Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Seeing him come alone, Old Zhuang's face showed a faint trace of disappointment, but quickly exchanged it for a kind smile.

"Sorry, Yan Chuan is still not willing to see you for now, so I'm here on his behalf today."

After taking a seat, Song Nian explained and proactively apologized.

"Because I have to prioritize Yan Chuan's feelings, I had to ask you to leave that day, and I hope you understand why."

As a younger generation, asking Old Zhuang to leave his own home was actually quite rude, but given the situation at the time, if he hadn't been asked to leave, there was no telling whether Li Yanchuan might lose control.

Compared to etiquette, Li Yanchuan's feelings naturally came first.

But Old Zhuang waved his hand, not taking the matter to heart, and even a hint of gratification appeared on his face.

He was gratified that Song Nian cared so much about Li Yanchuan.

"I'm also sorry that I didn't deliberately hide it from you back then."

At their first meeting, as a precaution, Old Zhuang had introduced himself as Zhang.

Song Nian shook his head, indicating he didn't mind.

"If what I'm about to say offends you, I apologize in advance, but I'm definitely on Yan Chuan's side. His opinion of you... well, it's not very good..."

He paused and hinted tactfully.

"Ah, I know that child still doesn't like me, so he keeps refusing to see me or contact me."

Hearing this, Old Zhuang let out a heavy sigh, lost in memories, his expression full of sorrow.

"But I don't understand why he hates me so much."

Did he really not know?

Song Nian pressed his lips together, but out of politeness, he only complained in silence.

But when he heard the next sentence, he was completely stunned.

"And all these years, no matter how many calls I made, he never answered."

Old Zhuang sighed mournfully.

"Wait, what did you say?"

Catching that key phrase, Song Nian was shocked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Li Yanchuan refused to see Old Zhuang? And wouldn't answer his calls?

How was this the exact opposite of what Li Yanchuan had told me?

"I said, all these years I've been trying to contact Yan Chuan, but he wouldn't see me."

Not understanding why his expression suddenly turned serious, Old Zhuang was also slightly startled and repeated his words.

"Impossible. Yan Chuan told me that you were the one who refused to contact him. He even waited for a whole day when he was three years old, but you never came."

"What?!"

This time, it was Old Zhuang's turn to be stunned, showing shock.

"How is that possible? Didn't he refuse to see me..."

He couldn't believe it, muttering to himself in a daze as if weighing the truth of his words. Then, in an instant, he understood.

Putting together what Song Nian said, it was like a fog lifting, revealing the many inconsistencies in the past and connecting the dots.

In an instant, he slammed the teacup onto the table, the porcelain base letting out a sharp crack. He didn't even notice the spilled tea soaking his sleeve.

If you looked closely, you could see Old Zhuang's hand trembling slightly.

Then, taking a deep breath, he solemnly recounted the past to Song Nian.

From his story, Song Nian learned that because he had lost touch with his daughter Zhang Zhuangyan, combined with Li Yi's deliberate concealment, it wasn't until several years later that Old Master Zhuang abroad learned of the existence of his grandson Li Yanchuan.

Especially after learning that the mistress who had moved into the house was also pregnant, he feared that Li Yanchuan would be mistreated, so he immediately rushed back to China with his men.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Yi put on a facade of being a good son-in-law and father. But the moment Old Zhuang saw Li Yanchuan, he knew the boy was not living well.

Because a happy child wouldn't have that look of silence beyond their age on their face.

Looking at his taciturn grandson, Old Zhuang immediately decided to take him abroad to raise him personally.

But Li Yi was evasive about the proposal, dodging the topic with vague responses, yet dared not openly refuse out of deference to the old man.

But Old Zhuang wasn't afraid of him. He was determined to take Li Yanchuan away and declared to him he would leave in a week.

The reason he didn't leave immediately was that he still needed to handle the paperwork for Li Yanchuan to go abroad, and he also needed to spend some time with the child to develop a bond.

Otherwise, taking such a young child to a completely unfamiliar environment would make him lonely and hard to adapt.

As the departure approached, Old Zhuang had steeled himself for a confrontation. But unexpectedly, Li Yi seemed to have changed his mind and didn't forcefully stop him.

He just said that if Li Yanchuan himself was willing to leave, he would have no objection.

So Old Zhuang specifically booked a flight departing in the evening, agreeing to pick up the child at five in the afternoon, have dinner together at a restaurant, and then head to the airport.

But who would have thought? On that day, not only did he not see Li Yanchuan at the agreed place, but when he called Li Yi, he only got the answer that the child didn't want to talk to him.

To prove the truth of his words, Li Yi deliberately put the phone to Li Yanchuan's ear.

The long silence on the other end chilled Old Zhuang's heart.

Recalling the joy on the child's face when they were together, he vaguely felt something was wrong. He planned to cancel the flight, but then learned that there were important matters at the company that required his personal presence.

Caught in a dilemma, he had to board the plane first, planning to return to China to resolve the matter after handling the company affairs.

But who could have predicted that this departure would result in him being unable to enter the country for several years?

Because the day after Old Zhuang landed, the domestic branch of the Zhuang family company was reported for illegal fundraising and unfair competition, and got involved in several extremely complex economic cases.

If he returned amid such a storm, he would likely be taken away by the authorities as soon as he landed.

Although the Zhuang family's primary market was overseas at the time, they still had a small branch in China. It was only after this criminal incident that they decided to completely withdraw from the domestic market.

It wasn't until several years later that the truth came to light, and the Zhuang family was cleared.

During those years when he couldn't return to China, Old Zhuang tried to call Li Yanchuan, but all attempts were in vain.

Finally, he had to face the fact that Li Yanchuan didn't like him, and gave up the idea of taking him away.

It wasn't until he learned about the car accident and the forced marriage that Old Master Zhuang could no longer sit still. Ignoring how the man felt about him, he insisted on returning to China to give Li Yi a good lesson.

—He had always looked down on people like Li Yi, which was why he had opposed his daughter's marriage to him in the first place.

After returning to China, in order to avoid Li Yi's watchful eyes, Old Master Zhuang had to find a way to meet privately.

But because Li Yanchuan had deliberately withheld his information, and he lacked connections in China to track down a specific address, he searched through the vast sea of faces but never found him.

Earlier, during that storm of public opinion when Li Yanchuan first took office at the subsidiary, the reversal was so swift—in truth, partly thanks to his behind-the-scenes support.

Although he couldn't meet him in person for now, he could still lend a hand from afar as an elder.

Knowing that the person betrothed to Li Yanchuan was an actor, Old Master Zhuang took a chance and went to a film studio.

Perhaps it was fate, for there he met Song Nian.

However, influenced by the makeup and costume of the crew, the old man hesitated for a moment, unsure whether this Song Nian was just a namesake or the person he was looking for.

It was only when the man took out the necklace that he realized.

"It was only after seeing that necklace that I realized who you are. I didn't deliberately use you to get close to Yan Chuan."

Recognizing his daughter's necklace at a glance, Old Zhuang's expression darkened, a trace of sorrow flashing across his face.

Hearing this, Song Nian fell into a long silence.

Because this version of the narrative was drastically different from what Li Yanchuan had experienced, making it hard to judge who was telling the truth and who wasn't.

Deep down, he naturally believed Li Yanchuan.

But the sadness Old Zhuang revealed didn't seem feigned either.

If that was the case, the only one who could have caused trouble between them

was that scumbag Li Yi!

If he had secretly manipulated things back then, preventing Old Zhuang from taking Li Yanchuan away and deliberately creating misunderstandings and conflict between them, then everything would make sense.

With this thought, Song Nian paused and briefly recounted what Li Yanchuan had told him.

They exchanged a knowing glance, both pinpointing the culprit.

Because, as the bridge of communication between the two, Li Yi only needed a bit of manipulation to cause a time gap.

—Setting the meeting time with Old Zhuang in the afternoon but deliberately telling Yan Chuan it was at eight in the morning would make young Li Yanchuan wait a whole day for nothing. After persuading him to leave, the old man would also find no one there, thus creating their first misunderstanding.

It was easy to guess that all the communication problems later were also his doing.

As for why he did this, without a doubt, it was to save face.

Because bringing a new woman into the house so soon after his wife's death was already shameful enough. If, while the new wife was pregnant, the Zhuang family took back his eldest son, it would be an implicit admission of guilt toward his late wife.

For a company director, this would be a serious scandal that could even cause the stock price to fall.

Therefore, without openly opposing Old Zhuang, Li Yi chose this shady method to drive a wedge between them.

"This bastard! He's gone too far!"

With everything explained clearly, Old Zhuang trembled with rage, dying to rush over and give that heartless bastard a piece of his mind.

"But Old Master, these are just our speculations. I can't even be sure of the truth in your account. I'll relay everything to Yan Chuan, but the final decision is his."

Song Nian didn't jump to conclusions, nor would he forgive anyone on Li Yanchuan's behalf.

Old Zhuang nodded in understanding and then said:

"You can have Yan Chuan look into what happened with the Zhuang family's domestic business back then. Also, I'll bring over the documents I prepared for his study abroad arrangements at that time."

Although those documents had never been put to use, he could never bring himself to throw them away. He kept them safe, hoping they might come in handy someday.

"Alright, I'll pass that on. Whether he's willing to meet you is up to him."

After the heavy topic was set aside, Old Zhuang suddenly looked straight at Song Nian, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Seeing this, Song Nian instinctively touched his face; finding nothing on it, he couldn't help asking:

"What are you smiling at?"

"You care a lot about Yan Chuan. Even if he still refuses to see me, knowing you're by his side puts my mind at ease."

Old Zhuang smiled and took a sip of tea.

"He's lucky to have met you."

Caught off guard by the compliment—delivered so solemnly—Song Nian's face flushed. He awkwardly lowered his head and also took a sip of tea.

The bitter taste spread across his lips and teeth, then the aftertaste emerged, tinged with a hint of sweetness.

After bidding farewell to Old Master Zhuang, he didn't leave the private room immediately. Instead, he turned and sat back down in his chair.

Then he pulled out his phone from his pocket, its screen still lit.

On the bright screen was a call that had been going for two hours.

The person on the other end was none other than Li Yanchuan.

From the moment he stepped into the private room, he had dialed the number, streaming the whole conversation to the person on the other end.

Because even though Li Yanchuan didn't want to meet face to face, he really wanted to know what Old Zhuang would say, so Song Nian had come up with this idea.

"Honey, what do you think about all that?" he asked.

"I'll have my assistant look into what happened back then."

After a moment of silence, Li Yanchuan replied in a low, flat voice.

Song Nian agreed and said he'd be ready to help if needed.

But the man on the other end didn't continue that topic. Instead, he asked:

"When are you coming back?"

His voice was hoarse and vulnerable, like a traveler freezing in the snow, desperate for warmth.

"I'm heading back now. Should be about half an hour."

Upon hearing this, Song Nian bolted upright and dashed outside.

"Alright, I'll wait for you at home."

After hanging up the phone, Li Yanchuan frowned, rubbing his temples as he looked at the quiet, empty home.

The sudden influx of overwhelming information was hard for him to digest, weighing on his already overloaded mind, making his temples throb dully.

He wasn't sure if what Elder Zhuang said was true, but he knew one thing was certain: that statement was right.

He knew he was genuinely lucky to have met Song Nian.