Chapter 439 Parental Worries for Their Offspring
Ye Mu En, angered, tapped his sister’s forehead and turned to retort to Zi Yi Sheng.
“Are you going to manage your wife or not? She’s so ill-mannered and disrespectful every day.”
“Heh, your wife isn’t exactly wrong. Big Brother should find someone to marry.”
Ye Sheng Ge soon heard her eldest cousin asking for the young lady’s name, and it was indeed a pleasant one, Luo Xue Li.
The girl beside Luo Xue Li also caught Ye Sheng Ge’s attention – a woman with a somewhat dominant aura, exuding a strong sense of righteousness and presence. She kept scrutinizing Bai Chu Fan with a gaze that suggested she could take him down at any moment.
“Big Brother, Big Brother, what do you think of the girl next to Luo Xue Li? What a good day it is today, seeing two beautiful girls in one day, as if they were prepared especially for you!”
Ye Mu En didn’t even look at the girl his sister was talking about; he was already exasperated. Now that his mother had finally calmed down a bit, his sister had started again.
Bai Chu Fan and Luo Xue Li were getting along better and better. The girl beside Luo Xue Li kept glancing at her watch, and finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“Xue Li, we have to go back, or we’ll miss the bus.”
After speaking, the girl glared at Bai Chu Fan.
“Comrade Luo, you’re not far from where I live. We can take the bus back together. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can come find me at the Bai Rong Brigade.”
“Really? That would be great. You don’t know how many hooligans there are in our brigade. If Wu Jing didn’t protect me, I would have been bullied long ago.”
At this moment, Ye Sheng Ge also hurried over. She wanted to create an opportunity for her eldest cousin.
“Eldest cousin, are you going home?”
Ye Sheng Ge’s appearance made Luo Xue Li and Wu Jing pause for a moment.
“Wow~~, you’re so beautiful! Are you cousins?”
Ye Sheng Ge smiled and extended her hand, determined to make a good first impression.
“Hello, my name is Ye Sheng Ge, Bai Chu Fan’s cousin. This is my husband, Zi Yi Sheng, and this is my eldest brother, Ye Mu En.”
Luo Xue Li felt she was very lucky today to have met so many handsome people.
“Hello, my name is Luo Xue Li, and this is my good friend Wu Jing. Your family is so good-looking. I didn’t expect you to be married so early.”
Wu Jing also extended her hand and shook Ye Sheng Ge’s. The impatience she had shown earlier was gone.
“Are you heading back? It’s perfect, my eldest cousin and Big Brother are going back too, so you can go together. It’s good to have someone to protect you on the way. Right, Big Brother?”
Ye Mu En smiled all the way, but Ye Sheng Ge, who knew him well, knew that her eldest brother now wanted to hit her.
“Heh, yes, I’m going back today. The day after tomorrow, I’ll pick you up on time.”
Ye Sheng Ge wasn't afraid at all; after all, she had a powerful backer now.
The backer also spoke up.
“Big Brother, I’m taking Sheng Ge to the beach in a few days, so don’t come for nothing in the near future.”
“Comrade Ye, aren’t you going back? I thought we could go together.”
Luo Xue Li enjoyed interacting with beautiful people and wished Ye Sheng Ge could go with them so they could chat more on the way.
“I want to play in Spring City for a couple more days. You can come find me at the Bai Rong Brigade later.”
Ye Sheng Ge sighed, thinking Luo Xue Li was truly outgoing. They had only spoken a few sentences, and she already felt familiar. With such a personality, she would surely get along with their maternal aunt.
Ye Sheng Ge subtly nudged Bai Chu Fan, deliberately glancing at her eldest cousin. The message in her eyes was quickly received by Bai Chu Fan.
“Received, I’ll try my best.”
Of course, he would try his best. Ye Mu En was extremely shrewd, and besides, he wouldn’t dare.
“Little Ge’er, don’t be out too long. The elders at home will worry about you.”
“Mhm, I’ll just play for a few days and then go home.”
Ye Mu En reached out and ruffled his sister’s hair.
“If you don’t want Mom and Dad to come looking for you, hurry home. Don’t get yourself snatched away and decide you want to live in Spring City.”
After speaking, Ye Mu En glared at Zi Yi Sheng. Zi Yi Sheng maintained his smile; after all, he would be in charge when they left.
Luo Xue Li kept waving at Ye Sheng Ge, while Wu Jing simply nodded. The four of them left.
Ye Sheng Ge watched their retreating backs and pulled on Zi Yi Sheng’s sleeve.
“Don’t they look good together? Sometimes fate arrives unexpectedly and perfectly.”
“It’s easy for Bai Chu Fan to win over a silly girl like Luo Xue Li, but for Big Brother, it’s a bit difficult. Both Big Brother and that Wu Jing are too rational and too aloof.”
“Your analysis is good. I think my eldest brother has a high probability of remaining single. I’ll have to have more children in the future, otherwise, the pressure of just one child is too great, and I’ll have to take care of their maternal uncle in his old age.”
Hearing this, Zi Yi Sheng wanted to push his brother-in-law out the door even more. He didn’t want his wife to have too many children; one would be enough. It was the couple who had to live their lives, regardless of gender.
As soon as the four of them got into the car, Ye Mu En heard Luo Xue Li chattering incessantly. He looked at Bai Chu Fan, who had a smile on his face, showing no signs of impatience.
The other woman, Wu Jing, was quite similar to him; she said nothing the entire way, just stared out the window blankly.
This was the only time Ye Mu En paid attention to Wu Jing during the journey. He slept the rest of the way until they got off.
“Comrade Bai, you can come visit me if you have time.”
Luo Xue Li looked at Bai Chu Fan shyly, displaying her gentleness and tenderness to the fullest, completely unlike the person who was ready to roll up her sleeves and fight.
Wu Jing almost rolled her eyes in annoyance. In her opinion, both of them were like actors, putting on a show.
“Okay, I’ll come find you another day. You can also come to me if you need anything.”
Wu Jing nodded at Ye Mu En and the other two again, then pulled Luo Xue Li away.
“That’s enough! How can you talk so much to a stranger? You’re practically revealing your father’s name. You have no sense of self-preservation!”
Luo Xue Li was still lost in her dream and didn’t hear what Wu Jing was saying.
“Jing Jing, don’t you think Bai Chu Fan is incredibly handsome? I can’t tell he’s from the countryside at all.”
“Luo Xue Li, wake up. Do you really have feelings for him?”
“I do. It’s the first time in my life I’ve fallen for a man. My father said that opportunities are there for the taking.”
Wu Jing was speechless; she couldn’t control her, nor did she want to.
“Jing Jing, you’ve noticed how good-looking their family is. I really want to see if the entire family looks this good. If I marry Bai Chu Fan, will our children also be beautiful? My father likes beautiful children. If I act first and then report later, and give birth to a beautiful child, my father won’t care about Bai Chu Fan’s status as a country person.”
“You should first consider if Bai Chu Fan is truly interested in you. I don’t think any of those people are simple. They might not be ordinary people even in the countryside.”
Wu Jing’s words brought Luo Xue Li back to reality. Her mouth pouted in a wronged manner.
“Am I that bad? I should be considered alright, shouldn’t I?”
Saying this, Luo Xue Li looked down at her figure and even took out a small mirror from her bag to look at herself.
“It seems I’m a bit ordinary. Looks like I’ll have to use a financial strategy to win over Bai Chu Fan.”
“Tsk~~, didn’t you see the diamond watch on Bai Chu Fan’s wrist? You can only buy that in Ming City, and it costs no less than a thousand yuan. I’d like to ask Comrade Luo, do you have enough money on you to buy a watch?”
Luo Xue Li was on the verge of tears; it was too disheartening.
“I only have a little over two hundred. No, I have to send a telegram to my dad and ask him to increase my allowance!”
“Heh, the four people we met today are all wearing understated but expensive watches. Four of them! This proves that this family is very well-off. Do you think a family in the countryside is like this? Your allowance isn’t even enough for a few meals. It’s better to face reality. I don’t think Bai Chu Fan is particularly interested in you either.”
Wu Jing was actually right about this. Bai Chu Fan had initially approached Luo Xue Li on a whim because of his cousin’s remark. After interacting with her, he just felt that Luo Xue Li was a cute, straightforward, and sincere person. It was quite relaxing to be around her, and she could be a friend.
“Are you really interested in her?”
“No. She’s not suitable as my wife; she’s too naive.”
“Heh, are you playing with a young girl’s feelings? I never realized you were so hypocritical and good at pretending.”
Bai Chu Fan revealed a wicked smile. If saying a few more words counted as playing, then he had ‘played’ with far too many girls in Ming City before.
“Stop pretending to be innocent and kind. If you pity her, go pursue her.”
“No way. She’s not suitable for you, and even less for me. She’s too noisy. If I married her, the house would never be quiet.”
“You see things clearly. We’ll have to go back sooner or later. The Bai family will eventually be handed over to me, so Luo Xue Li isn’t suitable as my wife, but she’d be a good fit for the third or fourth son’s wife.”
“You’re speaking as if they’re going to choose someone from the Bai family.”
Bai Chu Fan suddenly looked at Ye Mu En and scrutinized him from head to toe.
“Is there something wrong with you? You look like a monk. Both girls today are good-looking, yet you didn’t even glance at them. Are you perhaps interested in men?”
“Heh, you guessed right. I like men, so don’t try to set me up with girls anymore.”
Bai Chu Fan carefully observed Ye Mu En’s expression and found him to be serious. He then looked dejected.
“Are you trying to cut off the Ye family’s lineage? Have you considered your aunt and uncle? You, you, I’m going back to tell my aunt to beat you back to normal.”
Ye Mu En rolled his eyes, then slapped Bai Chu Fan. He really had an overactive imagination.
Along the way, Ye Mu En listened to Bai Chu Fan's incessant chatter. In truth, having lived for decades across two lives, how could he not have experienced budding affections? It was just that the person he liked was a fleeting moment, and after that, he no longer thought about it.
The family had been waiting for Bai Chu Fan and the others to return, fearing something had happened to Sheng Ge outside that she was hiding from them.
Bai’s eldest aunt, seeing her son, rushed forward. Her attitude was one of demanding the truth.
“What’s wrong with your sister? Dare to lie to me, and I’ll have you punished by law.”
Ye Mu En watched the scene from a distance; it had nothing to do with him.
Before Bai Chu Fan could speak, Bai’s grandmother smiled kindly and beckoned to him.
“Chu Fan, come tell Grandma, your mother is just impatient.”
Bai Chu Fan sighed. He hadn’t wanted to mention Ling Qiong at home. But now, facing more than a dozen menacing people, he knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand a beating.
“It’s not about my sister. It’s that Ling Qiong has found us.”
“What! How did she know your address? Do you still have feelings for her!”
Bai’s eldest aunt exploded, grabbing her son’s clothes.
“Mom, it wasn’t me. She didn’t know where I was in Spring City either; she just found out and came. She happened to meet Sheng Ge, and seeing our resemblance, she became fixated on Sheng Ge. However, I’ve already sent her away, and I no longer have feelings for her, nor will I get entangled with her again.”
Bai Chu Fan blurted everything out in one breath, driven by an intense will to survive.
“Hmph, I didn’t like her back then either. I don’t know what you saw in that shallow girl with eyes so narrow, with schemes written all over her face, practically dripping with greed.”
Bai Chu Fan dared not reply. Now he was the target of everyone’s criticism; anything he said would be wrong.
“Alas~, back then I thought Chu Fan was still young and unstable, so I didn’t stop him. Now I think about it, it’s fortunate I didn’t give the eldest daughter-in-law’s bracelet to her back then.”
Bai’s grandmother also showed displeasure when mentioning Ling Qiong. Their Bai family chose daughters-in-law based on character, not family background. They were just a wealthy family, not an old clan with deep roots, so they never emphasized “matching families.” Besides, they were already very rich and didn’t seek anything from their daughters-in-law’s families.
“Chu Fan, have you investigated how Ling Qiong found out you were in Spring City? We’ve already moved to such a secluded place. Someone must have deliberately passed the message to Ling Qiong.”
Bai’s eldest uncle was more concerned about this issue. After all, since arriving at the Bai Rong Brigade, their family had been living under the protection of their nephew-in-law, so they hadn’t been involved in many matters. Now that someone was targeting his son, the Bai family couldn’t stand idly by. Even if they didn’t have the same power as their nephew-in-law, they could contribute financially.
“My brother-in-law said he’s here, and he’ll handle everything. As for Ling Qiong, she’s probably under my brother-in-law’s surveillance.”
“Look at you. You’ve really become dull since going to the countryside. You leave everything to your brother-in-law. Will you still rely on Yi Sheng for everything when you return to Ming City? Haven’t you ever thought of learning from him? It’s no wonder our Bai family has only been in business for three generations.”
Bai Chu Fan quickly glanced at Ye Mu En. This guy hadn’t participated either. He was a complete shirker, so why wasn’t he being criticized?
Ye Mu En, with no sense of loyalty, gave Bai Chu Fan a “What’s it to me?” look. It truly wasn’t his business.
“Forget it, forget it. In the future, these young men should learn properly from Mu En and Yi Sheng. They live carefree lives every day, and I’m afraid they’ll squander the Bai family fortune in the future.”
Bai’s grandfather finally spoke. The education in their Bai family had problems; they spoiled their children too much. Although none of them had gone astray, they lacked a sense of responsibility.
“Yes, I’m planning to have a few of them go out and run errands with Yi Sheng’s subordinates, to experience the hardships of society. I don’t expect them to achieve great success, only to be able to guard the family business.”