Chapter 46 What a Fat Sheep

Xu Hongye had never lacked money since childhood, so he had no real concept of it. He spent as loosely as a sieve leaks water—whoever got close to him got money from him. Almost everyone in his class knew he was an easy mark, a complete sucker.

The reason Ma Aotian set his sights on him was also because a classmate had introduced them.

And behind it all was a classic “honey trap.”

Xu Hongye remained completely unaware, thinking Ma Aotian was his “savior” and “big brother,” practically wishing he could treat him like a real one.

As for his actual brother, Ru Anzhi…

Sorry, but he wasn’t as generous with money as his so-called “big brother” and “second brother,” and they hadn’t even spoken much. Calling him “brother” at all was already generous—what more could be expected?

Ru Anzhi: “……”

Nothing much to say. We’re really not close.

Xu Lianghan / Xu Chengyan: Can I beat this brainless idiot to death?

Ruan Yaoyao raised both hands and feet in agreement. Biological or not, nothing mattered more than one’s own life. Ever since gaining her “golden finger,” she felt like she had awakened.

If this had been before, Xu Hongye daring to talk back to her like that would’ve made her so angry her heart would ache, and she would’ve stormed straight to his school to confront him.

But now…

【Heh.】

【I’ve already fulfilled my responsibilities. If you won’t cooperate, don’t blame me for being heartless.】

She directly handed the matter over to Xu Lianghan and Xu Chengyan—let them, as his older brothers, deal with it. If they couldn’t handle him, then let him fend for himself.

Still fuming, Ruan Yaoyao called her daughter, Xu Nannan.

Xu Nannan was much easier to deal with. She claimed she was taking her eldest brother’s three sons on a “study tour,” but in reality, she just wanted to stay away from her mother—otherwise she’d be constantly nagged about marriage and pressured into blind dates, as if she were afraid Xu Nannan wouldn’t be able to get married.

She was only twenty-two, in the prime of her youth, okay?

If she didn’t enjoy herself to the fullest, she wasn’t getting married.

“Mom, I know, don’t worry. Big brother and sister-in-law arranged everything for me—bodyguards, a housekeeper, everything. Your precious grandsons are doing just fine. I won’t let them go hungry.”

On the other end of the phone, Xu Nannan rolled her eyes, feeling that her mother wasn’t really worried about her safety—she just didn’t trust her to take care of three kids on her own.

What was there not to trust?

Her brother and sister-in-law had arranged the entire itinerary. They were surrounded by their own people the whole way. She just needed to lead the group and let the kids have fun.

“Don’t say any more. I’m not going back anyway. I’ll talk about it after I’ve had my fill of fun.”

Then she hung up.

Ruan Yaoyao looked confused.

【When did I urge her to come back? I didn’t!】

【Oh… I used to nag her a lot. No wonder she misunderstood.】

Seeing how easy Xu Nannan was to talk to, the tightness in Ruan Yaoyao’s chest eased considerably.

【Sure enough, sons are all debts, only daughters are warm little cotton jackets!】

As for how Xu Nannan used to annoy her, Ruan Yaoyao brushed it off—her daughter had just been young and immature back then. Now she had changed.

Look at her now—helping her elder brother and sister-in-law take care of their children.

With the daughter-in-law giving birth and doing postpartum recovery without three kids around to cause trouble, life was simply too comfortable. Unlike back then, when she had to take care of the older child while giving birth to the younger—physically exhausting and mentally draining.

Even with nannies and housekeepers, they couldn’t fully replace her. Whenever something happened, the children would still come to her, their mother.

Her daughter-in-law was smart—she knew how to enjoy life. Ruan Yaoyao decided she should learn from her more in the future.

Yu Xiangqiao, however, felt a bit embarrassed. She didn’t dare explain to Ruan Yaoyao that Xu Nannan going abroad during her childbirth—under the excuse of helping take care of the eldest branch’s children—was actually because she and her husband were worried that Ruan Yaoyao and her daughter might clash during that time. With three mischievous kids around, it would’ve been impossible to manage everything.

If you can’t solve the problem, isolate the source of it.

So Xu Nannan and the three children were packed off abroad for a “study tour,” with no return for at least half a year.

Thinking back, Yu Xiangqiao couldn’t help but admire the “boldness” she and her husband had shown—going through with it despite the pressure.

But because of that, they currently had no way to test whether the remaining Xu family members could also hear Ruan Yaoyao’s inner thoughts.

Still, it didn’t matter. The fact that those two were staying away meant they were safe.

If something happened, they would come back. They could test the “mind-reading” then.

“The family is chaotic enough already. It’s better if they don’t come back for now. Let’s first solve the issue with the third one, Ru Anzhi,” Xu Lianghan took the lead, gathering the relevant people and starting a video conference.

“Indeed. That girlfriend of his is a problem…”

Before Xu Chengyan could finish, Ru Anzhi interrupted from the video call, “I’ve said it already—she’s not my girlfriend. Song Na and I aren’t in that kind of relationship.”

Xu Chengyan looked indifferent. “Whether she is or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that, from Mom’s perspective, she’s a reborn woman here for revenge—and all of us have been dragged into it because of you. The fourth and fifth are far away—one abroad, one at school—so they’re safer. We’ll let them come back after we solve this.”

Yu Xiangqiao added, “Then I’ll arrange more activities for Nannan and the kids, try to keep them abroad longer so they won’t think about coming back.”

Xu Lianghan: “Thanks for your hard work, wife.”

Yu Xiangqiao: “It’s nothing. I’m doing it for my children.”

The couple held hands and gazed at each other, full of tender affection.

Xu Chengyan coughed lightly. “Ahem! Big brother, sister-in-law, if you want to be affectionate, do it after the meeting. Let’s finish the serious business first. Where were we?”

Yun Jinxian chimed in at the right moment, “We were talking about arranging the itinerary so Xu Nannan and the three kids stay abroad longer.”

Xu Chengyan glanced down at his notes. “Alright, we’ve agreed not to let the fourth and fifth return for now. Next, let’s discuss the second issue—Song Na. The first issue: the third brother doubts Song Na’s identity and Mom’s golden finger…”

Ru Anzhi: “That’s two separate issues.”

“Are they?” Xu Chengyan looked up. “But if we confirm either Song Na’s identity or Mom’s golden finger, wouldn’t both issues be resolved at once? So do you still think they’re separate?”

Ru Anzhi: “I have nothing to say.”

“There wasn’t much to say to begin with. I’ve told you long ago to trust us more. Yes, I admit I took your place—but you have to understand, I didn’t choose that. I was just a newborn baby at the time…”

“So now you’re willing to give Mom back to me?”

“…I’m not here to break you apart—I’m here to join you.”

Ru Anzhi’s lips trembled slightly. He didn’t want to talk to this guy anymore.

Before they got close, he thought Xu Chengyan was aloof and distant. But after getting to know him, he realized the guy was just a proud tsundere—also a jealous type—with a bit of inferiority hidden inside.

Damn it!

What arrogance? He just felt ashamed of being an illegitimate child and wanted to take his mother—become her real son.

Originally, Ru Anzhi didn’t think much of it. He already had adoptive parents, and now a biological mother appeared—he could acknowledge both sides.

But with Xu Chengyan acting like this, it felt like he had no choice but to fight for her.

His own mother could refuse to acknowledge him because of the trouble surrounding him. If he didn’t fight for it, he feared that one day she wouldn’t refuse him because of trouble—but simply because she didn’t want him anymore.

No matter what, she was still his biological mother.