Billionaire's Long Journey of Chasing His Love-Chapter 300 - 274: Didn’t She Go to Your Place Yesterday? (Part 2)
Early the next morning, since they needed to drive two hours to return to the capital, Yi Luowa and Tong Airui woke up early.
Yi Weiyang was up even earlier. When he returned from his morning exercise, he noticed that Yi Luowa’s eyes were a bit red and puffy.
"Have you been crying?" Yi Weiyang asked with concern.
Yi Luowa sniffled. "Second Uncle, why is life so exhausting? My Third Brother waited for so many years, but in the end, they have to part ways..."
Yi Weiyang understood immediately. It wasn’t a quarrel between the couple; she was crying over Mi Chenshuo. His expression softened a bit as he sighed and said, "Life never goes entirely smoothly. When you see Chenshuo, try to comfort him well."
"Okay." Yi Luowa nodded.
"You and Airui go eat breakfast first." Yi Weiyang entered the dining room, saw that breakfast was already set out, and motioned for the two of them to eat.
Yi Luowa clearly didn’t have much appetite. She ate a little reluctantly before heading out with Tong Airui.
On the way back, Yi Luowa asked Tong Airui, "Is there really no chance for Third Brother’s situation to turn around?"
Tong Airui shook his head. "The paternity test results are long out—Mianmian isn’t Third Brother’s child. Honestly, even if Mianmian were his child, Su Qing still wouldn’t reconcile with him. It’s just that Third Brother hasn’t completely given up yet."
"Sigh..." Yi Luowa let out a heavy sigh.
Tong Airui reached out and pulled her into his arms. "You’ve been sighing all night, and now you’re still down about it today. Didn’t you see Second Uncle’s face? I bet if I were the one who made you cry, he’d slap me around."
"I just can’t control myself." Yi Luowa leaned weakly against his chest.
"I think this outcome is for the better—for both Third Brother and Su Qing. Even if they were to live together, they wouldn’t find happiness. There are too many issues weighing them down, ones that can’t be unraveled." Tong Airui gently patted her shoulder. "In the future, let’s keep out of family matters a bit more. I can’t bear to see you shed even one tear, yet here you are crying buckets over them. At this rate, I’m worried you’ll worry yourself gray over them."
"It’s not that I have to get involved; it’s just that we happen to be here. How can we stand by and do nothing, especially since we’re family?"
Tong Airui shook his head helplessly. "You’re becoming more like my mom. Back in the day, she worried about my aunties’ and uncles’ matters to no end."
"Once everyone has their own little families and lives are happy, we won’t need to intervene anymore."
"That day will come, when everyone finds their happiness."
Tong Airui dropped Yi Luowa off at school and headed back to Shen Ying. He hadn’t even settled into his seat before Mi Chenshuo called.
Tong Airui chuckled bitterly. Some things you want to avoid, but they’ll still come knocking.
"Fourth Brother, Su Qing left with Mianmian." As soon as he connected the call, Mi Chenshuo’s deep voice came through.
"Did she leave without saying a word?" Tong Airui asked while massaging his temples.
"No, I was the one who sent her away. We talked for a long time last night. I’ve thought it through—loving someone means learning to let go. From now on, I’ll try to help her however I can."
Tong Airui raised an eyebrow slightly. "You say you’ve thought it through, but you haven’t fully let go yet. This will take time to fade. However, the fact that you personally sent her off is a big step forward. Borrowing Su Qing’s words—start anew. Turn the page as soon as possible."
"Yeah, after sending her off, I came straight to the company. I can’t keep going on like this."
Tong Airui chuckled softly. "You’re quite the actor, huh? Knowing the rest of the team is coming back today, you rushed to the company to make an impression."
"They’re coming back? I didn’t know that. If they’re returning, what about Ai Ni? She’s not coming back too, is she?"
"Ai Ni and my Grand Uncle aren’t coming back. I have a hunch that You Jia is planning to marry one and bring the other along."
Mi Chenshuo chuckled and shook his head. "Do you think that when the two of us get old, we’ll turn out like Grand Uncle?"
"If we don’t have daughters, maybe we’ll be fine. If we do, I think I’ll be even worse than Grand Uncle." Tong Airui laughed and said, "If there’s nothing else, let’s hang up. We’ll chat at home tonight."
"Alright."
Tong Airui put down the phone and let out a long sigh as he stared into the void. Life is full of disappointments, but fortunately, except for Third Brother’s rough patch, the rest of the brothers are doing pretty well.
At least, that’s what he thought—until he got home that evening and overheard his mom talking to his wife about Maizekai.
All because of Jimo Shanshan, the two had been cold-shouldering each other for a whole week!
Tong Airui chuckled helplessly. Seriously, where do all these issues come from every single day?
"Honey, Auntie’s matter is really beyond us. Auntie’s temper is only manageable by Mom."
"I wasn’t planning to get involved." Yi Luowa smiled.
Tong Yao pouted. "Me neither. Let her be! It’s her real son—if he chooses to ignore her for life, that’s her problem. Back when Mo Bao wanted to set up this match, she chased after me to say Shanshan’s this and that were unsuitable. Now she stands before me going on about how perfect Shanshan is. She thinks it’s ideal now, but she doesn’t decide Maizekai’s choices—what she says doesn’t even matter."
"Alright, Mom, calm down. Let’s not meddle. Let them resolve it themselves." Tong Airui smiled and patted his mom on the back.
Tong Yao sighed. "It’s not that simple. Maizekai is stubborn. Unless someone persuades him, he might never speak to your Auntie again. Rui’er, Maizekai always relied on you since childhood. Do you think you could talk to him?"
"Mom—I’ve just realized! Not only am I not your biological son, even my brother isn’t!" Tong Aino cut in, then glanced at Tong Airui and said, "You can’t take this on! You don’t even know what Auntie did; once you do, you’ll be angrier than Little Seven."
Tong Airui asked with a laugh, "What did our slightly deranged Auntie do?"
"She tricked Maizekai into coming home, then secretly invited Shanshan over. If that’s all it was, fine, but the infuriating part is this: once Shanshan arrived, Auntie locked the room and went off to sleep soundly. Little Seven and Shanshan were left sitting in the living room, staring at each other all night..."
"Oh no, my stomach hurts..." Before Tong Aino finished speaking, Tong Airui clutched his stomach and sprinted upstairs.
Tong Yao said with exasperation, "These days, asking someone for help is near impossible!"
"What makes you think people are as warm-hearted as you, Mom?" Tong Aino quipped. "You want to figure it out, but even you don’t know how to start, right?"
"Stop irritating me!" Tong Yao glared at her youngest son.
"Alright, alright, I’m leaving already. Don’t get worked up!" Tong Aino grabbed Connie’s hand and winked at Yi Luowa. "Sister-in-law, there’s a car race in T Country. Do you want to join?"
"Of course!" Yi Luowa smiled.
"Then let’s go upstairs and plan it out—we’ll aim to win first and second place."
Yi Luowa nodded with a smile and followed Tong Aino upstairs.
Tong Yao muttered a curse at these crafty brats and reluctantly picked up the phone.
Yi Luowa and the other two hid behind the pillar for a while, watching. Once they saw her pick up the phone, they finally chuckled and headed into Tong Aino’s room.
"Is there really a race?" Yi Luowa asked with a grin.
"Not really. I called you up here to keep Mom from fixating on you. But while T Country doesn’t have a race, we do have an unofficial black-market race in Xiawu."
"The kind where you sign a life-or-death waiver?"
Tong Aino nodded.
"Those races are too dangerous—better not participate." In the past, Yi Luowa wouldn’t have hesitated to join, but after meeting Tong Airui, she felt her courage diminish. She knew that if something were to happen to her, Tong Airui would be heartbroken.
Connie grabbed Tong Aino’s arm upon hearing the danger and said hurriedly, "If it’s risky, you shouldn’t go either."
"This is men’s territory—you shouldn’t interfere, OK?" Tong Aino said sternly.
Connie froze for a moment but, under Yi Luowa’s shocked gaze, stormed forward, pushed Tong Aino onto the sofa, pinned him down, and started pummeling him.
"I give you face when outsiders are around, but now you’re putting on airs even in front of Sister-in-law? Watch me beat you to a pulp!"
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Tong Aino, though being hit, didn’t resist. He just smiled and pleaded for mercy.
Yi Luowa couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. What a turn of events!
"You two enjoy your lovey-dovey antics—I’m going to check on my ’stomachache’ guy." Yi Luowa laughed as she walked out the door.
...
Life passed in a leisurely way. Although Teng Aini wasn’t home, with Yi Luowa and Connie around, Tong Yao didn’t feel lonely.
The day after Connie returned, she and Tong Aino went to the company. Even though moving to a new office location kept things busy, their return made everything run smoothly.
Not long after going back, Su Qing called Mi Chenshuo. She said due to her schedule, she couldn’t take on Mi Chenshuo’s movie project.
Mi Chenshuo had already anticipated this outcome, so he wasn’t too disappointed. He simply replied that the project would be reserved for her, and whenever her schedule allowed, they’d start filming.
Where there were disappointments, there were also gains. Yi Luowa had made significant progress in recent days—she’d completed the blueprint for the amphibious vehicle her uncle requested. She faxed it to Uncle Pu, asking him to manufacture one first to test its performance.
"The day after tomorrow’s the weekend." Tong Airui said, seeing her wrap up her work.
Yi Luowa pouted. "I know. Do you have plans?"
"Muta Dada called—this Saturday, he wants to invite Joyina to dinner at the palace. Although it’s not an official visit, Joyina is still a princess of a country."
"I’ll call her and ask. We both know she doesn’t play by the rules—I’m afraid she might reject Muta Dada outright. By the way, how’s car production going? I haven’t checked in for a week."
"You not being around makes them work faster. Muta Dada’s car just needs the interior finished. Don’t worry about that yet—call Joyina first. Muta Dada’s waiting for confirmation."
Yi Luowa murmured in acknowledgment and picked up the phone to call her Second Uncle.
Yi Weiyang was startled upon hearing Yi Luowa mention Joyina. "Didn’t she go to your place yesterday?"
