"Why would my father make you do something you don't like?" Mengyao asked in surprise. "I'll go talk to him tomorrow and tell him not to meddle in our affairs."
"Good wife, please don't say anything to your parents about this. I've already promised your father to take over a pharmaceutical factory under the Huangfu Group, which will create an integrated production and sales system with my own company."
Mengyao asked, "But do you really want to do this integration and expand your company's scale?"
"I'm almost home. I'll tell you in person when I get back."
"Alright."
Seeing that he was returning, Mengyao wanted to pull herself together and wait for him downstairs, but she felt a bit tired and sleepy.
She yawned, but still changed her clothes, left the room, and went to the hall, waiting for him near the door.
At that moment, someone pushed the door open. She thought it was Jiaxi returning and hurried to greet him, only to see that it wasn't Jiaxi.
She hadn't met this man since coming to the Hong family. She asked, "Who are you, and who are you looking for?"
Mengyao saw that the man in front of her was quite handsome, about the same height as Jiaxi, but a bit plumper.
"This is my home. You are... Jiaxi's wife?" The man sized her up and said with certainty, "The eldest daughter of the Huangfu family truly has a good temperament."
Mengyao remembered that Jiaxi had mentioned his cousin, his good-for-nothing older cousin.
"Hello. Yes, my name is Huangfu Mengyao."
Jiaxi's cousin smiled and extended his hand to shake hers, saying, "My name is Luo Hang, Jiaxi's brother."
Mengyao didn't shake his hand and smiled, saying, "Sorry, I just washed my hands and they're still wet. Jiaxi is also coming back, I'll go wait for him at the door."
She found this Luo Hang a bit frivolous and didn't want to deal with him, so she avoided him and went to the main entrance to wait.
Luo Hang looked at her retreating back, a cold smile appearing on his face. He thought that Hong Jiaxi was only luckier than him in terms of his birth and surname, but in every other aspect, he couldn't compare to him.
But why could Hong Jiaxi marry a woman like Huangfu Mengyao, while even young ladies with some family background in Lancheng were unwilling to marry him?
These women were all snobbish. Sooner or later, he, Luo Hang, would become the true master of the Hong family.
Mengyao felt a chill down her spine. She looked back again and found that Luo Hang was no longer in the hall.
She breathed a sigh of relief and saw Jiaxi's car finally returning.
Jiaxi got out of the car and saw Mengyao waiting for him at the door. He hurried over, put his arm around her, and said with concern, "Why did you come out here instead of waiting for me in the room?"
"I wanted to see you sooner," Mengyao said, walking in with him. She asked, "Have you eaten dinner yet?"
"Yes, and I'm very full."
Mengyao smelled alcohol on him and asked, "Have you had a lot to drink? Should I make you some hangover tea?"
"No need, I'm not drunk," Jiaxi said, showing her a small cup with his fingers. "It was just a gathering with friends, I only had a couple of small drinks."
They returned to the room, and Mengyao still poured him a glass of warm water.
"When I was waiting in the hall just now, I ran into Luo Hang. He just came back from outside."
Jiaxi immediately asked nervously, "Did he trouble you?"
"No, we just got acquainted. Mengyao said, "I think since we live under the same roof, I'll just be polite to him and not provoke him."
Jiaxi said, "My cousin rarely comes back; he just messes around outside. He came back tonight probably because he ran out of money and came to ask my aunt for some."
Mengyao understood and asked, "Why have I never seen your uncle's children? Do they not like to come back either?"
"My uncle's children are all abroad, and my aunt went abroad to take care of them. Only my uncle stayed in Lancheng to help my father manage the Hong family's business."
"Your uncle seems quite indifferent, keeping his family far away and out of it."
Jiaxi reminded her, "But don't underestimate my uncle. He usually doesn't talk much, but he's black-hearted and ruthless. If you're not careful, he'll drag you down, and you won't be able to climb out."
His parents had suffered losses at his uncle's hands before.
Mengyao looked surprised, realizing that appearances could be deceiving.
Every time she saw Jiaxi's uncle, she saw this slightly plump middle-aged man with kind eyebrows. Although he didn't talk much, he always had a smile on his face.
Jiaxi and she walked upstairs, and he said in a low voice, "If it weren't for my uncle's birth mother being too useless and embarrassing, our Hong family would have fallen into his hands long ago. Even the old man probably couldn't control him."
Mengyao asked, "Then who was his birth mother, and is she still alive?"
Jiaxi whispered in her ear, "I'll tell you when we get back to the room."
Mengyao hummed. Listening to Jiaxi talk about their Hong family's affairs was like listening to a fairy tale. She increasingly felt that what her mother had warned her before her marriage to Jiaxi was not just a scare tactic.
Back in the room, Mengyao said she would go draw him a bath.
Jiaxi stopped her and said, "I'll do it myself. How could I bear to let you do these things? Your complexion is so bad. Haven't you adjusted after resting at home for a day?"
Mengyao sat down and yawned, saying, "Yes, the more I sleep, the sleepier I get, and the more tired I feel."
Jiaxi embraced her, letting her lean on him, and said, "Then you should continue resting. If you want to sleep, keep sleeping. Take advantage of your holiday to recuperate."
Mengyao hummed, feeling like she could fall asleep with her eyes closed.
Jiaxi advised her, "Actually, if you feel it's too hard, you don't have to go to the research institute for work. You can just stay at home, accompany my mother in charity activities, learn some cooking and flower arrangement, or do whatever hobbies you have."
"My hobby is medical research, and my current job is what I like to do." Mengyao didn't want to discuss becoming a full-time housewife anymore, so she changed the subject and asked, "By the way, you still haven't told me what your uncle's biological mother did?"
"She was a sex symbol," Jiaxi said. "His mother was very famous back then. The old man couldn't resist her figure, so he got involved with his mother. Since he couldn't marry her formally, the old man kept them and their son living separately. It wasn't until his uncle turned eighteen that he was brought back to the Hong family to acknowledge his ancestors. His uncle's mother is still alive, and the old man is still supporting her, but she always causes trouble and is a bit crazy."
"Could it be the 'generation's sex symbol' Li Jiaojiao, who is occasionally reported in the media?"
Jiaxi nodded.
Mengyao suddenly understood. She had also occasionally seen media reports about this actress having a miserable old age, her beauty faded, and looking nothing like she did in her prime.
This actress even wore bizarre clothes, wore heavy makeup, and rambled nonsense in the streets, arguing with people and throwing tantrums. She looked truly pitiful.
She never expected there to be such a reason behind it.
No wonder her mother said that the Hong family patriarch's three children were not born of the same mother.