"Sister…" Xia Qingyu allowed Xia Qingtian to pull her hand, but found that Xia Qingtian wasn't leading her to the adjacent lounge, but rather descending the stairs. Xia Qingyu pursed her lips and asked softly, "Sister, are you angry with me…"
"A little." Xia Qingtian continued forward.
She had a strange feeling when she heard the sounds from the Tang family's lounge earlier. At this moment, Shen Yao sent her a message, saying that Erya and Xia Qingyu had slipped away and might have secretly followed them. This made Xia Qingtian even more certain that the person speaking in the next room was Xia Qingyu.
That's why she rushed over immediately to snatch Xia Qingyu back.
To say she wasn't angry at all would be impossible. After all, what if Xia Qingyu had encountered some danger?
However, Xia Qingtian also knew that she had been the one to conceal things initially, and Erya had been the one to mislead her. It wasn't unexpected for Xia Qingyu to end up in this situation.
"Sister…" Xia Qingyu drew out her words weakly, "I'm sorry…"
Xia Qingtian didn't respond, directly taking Xia Qingyu to a private resting room at the auction.
She had already asked Gu Yaoyang to speak with Master Lei, and Master Lei had arranged for suitable clothes to be prepared for them to change into.
As Xia Qingtian pushed open the door to the resting room, she saw Erya had already changed and was adjusting her collar.
"Erya? You were found too?" Xia Qingyu asked immediately upon seeing Erya.
"Not really…" Erya tilted her head and said, "I saw my Xia Shang and couldn't control my emotions, so I jumped onto him. You were found, but I threw myself into the net. Besides," Erya added, cradling her face and sighing dreamily, "it's my Xia Shang's net~"
"Uncle Xia Shang is here too?" This was something Xia Qingtian hadn't known.
"Mhm, it seems Miao Tong specifically brought him back," Erya replied. "After all, this matter is of great importance, and the Miao family felt it was better to call Xia Shang as well."
"Is that so…" Xia Qingtian nodded and then urged Xia Qingyu to change her clothes.
"I won't talk to you anymore, my Xia Shang is waiting for me, I'm going to find him now, bye~" Mentioning Xia Shang made Erya's expression light up, and her steps became much quicker.
Seeing Erya like this, the Xia sisters could only shake their heads helplessly.
Fortunately, their uncle was a good and conscientious person. Otherwise, if this silly girl Erya had encountered a cunning scumbag, she might have ended up having to forage for wild vegetables.
If Erya was with Xia Shang now, her safety should be guaranteed. But…
Was Erya truly alright being with the Miao family?
Without time to dwell on it, Xia Qingyu told Xia Qingtian what she had overheard: "How did Nie Qingkong become the Tang family head? He doesn't even have the surname Tang!"
"They say he's a lost descendant of the Tang family, who returned to take the place of the missing Tang family heir," Xia Qingtian said, crossing her arms.
"Do you believe it?" Xia Qingyu raised an eyebrow and reached behind her to unzip her dress.
"What do you think?" Xia Qingtian stepped forward to help Xia Qingyu with the zipper.
"I suspect it's a deliberate scheme," Xia Qingyu said, turning around. "There must be a plot behind this."
"That 'he' is your father," Xia Qingtian said, waving her hand in front of Xia Qingyu's eyes. "Do you remember this matter?"
"I wish I could forget…" Xia Qingyu pursed her lips, then looked up at Xia Qingtian. "Sister, if I say I really hate him, that I wish he were already dead, would you think I'm unfilial?"
"Filial piety is a traditional virtue, and based on what he has done, he cannot even be considered a person in the traditional sense. At a time like this, whether you are filial or not is not that important," Xia Qingtian said, reaching out to tidy Xia Qingyu's hair. "I'm more worried that you hate him because of us. If that's the case, in the end… you might feel very distressed."
Xia Qingyu understood what Xia Qingtian meant. She clasped Xia Qingtian's hands and met her gaze. "Sister, I know you're protecting me, but these are my true feelings. The only person I care about is you."
Xia Qingyu had almost zero memories of Xiang Xueyuan and consequently had no feelings for him. After personally hearing what Aunt Liu had said, she felt only fear and disgust towards Xiang Xueyuan. How dare someone who wanted to burn her to death shamelessly claim to be her father and her family?
Xiang Xueyuan had defiled that title and the existence of "family." The people who had truly given Xia Qingyu the warmth of "family" were Aunt Liu and Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingyu knew she wasn't a saint, nor did she ever want to be a moral guardian. She was just an ordinary person; she had her favorites, she protected her own, and she only wanted to live according to her own will. Xia Qingyu firmly believed that no matter what happened, she would always choose Xia Qingtian.
"Silly girl." Xia Qingtian pulled Xia Qingyu into a hug, then continued, "However, I'm still not over you and Erya following us so rashly today. I'll deal with you when we get back to Z City."
"Uh…"
…
While Xia Qingtian was talking with Xia Qingyu, Gu Yaoyang was also invited by Master Lei to a specially prepared room.
"Thank you, Master Lei, for arranging the room and clothes," Gu Yaoyang said, offering a simple thank you to Master Lei.
"You are honored guests of the Lei family, so it is only right that I do this," Master Lei chuckled. "Before the auction began, it seems you had some unpleasantness with the Gu family."
"It's already resolved," Gu Yaoyang was not surprised that Master Lei knew about it. They were on the Lei family's territory, and the incident had been quite loud, with staff intervening. It would be strange if Master Lei didn't know.
"You've severed ties with the Gu family," Master Lei said, looking at Gu Yaoyang. "When did you find out you weren't a member of the Gu family?"
Hearing Master Lei's question, Gu Yaoyang paused slightly. Judging by the situation, Master Lei seemed very clear about his background.
"There's no need to look at me like that. I was the one who sent you to the Gu family," Master Lei said, hooking his lips. His eyes looked at Gu Yaoyang as if he were lost in thought. "You were so young then…"
"Master Lei?" After a brief moment of shock, Gu Yaoyang immediately understood. He looked at Master Lei and said, "Does Master Lei know who my biological parents are?"
Master Lei nodded. This time, he had called Gu Yaoyang over with no intention of keeping it a secret any longer.
"Then…"
Before Gu Yaoyang could finish his question, he was roughly interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Gu Yaoyang turned his head and saw the head of the Wen family appearing at the doorway with a stern expression, accompanied by a distressed-looking staff member.