On the wooden staircase, Tang Xiaowan climbed the stairs to the third floor hand in hand with Leng Lingxiao.
One was excited, the other’s thoughts were a myriad.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Walk faster!"
"Tangtang, why aren’t you worried that Wang Junchen will harm Grandma?" Leng Lingxiao intentionally changed the topic, trying to delay their visit to the study.
If Wang Jinhui’s marriage certificate went smoothly, they should be on their way back now, especially since Chunlei Street isn’t too far away. A quick walk through a shortcut would take at most 20 minutes.
Knowing Wang Jinhui, he would most likely choose to cycle there—romantic and comfortable.
Temples graying, reliving dreams.
Of course, to ensure Tang Mei’s absolute safety, Leng Lingxiao had made preparations the night before. If Wang Junchen dared to make any moves, then his wife Ye Wanhua would surely be affected too.
Tang Mei absolutely could not come to any harm, or else Tang Xiaowan would break down entirely.
Grandma was her emotional pillar.
"Hey, answer me, why?"
"Didn’t you say everything’s on you, that I shouldn’t worry? Besides, Grandma doesn’t have any enemies anymore. When she came back last week..."
Halfway through her sentence, Tang Xiaowan suddenly stopped.
They had now reached the third floor. The corridor was eerily quiet. Tang Xiaowan, biting her lip, tiptoed to open the door to the study—as if she were breaking into her own home stealthily.
The door opened gently, as did her entrance.
"Hey, Grandma’s not here, what play are you putting on?" Leng Lingxiao raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Right, what am I afraid of."
No sooner had she finished speaking than she saw Tang Xiaowan happily move a chair in front of the bookcase and pick up the black recording pen that looked like a keychain.
"Wow, I’m so excited. There must be secrets."
"Grandma didn’t even find out!" Leng Lingxiao joked while putting the chair back where it was.
"Huh? What’s going on, didn’t it come?"
Seeing this, Leng Lingxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief—it seemed that Grandma Tang had already taken care of it.
But his relief was short-lived.
Then he saw Tang Xiaowan touch her nose and run over to sit on the couch, chuckling, "I knew it couldn’t be. So that’s what happened."
"Tangtang, what happened?"
"Shh... Here it is, there’s a sound."
"Relax, it’s just me here; there’s no one else... What’s the rush? Don’t want the ring anymore?... It was indeed taken by you..."
At that moment, Leng Lingxiao’s heart felt as though it was being gripped by something.
But as he listened on, shock took over.
Tang Xiaowan was even more surprised, her face reflecting her astonishment. She had thought Wang Junchen might use her safety to blackmail Grandma to prevent the certificate from being obtained, or propose some sort of deal.
She never expected the recording pen to reveal such explosive secrets.
"Ye Wanhua is actually Yi Xiaodan!"
"The elusive Shen Shiyi was created by Grandma herself—she’s the real boss!"
"Grandma saved Ye Wanhua’s daughter!"
Tang Xiaowan stuffed the recording pen into her purse and looked firmly at Leng Lingxiao, her eyebrows tightly furrowed.
"Tangtang, you’re saying Grandma..." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on ⓝovelFire.net
"Don’t tell anyone else, you and I only," Tang Xiaowan cut him off with a glance at the study door.
Leng Lingxiao had long guessed that Tang Mei’s identity was special, but he didn’t expect her to be the founder. This made many previous events make sense.
The only mystery was his little wife’s background—could there have been an issue with the identification result?
Shen Shiyi’s people were good at hiding, true, but on that day, from beginning to end, nobody else had handled it; they were all trustworthy people.
"Tangtang, are you... okay?" Leng Lingxiao asked with concern once more.
He was afraid she might be thinking of her own origins.
"Oh my God, no, no, pinch me, how could this be? Yi Xiaodan is actually Ye Wanhua, and Shen Shiyi was founded by Grandma?"
Leng Lingxiao didn’t reply but just embraced Tang Xiaowan in his arms and deeply kissed her.
"Huahua, um... what are you doing?"
It wasn’t until Tang Xiaowan was almost out of breath that Leng Lingxiao slowly released her.
That had to be better than just a pinch.
"Tangtang, listen to me," Leng Lingxiao paused, tenderly looking at his Little Wife, "If, I mean if, the baby Grandma was talking about... the one Wang Junchen abandoned treatment for, if it was you, would you resent... your own father?"
"What if I’m Wang Junchen’s daughter? Yi Xiaodan, no, Ye Wanhua is my mom?"
After she spoke, Leng Lingxiao’s face suddenly became complicated, filled with pity, confusion, and anger at Wang Junchen for being unfit as a father.
How could he give up treatment without even investigating, deciding life and death just like that.
"Huahua, you... what’s wrong?"
Leng Lingxiao smiled and took Tang Xiaowan’s hand, gently kissing it.
"Answer me, Tangtang, would you resent him? I mean... would you be upset?"
"Not at all, I would be very happy, at least I have parents now, and they are both alive. The abandonment of treatment before... it was just a misunderstanding, I’m not his child, if he knew, he wouldn’t have given up."
Hearing this, Leng Lingxiao’s eyes moistened and he once again embraced Tang Xiaowan, gently stroking her long hair.
"Right, that’s the correct way to think about it."
"Alas, it’s a pity it’s not true, it’s just an if, but Huahua, why do I feel something’s off, you’re not hiding something from me, are you?"
She had him at a loss for words with just one sentence.
"A man should have some mystery, a little secret is definitely possible, but I promise, it’s nothing messy."
"Grandma told you not to tell, right?" Tang Xiaowan looked at Leng Lingxiao with a serious face.
He was struggling to find an excuse already, and instead of making something up on the spot, he might as well use the one his Little Wife gave — after all, it really was Tang Mei who told him not to say anything.
Leng Lingxiao playfully tapped Tang Xiaowan’s nose and smirked, "Exactly, good that you know."
"Tsk, that’s really it, Grandma..."
Just then, a series of footsteps came from outside, followed by a knock on the door.
"Miss, Sir, the elders have returned, they’re asking you to have some refreshments in the dining room."
"Okay, got it." Tang Xiaowan answered, then looked at Leng Lingxiao thoughtfully, "Let’s not go back to Chicheng tonight, I want... to stay a few more days."
"Then we’ll have to stay at the East Suburb Villa."
"Annoying, are you... fine, okay."
Seeing his Little Wife agree, Leng Lingxiao happily nodded and led her out of the study.
However, on the way downstairs, he also came to realize something — Grandma Tang probably knew about the hidden recorder as of last night.
She intentionally leaked the information to her granddaughter, from Yi Xiaodan changing her name to Ye Wanhua, to the baby being saved, and even to his own founding of Shen Shiyi; all the secrets were deliberately shared.
Wang Junchen was definitely not dead; the worst-case scenario was poisoning, and the relationship between Grandma Tang and him...
Maybe it wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed!
Upon arriving at the dining room and seeing Tang Mei enjoying refreshments and casually drinking tea, Leng Lingxiao became even more certain of his judgment.
Yet, there was still something he couldn’t figure out — why would Tang Mei do this, what was her purpose?
"Wow, Grandpa, looking sharp!"
Tang Xiaowan’s sudden exclamation not only broke Leng Lingxiao’s train of thought but also interrupted Wang Jinhui, who was peeling an orange for Tang Mei.
Her voice was sweet and glutinous.
Being called Grandpa by the young girl used to be pleasing, now it was official.
"Tangtang, dear, come here, come here, come over!"
As he spoke, Wang Jinhui put down the orange with a chuckle and took out two beautifully patterned, red foldable envelopes from his bag.