The old man hadn't expected him to be so irresponsible. He said, "Mengyao is less than three months pregnant. You've already caused trouble twice over the issue of sleeping separately. Can't you just endure it? This is an excuse, all excuses! How will we explain this to the Huangfu family after something like this happens? You were in the wrong first, and even if you divorce, the Huangfu family won't let us Hongs off easily!"
"I will never divorce Mengyao," Jiaxi said firmly.
Old Master Hong was confused and asked, "Since you don't want to divorce Mengyao, why did you do something like this? What exactly do you want?"
Jiaxi turned and looked at his uncle and aunt with hostility, saying, "Grandpa, Mom, Dad, there are some things I want to tell you privately. I don't want certain outsiders to hear them and then deliberately make a fuss."
"Jiaxi, who are you calling an outsider? What do you mean?" Jiaxi's aunt jumped up and accused him, "You made a mistake yourself, brought back a golden phoenix, and now you're not treating her well. Are you trying to ruin us!"
"Shut up, are you not causing enough trouble?" the old man said irritably, stopping Jiaxi's aunt from continuing.
Jiaxi's aunt fell silent, but she felt incredibly wronged. She had never been treated fairly since she came to this family as a child.
The old man knew that getting angry was useless. Now that things had come to this, they could only think of a solution and see what Jiaxi had to say.
He stood up and said to Jiaxi's parents and Jiaxi, "You three come with me to the study. We must give the Huangfu family an explanation."
After speaking, he took Jiaxi and his family to the study.
When Luo Hang saw the study door close, he said indignantly to his uncle and mother, "Grandpa and them are the real family. We are just outsiders."
His mother did not respond to his words, only remaining silent.
His uncle also did not reply, quietly got up, and left the hall to attend to his own affairs.
Luo Hang's words were clear to them, but no one would break the silence. They were all children brought back by the old man from outside, with unknown origins. This had been clear for a long time.
Everyone had tacitly understood this point, and as long as they had their own plans, there was no need to speak it aloud.
When only mother and son were left in the hall, Hong Qiaoyun said to Luo Hang, "Don't say such things in the future. If your uncle passes this on to Grandpa, we won't be able to live in this house anymore."
"If we can't live here, we won't," Luo Hang said, having long been tired of being looked down upon. "Mom, even if my dad doesn't care about us, don't we have our own house? We can live well without staying with Grandpa..."
"What do you mean 'live well'? Is the little money we have left enough for you to squander for how long?" Hong Qiaoyun reminded him, "Only by staying by Grandpa's side can I find a way to get you a job in the company and get what we deserve."
Luo Hang didn't want to work for the Hong family's company. He was used to being free and lazy and didn't want to be bossed around by the old man. However, if he could inherit a portion of the Hong family's fortune in the future, he would be willing to stay here with his mother.
"Mom, I'll listen to you. If I hadn't been smart this time and caused the rift between Huangfu Mengyao and Jiaxi, and if they had given birth to Grandpa's great-grandchild, we would have no place in this house."
"You did very well this time. You've earned a merit," Hong Qiaoyun said, feeling much more relieved seeing that Jiaxi and Mengyao couldn't last.
Luo Hang held out his hand to her and said, "Mom, you have to give me some reward, don't you?"
"How much do you want this time?" Hong Qiaoyun asked in a good mood.
Luo Hang held up one finger and said, "Give me a hundred thousand. I want to invest in something with friends."
"No, a hundred thousand is too much," Hong Qiaoyun refused decisively. "One thousand at most."
This wasn't the first or second time he had talked about starting businesses or investing. By now, he had already lost millions. At this rate, even a mountain of gold wouldn't last.
Hong Qiaoyun no longer believed his talk of investments and businesses.
"Too little," Luo Hang said reluctantly.
Hong Qiaoyun gave him no room for negotiation. "Don't want it then..."
"I want it, I want it, one thousand it is," Luo Hang took out his phone and said, "Mom, transfer it to me now."
Hong Qiaoyun directly transferred ten thousand yuan to him via mobile phone and said, "Spend it sparingly. If you continue like this, my savings will be emptied, and we'll all have to drink the northwest wind."
"I know," Luo Hang said, finding her nagging. "I've made plans with friends, I'm leaving."
Hong Qiaoyun wanted to call him back to ask him if he was going out to indulge in debauchery again, but he had already walked away quickly.
Thinking of Luo Hang's disappointing behavior, her good mood vanished. It seemed she had to bring up the matter of arranging a job for Luo Hang at the company. Having a proper job would at least be a constraint on him.
...
Jiaxi and his parents followed the old man to the study and closed the door.
Without his uncle and aunt's mother and son watching, he felt less embarrassed.
"How could you do something like this?" Jiaxi's father kicked him directly.
Fortunately, Jiaxi's mother pulled him back, so he didn't actually kick him.
Seeing the expressions on his grandfather's and father's faces, Jiaxi knew that even though there were no outsiders laughing at him, this was still a trial.
He could only admit his mistake and say, "Dad, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. If hitting me will vent your anger, then hit me as hard as you can."
Jiaxi's father saw that this kid really thought he wouldn't dare to hit him. When he heard about this, he had wanted to kick him to death.
"Don't scold him yet," the old man sat down in the study and looked at Jiaxi. "Let's first think about how to resolve this. Didn't you hear your wife say that we still need to give Mengyao's mother an explanation?"
"Dad, he did something that wronged their daughter. It's unlikely the Huangfu family will let us off," Jiaxi's father was also anxious.
The old man's mood had calmed down a bit. He asked Jiaxi, "You said you had something to tell us. Go ahead, how should we resolve this matter?"
Jiaxi looked at them and said, "Grandpa, Mom, Dad, I wanted to cut ties with Tong Xiaoli completely, but I just took her to the hospital and found out she's pregnant."
"What, pregnant?" Jiaxi's mother exclaimed in shock. "That woman is truly formidable! She wants to control you completely!"
"Mom, Lili isn't that kind of person. She's very pitiful and doesn't have much of her own opinion. Now that she's carrying my child, if she leaves me, mother and son will surely not survive..."
"If you want that woman and child, I'll act as if I never had you as a son!" Jiaxi's father was even more shocked by this news and was so angry he almost spat blood.
Old Master Hong asked him with a cold face, "You just said you would never divorce Mengyao, and now you're saying that woman is pregnant and mother and son can't leave you. You want both, that's too greedy. The Huangfu family isn't that easy to fool. Once they find out, our Hong family will be finished..."
"I will arrange for Lili and her son to go to a place where no one knows them and have the child peacefully. But I need your help, Grandpa and Mom, to make the Huangfu family and Mengyao believe that I have completely severed ties with Lili. Then, everything will be fine," Jiaxi explained his idea, wanting to gain their approval. "You've also always wanted a grandson, and now heaven has bestowed another grandson upon you. Don't you want to keep this child?"