Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Yes, it's truly refreshing to look at." Lin Yanhe too was caught up in the mood. "Yang Ce, after we graduate, we'll be like everyone else in this city—working and coming home every day, and in the evening we'll turn on the lights, watch a little TV, talk a while. That feeling would be wonderful."

"Of course we will." Yang Yuting nodded. "Only we may be a bit busier."

"Heh, that's true. You're going to run an even bigger company someday, so we'll both have our hands full," Lin Yanhe said with a smile.

"Someday I'll hand the company over to others to manage, and we'll go out and play every day." Yang Jiyan had not a shred of ambition; all he wanted just now was to enjoy the world at leisure.

"Ridiculous. Sister Yan wouldn't agree to that anyway," Lin Yanhe scolded with a laugh.

"Yun'er," Yang Ce suddenly said.

"Mm?" Lin Yanhe was puzzled at how he had addressed her.

"Let's kiss," Yang Puqi said in all seriousness.

"Oh, you! What's wrong with you?" Lin Yanhe was thrown into a terrible fluster. Honestly, she thought, if you want to kiss me, just do it—why say it out loud?

And so what followed was unfit for the eyes of the young. As for the rides that came after, it was Ge Xinyao who accompanied Lin Yanhe, for those scream-inducing attractions like the Crazy Teacher and the Pirate Ship stirred not the slightest urge in Yang Puqi to scream. The training in Europe had been far more perilous than this.

Outside the amusement park, Ge Xinyao and Bi Hai both tactfully took their leave. Bi Hai pleaded that it was Valentine's Day, that hordes of people were out, that the young people of the residential compound would probably not return until the middle of the night, and that public order in the compound was therefore of the utmost importance—as manager of security, he had to get back and hold the fort.

Though Yang Shuyu knew he was talking nonsense, he still nodded. "Fine. Work comes first. You two go on back."

Lin Yanhe, naturally, was none the wiser. After Bi Hai and the others had gone, she even sighed. "Yang Ce, Bi Hai really is dedicated."

"He is. It wasn't easy for him to make it to a manager's post—he'd naturally cherish it," Yang Ce said with a rather convincing nod.

"Yang Ce, I want to go somewhere. Will you come with me?" Lin Yanhe suddenly lifted her head and looked at Yang Yanchuan.

"Where? Just tell me. If we can get there, we'll go—as long as it's not the moon or Mars. I don't have the money for a rocket yet," Yang Yanzhou said.

"What are you talking about, honestly," Lin Yanhe said, torn between laughter and tears. "How did you get all the way out to outer space? The place I mean is right here on Earth."

"Let's go, then." Yang Ce pulled open the car door and let Lin Yanhe get in first. "You give the directions."

The way Lin Yanhe directed him was bumpy and winding. Had she not been pointing the way, Yang Ce would never have known that such a place existed in Songjiang.

Fortunately, Yang Ce was driving an SUV, which took the many dirt roads with ease.

"What is this place? It looks like we're nearly in the countryside," Yang Ce said, eyeing the empty lots on either side of the road.

"Mm, this is the countryside. The city hasn't been planned out this far yet. But this is where I lived when I was little," Lin Yanhe said.

"Oh?" Yang Puqi was startled. "Haven't your family always lived in the shantytown?" He seemed to recall Fang Tian saying that Lin Yanhe's family had always lived there.

"This is my grandmother's house. Before I was four, I lived here with her." A note of sorrow crept into Lin Yanhe's voice. "After she passed away, I went back to live with my parents."

"Don't be sad. Everyone must die. As long as you're happy now, your grandmother's spirit should be comforted," Yang Ce consoled her.

"Yes. I just wanted to bring you to Grandma's house." Lin Yanhe nodded. "When I was little, Grandma used to tell me that when I grew up and married, I would bring my husband to visit her. I was so silly then—I'd say I wasn't going to marry, that I would stay with Grandma forever. And she'd stroke my head and say I was a silly child, that it was only natural for a girl to marry. She even said—she said she wanted me to give her a great-grandchild."

"All right. When we have time later, the two of us will come back here often. Only—is the old house still standing?" Yang Moyi was somewhat surprised. The old woman had been gone so long; had the house not been sold?

"It's still there. Land around here is very cheap, and the government has no plans to develop it, so the old house wouldn't fetch much anyway. So Father and Uncle discussed it and left the house empty. They come by to clean it up on holidays when they have time," Lin Yanhe explained.

"Heh. Then that task will fall to the two of us from now on," Yang Hengye said with a smile. "You want me to go with you to see Grandma, to help fulfill her wish—is that it?"

"Not at all. I'm not even married yet." That was exactly what Lin Yanhe meant, but how could she bring herself to admit it?

"Do you think that once you're with me, you can still choose someone else?" Yang Jiyan said shamelessly. "I'm a petty man. My woman stays by my side for life."

To be continued

791. A Family Matter

Although Lin Yanhe had plenty of complaints about the impure motives behind Yang Ce's initial approach, his somewhat domineering words still warmed her heart. She was with Yan without any claim to status, asking for nothing else—only that Yang Ce never abandon her. That was enough. That was a woman's small happiness.

"It's right over there." Lin Yanhe pointed excitedly at a small village not far away.

Yang Ce looked in the direction she indicated, and sure enough, there was a village nearby. This was a small hamlet near Songjiang, a place Yang Ce would never have had occasion to visit, nor had he ever been here before.

"We go in from this intersection," Yang Ce said, pointing at the fork ahead.

"Yes, that's the one." Lin Yanhe nodded, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes. The last time she had come here was in her first year of high school. After that, she had been busy with her studies, and then many things had happened at home. She had not been back in over three years.

Yang Ce slowed the car and was about to turn onto the side road when suddenly more than a dozen men armed with high-powered stun batons rushed out in front of the vehicle and blocked its path.

Yang Ce hastily stopped the car. The leader, a burly fellow, ran over and tried to pull open the driver's door, but the car had been traveling at speed earlier and all the doors had locked automatically, so the man could not open it.

"Open up and get out!" Unable to pull the door open, the man pounded hard on the window and shouted.

The man's voice was loud, and Yang Ce and Lin Yanhe heard him clearly.

"What's going on here?" Yang Ce looked at Lin Yanhe, puzzled, wondering if they had run into highway robbers.

"I have no idea." Lin Yanhe was equally surprised, but she said, "Why don't you roll down the window and let me ask them?"

"If anyone's going to ask, it should be me." Yang Ce shook his head and pressed the button to lower his window.

The moment the window came down, the man reached in to grab Yang Juehuan by the collar. Yang Puqi was seized with disgust and quickly raised the window again, catching the man's hand in it. The man let out a miserable scream and hurriedly pulled his hand back.

Yang Ce lowered the window once more. The man immediately did not dare make a scene, but he glared at Yang Ce viciously. Yang Ce was a little displeased—what, did I offend you somehow?

"What do you people want?" Yang Wenru frowned and shouted at the men outside.

"Leave everything valuable on you, or you won't be leaving here today," the man threatened.

"Ha!" Yang Yongjin laughed in anger. "Are you threatening me? I could run you over right now—believe that?"