A beautiful summer night

The public opinion had a huge impact, and Liang Jing was portrayed as someone who was disliked by everyone, so he hadn't gone to work for several days in a row.

A few days later, the transfer order came down, approving Liang Jing's application for a transfer.

Yunli knew about this because Yun Meilan told her.

He said he ran into Liang's parents at the mall. They wanted to come and apologize, but they were too embarrassed to do so. After explaining and apologizing, they told Yun Meilan that their family was about to leave Beicheng and return to their hometown.

"It's good that she's gone. Let's pretend this never happened." Yun Meilan liked to talk about things at the dinner table, and Yun Li didn't respond, just listened quietly to her.

Upon hearing this, Yunli paused slightly in her act of picking up food, and couldn't help but smile bitterly to herself.

How can we pretend it never happened?

Yunli felt a chill in her heart.

She once threatened to kill herself to force her to be with Liang Jing, but now she can say so casually that she should pretend nothing happened.

She never mentioned the grievances Yunli had suffered.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Women are sensitive, and Yun Meilan felt she had already been humble enough, yet she was still dissatisfied with Yun Li's coldness towards her. "Are you still resentful of me?"

"What am I supposed to say? Not a single word you've said is what I want to hear." Yunli lost her appetite, put down her chopsticks, and stood up.

Yun Meilan slammed her hand on the table: "I think you've been led astray by others!"

"It's not that others have led me astray, it's just that I've always been this way, you just didn't know it." Yun Li had already figured it out a long time ago. Yun Meilan cherishes her life, so how could she really seek death?

Yunli acted too obediently and cared too much about her, which allowed Yunli to take advantage of her soft heart time and time again and do whatever she wanted.

She knew Yunli was susceptible to this.

Yunli used to fall for this approach.

After all, she was her only mother.

Once a person has a clear understanding of things, they've shed their burdens, and no matter how big the problem is, it's not a big deal.

Yunli just wants to be herself now.

She wants to be free.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, I'm with the person I like now, the rich fifth or sixth generation I told you about last time." Yun Li suddenly turned around halfway and said to Yun Meilan in an announcement tone, "His name is Jiang Baichuan, and he's my boyfriend."

After saying that, she went inside without waiting for Yun Meilan's reaction.

What other reaction could there be? They would just smash the house to pieces.

-

Winter Solstice arrived in the blink of an eye, and the temperature in the northern city had dropped below zero. It was Saturday, and Xie Tan didn't have to go to school. He informed the Xie family patriarch that he was going to Lanting Villa to celebrate the festival with Xie Qiyan.

The New Year is just around the corner after the Winter Solstice. Thinking that today is the Winter Solstice, the old man was planning to have Xie Qiyan bring Xia Wanzhi back for dinner, but he didn't expect that the young people already had their own arrangements.

"Tell your brother to bring Wanzi back for a meal when he has time," the old man specifically instructed Xie Tan.

Although he knew that his grandson didn't care about him as an elder, he valued Wanzi and hoped that they could get married soon.

Xie Tan was in a hurry to leave, so he replied casually, "I know, Grandpa, I will pass it on."

Watching the little girl's hurried departure, the old man sighed silently.

As people get older, they feel increasingly lonely.

He has many children and grandchildren, but what good are they if few in the family are truly sincere? Even their private conversations are hypocritical.

The eldest son was unconscious, the eldest daughter-in-law was mentally unstable, and the others resented him for calling the eldest grandson back and for handing Xie over to an illegitimate son.

But if he hadn't broken up Xie Tianqi and Yao Qin back then, Xie Qiyan wouldn't have been considered an illegitimate child.

Xie Tianqi insisted on being with Yao Qin and even severed ties with his family for her sake. Old Master Xie was furious and was already planning to give up on his eldest son, but five years later Xie Tianqi returned.

Upon returning, he kowtowed and admitted that he had acted impulsively back then, saying that he was willing to fulfill his marriage agreement with the Hou family.

Not long after he returned, he got his marriage certificate with Hou Mengqiu.

He couldn't possibly be unaware that the two of them had been having an affair for some time.

But then what about Yao Qin back then?

Later, when Yao Qin came to his door, he learned that Xie Tianqi and Yao Qin had a son.

Yao Qin came to Xie Tianqi to demand an explanation. She was heartbroken and wanted to leave after learning that Xie Tianqi had gotten married.

However, the old man could not allow the Xie family's descendants to be left to wander outside, so he had a talk with Yao Qin and asked her to leave her five-year-old son in the Xie family. He promised that the Xie family would carefully raise Xie Qiyan and ensure that they would not prevent the mother and son from seeing each other.

But Yao Qin disappeared after leaving Xie Qiyan behind.

No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find it.

Looking back on this past event, and thinking about Xie Tianqi and Hou Mengqiu now, and Hou Mengqiu's son who may not even be of Xie family blood...

The old man closed his eyes in deep sorrow.

The real culprit is him.

He had promised to carefully nurture Xie Qiyan, but from the moment Xie Qiyan moved into the Xie family, he was filled with hostility towards everyone in the Xie family.

The old man couldn't get close to him, and the rest of the Xie family didn't like him either. Having no other choice, he sent him abroad for training.

But once they arrived abroad...

The old man's eyes were slightly moist.

It wasn't until Xie Qiyan went to university that he realized how difficult his life had been abroad, so he started to make it up to him from then on.

The reasons for bringing Xie Qiyan back to take over the Xie family business were threefold: first, we knew he had the ability from the British branch; second, we felt guilty; and third, we learned about Xie Qiyan's relationship with the York family by chance.

He always had selfish motives.

In order to prevent the Xie family from being ruined in this generation, he chose Xie Qiyan.

As it turned out, his choice of Xie Qiyan was the right one.

When Xie Tan arrived at Lanting Villa, he relayed the old man's words to Xie Qiyan. Xie Qiyan was making dumplings and didn't even look up, only replying softly, "We'll talk about it when we have time."

Xia Wanzhi glanced at him a few more times: "Didn't you used to like taking me home for meals?"

Before they got together, he always used the old man as an excuse to take her back home, but now that they're together, he hasn't mentioned the old man at all.

Xie Qiyan didn't hide anything: "It's just a little trick."

Yun Li, who was standing to the side, chimed in and glared at Jiang Baichuan.

Jiang Baichuan smiled innocently: "What does this have to do with me?"

Yunli scoffed, "Scheming."

Men are all the same; they don't know what they're thinking when they're trying to create opportunities.

Xia Wanzhi pursed her lips slightly, a strange heat rising on her cheeks.

Looking back now, it turns out that Xie Qiyan had feelings for her back then.

Xia Wanzhi tried to make several dumplings, but they all fell apart. Compared to the others, her dumplings were simply unsightly, so she gave up.

Xie Qiyan told her to go and rest, and Jiang Baichuan, seeing this, also took off Yunli's apron without permission: "You should go and rest too."

As Yunli was being pushed out, she turned back to protest, "It's not like I don't know how to make dumplings..."

"You just have fun, leave the rest to me and President Xie." Jiang Baichuan pushed her to sit on the sofa before he stopped, while Xia Wanzhi watched with amusement.

After everyone left, Xia Wanzhi nudged Yun Li's shoulder and whispered, "Officially confirmed, she's a caring person, someone I can marry."

Yunli gave her a reproachful look: "You're teasing me now, aren't you?"

Xia Wanzhi laughed: "Look, your face is all red."

As she spoke, she reached out to touch Yunli's face. Yunli grabbed her hand and dodged, and the two wrestled together, their laughter echoing into the kitchen.

Xie Tan said with a hint of resentment, "Didn't anyone tell me to go and rest too? I'm still a child."

The two tall men only then noticed Xie Tan, who was quietly joining in the fun of making dumplings: "..."

Xie Qiyan coughed lightly: "You should go out too, you're in the way."

Xie Tan secretly spat at him, washed her hands, and slipped out to watch TV.

Today is the Winter Solstice. Eating dumplings is just a pretense; eating dog food is the real purpose.