Chapter 176: Holding a Grudge
’If the Han Family ever wants to meet my family, I could invite my sister. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t.’
Hearing Xie Changning say this, He Liuzhang finally nodded.
He had been mistaken.
Xie Changning wasn’t the type to let her family be taken advantage of. If her sister took the initiative to come, it would put their family in a very passive position.
The group took their seats.
Chief Han and his wife raised their glasses to He Liuzhang and his wife. "We have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, who knows what would have become of Ashan..." As they spoke, their gazes couldn’t help but fall on Yue Yihan.
The subject of their attention, Yue Yihan, was currently putting food on his wife’s plate.
Once the elders began to eat, Yue Yihan naturally picked up his chopsticks as well.
Everyone was speechless.
Yue Yihan paid no mind to their stares. In his eyes, his wife was the most important thing; nothing else mattered.
Han Jiu, who had already been taught a lesson by him, winced and looked away.
’Seriously, just as expected of a Han Family member. They’re all henpecked. Hmph! In the future, I will absolutely not be a henpecked husband! I’m going to be a real man!’
"Chief, there’s no need to be so formal. I believe that anyone who saw Yihan back then would have brought him home." He Liuzhang didn’t mention that it had been on a battlefield, where anyone they encountered would have been a soldier.
Anyone who saw a child on a battlefield would have taken him away from there.
He Liuzhang wasn’t wrong.
After the polite exchange between the two couples concluded, the meal began.
Throughout the meal, no one said much.
However, there was a certain custom at the table: serving one’s wife. Whether it was He Liuzhang or the Han Family men, they were all putting food on their wives’ plates and taking care of them.
Only the few single young men were left to fend for themselves.
After dinner, no one was in a hurry to leave. Instead, they started to chat.
They spoke of Yue Yihan’s childhood.
As they talked, the conversation drifted to the origin of Yue Yihan’s name.
"Actually, we wanted him to take our surname at the time, but we don’t know why he was so insistent. He had to be surnamed Yue and called Yue Yihan." Back then, Yue Yihan had remembered his own name.
Chief Han’s gaze fell upon Yue Yihan.
"May I ask what you were thinking at the time?"
"...I don’t remember."
After changing his name, Yue Yihan had forgotten everything about his past. If he had to say he remembered anything, it was the one thing he still couldn’t let go of—
The way he saw it, the Han Family had abandoned him. He hadn’t just gotten lost.
Thinking of this, he voiced his thoughts.
The moment the words left his mouth, He Liuzhang couldn’t help but stare at the Han Family members, his eyes filled with shock.
He never seemed to have imagined this was why Yue Yihan had changed his name!
"How could that be?" Chief Han’s wife was stunned. She looked at Yue Yihan with a pained expression. "At the time, we..."
Yue Yihan raised a hand, cutting her off.
He sighed. "To be honest, I don’t remember the details of what happened back then. I only remember this one thing. No matter the reason, to me at that time, it was abandonment."
On a brutal battlefield, they had left a young child like him to stand guard all alone.
Whatever the reason, he had no reason to forgive them.
Chief Han’s wife leaned against her husband’s shoulder, crying sorrowfully. She wanted to explain, but Yue Yihan didn’t need it now.
"I came to see you because Uncle He wanted me to, and my wife thought it was a good idea. That’s the only reason I’m here. It’s not because I have some desperate need to acknowledge my ancestors and return to the family," Yue Yihan said, his gaze sweeping over his brothers and sister.
"So, you don’t have to be so guarded. I’m not interested in anything the Han Family has. To put it bluntly, if there’s something I want, I can get it myself. Of course, I also have a shortcut: my wife."
To him, the Han Family was inconsequential.
The Han Family members didn’t like him, which was just fine. His impression of the Han Family wasn’t very good, either.
Yue Yihan’s words made his siblings feel a pang of guilt. They turned their heads, unwilling to admit to their own selfish desires.
"I know you’re holding a grudge, but we had our reasons back then. I won’t force you to forgive us. I just hope I can see you from time to time..." Chief Han didn’t try to explain.
Given his position and the urgency of the situation at the time, he... he had no choice.
He offered no explanation. The damage was already done, and excuses would be useless. He now felt that Yue Yihan simply being alive was the greatest blessing heaven could bestow upon him.
He didn’t dare ask for more.
Xie Changning remained silent the entire time. The Han Family was large, and the matter itself was rather complex.
The only pleasant part of the dinner was the meal itself. The conversation that followed was heavy.
He Liuzhang could understand the Chief’s choice back then; there must have been an urgent mission that forced his hand. But for Yue Yihan, it had been a devastating blow.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have forgotten everything else but that one event.
The dinner party ended. The Han Family members went to a courtyard they had bought in Chuncheng, Xie Changning returned to the guest house, and Yue Yihan and He Liuzhang went back to the military base.
「In the Han Family’s courtyard」
Han Yuanzhong sat in a chair, sighing. "Dad, Mom, our little brother is still holding a grudge about what happened back then. Why didn’t you explain?"
If they had explained, maybe his brother would have forgiven the Han Family.
The Han Family’s second brother, sitting to the side, let out a cold snort.
"Explain what? That you were the one who caused all the trouble back then, and Dad had to go clean up your mess?"
The second brother’s words made Han Yuanzhong’s face alternate between pale and ashen.
Han Jiu had been annoyed with his second uncle for a long time.
"Second Uncle, what do you mean by that? Don’t you have a share of the credit for what happened back then? Besides, you hardly gave our youngest uncle a warm welcome at this reunion, did you?"
’None of us are saints, so why does everyone have to pretend to be so innocent?’
Han Jiu’s words were blunt, causing his second uncle to shoot to his feet. He pointed a finger at Han Jiu’s nose and roared, "And you’re any better? Weren’t you the one who tried to put him in his place?"
"It just so happens your attempt failed and you got your ass kicked for it."
The Han Family’s second brother sneered.
Listening to the argument, the faces of Chief Han and his wife grew uglier and uglier. Finally, Chief Han bellowed, "Enough! Haven’t you embarrassed yourselves enough?!"
Chief Han let out a heavy breath and rubbed his temples.
"I know all about your petty little schemes. I’m telling you now, you won’t touch a single thing that belongs to Ashan." The Han Family hadn’t raised him for all these years, and they were the ones who had lost him. Naturally, the family had to compensate him.
"All three of you bear responsibility for that incident. I will deduct compensation directly from your assets."
Chief Han’s word was law.
Hearing this, the Han family’s brother-in-law’s expression changed. He spoke to Chief Han, "Dad, that’s not fair!"
Han Yuanzhong and the second brother also fixed their gazes on Chief Han.