Song Yulian wailed, sitting on the ground and shouting her innocence.
Cheng You, too annoyed to deal with her, said coldly, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
Cheng Tianhua, abandoning all pretense of shame, grabbed onto Cheng You's bicycle wheel, preventing her from leaving.
"If you don't buy me a house, your brother won't be able to go to university next year. Don't forget, his household registration is still with me!"
Cheng You was infuriated by his shamelessness and gritted her teeth, "He's your son too!"
Her household registration had already been transferred out when she married Qi Chengyan. At the time, she hadn't considered that Cheng Tianhua would treat Cheng Wenyu this way.
Now, it was clear Cheng Tianhua had no heart.
"He's nothing! He's like you, a thankless wretch, he doesn't acknowledge me anymore! If he doesn't acknowledge me, I won't acknowledge him!"
Besides, Song Yulian had given him a son, so he wouldn't be without an heir!
Cheng You sneered and kicked him away.
"Fine. I'll come back in a couple of days and take you to the county town to look at houses!"
Cheng Tianhua insisted, "No, we're going today!"
Cheng You didn't care. "I don't have the money today. It's either in a couple of days, or I won't buy it at all. Cheng Wenyu isn't my son anyway!"
Since Cheng You had finally agreed, Song Yulian, afraid she would go back on her word, quickly said, "Alright, we'll wait two days! Cheng You, if you dare to go back on your word, your brother will never get to go to university in his life! You might not care, but your mother does, right? If you dare to go back on your word, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Cheng You rolled her eyes at her and rode her bicycle away.
On the road, her expression was grim.
Qi Chengyan's leave was only for a few days, and they had originally planned to return after picking up Zhenzhen.
Now...
"Chengyan, why don't you go back first? I want to resolve Cheng Tianhua's matter before leaving."
Qi Chengyan suddenly reached out and flicked her forehead accurately.
"Don't be ridiculous."
This matter was not difficult to resolve.
He asked, "Do you think that child is your father's?"
"No!"
Cheng You wasn't talking nonsense; she was making a reasonable guess.
Song Yulian was not content at home and had relations with more men than just Ye Changfu.
Cheng You had secretly investigated before and found several unfamiliar men she had never met.
However, Cheng You was busy with her college entrance exams at the time and didn't have the time to pursue it.
She had originally thought that once Cheng Wenyu got into university, both she and her brother would be in Yancheng, and they would likely never see Cheng Tianhua again.
She never expected that things would go wrong.
The two arrived at Qili Village, and before they even reached the doorstep, Cheng You called out, "Grandpa!"
The old man was drying herbs in the courtyard. Hearing the voice, he quickly ran out.
"Youyou!"
Cheng You rushed over, "Grandpa, I'm back to see you!"
Seeing Cheng You suddenly, the old man's eyes welled up.
"Why didn't you send a telegram beforehand? You came so suddenly."
Cheng You asked, "Where's Uncle and Aunt?"
"They've all gone to help at the general store. I'll send someone to call them back now."
Only the old man was home, and it was quiet.
Soon, her second uncle and second aunt also arrived.
They mainly wanted to ask Cheng You to inquire about Jiang Wanrou's whereabouts.
No matter how disappointing she was, she was still their daughter, and they couldn't just ignore her.
Cheng You happened to know and told them, "She found Yuan He and is probably staying at Yuan He's place now."
However, Cheng You didn't tell them about Jiang Wanrou's actions, nor did she mention how much of a scoundrel Yuan He was.
Telling them would only make them upset and serve no purpose.
Near noon, Jiang Dingcheng and Liao Hongmei returned.
The family chatted and caught up on recent events.
Hearing that their family's lives were getting better and better, Cheng You felt extremely satisfied.
However, she was pressed for time and had to leave after lunch.
Even though the old man was reluctant, he understood that children grow up and have to fly away.
"Aren't you waiting for Wenyu to finish school?"
Cheng You shook her head, "No, I'll go to the school to find him directly."
Jiang Dingcheng didn't say anything more and sighed, "Yancheng isn't that far from home. Once our general store opens in the city, taking the train will be very convenient. We can see each other in a few hours by train."
Cheng You smiled and waved goodbye to them, "I'll come back often!"
They stayed at Uncle Li's house as usual, and they couldn't leave until Song Yulian's matter was resolved.
Zhou Yunru, upon hearing what Cheng You said, was furious.
"Doesn't she have Cheng Tao? Why doesn't she ask Cheng Tao to buy it for her? How dare she threaten you!"
She was truly shameless!
Cheng You, on the contrary, comforted her, "It's okay. Since she's being unreasonable, I might as well settle this matter today before I leave."
This time, Song Yulian would never be able to rise again.
Zhou Yunru, however, felt a bit worried. After all, holding onto someone's household registration was no small matter.
Going to university was a lifelong affair.
But she clearly underestimated Qi Chengyan.
Without Cheng You lifting a finger, Song Yulian's illicit relationships with several men were exposed.
Although the policies had relaxed considerably, certain areas were beginning to crack down again.
They were very strict about relationships between men and women, and Song Yulian had run afoul of this.
This incident was like dropping a bomb on a calm surface, catching Song Yulian completely off guard.
She didn't even have time to look after her child before being taken away by the police.
Later, everyone discovered that the issue of moral conduct in relationships was just the tip of the iceberg.
The men and women who were taken away started to betray each other, and eventually, the cause of death of Song Yulian's first husband was revealed.
Everyone thought Yang Lao Er had died of illness, but after investigation, it was discovered that Song Yulian was involved!
The old Yang family members were furious and spared no effort, using all their connections to ensure she received a severe sentence.
Facing such a situation, even without a firing squad, Song Yulian would never be released.
As for Cheng Tianhua, he stared at the child in his hands in utter confusion.
The more he looked, the less he resembled himself.
But what could he do?
This child was like a hot potato, too dangerous to keep, too difficult to discard.
He dared not abandon her, so he could only accept his fate.
However, in his heart, his only biological children were Cheng Wenyu and Cheng You.
He no longer dared to use Cheng Wenyu's household registration to control him.
He knew very well that Song Yulian's situation was not unrelated to Cheng You.
He beat his chest and stamped his feet, regretting his past actions, wishing he had strangled Cheng You to death at birth!
Upon learning of Song Yulian's scandalous exposure, Cheng Tao and Zhao Yunlin fled Yongcheng overnight.
Watching Song Yulian go to prison, Cheng You and Qi Chengyan didn't have time to wait for her sentencing.
After going to the school to find Cheng Wenyu several times and giving him some instructions, they prepared to depart for Yancheng.
This hurried trip back and forth left Cheng You feeling somewhat weary.
"Let's return to the village less often from now on. Once or twice a year should be enough."
Once Jiang Dingcheng and the others moved to the county town, she wouldn't need to return to the village.
Even seeing Cheng Tianhua felt troublesome.
Qi Chengyan pulled her head into his embrace, "I'll do whatever you say."