting's hand: "I'm not afraid of you catching that, I'm afraid of you catching those diseases from Africa; after all, they are infectious diseases, and they are very hard to cure once you get them."

Han Yangting knew Ye Caiyue's worries, so he said: "That's even less likely; during the period when Father was transferred from Africa to M Country, it was a private jet the whole way, the protection was airtight, and he only left the hospital after he was completely cured."

Only then was Ye Caiyue reassured: "I put some incense in your room to ward off evil spirits; don't be surprised if you smell something unusual when you go back to your room later."

"Alright, Mom."

Hearing this, Han Dongbei felt uncomfortable, and he said to Ye Caiyue with displeasure: "Are you afraid I'll pass the disease to you all?"

Ye Caiyue then glanced at him indifferently and said: "I was just asking if Yangting had taken protective measures."

"Isn't that just looking down on me?" Han Dongbei said.

Ye Caiyue did not respond to him, but looked at Han Yangting and said: "Yangting, are you hungry? Uncle Zhang and the others are back; what dishes would you like to eat? I'll go give the orders."

Han Yangting said: "Suddenly I'm a bit craving Sichuan cuisine, but don't put in chili, just a little bit of spice is fine."

Having been in M Country for so long eating Western food, he really missed the dishes he had eaten with Bai Shuruo.

"Alright, then we'll have Sichuan cuisine; I'll go tell Uncle Zhang to make it."

Hearing this, Han Dongbei swallowed his saliva unconsciously.

He rarely got to eat anything good himself in Africa; even if he had money, it was just higher-end ingredients, but the taste was truly nothing to write home about.

He had also wanted to return home to eat something good, but when he left, he had said he would rather starve to death in Africa than come back to accept this marriage, so he had just been toughing it out over there.

……

Half an hour later, the butler called them over to eat.

This table had Sichuan cuisine, as well as Cantonese cuisine and Zhejiang cuisine; Han Weimin was old, and he liked to eat light Cantonese dishes, with boiled chicken dipped in minced garlic being his favorite, while Ye Caiyue had a sweet tooth and liked West Lake vinegar fish and steamed pork with lotus leaf.

What was prepared for Han Yangting was twice-cooked pork and mouth-watering chicken.

As for Han Dongbei, Ye Caiyue had given instructions that since he had just recovered from a major illness, it was best for him to eat something light, so boiling some eight-treasure porridge for him would be fine.

The family sat at the table, and Han Dongbei held a bowl of simple eight-treasure porridge, then looked at the exquisite delicacies in front of the others at the table; he felt a bit like losing his temper.

But he did not know where to direct his anger; the cook, the housekeeper, and the servants in this house all listened to Ye Caiyue, and he was like a guest in this home.

Seeing Han Dongbei's eager look, Han Weimin was unwilling to share any of his own dishes with him.

The household used a system of individual servings; one would tell the cook what they wanted to eat, and the cook would not make much, with each portion being small and served in an exquisite little dish.

Ye Caiyue was even more protective of her food; seeing Han Dongbei's gaze drift over, she even moved the sweet and sour fish closer to herself, looking quite possessive of her meal.

However, Ye Caiyue did pick up a large piece of fish for Han Yangting, "Yangting, you have worked hard on this trip, try this fish, it's appetizing."

"Thank you, Mom." Han Yangting took a bite, felt the taste was good, and picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork for Ye Caiyue, "Mom, you have a piece of meat."

Han Dongbei finally could not take it anymore; he stood up to call the cook: "Hey, you..."

Uncle Zhang came over and asked, "Sir, what are your instructions?"

"Stir-fry a portion of spicy chicken, a sweet and sour fish, and a portion of steamed pork with rice flour for me, and make them large portions."

Uncle Zhang hurriedly said, "Very well, sir."

His manner was respectful but distant.

Han Dongbei sat back down and looked at the few people in front of him; they were all eating their own food and completely ignored him.

Ye Caiyue even asked Han Yangting, "Yangting, when do you plan to return to Fengcheng?"

What did that mean? Return to Fengcheng?

Was Han Yangting not staying in Beishi anymore?