The North City Airport.
Three cars from the Ye family arrived to pick up their passengers. Ye Jianming had an urgent matter to attend to at the company, so the mother and daughters returned first.
An hour and a half later, the cars drove into the Ye family villa's courtyard.
"Hehe, we're home," Cheng Lizhu said warmly as they got out of the car, ushering Yu He inside. "Your Grandma and two elder brothers are also here."
Yu He nodded in understanding.
"Grandma, we're back," Ye Zisu walked ahead of them.
She handed her bag to a servant and, as if she belonged there, walked towards the living room, projecting the air of the young lady of the house.
"Sister, you're back! Did you bring me any gifts?"
A little boy, about six or seven years old, ran out from the living room.
Ye Zizheng, the third young master of the Ye family.
"What gifts could you possibly bring from that desolate place?!" a hoarse voice echoed from the living room.
"Yeah, a waste of effort."
Ye Zizheng turned away with a look of disdain, flopped onto the sofa, and picked up his game console again.
Yu He followed Cheng Lizhu into the living room. The decor was Baroque European style, opulent and magnificent.
An old woman with silver hair, adorned in dazzling jewelry, sat on the sofa, elegantly sipping tea.
Ye Zisu sat obediently beside her, pouring tea. "Grandma, where's my eldest brother?"
"He flew to the Amazon at noon, said he wanted to study some biological organisms," Old Mrs. Ye said after taking a sip of tea.
Cheng Lizhu's eyes dimmed upon hearing this.
This morning, before they departed, she had spoken to her eldest son about picking up Yu He and having a family reunion that evening, hoping everyone would be present.
But her eldest son had always been willful, and he was the pride of the Ye family, so she couldn't blame him. She could only suppress her discomfort and step forward with Yu He.
"Mom, we've brought Hehe back."
Cheng Lizhu said, introducing Yu He to the old woman: "Hehe, this is Grandma."
"Grandma," Yu He said faintly.
Old Mrs. Ye didn't respond. She put down her teacup and called a servant, "Xiao Cui, bring the remaining bird's nest soup. Let Zisu drink it while it's hot."
"Coming right up," the servant replied. A moment later, she brought a bowl of bird's nest soup.
"Thank you, Grandma," Ye Zisu said sweetly. She then took a sip of the bird's nest soup as if to show off, "It's delicious."
"Drink slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you. You've had a long day of traveling. This will replenish you and keep your looks good, so that Young Master Gu will be completely devoted to you."
Old Mrs. Ye tucked a strand of hair behind Ye Zisu's ear, her face filled with doting affection.
"Mhm, mhm," Ye Zisu nodded with a sweet smile.
As she smiled, she caught Yu He, who was standing aside, out of the corner of her eye. The smile on her lips grew even more triumphant.
Seeing Old Mrs. Ye deliberately ignoring Yu He, Cheng Lizhu called out again, "Mom..."
"Oh, you're back," Old Mrs. Ye turned her gaze as if just noticing someone present, and surveyed Yu He.
A delicate face, styled in a French braid, with surprisingly fair skin. However, her peach blossom eyes held a look of excessive coldness, and her lips were thin, suggesting a heartless disposition, not suited for marrying a wealthy man.
Her gaze moved lower, to a dirty and torn qipao, a tattered cloth bag on her back, and a pair of white embroidered shoes stained with mud. Old Mrs. Ye frowned.
Such poor taste in clothing, just as expected from someone returning from the boondocks. She was of no value to the Ye family and would only be a drain on their resources.
"Xiao Cui, get her a different pair of shoes. Don't let the dust from that remote corner track into the house and stain my wool carpet, which I had air-freighted from Italy," Old Mrs. Ye said to the servant.
"Coming right up," the servant replied and quickly brought a pair of slippers to Yu He. "Miss, please change your shoes."
Yu He: "..."
Cheng Lizhu understood the dislike from Old Mrs. Ye's actions and words.
When she was dating Ye Jianming, the Ye family was still farming in the countryside. Later, they discovered a mine underground, and they became rich overnight.
Once they had money, Old Mrs. Ye immediately became snobbish, looking down on rural people. She forced her to break up with Ye Jianming and moved the entire family to North City.
She started a company, bought a villa, purchased luxury goods, desperately trying to climb into high society, all to erase the Ye family's reputation as nouveau riche and infiltrate the circles of the wealthy and noble.
If Ye Jianming hadn't insisted on marrying her, and especially if she hadn't been pregnant and given birth to a son, she probably wouldn't have even entered the Ye family's door.
Thinking of her own situation, Cheng Lizhu felt a pang of sadness.
Hehe was a girl, and having just returned from the countryside, the old lady would likely dislike her even more.
She tried to smooth things over. "Mom, the mountains are poor. Hehe had to endure a lot of hardship since she was young..."
"Enough, enough. Hurry and take her to wash up and change into something presentable," Old Mrs. Ye said impatiently, waving her hand.
Cheng Lizhu then said to Yu He, "Hehe, Mom will take you to your room."
Yu He took in Old Mrs. Ye's disgusted expression and nodded.
Ye Zisu watched Cheng Lizhu fawning over Yu He, and the bird's nest soup in her hand suddenly lost its appeal.
That maternal affection was originally hers. Why should Yu He take it so easily!
She felt deeply resentful and turned her gaze to Ye Zizheng, who was playing games.
"Zizheng, don't you need your study anymore?" Ye Zisu reminded him.
Ye Zizheng, who had just been killed in the game, cursed. Then, upon hearing Ye Zisu's words, he immediately threw down his game console and rushed up to the third floor.