Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Over the past two days, Jiang Yiyan had been in frequent contact with her father, Jiang Cheng, at least making a video call every day to greet him. She didn't say much; after a brief greeting with Jiang Cheng, she would simply point the phone's camera at her daughter, allowing her to interact with her grandfather.

In the past, the original body rarely returned to her parents' home, and when she did, the atmosphere would become tense. Naturally, Meimei was affected by this as well.

Previously, Meimei didn't like her grandfather and disliked visiting his home.

But things were different now. Whenever she visited her grandfather's home with her mother or made video calls with him, she was always happy. As a result, she enjoyed interacting with her grandfather more and more.

"Grandpa, look at the picture I drew," Meimei would actively share some aspects of her daily life with Jiang Cheng. Of course, she felt proud of herself and sought praise.

Since Jiang Xu wasn't married and didn't have children yet, Meimei was Jiang Cheng's only grandchild. Therefore, he genuinely liked spending time with her.

In front of his granddaughter, he never hesitated to lavish praise upon her.

"Is this a picture you drew, Meimei?" Jiang Cheng truly believed it was good and, fearing he might not see it clearly, quickly put on his reading glasses. "Let Grandpa take a closer look."

Feeling immensely proud, Meimei carefully found the perfect position and held her masterpiece right in front of the camera. Concerned that holding it too close might make it hard for her grandfather to see, she deliberately moved the paper slightly further away.

After ensuring everything was perfect, she asked, "Grandpa, can you see it clearly now?"

Jiang Cheng wasn't being insincere; he genuinely admired her work.

"You're amazing, Meimei. You're really talented," Jiang Cheng said proudly. "If we keep learning, you'll grow up to be a great artist."

Meimei giggled but didn't forget to praise her mother. "Mommy is even better at drawing."

Jiang Cheng never expected his daughter to have any artistic talent, so he took Meimei's comment about her mother being better as a child's admiration for her mom and didn't think much of it.

He simply agreed, "Both you and your mom are great."

Meimei was polite and understood the principle of reciprocity. If someone praised her, she felt obligated to return the compliment.

Therefore, in response to her grandfather's praise, she immediately reciprocated: "Grandpa is also great, and Grandpa is wonderful."

Basking in the joy of family, Jiang Cheng's face lit up like a flower.

Cai Wenqing sat quietly nearby, watching the harmonious interaction between grandfather and granddaughter.

After the video call ended, Cai Wenqing brought over freshly brewed tea.

Still immersed in the familial bliss, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but praise Meimei in front of his wife. "Meimei is such a smart and clever girl, just like her mother when she was young."

Cai Wenqing listened calmly, but the smile on her face became increasingly stiff, almost faltering.

It hadn't taken long for Jiang Yiyan to completely change her image in front of her father. From the beginning, Cai Wenqing knew that Jiang Yiyan could easily win her father's favor if she just changed her temper and showed a bit of weakness. This way, she could obtain what Shu Yao had to work hard for.

Before, Cai Wenqing had underestimated Jiang Yiyan, thinking that due to her stubbornness and unresolved feelings about her mother's death, she would never forgive her father.

However, she didn't expect that Jiang Yiyan's so-called integrity, self-respect, and pride were nothing more than that.

Cai Wenqing made an effort to adjust her emotions and joined Jiang Cheng in praising Meimei.

"Meimei is indeed well-behaved, all thanks to Yiyan's upbringing." When saying this, Cai Wenqing secretly observed Jiang Cheng's expression.

This statement, coming from her mouth, certainly had implications about Jiang Yiyan. She wanted to gauge Jiang Cheng's reaction to such an untruthful remark.

The current Jiang Yiyan had changed, but why she suddenly changed and how long it would last remained unknown. However, the old Jiang Yiyan, who was unreasonable, troublesome, and malicious, was something everyone had witnessed.

If he had a clear understanding, he wouldn't believe that this was genuine praise for his daughter.

However, regarding Jiang Yiyan, Jiang Cheng didn't think as complicatedly as Cai Wenqing. In his heart, no matter how poor his daughter had been before, as long as she had changed now, she was still a good child.

Thus, he naturally interpreted his wife's words as praise for their daughter.

Jiang Cheng continued to praise his daughter, recalling events from her childhood.

"When Yiyan was Meimei's age, she was even cuter and more likable. But later…" After her mother passed away, she seemed like a different person.

In Jiang Cheng's mind, his daughter was never a spiteful person; she was always like she was now.

However, in front of Cai Wenqing, Jiang Cheng didn't want to mention his late wife, so he ended the topic appropriately.

"Now everything is fine. Yao Yao has returned to the country, and Yiyan has grown up and become more sensible. Everything has returned to normal."

Having been by Jiang Cheng's side for many years, Cai Wenqing had spent all her efforts observing and pleasing him. Realizing he didn't want to discuss the past, she tactfully changed the subject.

"Today, Yao Yao mentioned that there seems to be a class reunion planned at their university. The class president insisted on organizing an event since Yao Yao has returned. Yao Yao feels a bit embarrassed, causing others such inconvenience for her sake." Cai Wenqing smiled. "She politely declined, but the class president persisted, saying they were excited. Moreover, the former classmates in the class are all willing to participate, seemingly very enthusiastic."

Regarding Shu Yao, Jiang Cheng didn't hesitate to shower her with praise.

"A smart and sensible girl like Yao Yao must have good relationships with others." He added, "She attended a prestigious university, which most people can't enter. Those who entered through proper channels were all top students. Now, five or six years after graduation, many of these classmates should have achieved some success. Yao Yao isn't too young, but she's not too old either. Perhaps… this is an opportunity?"

Cai Wenqing's expression changed instantly.

What did he mean? Was he suggesting that Yao Yao choose a marriage partner from among her classmates?

A university ranked second nationally like Shenzhen University attracted students with excellent credentials. However, even with impressive backgrounds, weren't they just ordinary workers after graduating? Each one of them earned a fixed salary, and they might even need loans to buy a house.

Was he suggesting that Yao Yao endure hardship with her future partner to pay off a mortgage?

Even if there were classmates from wealthy families, like Wen Mochuan, weren't they already taken?

Five years ago, Cai Wenqing had inquired and learned that apart from Wen Mochuan, the rest of their university class consisted of students from humble backgrounds. Not only those from remote areas or small towns, but even those from middle-class families with a scholarly background were few and far between.

And even if some of these better-off individuals hadn't been snatched up during their school years, they would have been claimed soon after entering society.

Five years from now, what treasure will her daughter find?

Cai Wenqing finally lost some of her composure.

She couldn't argue with Jiang Cheng, so she could only smile and brush it off: "Yaoyao, although she's twenty-seven, is quite innocent. I don't think she's considered this issue at this stage. This class reunion, she probably just wants to see her old classmates, nothing more."

Jiang Cheng also said, "Now that she's back, broadening her social circle isn't bad. As for matters of the heart, it all depends on fate. When the right time comes, things will naturally fall into place."

Cai Wenqing nodded, saying that she thought the same.

But in Cai Wenqing's heart, she was actually unconvinced. When it came to the events of that time, even if her own daughter had long since let them go, she still recalled them vividly. Were it not for Jiang Yiyan, Yaoyao would have been Wen Mochuan's wife by now.

But Jiang Cheng? He was ultimately biased towards his own daughter, attributing everything to "fate."

In his heart, Yaoyao could never replace Jiang Yiyan's position.

.

The class reunion was scheduled for the weekend, and the location was a farmstead in the outskirts of Shenzhen.

The farmstead was run by a friend of Xu Yan's, who had kindly lent it out for the occasion.

The group chat mentioned that family members were welcome, but didn't say anything about children. Wen Mochuan didn't want to be the exception, so he had discussed it with his daughter early on.

Although Meimei felt a little disappointed, because her father had explained the reasons to her, she reluctantly accepted it.

They weren't planning to stay overnight, so they'd likely return after dinner, probably around ten or eleven o'clock.

Xu Yan mentioned in the group chat that his friend's farmstead raised chickens, ducks, geese, and fish, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables grown in greenhouses. If anyone was interested, they could come early in the morning and enjoy a countryside meal for lunch, treating it like a weekend picnic.

If not interested, they could arrive in the afternoon. The main event was the banquet, and as long as they made it in time for that, it would be fine.

For the past few days, due to the class reunion, Wen Mochuan had temporarily disabled the "do not disturb" function for this group chat. Therefore, any activity in the group reached Wen Mochuan immediately.

After seeing Xu Yan's recent message in the group, Wen Mochuan first sought his wife's opinion.

He directly copied and pasted Xu Yan's words from the group chat into his conversation with Jiang Yiyan, then sent it to her with the question: "Interested?"

It was the weekend tomorrow, and since they were leaving tomorrow, Meimei successfully stayed over at her mother's tonight, which she had negotiated as part of an exchange.

To make up for her daughter as much as possible, Jiang Yiyan personally washed her daughter's hair and bathed her today. After making her clean and fragrant, she wrapped her in a towel when the phone on the washstand rang.

Glancing at it, she saw it was a message from Wen Mochuan, but Jiang Yiyan didn't pay attention to it yet. She continued helping her daughter put on her nightgown and gently dried her hair before coaxing her to bed and then checking the message from Wen Mochuan.

If it were spring or autumn, and with her own friends, Jiang Yiyan might have considered it. But in this scorching heat of summer, who would have the mood to pick fruits and vegetables at a countryside restaurant.

Besides, these were Wen Mochuan's classmates, not hers. Why would she join in the fun?

So Jiang Yiyan didn't even consider it and directly replied with two words: "Nope."

She followed up with an explanation: "It's too hot, I'm really not interested."

Wen Mochuan understood, quickly typing his response: "Alright, then we won't go."

He respected her choice. If she was interested, he would accompany her, which would require calling the driver to pick them up early tomorrow. Since she wasn't interested, they would stick to the original plan, and there was no need to make that call.