Chapter 526: 522. The Events of That Year (Please subscribe and vote for monthly tickets!)

"You all go out first." After a long while, Yu Xingguo spoke, his voice somewhat weak.

After giving Zhang Ran a deep look, Yu Mingcai took Wang Xiuying's hand and left.

Wang Xiuying wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing, only looking at Zhang Ran with a hint of supplication.

But Zhang Ran did not look at her even once from beginning to end.

Once the two had left, only Zhang Ran and Yu Xingguo remained in the room. Zhang Ran did not stand on ceremony at all; he found a chair, sat down, and then quietly watched Yu Xingguo.

"Do you hate me?" Yu Xingguo suddenly asked.

Zhang Ran sneered and said, "I came here today just to see when you'll die. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of annoyance appeared in Yu Xingguo's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and said in a low voice, "Whether you hate me or not, you cannot deny that Qingwan's child carries half of our family's bloodline, can you?"

Zhang Ran just looked at him like that; he could actually guess what Yu Xingguo was going to say.

"Why must you blame all the responsibility on us? Don't you have any responsibility for what happened back then?" Seeing Zhang Ran's expressionless face, Yu Xingguo seemed unable to suppress his anger.

Zhang Ran said calmly, "I have never denied my own faults."

"Then why must you keep targeting our Yu Family? If you do this, Qingwan won't be happy either!" Yu Xingguo took a deep breath and said.

Zhang Ran laughed, "Haven't you always looked down on those two girls, Qingwan and Qingyu?"

"Haven't you always believed they were merely appendages? How is it that now, you have to rely on these two daughters to plead for your family?"

"Zhang Ran, don't go too far. If you do this, you will be struck by lightning," Yu Xingguo said angrily.

At this moment, he seemed to have a burst of renewed energy, showing none of the weakness he had just a moment ago.

Zhang Ran said, "Too far? I also feel it's too far, but it feels very comfortable in my heart; otherwise, I wouldn't feel at ease. As for being struck by lightning?"

"If the heavens truly had eyes, they shouldn't have let you live until now."

The two were at loggerheads for a time, neither giving way to the other. Zhang Ran's words were like a cold, bone-chilling blade, deeply piercing Yu Xingguo's heart.

It was true that he had never taken Yu Qingwan and Yu Qingyu to heart, and even Yu Mingzhi was dispensable.

He was single-mindedly focused on cultivating Yu Mingcai, cultivating this eldest son of the family, who was also the eldest son and grandson of the Yu Family.

He wanted to prove that those people were all wrong, so he had poured his life's efforts into Yu Mingcai.

But now, Yu Mingcai's future needed to be saved by the daughter he had previously disregarded, and he even had to use the already deceased Yu Qingwan to beg Zhang Ran to let them go.

"Fine, even if I was wrong, she was still my daughter. Her actions back then were wrong, so what I did was not a problem; at most, it was a bit excessive. Is it necessary for you to take revenge on us?" Yu Xingguo took a deep breath and said.

Zhang Ran said coldly, "A bit excessive? Heh, actually, I don't care if you were excessive or not. As long as Qingwan was still alive, then no matter what, just because you are Qingwan's father, I would at most just dislike you."

Speaking to this point, Zhang Ran's tone suddenly grew heavier, "But Qingwan is already dead, and you all must bear a great deal of responsibility for her death. Yes, legally you indeed have no responsibility, but in my heart, your responsibility is greater than the heavens."

"And do you really think I don't know about what happened back then? Heh, do you know how miserable I feel seeing you all still living well while I am helpless?"

"Yes, I cannot do anything to you. No matter where you are, you are after all Qingwan's biological parents, but I can make your lives miserable, and I can make all your pursuits come to nothing."

The more Zhang Ran spoke, the more agitated he became, his voice loud enough to be heard outside.

At this time, the atmosphere outside suddenly became tense. Hearing Zhang Ran's roar, the two young men both wanted to rush in, but He Yong blocked the doorway, looking at them so coldly that, for some reason, they suddenly didn't dare to barge in.

After saying these things, Zhang Ran himself seemed to feel much more relaxed.

As for Yu Xingguo, he looked at Zhang Ran, as if he had only just realized that Zhang Ran held such great hatred for their family.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Yu Xingguo asked, somewhat dejectedly.

Zhang Ran had calmed down by now and said quietly, "What do I want to do? Didn't I already say it before? Destroy your pursuits."

"Zhang Ran, don't forget, no matter what, Mingcai is your brother-in-law, and I am your father-in-law. If you do this, you will face divine retribution." Zhang Ran's words had completely infuriated Yu Xingguo.

In his heart, he could die; he didn't actually care much about that, but he would not allow himself to see his life's pursuit destroyed. This was something he had persisted in for fifty years.

This was more painful than killing him!

He would not allow Zhang Ran to do this.

As he spoke, Yu Xingguo suddenly pleaded, "Zhang Ran, can you not take things to such an extreme? I admit I was wrong. I will go and kowtow to Qingwan to apologize, is that not enough? Can you not do this?"

From these words, one could see what Yu Mingcai's future meant to him.

Regardless of whether he truly believed in his heart that he was wrong, he still chose to do this for the sake of Yu Mingcai's future, or rather, for the sake of what he had always persisted in.

Zhang Ran smiled, then said softly, "Why do you still not understand even now?"

"Understand what?" Yu Xingguo asked.

"Is there any point in playing dumb with me now? I've said it many times; I know about what happened back then. Why have you always treated me like a fool?" Zhang Ran's voice grew even softer.

"What do you mean?" A bad premonition suddenly welled up in Yu Xingguo's heart.

"The reason you were so opposed to Qingwan back then wasn't just because she was pregnant out of wedlock, right? Or rather, that wasn't your real reason at all, was it?" Zhang Ran smiled, his smile growing increasingly cold.

Yu Xingguo was stunned; he truly had not expected Zhang Ran to know about this matter. One must know that only he and Yu Ming knew about this.

Seeing him in this state, Zhang Ran's eyes suddenly flared with rage. Actually, he hadn't been entirely certain before, but now he was sure.

"So it really was like that. For the sake of Yu Mingcai's future, you really could be that heartless." Zhang Ran laughed coldly and bitterly.

The matter back then was simple to explain: Yu Xingguo wanted to use Yu Qingwan for a marriage alliance.

The target of the alliance was someone who had previously pursued Yu Qingwan. At the time, Yu Xingguo wanted to pave the way for Yu Mingcai's future, so he was desperately trying to facilitate this.

However, it was clear that the matter had failed.