The living room fell into deathly silence.
After a long while, Nan Xiao spoke in a low voice, "Uncle, I know my mother has done many wrong things, but she is my mother after all. If you want to acquire the Nan Corporation, I won't say a word. That's a matter between you and your daughter. But if you intend to harm my mother, I cannot stand idly by."
Lan Haolin shot him a cold look. "Young man, you're still too naive! How powerful was the Ling Corporation overseas? Wasn't it destroyed by me? A mere Nan family, plus a petty An family, and I can crush anyone I want as easily as stepping on an ant!"
Nan Xiao frowned, his voice ice-cold. "My mother was indeed excessive towards Xi Bao, but that was before. Now that Xi Bao is back, I will naturally protect her. However, if you insist that my mother atone with her life, I would rather sacrifice the entire Nan family to stop you with all my might."
"You might become even angrier when I say this, but I hope you can understand my predicament as a son. You might question if I can truly protect Xi Bao. My answer is yes. Because from now on, no matter what happens between her and my mother, I will stand with her."
"Also, my mother's hatred for Xi Bao stemmed from Yun Jie's mother. Xi Bao is not Yun Jie's child, so she naturally won't hate Xi Bao as she did before."
Lan Haolin raised an eyebrow and looked at Tang Wan. "This kid is quite filial!"
Tang Wan snorted. "Fortunately, you're not like him—foolishly filial!"
"Do I?" Lan Haolin feigned ignorance.
Tang Wan glared at him with mock indignation.
Lan Haolin, not daring to contradict his wife, turned his attention to Nan Xiao. "How do you know he's not foolishly filial? He might just be saying it. Look at what he just said. He's willing to fight me to the death to protect his mother!"
"You're trying to kill his mother, and if he doesn't state his position, is he even human?"
Lan Haolin's momentum immediately deflated under his wife's retort.
Tang Wan glanced at him, then spoke to Nan Xiao. "Honestly, before you said this, I didn't have a good impression of you. But after hearing you speak, I actually pity you. You're in a difficult position now, no matter which side you favor, you'll feel hurt. Your current predicament is quite similar to Xi Er's father back then. I don't know if Xi Er told you about the switch between her and Zi Xin back then..."
Hearing her mention the matter again, Lan Haolin quickly reached out and held her hand. "Why are you bringing this up? I've already apologized to you. Everything that happened back then was my fault..."
Tang Wan pushed his hand away and interrupted him. "See! I only mentioned it briefly, and you're already rushing to take all the blame. Then how dare you criticize Nan Xiao?"
"Wife, didn't we agree to present a united front when we came here? Why are you suddenly changing sides?"
"When did I change sides?"
Tang Wan gave him a resentful glare. If he hadn't listened to his mother about everything back then, she wouldn't have been alone, Xi Er wouldn't have been born prematurely, and Ling Jie wouldn't have thought of such a drastic swap to save them.
If the two children hadn't swapped identities, Xi Er wouldn't have suffered so much.
"Nan Xiao, make arrangements. I want to see your mother," Tang Wan said. Without waiting for Nan Xiao's reply, she got up and went to the study.
Lan Haolin quickly followed.
Seeing this, Lan Musi shook his head helplessly and then looked up to see Nan Xiao gazing thoughtfully in the direction of the study. He cleared his throat.
Nan Xiao withdrew his gaze and looked at him. "Xi Bao didn't tell me the details of what happened back then, but I know Yun Jie's child is alive. Is she staying with your family?"
Lan Musi scoffed. "You have a big heart. You haven't even resolved your own issues, and you still have the energy to worry about others!"
"She is my sister's child, not just anyone."
"If you don't consider her an outsider, she has no intention of acknowledging the Nan family at all."
Lan Musi turned to look at Lan Xiao Wu, who had been silent all along. "Mr. Shu, haven't you always wanted to spar with Mr. Nan? Now that there's time, why don't you two go outside and have a match?"
Lan Xiao Wu slightly raised his chin at Nan Xiao. "Spar?"
Nan Xiao sized him up. "Can you beat Xi Bao?"
Lan Xiao Liu grabbed an apple and took a fierce bite. "What do you mean?"
"If you can't beat Xi Bao, don't try to fight me, lest you get injured unnecessarily."
Lan Xiao Wu looked at Lan Xiao Liu with a sly grin. "He means he's stronger than Xi Bao."
"Then what are we waiting for! Come on!"
Before Lan Xiao Liu could finish speaking, the three brothers stood up in unison.
Nan Xiao smiled and said, "All at once? If you get injured, I won't be responsible."
"How dare you underestimate us!" Lan Xiao Wu threw a punch.
Nan Xiao didn't even get up. He raised his hand and caught his fist.
Lan Xiao Wu tried to pull his hand back in disbelief, but Nan Xiao's grip was too strong. He was about to dislocate his bone without being able to free his hand.
Just as Lan Xiao Liu and Lan Lao Er were about to charge forward, a small figure darted over.
"Don't you dare bully my daddy!"
Lan Xiao Liu looked at the little girl who bore a striking resemblance to himself and stopped short, offering an apologetic smile. "We're not bullying your daddy, we just wanted to spar."
Mumu spread her little hands, blocking Nan Xiao. "Liar! Three against one, and you call that sparring? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
Nan Xiao smiled, released Lan Xiao Wu, and bent down to pick up the little one. "Our Mumu isn't a three-year-old, she's a three-and-a-half-year-old little adult!"
Mumu let out a cold snort and, in Nan Xiao's arms, turned to hug his neck tightly. "Daddy, I'll protect you from now on."
While Nan Xiao felt gratified, he also felt a pang of sadness!
He had stooped to the point where he needed protection from a little girl!
Nan Xiao smiled and nudged her little forehead. "Okay—Mumu will protect Daddy from now on."
Lan Musi gave him an exasperated look.
Just then, Nan Xiao's phone rang.
After answering the call, Nan Xiao carried Mumu out. Soon, breakfast was delivered, with both Chinese and Western options, showing Nan Xiao's thoughtful efforts.
Nan Xiao sent away the chefs who delivered the food and entered the study with Mumu. "Xi Bao, time to eat."
Lan Yuxi, who was comforting her mother, saw him enter and said in a faint voice, "Thank you. Your company is also quite busy, why don't you go back first?"
"No, I don't want Daddy to leave," Mumu said, hugging Nan Xiao's neck and pouting, casting a displeased glance at her mother.
Nan Xiao smiled and petted her little head. "Daddy's not leaving. But your mother seems annoyed with me right now. How about Daddy takes you and brother to the back mountain to play?"
Lan Yuxi immediately objected. She frowned and asked, "When did I say I was annoyed with you? Can you speak properly!"