Long Xiao and Lin Xuan stood by the sea, chatting about the opening of Xuanxiao Company in the sea breeze.
Nangong Yue and Nangong Xia rarely saw each other, and they talked about some trivial matters in their lives.
Although Xiao Ming had known Xue Kai for a short time, the two of them hit it off immediately and quickly became inseparable buddies. Xue Kai talked about live streaming to Xiao Ming, who listened with great enthusiasm. Under Xue Kai's encouragement, Xiao Ming felt an urge to start live streaming himself.
"Brother Kai, eat this, it's chewy."
Xiao Ming enthusiastically took out beef jerky from his backpack and offered it to Xue Kai. He had followed Long Xiao for many days but had never offered Long Xiao any snacks from his backpack.
As the two were chatting happily, a sudden braking sound was heard. Xiao Ming lifted Xue Kai and spun rapidly, sliding more than ten meters before stopping.
A Bentley stopped where Xue Kai and Xiao Ming had been standing. The car door opened, and a young man with dyed yellow hair and wearing a high-end suit got out.
"Damn it, are you blind? Didn't you see I was going to park here? If you damage my car, can you afford to pay for it?" the yellow-haired man roared aggressively at Xiao Ming and Xue Kai.
Hearing the braking sound, Long Xiao and the others also looked over.
Seeing that Xiao Ming and Xue Kai were almost hit, everyone gathered around.
"What do you mean, you almost hit someone and you're still acting so high and mighty?" Xue Kai's father, Xue Xingjian, stepped forward and said.
Just as the yellow-haired man was about to speak, the car door opened again, and a strong fragrance wafted out.
A girl in a short skirt and with fair skin got out of the car.
"Who are you people, daring to act tough at my Nangong family's dock?" the girl said sternly, glaring at Long Xiao and the others.
Seeing the girl get out of the car, the yellow-haired man scurried over and said, "Ming Lan, you don't need to get out, I can handle this."
The girl glared at the young man and said, "Handle what? Everyone who comes to this dock is a relative or friend of the Nangong family. Which one of them can you afford to offend?"
Long Xiao wasn't paying attention to the girl and the young man; he was staring at Xiao Ming because Xiao Ming had already taken out a cleaver wrapped in a cloth bag.
"Xiao Ming, put the knife away," Long Xiao said.
Xiao Ming hurriedly put the cleaver back into his backpack, and then took out a candy, popped it into his mouth, and chewed loudly.
The girl looked at Long Xiao and the others and asked, "Who are you people? This is the Nangong family's dock, are you trying to go to the island?"
Nangong Xia looked at the girl and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "Are you Nangong Ming Lan?"
The girl nodded. Nangong Xia smiled and pointed to Nangong Yue, saying, "Ming Lan, I am your aunt Nangong Xia, and this is your aunt Nangong Yue."
The girl just grunted and was not very enthusiastic towards Nangong Yue and Nangong Xia.
Seeing Nangong Ming Lan's arrogant demeanor, Lin Xuan and Xue Kai were both annoyed, but they restrained themselves because their mothers were present.
Soon, the ferry docked. An elder in a high-end suit stood at the bow of the ferry.
Lin Xuan and Xue Xingjian got into their cars, preparing to drive onto the ferry.
The elder saw Nangong Ming Lan and said with a fawning smile, "Your humble servant welcomes Miss Ming Lan."
Lin Xuan's car was at the front. As soon as he started the engine, the elder said, "The ferry can only carry two cars. You should wait for the next one."
Nangong Yue, feeling slighted, shouted indignantly, "I am Nangong Yue, are you blind?"
The elder let out a cold snort and said, "I know you are Nangong Yue, and I know you sisters are here for the birthday celebration. If you want to go to the island, wait for the next trip."
The yellow-haired man got into his Bentley and started the engine. The car horn blared arrogantly at Lin Xuan's car, waiting for him to move.
Nangong Yue felt a pang of sadness in her heart. After not returning home for many years, she was looked down upon by a servant and a junior upon her arrival.
Nangong Xia pulled Nangong Yue, who was about to lose her temper, and said, "Sister, don't bother with a servant. We'll discuss it when we get to the island."
Nangong Yue let out a sigh and said, "Don't think our Nangong family women are easy to bully. When we get to the island, you'll see."
Nangong Yue waved at Lin Xuan, who reluctantly moved her car aside, clearing the way for Nangong Ming Lan.
After the ferry left, they waited for half an hour without it returning.
"Mom, let's find a hotel in the city and go to the island tomorrow," Long Xiao suggested.
Nangong Yue, still angry, glared at Long Xiao and said, "What are you interfering with our Nangong family's affairs for? We must go to the island today. I want to see how powerful Nangong Yu, the patriarch, is."
Nangong Xia also said indignantly, "Yes, we must go to the island today."
After waiting for a while longer, as the sky completely darkened, the ferry slowly chugged back.
This time, the elder was not present, only a dark-skinned young man.
The young man looked at them, said nothing, and stood in the cabin, waiting for them to board.
Although it was called a small island, it was quite large. Various houses were scattered across the island, and faint lights peeked through the lush greenery, like stars in the dark night sky.
After Long Xiao and their cars disembarked, the ferry operator said, "Drive south along the road for one kilometer, there are guest rooms."
Long Xiao felt that the Nangong family had completely treated them as outsiders.
Along the way, Lin Xuan complained discontentedly to Long Xiao. Long Xiao comforted her, "Wife, perhaps they didn't know we were coming and thought we were ordinary guests."
"Impossible. That old man just now seemed like a butler. He knew our identities. He must have reported to Uncle and the others when we returned."
Xiao Ming opened his car window, spat out the chewing gum in his mouth, and said, "Boss's wife, if they dare to slight you, I'll beat them up for you."
Long Xiao looked back at Xiao Ming and said, "You can't mess around here, don't hurt anyone."
Seeing Long Xiao warn Xiao Ming, Nangong Yue said indignantly, "Xiao Ming, don't listen to him. If someone dares to bully us, we'll bully them back. Why shouldn't we hurt them?"
Nangong Yue thought that when Long Xiao said "hurt," he meant a beating. She could never have imagined that Xiao Ming's lightest attack would be to chop off half a foot.
After checking into the guest rooms, Nangong Yue and Nangong Xia complained incessantly. Long Xiao, Lin Xuan, and Xue Xingjian dared not say anything more, fearing they would further enrage the two women and cause them to smash the place.
They hadn't eaten much along the way, and Xiao Ming was already hungry. He pulled a waiter aside to ask when dinner would be served, only to be told that the mealtime had passed and they would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Hearing that there was no food, Xiao Ming roared in anger, "Is there any justice? They're going to starve us to death!"
The waiter looked at Xiao Ming and walked away silently, leaving Xiao Ming shouting alone in the wind.
Nangong Yue and Nangong Xia were also very angry when they learned there was no food, and they clamored to go find the Nangong family to argue.
Just as they were arguing, a middle-aged man with a benevolent face walked in, followed by a young man with his face covered.
"Third sister, fourth sister, who has angered you this time?" the middle-aged man said with a smile.
Nangong Yue was stunned when she saw the middle-aged man and said, "You're Third Brother."
Nangong Xia's face lit up with joy, and she said, "Third Brother, you're finally here! I knew our Nangong family people weren't that cold-blooded."
After everyone entered the room, Nangong Kui, who had just arrived, sighed and said, "Alas, I've kept you waiting. I had no choice. My elder brother is in charge now, and in his eyes, you two are married women, outsiders."
Nangong Yue said coldly, "Third Brother, if our mother weren't so old and our father weren't gone, I wouldn't have come back even if I were invited."
Nangong Kui nodded and said, "Mother has long wanted to see you two, especially fourth sister. You haven't been back for over twenty years. She's been mentioning you often and misses you dearly."
"Is Mother's health alright?" Nangong Xia asked.
Nangong Kui sighed and shook his head, "Not good at all. Since she got uremia two years ago, her health has been deteriorating day by day. She may not have many days left."