"Grandfather."
Hearing Zhan Mohan's voice, Wei Yumeng and the others all looked in their direction. Zhan Mohan and Zhan Yangyi entered together.
Zhan Yangyi clearly had no intention of showing Lin Ming any pleasantries. He just frowned and looked away.
"Grandfather, we've already discussed it. He's willing to return to our Zhan family," Zhan Mohan explained, simultaneously looking at Wei Yumeng. Wei Yumeng nodded at him, indicating that matters here had been resolved.
Only then did Zhan Mohan breathe a sigh of relief. With things here settled, he felt confident he could get Zhan Yangyi back to the Zhan family, which would save the family a lot of trouble.
Lin Ming, now aware of the root of all past events, looked at Zhan Yangyi with deep remorse.
So much time had passed, and many things were difficult to verify. Yet, now, everything was traceable, making Lin Ming believe that Zhan Yangyi had been wronged by their family for so long. He even began to understand why Zhan Yangyi had become the way he was.
"Yangyi." Lin Ming took a step towards Zhan Yangyi, but Zhan Yangyi clearly took a step back.
Lin Ming sighed. He felt that Zhan Yangyi's current attitude was a consequence of his own past actions. If he had noticed everything earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Actually, with the help of Miss Wei and Master Zhan, I already know what happened in the past," Lin Ming said, bowing deeply to Zhan Yangyi. "I apologize. Those past matters were indeed our Lin family's fault. On behalf of the Lin family and Lin Yang, I apologize to you."
This time, it was Zhan Yangyi's turn to be stunned. For so many years, he had never told Lin Ming the truth, precisely because he was sure that even if Lin Ming knew Lin Yang was responsible, he would still protect his own child and side with Lin Yang. After all, Lin Yang was the Lin family's biological child.
Zhan Yangyi was self-aware in this regard; he had experienced such a situation once before.
But he never expected that Lin Ming would actually apologize to him after learning everything. This was truly unusual.
Seeing Zhan Yangyi remain silent, Lin Ming's face grew even sadder. "Child, I know that perhaps nothing I say now will make a difference, but I hope you can understand that your aunt and I have always been worried about you. Of course, there's also your grandfather. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't know the truth now."
Zhan Yangyi looked at Master Zhan, his eyes unreadable.
Master Zhan seized the opportunity to say, "Child, no matter when, no one has ever truly abandoned you. Come back. The Zhan family has always had a place for you."
Wei Yumeng also nodded, "Mr. Zhan, I hope you now understand our earnest intentions towards you."
Zhan Yangyi looked at them all and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. This seemingly warm scene mocked the efforts of his entire life. It might have been a simple misunderstanding, yet it had troubled him for so long, leading him to do so many things and make so much effort.
Seeing Zhan Yangyi's expression, Wei Yumeng felt a pang of worry. If Zhan Yangyi still refused to reconcile with the Zhan family, there might be no other solution.
Zhan Mohan, sensing Wei Yumeng's concern, simply put his arm around her waist and gave her a reassuring look.
Wei Yumeng finally relaxed. Although Zhan Yangyi hadn't given his answer yet, she trusted Zhan Mohan.
Finally, Zhan Yangyi looked up at them. "Alright, since things have reached this point, there's no need for me to insist further. Perhaps we had many misunderstandings and conflicts in the past, but I hope from now on, I can return to your lives."
Master Zhan was overjoyed to hear this and even embraced Zhan Yangyi.
"Good child, as long as you know how to turn back, all is not lost."
Lin Ming also said meaningfully, "Don't worry, I will sort things out when I get back and give you an explanation."
Wei Yumeng and Zhan Mohan exchanged smiles, having resolved a long-standing worry.
In reality, Zhan Yangyi couldn't fully trust Master Zhan. After all, if he had truly wanted him to stay back then, why would he have sent him away?
But when Master Zhan hugged him, he felt something different. Perhaps there were unavoidable reasons for what happened back then, and Master Zhan was just an ordinary old man.
To celebrate Zhan Yangyi's return, Zhan Mohan specially booked a high-end banquet at the previous five-star Michelin restaurant.
Although Zhan Yangyi seemed familiar with the place, he sensed the extraordinary significance of this occasion.
With Zhan Mohan's help, Zhan Yangyi moved back into the Zhan family residence. Although Zhan Yangyi had his own properties here, since he was back, they wanted him to feel a sense of belonging.
"I'm sorry, Brother. Mohan is quite busy with work today, so I had to come help you with your move," Wei Yumeng said, though she still felt a bit unaccustomed to calling him "Brother."
Zhan Yangyi noticed her awkwardness and smiled, "If you're not used to it, you don't have to call me Brother. Just call me as you normally would."
In fact, by having Wei Yumeng call him "Brother," Zhan Yangyi had his own ulterior motives. If Wei Yumeng truly saw him as a brother, what would happen then?
Actually, in their past interactions, although he had intentionally made things difficult for Wei Yumeng many times, one thing was clear in his heart: he had likely developed feelings for Wei Yumeng long ago.
Even when he deliberately made Wei Yumeng cook for him last time, wasn't it precisely because he wanted to see her busy figure?
Zhan Yangyi watched Wei Yumeng working diligently and couldn't help but reach out towards her. But as he came to his senses, he quickly withdrew his hand.
He had to suppress this thought. Regardless of what Wei Yumeng called him, the fact that he was Zhan Mohan's older brother could never be changed, and therefore, he could never be with Wei Yumeng.
"Alright, I've made all the necessary arrangements. The moving company will bring all the furniture over shortly," Wei Yumeng said, clapping her hands as if a great task was accomplished, and then addressed Zhan Yangyi.
Zhan Yangyi gave Wei Yumeng a gentle smile. "Thank you very much, then."