Old Master Ji called out to stop him.
"Huaijin, can even an old man like me no longer persuade you to come back?"
Ji Huaijin stood outside the threshold, the glaring sunlight falling over him and making his ink-dark eyes look even deeper.
"Grandfather, you only said you wanted to meet him. You never said you were gathering all these people to put me on trial!"
"You!"
Father Ji opened his mouth to curse, but his red-eyed wife stopped him. "Don't say any more. Our son finally came home."
He'd have been better off not coming back! The disgraceful brat!
Father Ji wanted to shout those words, but under Old Master Ji's piercing gaze, he finally shut his mouth in resentment.
Second Uncle Ji stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over. "All right, all right. We're family. What's there to fight about? Huaijin, come back inside first. We can talk things through."
"Brother, that's enough from you too!"
This time, Mother Ji finally moved, taking two steps forward as she called out in a trembling voice, her eyes swimming with tears. "A-Jin."
She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd last spoken that name. It sounded so unfamiliar now.
Ji Huaijin glanced at her, his expression calm, and remained unmoved.
Cheng Yue looked sideways at him and gently squeezed his palm.
It was almost funny. These relatives hadn't seen him in years and ordinarily begrudged him even the slightest concern, yet the moment he did something they couldn't understand...
These so-called relatives sprang out of nowhere like judges, claiming to love him while doing everything they could to hurt him.
Cheng Yue understood. He knew Ji Huaijin didn't want him to face blame or hostile looks, and he also knew what role Old Master