Chapter 374

Chapter 374

"Qinghe, are things going well for you at the factory?" He Zhifei pedaled the bike while fighting the cold wind, struggling to make conversation with his son.

"Things are going well." Wang Qinghe replied briefly. On a day like this, he didn’t feel like talking about pointless stuff.

Seeing that his son had no intention of continuing the conversation, He Zhifei tried again. "Then… you and Xiuxiu have been in the city for some time now. Why don’t you two move back home? Is there anything you’re missing? If so..."

"We’re not missing anything. With this strong wind, you should really stop talking." Wang Qinghe didn’t want to listen to these useless words. If they rode faster, he could get home sooner to pick up Xiuxiu and get some rest.

He Zhifei realized his son wasn’t interested in talking to him.

He could only feel silently disappointed. The current situation was probably because of his protection of He Youde, which had caused this distance between them.

After all, protecting He Youde meant protecting the Old Wang family.

If the people from the Old Wang family were imprisoned, they would expose He Youde.

It was normal for his son to feel alienated. Originally, he thought that if the estrangement continued, he could slowly let go of his eldest son.

But who would’ve thought it would turn out like this, almost by accident?

Now, giving up wasn’t an option anymore.

He Zhifei’s mind was in turmoil as he prepared to reconsider his next move.

One was quiet, while the other was deep in thought. They didn’t talk much for the rest of the journey.

When they returned to the He family’s house, it was unusually quiet.

As soon as he entered the house, He Zhifei noticed that both He Tian and Huihui were nowhere to be seen. This was quite strange.

In the past, whenever something happened in the family, they would always be sitting in the hall.

They wouldn’t speak, but they’d always be listening in.

How come they weren’t around now?

"You’re back? Quick, take off your coat and have some hot water." Qi Yingying saw her husband and eldest son return, and noticing that neither of them looked unhappy, she guessed that things had probably gone well. Her attitude became even more enthusiastic than before.

"XiuXiu and I have to work tomorrow, so we won’t stay for water." Wang Qinghe declined her offer, his eyes falling on his wife to make sure she hadn’t been crying or upset.

Seeing that his family hadn’t mistreated her, he felt relieved.

"You’re leaving already? It’s quite late; why not stay the night?" He Zhifei frowned. His son was becoming too distant from the family.

"No need." Wang Qinghe declined again.

As he declined, Bai XiuXiu had already gotten up from the sofa, preparing to leave with him.

Realizing they weren’t going to stay, He Zhifei didn’t say anything more. If he pushed further, his son might get annoyed.

Qi Yingying hadn’t thought much about it either and wasn’t really planning to keep them at home.

If they left, she could ask what had happened.

As soon as their eldest son left the house, He Zhifei was already asking a question.

"Why haven't I seen the two children of Youde's family? Those two usually don't retire this early. What's going on?" He Zhifei asked, puzzled.

Qi Yingying didn't expect her husband to ask about the third brother's kids right away, and her anger flared up. "What? Do you think I'd drive them out while you're not home? You don't care about our own kids, but you're all worried about someone else's."

"How could I think that? I just found it strange that they're not around since they're usually here," He Zhifei quickly explained.

"Your dear nephew and niece—as soon as you and our eldest son left, they tried to stir up trouble between He Cheng and the eldest daughter-in-law right in front of her. I sent them back to their room. They didn’t learn anything good from your third brother’s kids, except these bad habits.

They're nothing but trouble! If I didn’t want to argue with you when you got back, I would have kicked them out."

Qi Yingying couldn't say a single good word about He Huihui and He Tian.

He Zhifei was also shocked by what he heard, his brows furrowing tightly. "This... can't be true, can it?"

How could they stir up trouble right in front of the eldest son’s wife?

"Why not? Even if it doesn’t work, as long as they shake He Cheng, they’ve achieved their goal," Qi Yingying said with a cold smile.

Everything they do is aimed at us!

Thinking about his relationship with his eldest son and what his wife just said, He Zhifei lost any hope.

If He Cheng was swayed, even if he said something unpleasant, when the eldest son's wife told him, he'd become more distant from them.

"He Cheng, how did they try to stir up trouble? Did you fall for it? Did you say anything you shouldn’t have to your eldest sister-in-law?"

He Zhifei bombarded He Cheng with questions.

Seeing how angry his father was, He Cheng didn't dare say anything he shouldn't. He obediently recounted what had just happened.

He Zhifei's eyes were sharp, his expression slightly sunk, and his mouth turned down.

He could overlook Huihui; she's always been a schemer. But He Tian... He was the one who raised him. How could he be as short-sighted as Huihui?

How many times had this happened?

Ever since the eldest son came back, He Tian’s behavior had been disappointing him more and more.

He and Yingying had put in so much for He Tian over the years.

Yet over a single watch, He Tian could come up with so many schemes.

Didn’t He Tian know how short-tempered he was?

As his uncle, would he really let He Tian spend such a large amount of money?

Either He Tian still didn’t get him after all these years, or he didn’t trust him.

Or... He Tian knew everything but didn’t want to take any risks.

Scared that if he didn’t pay up, there’d be trouble.

And now, He Tian was stirring up trouble between He Cheng and the two children of Qinghe right in front of them.

All these years of pouring his heart out for He Tian, was it all for nothing? Was it like feeding a wolf?

"Why are you giving them that look? Trying to scare our kids half to death?" Qi Yingying snapped. She couldn't stand how he only dared to be stern with their own family, yet was so kind to Youde's children.

"I didn’t expect He Tian to turn out like this, I was so wrong about him," Zhifei said, defeated.

He Quan had just stepped out of the room to pour himself some tea when he overheard his son say this.

"Zhifei, what has Xiao Tian done to upset you again? Ever since your eldest son returned, you’ve been giving Xiao Tian a hard time ever since. Don’t forget, Xiao Tian is the future of our He family. Even if your eldest son has returned, how could he be as promising as Xiao Tian, whom you’ve watched grow up?

It’s not that I’m playing favorites, but if any of the kids were going to make something of themselves, I wouldn’t have to push you to treat Xiao Tian well.

You... just think about it." He Quan earnestly advised his son.

As for the eldest son taking Wang Qinghe to meet his master today, he didn’t give it a second thought.