Billionaire's Long Journey of Chasing His Love-Chapter 437 - 381: The Sun Rises from the West (Part 2)
Tong Yao was naturally overjoyed to see her son and daughter-in-law back home. She glanced at one, then the other, and said with a smile, "You’ve been away so long, but you haven’t lost weight. Looks like being together has its perks."
"It’s mostly because your daughter-in-law takes such good care of me." Tong Airui placed both hands on his mom’s shoulders and took a look at her. "Mom, why do you look thinner? Don’t tell me it’s because you’ve been missing us."
Tong Yao shot a glance at Long Che, who was sitting beside her. "Of course I’ve been missing you two, but it’s not to the point of losing weight. It’s mostly because of a certain someone. You’ve been gone, and for as long as you’ve been away, he’s been stirring things up. Who could stand that?"
Long Che coughed lightly. "Luowa, I hear your sister Tingting’s planning to use you as a hostage to threaten Airui?"
Tong Yao glared at him. She’d barely brought up the topic, and he was already interrupting!
Yi Luowa pouted. "Dad, you know about this too?"
Long Che chuckled. "I was chatting with your Uncle Leng a couple of days ago, and he mentioned it. He even praised you, saying that you and Airui are the only ones who could make Tingting suffer losses."
"Did the sun rise in the west today?" Tong Aino, having just walked into the room, saw his dad smiling and taunted fearlessly as he stepped closer.
Long Che’s leg twitched slightly, but ultimately, he held back. "Go somewhere cool and stay there. Just seeing you makes my eyes hurt!"
Tong Aino pursed his lips. "My brother and sister-in-law are the perfect remedy for your eye pain."
Long Che shot him a glare.
Tong Yao quickly pulled her youngest son over to her side. "Can’t you say a few words less? The more he dislikes you, the closer you crowd him!"
Tong Aino looked bitterly at Tong Airui. "Brother, sister-in-law, you two should stay at home for a few days this time, or else Dad might kick me and Connie out too."
Tong Airui laughed and asked, "What do you mean by ’too’?"
"Haven’t you noticed there’s no one left at home?" Tong Aino glanced at his dad. "Dad’s been losing his temper every single day. Aunt and Uncle have moved back home with Youyou, Grandpa and Grandma went to care for Shanshan at Uncle Qi’s place, and Aunt Ni Lu was taken away by Uncle Jack."
If the conversation continued in this vein, Tong Airui’s dad would definitely blow up, so Yi Luowa immediately interjected, "Where’s Connie? Why are you back on your own?"
"She went to pick up some medicine with Qing’er. She’ll be back soon."
Yi Luowa froze. "Connie’s sick?"
"Not sick. She’s just trying to stay on Father’s good side and have a baby. Connie’s been drinking traditional medicine for over half a month now." Tong Aino sighed. "Whenever Connie passes by me, I catch a whiff of that herbal smell. Just the scent makes me uncomfortable. I have no idea how she manages to drink it!"
Yi Luowa blinked a few times, deciding not to respond to Tong Aino’s rant. Clearly, he’d been stifled at home these last few days.
Yi Luowa beamed at Long Che. "Dad, I’ve been out for almost a month without touching a chess piece. My hands are itching—how about a game or two with me?"
Long Che smiled and nodded. "Perfect timing. My hands have been itching too. You’ve been gone for over a month, and I haven’t touched a chess piece either. Tong Aino, bring the board."
Tong Aino pursed his lips. "I’ll send the chessboard to the study. You and my sister-in-law can play there while I chat with my brother."
Long Che was about to glare again when Yi Luowa quickly smiled and said, "Dad, it’s quieter for chess in the study. Let’s go there."
Long Che’s mouth twitched as he gave Tong Aino an annoyed look, then got up and headed toward the study.
Yi Luowa stifled a giggle and followed him into the study.
As soon as the father-daughter duo left, Tong Yao frowned.
Tong Airui quickly sat beside his mom and asked quietly, "Mom, has Dad been losing his temper with you?"
"He wouldn’t dare!" These two words were full of spirit, but in the next moment, Tong Yao sighed. "Honestly, I’d rather he lose his temper at me. It hurts more when he complains about others. Everyone’s been driven away, and now it’s just Nuo’er and his wife left, and your dad is still giving them the cold shoulder!"
"Third Brother and Joyina left too? Aren’t they afraid Joyina and Youyou will fight again if they live together?"
"Your third brother and Joyina went to Beidi." Tong Yao smiled. "The only comfort is that Joyina and Youyou are getting on well now."
"A little more maturity never hurts." Tong Airui hugged his mom’s shoulder and swayed her gently. "Mom, don’t worry. Luowa will definitely cheer Dad up."
Tong Yao patted her son’s hand. "Ah... These past few days, I’ve just been waiting for you two to come back. Now that you’re back, it feels like the sun’s finally shining on our home again."
Tong Airui grinned. "Actually, Mom, Dad acts this way because you spoil him! If you scold him a bit when he’s throwing a tantrum, he’d calm down."
"Sure, he’d be calm for a moment, but as soon as I turn around, he’d start up again. Since Shanshan got pregnant, he’s been a ball of discomfort. Only when Connie has a baby will he truly settle down."
"Dad’s like a big kid. He’s spent half his life competing with Aunt Xixi, and now that he’s lost this round, it’s bothering him." Tong Airui shook his head helplessly. "Mom, call everyone up and tell them the ’storm warning’ is canceled. Let’s all have a meal together."
"Alright." Tong Yao grabbed the phone, dialed a number, then turned to her son. "Xuanxuan isn’t back yet?"
"He went back to the base to handle some things. He’ll be back tomorrow."
Tong Yao paused, frowning slightly. "What’s he handling?"
"I’ve reassigned him to work by my side. Xuanxuan’s grown a lot more mature, so I want to train him for a few years."
Tong Yao smiled warmly. "That’s a good idea. Staying close to you means he’ll have more chances to come home."
Tong Airui nodded. "That’s part of the plan."
After receiving Tong Yao’s call and hearing that Tong Airui and Yi Luowa had returned, everyone gradually came back home.
With the house bustling again, Long Che was coaxed into a better mood by Yi Luowa, and the family returned to their usual harmony.
Ever since that chess match, Long Che stopped pestering Tong Aino about having a baby.
Tong Aino was pretty grateful to Yi Luowa for that—at least for a few days. But then things flipped.
Why? Because not long after Yi Luowa returned, she formed a racing team under Shen Ying. In their debut competition, her team completely crushed Tong Aino’s Royal Academy team.
Tong Aino was utterly depressed. Losing to his sister-in-law was one thing, but his team losing during one-on-one PK matches was a total wipeout. He felt like he’d lost all dignity!
Since then, every time Yi Luowa came home, he would look at her disdainfully through his nose. Not even bribery worked to cheer him up.
"How about joining my team? At least you’d be guaranteed to hold onto second place." When money didn’t work, Yi Luowa resorted to trying to sway his thoughts.
"No way!" Tong Aino huffed indignantly.
"Suit yourself!" Tong Airui, growing tired of it, barked at him from the sidelines, "Stop being so dramatic!"
Tong Aino pursed his lips. "I don’t believe I’ll keep losing! Wait for the next race and watch me turn things around!"
"The next race is less than twenty days away, so you better work hard!" Yi Luowa smirked, placing her bank card on the coffee table. "I’m leaving this card here. If you’re not afraid of Connie taking it, then don’t touch it."
Tong Aino turned away, refusing to look at either the money or Yi Luowa.
"Sister-in-law, Shanshan’s resting today. Shall we go visit her?" Connie called from the second-floor corridor.
"Sure. Come down, and we’ll head over now." Yi Luowa waved at her.
As soon as Connie started downstairs, Tong Aino quickly snatched the bank card from the coffee table and stuffed it into his pocket.
Tong Airui glanced at him and smirked slightly. For a grown man to end up like this—what a sight!
Funny thing was, Connie indulged Tong Aino in practically everything, except when it came to money. Tong Aino, for all his arrogance, was strangely obedient about finances.
Once his wife and Connie left, Tong Airui turned to his brother with a look of sympathy. "If you’re short on cash, just let me know."
"Who said I’m short on cash?" Tong Aino huffed. "A grand president of Zhuoyuan like me has no problem with money!"
Tong Airui rubbed his temples. "Fine! You keep playing tough. My wife and I are moving back to the estate tomorrow. Don’t expect us to have your back anymore. The moment we leave, Dad will start yelling at you!"
Tong Aino shot up from the couch. "What! You’re settled in here—why move?"
"These past few days, your sister-in-law’s been waking up before six every morning. She’s completely exhausted—sitting down, she could fall asleep."
"My sister-in-law has been unusually drowsy. Yesterday, she was watching TV and started snoring midway." Tong Aino glanced at Tong Airui. "Brother, not to sound critical, but you could ease up for a day or two and let her get some proper rest."
Tong Airui raised his brows slightly. "Do you think I’m you? I’ve been going to bed with her before ten every night."
"What’s wrong with me?" Tong Aino asked defensively.
Tong Airui’s mouth twitched. "Do you know what that Chinese doctor Mom found for Connie said?"
"What did he say?"
