Chapter 65: Finally Discovered

Ye Qingxu had heard about what happened during the day from Jiang Xiaoyu last night. He was still worried that the kid wouldn’t be able to get over it, so he was surprised the next day to see the kid acting like nothing had happened.

How could he see through the past? Jiang Xiaoyu had gone through this kind of thing far too many times. He couldn’t change those scumbags, and he knew that if he only wallowed in pain, he’d lose more chances to save little strays like Little Stray. He could only adjust his mood and face the next little stray that needed his help.

Even so, seeing Jiang Xiaoyu acting this way still worried Ye Qingxu. After all, the time he’d found the child was too short, and his understanding of Jiang Xiaoyu might not be as deep as Ye Lian’s. He gave a wry smile, pulled out his phone without further hesitation, and dialed Ye Lian’s number.

Ye Lian hadn’t gone to the company today. Upon receiving the call, he invited Ye Qingxu to the Ye Residence. It just so happened that Aunt Qing had recently knitted some sweaters for little cats and dogs to wear over the winter. When she saw Ye Qingxu, she handed them to him to take back for Jiang Xiaoyu to use.

Ye Qingxu touched the colorful knitted sweaters and, looking at the burly and tall Liu Qingqing, sincerely praised, “Your hands are truly skilled.”

“Anyway, I’m just idling around with nothing to do. Your place has a yard full of cats and dogs—take them back for them to wear over the winter.”

Ye Qingxu smiled with pursed lips. Ye Lian took a sip of tea, lowered his gaze, and thought to himself: From this angle, he looks the most similar, but he doesn’t have the little guy’s cute demeanor. He found his own mindset amusing after thinking that—why was everything he saw now making him compare it to Jiang Xiaoyu?

After Aunt Qing left, Ye Qingxu carefully put away the sweaters and said, “I’d like to ask about Little Yu. He should have told you about yesterday’s incident, right?”

Seeing Ye Lian nod, Ye Qingxu continued, “He seems fine now, but I’m a bit worried. This child has a habit of bottling up a lot of things in his heart…”

Ye Lian set his teacup on the table and smiled. “I think you don’t need to worry so much. Little Yu is much stronger than you imagine.” If not, how could he have grown into such a kind adult after enduring such misfortune over those long years?

Perhaps they all thought Jiang Xiaoyu was reclusive, awkward, hard to approach, and too disconnected from society, but Ye Lian felt he was so good—like a person full of love, who had barely received any love during his sorrowful days yet still became someone who could give love.

Ye Qingxu was silent for a long time, rubbing his palms on his thighs a few times. “If, if he had better circumstances, would it be easier for him when these things happen?”

Ye Lian asked, “Are you talking about his mother?”

Ye Qingxu nodded with pursed lips. “If Little Yu acknowledges his… mother, he’d have a stronger background. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so upset when these things happen.”

Ye Lian slightly narrowed his eyes, quietly observing Ye Qingxu before saying after a long while, “I don’t think so—if you’re referring to the abuse of stray animals. Sorry if my words are harsh, but this is something unavoidable and impossible to eradicate. Even if anti-animal cruelty laws are passed someday, there will still be people who do it. Humans even kill their own kind, let alone looking down on the weak and small.”

Ye Lian picked up his teacup and took a sip while pressing the lid. “On the contrary, I think if Little Yu’s mother truly loves him, a mother’s significance far outweighs whatever powerful background you’re talking about.” He couldn’t quite understand Ye Qingxu’s current dilemma. If it was just about background, he was confident he could give Jiang Xiaoyu a strong backing, but the roles of parents were something he could never provide, no matter what.

Ye Qingxu had his own difficulties he couldn’t voice to outsiders—that Jiang Xiaoyu had come out of his belly.

“Ever since Little Yu acknowledged you, he’s probably been looking forward to his mother too.”

Ye Qingxu knew that full well, but his heart ached like it was being cut by knives. He didn’t know how to broach the subject with Jiang Xiaoyu. Jiang Xiaoyu already knew he’d come out of his belly, making him equivalent to his mother. But how was he supposed to tell him about the other father?

Seeing his pained expression, Ye Lian had some thoughts. He lowered his gaze, fiddled with the teacup lid, skimming off the tea foam bit by bit. “Have you noticed the thing with Little Yu’s tail?”

Ye Qingxu came back to his senses. “Tail? Little Yu’s tail is short—isn’t that a Kirin Tail?” He knew almost nothing about cats. The first time he’d seen Jiang Xiaoyu’s tail, out of curiosity he’d searched online and learned there was a type of cat with a Kirin Tail, which came in various forms.

Hearing this, Ye Lian’s expression turned somewhat cold. “That uneven break isn’t natural.”

Ye Qingxu straightened up, his face darkening. “What does that mean?”

“Jiang Xiaoyu’s tail was clipped off by his nominal mother, Jia Muqin.” Ye Lian casually lifted his eyelids to look at Ye Qingxu. “So I suggest, if his mother is still a decent person, let her know about Little Yu. After all, no amount of compensation is too much for the suffering that little guy has endured.”

It felt like his heart was viciously yanked, a tearing pain surging through Ye Qingxu’s entire body. He could hardly believe it—those scum had dared to treat his child like that. He’d seen Jiang Xiaoyu’s background check and knew he’d been abused as a child, but the report glossed over it in one line, hiding such bloody facts behind it.

Ye Qingxu’s hands unconsciously clenched tight, his knuckles turning white from the force. He forcibly suppressed the pain in his chest, steadied his breathing, and said word by word, “Thank you for telling me these things.”

Ye Lian glanced at him slightly, feeling a bit dissatisfied inside. This guy was too slow and indecisive. After all this time, he still hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Jiang Xiaoyu’s tail, and he hadn’t even sued those two scum yet. If not for worrying that reaching too far would make Jiang Xiaoyu resent him, he’d have handled it for him long ago.

“If you need a lawyer, Ye Corporation has a team that can assist you.”

Ye Qingxu barely managed a smile at the corner of his mouth and finally asked, “May I ask what all this is for? Are you planning a serious romantic relationship with Jiang Xiaoyu?” Ye Qingxu wasn’t a little fool like Jiang Xiaoyu who thought it was just because Ye Lian was a good person. For someone of Ye Lian’s class, doing things without benefit? He didn’t buy it.

Ye Lian smiled faintly without answering directly. “I do have an irrepressible fondness for Little Yu, but I’m not planning to confess right now. I also hope you won’t point it out or interfere in our relationship—even if you’re his father. Only healthy people deserve to date. I still need to wait a while.”

Ye Qingxu’s face already looked unpleasant at his words, feeling both humiliated by Ye Lian’s dominance and angry at what he said. What did he mean only healthy people deserve to date? Where was Little Yu unhealthy?

But before he could question it, he heard Ye Lian say, “Please don’t misunderstand—the unhealthy one is me, so I’m working to correct it. When the time is right, I’ll confess to Little Yu myself.” He had a clear self-awareness; how could his playboy mentality count as healthy? Love couldn’t cure illness—he had to sort out his own issues first before he could seriously pursue a relationship with Jiang Xiaoyu.

—

Jiang Fenghua had a guess in her heart and was restlessly waiting for news. Even as midnight approached, she still held the old cat and refused to sleep.

The old servants were starting to tire out and persuaded her, “Madam, why don’t you take the master to rest first? Waiting tomorrow is the same. You can’t ruin your health like this. Or let me keep watch—if there’s news, I’ll call you right away.”

Jiang Fenghua used a handkerchief to wipe the corner of Wan Qianli’s eye. “How could I sleep? Just thinking that I might really have a grandson makes me want to fly over and see him immediately!”

A-Cui sighed, praying in her heart that the child really was the one—otherwise, the old madam would be heartbroken beyond repair.

The clock ticked away in the dead quiet when a phone rang. Jiang Fenghua reached for her phone but hesitated to pick up.

Her hand lifted and lowered several times. Only when the ringing was about to stop did she finally press to answer as if steeling herself. She held her breath without speaking, hearing the other side say, “Old Madam, it feels like a sure thing. Ye Qingxu’s son didn’t show up, but he’s holding a cat that’s practically carved from the same mold as the old master! I was too far to hear clearly, but I vaguely caught him saying something like ‘daddy’ to the cat.”

Tears nearly fell from Jiang Fenghua’s eyes. Trembling, she said, “Do you have photos? Quick, send them to me to see!”

“Yes, yes, sending them right now.”

The photos took only a few seconds to transmit, but to Jiang Fenghua, it felt like half a lifetime. She opened them and looked closely.

In the night, the figures of Ye Qingxu and the little cat weren’t very clear, but that black curly fur looked just like the old cat beside her no matter how she saw it.

She beckoned to the servant nearby. “A-Cui, A-Cui, take a look—isn’t it just like Qianli?”

A-Cui was also excited, holding the phone. “It really is! I’ve never seen this kind of curly fur on any other cat around!”

Jiang Fenghua stood up, pacing back and forth in place, crying and laughing. “No mistake—how could there be such a coincidence? It’s all fate. He is my grandson! A-Da, go investigate more carefully. Get all his information as soon as possible—what he likes, what he doesn’t, everything, report it all to me!”

The person on the phone agreed. Jiang Fenghua hung up, slumped over the table, and sobbed. “Heaven has still pitied me after all, not letting me truly die without descendants.”

A-Cui was also wiping away tears. These years following behind the Old Madam, she had seen the regret in her heart—eating vegetarian meals and chanting Buddha, only hoping for slightly better days. “Don’t be too heartbroken. The top priority right now is the little young master, and things with Mr. Ye. They’ve acknowledged the child, and the child is one they gave birth to themselves. No matter what, we have to coax them properly. Otherwise, how can the child accept it?”

Jiang Fenghua nodded and stood up. “Right, right. You go—use your phone to call that unfilial son! He won’t pick up my calls!”

A-Cui hurriedly agreed. The two of them anxiously rushed off, not noticing that Old Cat Wan Qianli had opened his somewhat turbid eyes. He stared at the Little Black Cat on the phone and let out a hoarse meow: “Baby…”

—

It was already the early hours of the morning when Wan Keyao received Auntie Cui’s call. He’d drunk quite a bit, his head splitting with pain as he picked up the phone. “Auntie Cui? What’s up?”

But the voice on the other end wasn’t Auntie Cui’s—it was Jiang Fenghua’s. “A-Yao, let me ask you: have you had any contact with Ye Qingxu’s child?”

Wan Keyao was already irritated, and he rubbed his temple even harder upon hearing this. “Seen him a couple times. What about it?”

Jiang Fenghua’s voice was thick with tears. “How did I give birth to such a dim-witted unfilial son! Your son was right in front of you, and you couldn’t even recognize him!”

Wan Keyao grabbed the painkillers from the nightstand and swallowed another one. “Did you drink too much, or did I? What nonsense are you spouting?”

Jiang Fenghua didn’t beat around the bush. “That child of Ye Qingxu’s is your son!”

“Ha?” Wan Keyao didn’t buy it. “Jiang Xiaoyu and Ye Qingxu look like they were carved from the same mold. How could he be my son? Besides, all these years, aside from him, I haven’t been with anyone else. Where would a son even come from? You want a grandson so badly you’ve gone senile?”

Wan Keyao let out a cold laugh. “Unless Ye Qingxu can give birth, you can give up on that dream of holding a grandson.” Right after saying that, he suddenly froze. Those words Ye Qingxu had said fiercely resurfaced in his mind, hammering away at his brain like a mallet. He muttered, “Ye Qingxu… can give birth?”

Jiang Fenghua sighed, then cried and cursed. “How did I give birth to such a blockhead! I made a promise with Little Ye, so I can’t tell you. But after all these years, how could you not figure it out yourself? Little Ye was pregnant back then. I thought the child had died, but…” There were too many past mistakes. She had no desire to defend herself, only hoping she could properly make it up to that father and son pair in the future.

Wan Keyao said in a daze, “But Ye Qingxu’s a man, isn’t he?”

Jiang Fenghua cursed. “You and your thick skull! Your dad can turn into a cat—who says men can’t give birth?!”

The Old Madam was a standard Southerner; her scolding voice was thin and her dialect hard to understand, but it shocked Wan Keyao wide awake.

Suddenly, all the events of the past seemed to have reasonable explanations—Ye Qingxu’s resolute farewell, the twenty-two-year-old son. Everything made sense now. As he listened to Jiang Fenghua chattering on the phone about buying this and that for the child, he sat stunned for a moment. Then, like a fool, he burst out laughing. “Heh, I have a child with Ye Qingxu!”