Parents

Gu Ze stayed with Ye Qing the entire time, and whenever they went out, he went with the Ye Family.

Only then did he learn that Ye Qing had two older brothers. The eldest, Ye Ci, seemed somewhat inarticulate, and the two of them merely exchanged a simple greeting. As for the second brother, Ye Chen, he might have known about the fact that Gu Ze had been deceived.

Because of this first impression, Gu Ze subconsciously formed a certain opinion, but Ye Chen was much more talkative than Ye Ci.

In fact, while Gu Ze was observing the Ye Family, they were observing him as well, because of what Ye Qing had just said.

They also had no idea what Ye Qing was thinking. Did he simply appreciate the man's good looks, or had he taken a fancy to him?

Ye Mother was even more anxious. This was her good friend's son. If something uncontrollable happened, it would be difficult for her to handle.

Ye Qing knew nothing about his family's thoughts. He walked side by side with Gu Ze, discussing what had happened that day.

Ye Qing said to Gu Ze excitedly, "Look, isn't there going to be a good show?"

"Was I right?"

Gu Ze turned his head slightly to look at the young man beside him. The cold weather had made the tip of his nose slightly red, and perhaps the excitement from earlier had not yet faded. His eyes were as bright as daylight, and the young man's tone was far too cheerful. For some reason, Gu Ze felt that he wanted to be praised.

Next to Ye Qing, Gu Ze looked gentler as well. Beneath the cool night sky, Gu Ze looked at Ye Qing and said warmly, "Mm, you were absolutely right."

Ye Qing failed to notice the subtle atmosphere between them and simply laughed foolishly.

The several members of the Ye Family following behind them thought, Why are we following them from behind? We look so foolish.

Up ahead, Ye Qing received a phone call. Sister Li's voice came through the phone, sounding weak and listless. "Xiaoqing, can you come to my place? I can't get out right now."

Ye Qing's expression changed, and he agreed without hesitation. "Sister Li, wait for me."

It must be those parents causing trouble again.

The people beside him thought, What happened this time?

Ye Qing looked at the people beside him. "Dad, Mom, Sister Li might have run into some trouble. I need to go check on her."

Ye Mother immediately asked worriedly, "What kind of trouble? Is it serious?"

They knew about Ye Qing's manager as well. She treated Ye Qing very well and was an honest, straightforward person.

"I don't know. I have to go see for myself."

"It's already rather late, and it isn't safe for you to go alone. Why don't we go with you?" Ye Chen was the one who spoke.

The entire Ye Family agreed with this suggestion. Although they also wanted to see what had happened, they were more concerned about Ye Qing's safety.

"Brother Gu, you..."

"There are already so many people going. Surely it won't hurt to add me to the group."

It was true that there was no harm, but Ye Qing was also worried about inconveniencing Gu Ze. However, seeing Gu Ze's determined expression, Ye Qing still agreed.

Thus, the group that had just left the banquet hurried together to Sister Li's home.

When Ye Qing had reminded her, Sister Li had not taken it seriously. But by coincidence, she passed a bank that day, and Ye Qing's words came back to her.

For some reason, she walked inside and checked her balance.

As soon as she checked, she discovered that there was one hundred thousand yuan missing from her account. She had given all her bank cards to her parents.

Her parents had always said they were afraid she would stop supporting them in the future. To reassure them, she had chosen to give them her cards. But what was going on now?

Sister Li hurried home. At that moment, she had not thought too much about it. She only wanted to know where the money had gone. After all, she usually gave the two elderly people some money as well, and there should have been more than enough for their basic living expenses.

As soon as she entered, the two elderly people in the house happened to be preparing for bed. When they saw Sister Li return, they immediately fussed over her.

"Dad, Mom, why is there one hundred thousand yuan missing from my account?"

The two elderly people froze. Li Xiao's mother was the first to react. "What one hundred thousand yuan? Don't you keep your own money yourself?"

"But I gave this card to you a long time ago. This is the money I was going to use to buy a house."

"We really don't know anything about it!"

"Then I can only call the police."

The two elderly people panicked, especially Li Xiao's mother, who immediately launched into a furious tirade. "What do you mean, call the police? Can't your own parents take a little money?"

"So you really were the ones who took it? But you already have enough for your living expenses. What exactly did you take it for?"

Li Xiao's parents fell silent in guilt. After a moment, her father slowly spoke. "Xiaoxiao, you know your younger brother is about to graduate."

"Jobs are hard to find these days. After your younger brother graduates, he still has to take the civil service exam. If that delays him for a year or two, he'll be nearly old enough to marry. But how can he get married without a house?"

"So you took my money to buy him a house?" Li Xiao stared at her parents in disbelief. She had always known that her parents favored her younger brother, but this mindset had always been common in her village. Besides, her parents had supported her through high school, so she had felt that they were already good parents.

She had been able to turn a blind eye to their favoritism toward her younger brother in the past. She was already content with that kind of life. But now they had gone and done this.

Although Li Xiao was upset, she still understood what mattered. She looked at her parents. "My younger brother is about to graduate. After he graduates, I won't give him any more money. If he wants something, he can earn it himself."

"Besides, Mom, that money was earned through my own hard work. I was going to use it to buy a house for myself."

"I've supported him through university, which is already more than enough. Give me the money back. From now on, I'll give you money every month."

"Listen to yourself. What's wrong with supporting your younger brother?" Li Xiao's mother shouted.

"Once you get married, we'll still have to rely on your younger brother to support us. You're just providing for us in advance."

"Besides, what does a girl need a house for?"

"Fine. If you want your younger brother to support you, you can tell him yourselves. And don't live here anymore."

"Impossible. I won't return this money to you. Since you already know, we won't hide it from you anymore. We'll withdraw all of it tomorrow and use it to buy your younger brother a house." Li Xiao's father made the decision.

"Impossible. I'll decide how to use my own money."

"If my younger brother found out about this, he definitely wouldn't agree either." Li Xiao still had great faith in her younger brother. They had always been close, so he definitely would not agree to this.

"Your younger brother knows," Li Xiao's mother said.

"What?"

"He was the one who told us. Now, can you hand it over? Your younger brother agrees to this too."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if our whole family could be happy?"

At that moment, Li Xiao felt as if the entire world had betrayed her. She no longer wanted to argue. "I'm leaving now. Get the money back to me, or we'll meet at the police station."

But she had not expected her parents to go so far. They actually grabbed her and locked her in the room.

"We'll withdraw the money tomorrow. Stay in there and reflect on what you've done." Li Xiao's mother's voice came from outside the door.

Inside the room, Li Xiao shed tears.