Chapter 400: Negotiation

"Grandma, do you know if he's also here?"

Zheng Dongqing thought, looking at that outfit, he looked like a fake poser.

Xu Mingyue said gently, "Isn't it that you announced the severance in the newspaper? Ms. Yang is very decisive and won't look back."

Zheng Dongqing pursed his lips, "Not necessarily, I'm really reluctant to part with my little Su Xi."

At this point, Zheng Dongqing added resentfully, "Being so alike to my little Su Xi is an outright insult to my little Su Xi!"

Su Xi was moved yet helpless, "Mom, Grandma won't recognize him, so don't worry!"

He had worried for so long, only to find that Mom was actually worried about Grandma's attitude.

"Really?"

Su Xi nodded, "Really!"

Back then, Grandma, to put Zheng Dongqing at ease, expelled Su Zeyan from the home, plotted against Mu Jiguan, making him voluntarily reveal his connection with Zheng Dongping; with his confession, the name of his and his younger brother's mother was properly changed to Zheng Dongqing.

Yang Zhichun's scheming was all to make Zheng Dongqing feel comfortable staying by his brother's side.

"Alright then!"

Zheng Dongqing ate the meal happily.

In the evening they returned home together; the servant had already prepared the dishes, and Yang Zhichun and Su Zhengda had also come back.

Zheng Dongqing recounted what had happened today, then glanced furtively at Yang Zhichun's expression.

Yang Zhichun merely said "oh", and seeing Zheng Dongqing's demeanor, asked puzzled, "Do you want to take revenge on him?"

Zheng Dongqing shook his head, "Mom, you don't want to see him?"

Yang Zhichun replied calmly, "Don't want to."

"Why?"

Yang Zhichun's expression remained unchanged, "I still want to live a few more years; why should I invite trouble on myself?"

"I see!"

Yang Zhichun, accustomed to Zheng Dongqing's occasional silliness, said, "Let's eat!"

The family ate together, then Xu Mingyue and Zheng Dongqing took Xu Jia and Su Yi back to the room to play, while Su Zhengda, Yang Zhichun, and Su Xi went into the study.

Yang Zhichun looked at Su Xi, "What do you think of your dad?"

Su Zhengda watched curiously as Su Xi, who had been a bit scheming in the mall.

"I want to beat him, make him lose his guard!"

"Lose his guard?"

"Right!"

Su Xi instinctively recalled a technique he had used before, "Want to berate him for not seeing his wife, being cuckolded, and losing…" Damn! Su Xi fell silent, but Su Zhengda and Yang Zhichun both guessed the rest of the sentence.

The two exchanged a glance and pretended they hadn't heard.

"On the high-tech front, Ji Tianlin's development is impressive, but I don't know what Mingyue thinks. If she learns that Ji Tianlin has achieved that, would she get back together?"

Su Xi's words still made Yang Zhichun's forehead veins pulse.

"Just stay like this, right? If unhappy, break up anytime; the higher-ups won't say anything. Marry then divorce, you still have to worry about reputation and asset division—so troublesome!"

"Later it'll be lenient in, strict out, exactly like the scam the national anti-fraud center warned about!"

Yang Zhichun concluded that if this grandson came from the future, he must be unmarried! Yang Zhichun waved his hand, "Go find your mom, and also invite Mingyue over!"

"Alright!"

Su Xi "tap tap" ran off, Yang Zhichun held his forehead, "What will we do with this child later?"

Su Zhengda patted his wife's shoulder, "Take it slow; after all, we have to teach them."

"Alas!"

When Xu Mingyue arrived, Yang Zhichun composed himself and discussed with her.

…

"Crunch!"

Ji Tianlin snapped a photo of Xu Jia, who was wearing a thin down jacket, his expression a bit regretful. In two days the winter break starts, and he'll be unable to see his beloved daughter for a long stretch.

Ji Tianlin was already scheming in his mind how to work overtime so he could free up time during the spring semester to watch his daughter's commute.

He walked on and saw a man in a black trench coat staring intently toward his daughter.

"Who are you?"

Damn! Where are the bodyguards? Ji Tianlin looked around, not seeing the guards that usually followed his daughter.

Su Zeyan was blocked from view, his expression somewhat defiant. Back then, Su Zeyan would have knocked him out with a single punch.

"Who are you?"

The same words were returned by Su Zeyan.

Ji Tianlin saw that Su Zeyan's clothes were not ordinary, and asked, "Why are you staring at my daughter?"

"Your daughter?"

Su Zeyan looked bewildered, frowned, then seemed to realize, "Are you the 'wolf den' man who divorced Xu Mingyue?"

What the heck is a "wolf den" man?

Ji Tianlin's mouth twitched, "Are you the bastard who cut off ties with his parents and sons?"

Su Zeyan: …

After the two had hurt each other, Xu Jia and Su Yi had already gotten into the car and gone home.

"Want to have a drink?"

Su Zeyan offered proactively.

Ji Tianlin thought it over; he was merely a muddled fool who had been manipulated, lost his daughter, mistakenly blamed his wife and almost caused her death, and was a cold-hearted scumbag toward his son, which is a big difference.

"No, I'm afraid Xu Mingyue of our family will misunderstand!"

Su Zeyan at this moment wanted to "pshaw" at him, and since he thought so he did, "I pshaw! Lost my daughter, a useless fool no one wants!"

"I pshaw! Mistook the wrong wife and almost killed her, a scumbag utterly cold to his son!"

The two went their separate ways, each walking their own path.

Xu Mingyue and Zheng Dongqing, having received the bodyguard's report: …

Su Xi didn't understand, "Why can't they ever leave?"

Xu Mingyue patted Su Xi's head, "You're too hostile toward your father; his role is different."

Xu Mingyue holds a high position in Shencheng, yet vaguely some people claim her daughter is a fatherless child. She doesn't know whether someone is deliberately provoking her or simply jealous and gossipy. After consulting her parents, she decides her attitude toward Ji Tianlin.

At first, Xu Mingyue intended to pursue another relationship that matched status and background. But her daughter had a point: binding one means losing a whole forest. Moreover, the stepfather, for the daughter, never feels as safe as a biological father.

Su Xi fell silent, saying nothing.

That night, Su Xi had a dream.

In the dream, Su Xi stepped onto a vast expanse of white clouds, sat down in place, lay on the clouds, and then fell asleep.

The white clouds helplessly lifted him.

"Don't keep obstructing Xu Mingyue and Ji Tianlin. I can retain your memories and the unused cards Su Yu gave you, and they will automatically trigger at the right moment!"

Su Xi's eyelids twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

"If you refuse, I will select anew a person with great destiny to support; I'm not sure whether, like the future in your mind, it will affect your family!"

"Will Su Yu still be Su Yu?"

"I can only tell you that if Su Yi and Xu Jia, in this world's future, give birth to a child at the same time as the child in your memory, that child is the one from your memory."

As for the system‑equipped Su Yu, she has already returned to where she belongs.

I don't know which Su Yu Su Xi actually wants. "You matchmaking Ji Tianlin and Xu Mingyue is unfair to Xu Mingyue!"

The voice from the sky sounded frantic, "If I don't matchmake, you just tear them apart! The kind where they never see each other again!"

ta knows that ta's future has a calamity, and then focuses on the people around Xu Mingyue and Ji Tianlin! Who could have imagined, the bug finally appeared in the Su Family! The bug was fixed, but the one who fixed the bug gave ta another bug!

ta thought the new bug was just helping ta fix the bug, was quite happy at first! Secretly gave a hand! But in the end, it almost erased ta's intended marriage pair!

Not even a chance at love!

"He's indecisive, so he never deserved it!"

"Just don't stop them from being together!"

ta thinks it's that damned original bug that doomed the new bug, causing the new bug to be so agitated.

ta added, "I could never concede!"

Su Xi said softly, "Usually when someone says that, they haven't reached the bottom line yet."

ta fell silent.

Su Xi saw the white clouds still there and wasn't in a hurry, "You said, why not set it as an orphan, let Ji Tianlin become a son‑in‑law, how nice?"

ta remained mute! After a long while, ta spoke, "What exactly do you want?"

"Erase that negative memory of my mother forever!"

ta grew curious, "Don't you not want your mother to intersect with your father?"

If that memory is erased, Zheng Dongqing would lose that painful recollection, and thus would not have the ingrained aversion to any male other than her son.

If she doesn't approach men with a prank‑like attitude, she might end up liking Su Zeyan, huh? Su Zeyan isn't a good person, but he's capable, especially now—rich, single, a symbol of charm.

"Heh, would I fear that useless love brain?"

ta fell silent, "Deal!"

The clouds vanished, and Su Xi lost consciousness.

The next morning, Su Xi heard Xu Mingyue taking Xu Jia to fetch her parents and relatives, but he didn't follow and said nothing.

That night, Xu Mingyue returned, her expression complex and tangled.

Zheng Dongqing brought a glass of orange juice, "Here, pressed by the servant, what's worrying you?"

"Dad and Mom said, if I have someone I like, then ignore Ji Tianlin; if not, let Jia Jia have an official meeting with Ji Tianlin. Jia Jia is already sensible, has the right to know everything."

"But I don't want to tell Jia Jia that she was kidnapped."

"Then say half, keep half, okay."

In the playroom, Xu Jia was building blocks when Su Yi came over, "Sister Jia Jia, how are your maternal grandparents, uncle and aunt, older brother and sister‑in‑law, and nephews and nieces?"

"It's sister!"

Xu Jia emphasized, then said, "They are all fine, but the maternal grandparents don't know what they told Mom; when Mom comes home she always frowns, though at first they were very happy!"

Su Yi, hearing this, instinctively looked at the older brother who was also playing.

But the brother said nothing…

ta watched this scene, very satisfied.

That night, in Zheng Dongqing's dream, she felt something drifting away from her.

Waking again, Zheng Dongqing cheerfully brought breakfast to the two children, calling them to get up.

"Xiao Xi, get up!"

"Xiao Yi, get up!"

"Here!"

"Coming!"

After growing up, Su Yi got up obediently without crying! "Today Jia Jia is going to the seaside villa to accompany her maternal grandparents; do you all want to go together to play?"

Su Yi nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Su Xi was indifferent.

After Xu Mingyue sent Xu Jia over, she made a phone call to Ji Tianlin.

"Hello, may I ask who's calling?"

Ji Tianlin was extremely angry! It was bad enough that he couldn't see his beloved daughter during the winter break, and the employee still dared to let the Ji family's second child in, so he was so angry he fired the employee.

"Xu Mingyue!"

Ji Tianlin was stunned; he never expected that Mingyue would call him!

It can't be a scam, can it?

But the voice really was Mingyue's!

"M-Mingyue?"

"May I ask if you're free?"

"Yes, I am free, of course. Where are you? I'll come right away!"

"The seaside villa—do you know where it is?"

"I know, I'm on my way!"

The employee watched the boss, who a minute earlier had rushed in in a rage, declaring he would work twelve hours without even putting on a coat, and then drove away.

Ji Tianlin traveled at the fastest speed permitted by traffic law to the dock of the seaside villa.

"Mr. Ji?"

"It's me!"

The staff checked Ji Tianlin's credentials, invited him onto the yacht, and then set off for the island.

Sitting on the sea, Ji Tianlin felt an indescribable surge of excitement! He could see Mingyue again! So happy! "Mingyue!"

Ji Tianlin stared foolishly at Xu Mingyue waiting at the dock, "Please come with me!"

Xu Mingyue's calm, indifferent voice gave Ji Tianlin a chill. The last time Mingyue was this cold was when she wanted a divorce; this time, why? Ji Tianlin, heavy‑hearted, followed Xu Mingyue step by step forward. He began to worry—does Mingyue not want him to see his daughter? Then what can he do? He can only see Xu Mingyue's figure through reports in various news media; his daughter is the only motivation that keeps him going! "Please sit!"

Ji Tianlin drooped his head and obediently sat down.

"Mingyue, I don't want to give up Jia Jia. I want to see her. I can't see you, so the only one I can see is Jia Jia!"

Ji Tianlin looked at Xu Mingyue pleadingly.

Xu Mingyue was momentarily stunned; perhaps this time, there was no impossible negotiation? "You can meet, but only during the holiday at the seaside villa."

"Yes! Of course we can!"

Ji Tianlin felt like he had hit the jackpot! He thought he wouldn't be able to see his daughter, but now he could see not only his daughter but also his wife!

"But you must not tell Jia Jia anything about the Ji family, including the fact that she was trafficked; you only need to tell her that the people of the Ji family are not good people!"

Ji Tianlin nodded, "Alright! Jia Jia, did you have a hard life before?"

Xu Mingyue pushed a photo taken by the Su Family from the edge of the table over. Seeing the frail, timid Xu Jia, Ji Tianlin felt heartache!

Every child he had ever seen was stronger and more confident than she was.

"Don't show that expression in front of her. She has already forgotten everything that happened, and I don't want her to recall it, understand?"

If Ji Tianlin doesn't understand, Xu Mingyue doesn't mind overturning what she just said.

"Got it! Whatever you say, I'll do!"

"Also, you must not display Jia Jia's photos in any public area."

Ji Tianlin may take photos, but only lock them where only he can see them.

"She has bodyguards, but if she gets kidnapped, she won't survive!"

Xu Mingyue's status is now high enough to influence a region's development. If Xu Jia's information leaks, there's no guarantee that someone won't use kidnapping Xu Jia as a pretext to force her compliance! "Alright, I will, I always carry my camera!"

Ji Tianlin obediently handed the camera to Xu Mingyue, "The camera is yours; I just want to see you both."

Photos are only a reminder; if I can see the real person, what need is there for photos!

Catching up on previous updates~