Chapter 716 - Zhang Guangyou's Surprise
Chapter 716 Zhang Guangyou’s Surprise
“Ha, ha, ha…” Zhang Guangyou burst out laughing while looking at Mengmeng.
Zhang Han was such a powerful father in Mengmeng’s eyes that she emphasized it twice in a short time.
It reminded him of Zhang Han and Zhang Li’s childhood.
The more Zhang Guangyou looked at his granddaughter, the more he liked her.
“She likes following her father.” Zi Yan smiled, “She will miss him when she doesn’t see him for just one day.”
“Yes, I love my PaPa.” Mengmeng pouted again, “MaMa, why hasn’t PaPa come back? My grandparents are both here.”
“Well…” Zi Yan did not know how to answer Mengmeng, so she kept saying, “He will be back soon.”
“Yes.” Rong Jiali smiled, “Tomorrow I’ll send someone to ask your father to come back, okay?”
“Tomorrow? Why not today?”
“Today…” Rong Jiali pointed to the sky, “It’s getting dark now and we will contact your father tomorrow morning.”
“All right. MaMa, I’m going to bed. Will I see PaPa when I wake up?” Mengmeng asked.
Zi Yan did not know how to answer her question. Mengmeng would cry again if she knew Zhang Han would not be back tomorrow morning.
“If he doesn’t come back tomorrow, I’ll ask him to pretend to be an elephant and you can ride on him when he is back. Is it okay?” Zi Yan replied.
“Humph.” Mengmeng snorted and began to play with her toy. She still looked unhappy.
Wang Zhanpeng and all the others were amused.
“Mengmeng is unhappy whenever Zhang Han is not with her.”
They recalled when they could not calm the little princess down the last time she lost her temper. Finally, Mengmeng quietened down after Zi Yan got sick.
“It will be a problem for Han every time he is out for an exploration…”
Wang Zhanpeng shook his head slightly.
Martial artists should be ambitious and aggressive.
Zhang Han was still young and he was expected to fight for all the available opportunities. However, Wang Zhanpeng felt that had it not been for him accompanying his daughter and waiting for his father, Zhang Han would have gone into seclusion.
“It’s difficult to have both worlds.” Wang Zhanpeng sighed with emotion.
He envied Zhang Han because he had given up a lot in order to cultivate when he was young.
“Mom, what’s wrong with you? Why do you have to wear this in the house?” Zhang Li was worried.
“Nothing serious.” Rong Jiali comforted her, “I will just wear it for a short while and I can take it off for brief periods every day.”
A short while meant that time was brief.
“Why…” Rong Jiaxin turned her gaze at Zhang Guangyou in confusion.
“How can this happen to her in Heavenly Knights Sect?”
“Alas.”
Zhang Guangyou sighed and shook his head, “I’ll tell you later.”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine since your father is here.” Rong Jiali smiled and then turned her gaze at Zi Yan. “Yan, elder Chen said your family are in Singapore?”
“Yes.” Zi Yan nodded gently. “We are Chinese immigrants who moved to Singapore a few decades ago. I was born in Singapore and grew up there and my parents often brought me back to China and taught me how to speak Chinese. Later, I came to Hong Kong to develop my career.”
“How did you and Han get to know each other?” Rong Jiali asked curiously.
“We…” Zi Yan hesitated for a moment and then replied, “We met in Shang Jing.”
Knowing that Elder Sister Yan was feeling nervous, Zhou Fei helped her to reply, “Aunt, we went to Shang Jing to work on a collaboration with a company five years ago and my sister met my brother-in-law there.”
“I see. Yan, you are 26 years old, right?” Rong Jiali asked.
It was the first time she saw Zi Yan and she wanted to get to know her daughter-in-law better.
While chatting with Wang Zhanpeng in a low voice, Zhang Guangyou kept an ear out on his wife’s communication with Zi Yan.
“Yes, I’m 26, one year younger than Zhang Han.”
“You met him when you were only 21 years old. It must be very hard for you to compete in the entertainment industry alone. Mengmeng is more than four years old, so… You had a baby soon after you met him?”
Rong Jiali was gently probing as she wanted to find out more.
Zi Yan was hesitant about answering this question.
The art of language is profound and she was thinking about how to give Rong Jiali a satisfying answer that would explain the situation well.
Seeing this, Zhou Fei thought Elder Sister Yan was too shy to answer Rong Jiali’s direct question.
“She had a baby soon after meeting Zhang Han?”
“My Elder Sister Yan is not such a promiscuous person.”
Zhou Fei took over the conversation and told the truth, “For social interaction, Sister Yan drank a little red wine. However…”
“Feifei.” Zi Yan tried to stop Zhou Fei with her eyes.
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t always keep it a secret.” Zhou Fei waved and tried to calm Zi Yan down.
Knowing she could do nothing to stop Zhou Fei, Zi Yan began to listen nervously to what she was narrating.
“At that time, there was a boss who was attracted to Sister Yan and put something in her drink. Fortunately, she was saved by my brother-in-law. I don’t know the specific situation, but your son was so good that Sister Yan soon found herself pregnant. She was competing for the best actress award in the entertainment industry at that time, so I suggested that she get an abortion. Sister Yan did not agree because she had only one chance to have a baby. Therefore, we left the entertainment industry in October to live in seclusion in North America for more than four years. Sister Yan gave birth to Mengmeng there and raised her alone. When Mengmeng was four years old, Sister Yan came back to find Zhang Han for Mengmeng’s sake. At that time, he lived in a dilapidated apartment and we gave him a chance to be alone with Mengmeng for a few days. After that, we could not get rid of him!”
Zhou Fei became more and more excited and told everything to Rong Jiali in one breath.
Life looked good now, but she and Sister Yan had borne all the burden when they were suffering abroad.
Boom!
Everyone present seemed to be struck by lightning.
Everyone became silent.
Hearing her name mentioned, Mengmeng looked around in confusion, not knowing what the adults were talking about.
Zi Yan lowered her head slightly, pursed her lips and did not say anything.
Now Rong Jiali and Zhang Guangyou were fully aware of Zhang Han and Zi Yan’s history.
Even for Rong Jiaxin, this was the first time she heard such a complete version.
“The bastard.” Zhang Guangyou mumbled.
He thought Zhang Han took advantage of Zi Yan and made her pregnant.
This was not the case.
But Zhang Guangyou and Rong Jiali did not know this.
Rong Jiali lifted her hand under the hat, as if she was surreptitiously wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Then she took Zi Yan’s hands and said gently, “You have suffered a lot all these years. It’s not only Han’s fault, but also our fault.”
She knew how strong Zi Yan’s will was. For a woman, it would have been a struggle to live overseas, give birth to a child and raise her alone.
Zi Yan shook her head slightly, “It’s nothing. Maybe it was a little bitter at that time, but now I’m very happy. Zhang Han loves me very much and indulges me.”
All sufferings have their reward. Zi Yan knew that for sure.
“PaPa loves me, too,” Mengmeng added.
“Hum! I’ll beat him up if he dares to be unkind to you!” Zhang Guangyou snorted.
He was even more satisfied with his daughter-in-law after hearing her story. Anyway, they were a family. It was his son’s fault, but fortunately, they were happy now.
“You bad guy!” All of a sudden, everyone heard a childish angry voice ringing out.
Mengmeng, who was staring at Zhang Guangyou unblinkingly, complained to Ziyan, “MaMa, he’s going to beat PaPa. Don’t let him stay here.”
“Someone is going to beat my PaPa.”
Angry and aggrieved, Mengmeng was about to cry.
“Ah?” Zhang Guangyou was surprised.
“Her mood changes too fast.”
“No.” Zi Yan hurried to comfort Mengmeng, “Your grandpa is joking. Your PaPa is his son and he won’t beat him. He is just joking.”
“No, he can’t do that.”
When she was with Zhang Han, Mengmeng seldom cried like other children. It was normal for children to have mood changes.
His granddaughter’s tears surprised Zhang Guangyou.
“Stop talking nonsense!” Rong Jiali glared at him.
Though Zhang Guangyou could not see her face, he could hear the anger in her tone.
“I’m just joking.” Zhang Guangyou hurriedly stood up to comfort Mengmeng, “My dear granddaughter. It is just a joke, so please don’t mind it. Your grandpa will not beat your dad. Stop crying, please.”
Zhang Guangyou was experienced in coaxing children since he had raised Zhang Han and Zhang Li. Half a minute later, Mengmeng stopped crying.
“Humph, I don’t like you.” Mengmeng was still pouting unhappily.
“Well, I apologize.” Zhang Guangyou looked at the place beside Mengmeng, “Please make room for me.”
He sat down beside Mengmeng and coaxed her gently.
Children were fickle and since the atmosphere was so cheerful, Mengmeng soon became happy.
Everyone burst out laughing upon seeing Mengmeng’s smile.
The atmosphere, which was a little tense before, was considerably lightened by the break.
“Yan.” Rong Jiali took Zi Yan’s hand and said kindly, “Has Han visited your parents?”
“Yes, we were engaged in Singapore.”
“Let me see… Let’s visit your parents in Singapore when it is convenient and discuss about your wedding. What do you think of it?”
Zi Yan blushed at Rong Jiali’s words. She pursed her lips and nodded, “It’s all up to you.”
“Ha ha ha.”
Rong Jiali burst out laughing, “Good!”
“We’ve been nervously waiting for you.” Rong Jiaxin smiled, “I thought about playing your part and officiating at their wedding. But I’m not Han’s biological mother and he refused to let me do it.”
“I agree with him. I must be a part of his ceremony. Han did a good job and I’ll give you both a special gift on that day.” Rong Jiali laughed.
Wang Zhanpeng’s mouth trembled.
“You have given them two divine weapons. How amazing will your special gift be?”
Rong Jiali stopped chatting when she thought she had found out enough about Zi Yan. But she was still looking forward to the family gossip in the evening.
Zhang Guangyou played with Mengmeng for a while and found that he liked his granddaughter even more.
When the women were done with that particular topic, Zhang Guangyou glanced at Zhang Li and asked in a calm tone, “Lili, you have a boyfriend, right?”
“What?” Zhang Li frowned, “No, it’s a rumor.”
“No?” Zhang Guangyou stared at her.
“I, I have not agreed to be his girlfriend yet. He’s still on probation.” Zhang Li replied with a guilty conscience.
“What’s his name? I’ll meet him when I come back. Humph!” Zhang Guangyou snorted.
“His name is Liang Hao, Uncle Zhang. He is also from Singapore. He went back a few days ago and will return to Hong Kong in a few days. Please be sure to scrutinize him thoroughly.” Zhou Fei replied with a smile.
She took pleasure in Liang Hao’s misfortune.
She got along well with Zhang Li now and they often made fun of each other.
“Liang Hao? Okay.” Zhang Guangyou nodded.
Zhang Li was a little nervous.
“Liang Hao, seek blessings for yourself. You’ll have to pass my dad’s test sooner or later.”
After a simple self-comforting thought, Zhang Li pondered whether she should inform Liang Hao in the evening.
While they were chatting, Gai Xingkong arrived at six o’clock in the evening.
“Ha ha, Guangyou!”
“Old Gai.”
Zhang Guangyou stood up to give Gai Xingkong a big hug.
“I have not seen you for so many years. I miss you so much.” Gai Xingkong laughed, “Thanks to your son, I’m now like this.”
Gai Xingkong made a gesture indicating “I’m the best.” Then he said, “If it was not due to my good relationship with you, I will still be waiting for a breakthrough in Heavenly Knights Sect.”
“He is my son.” Zhang Guangyou said proudly.
“Stop showing off.” Gai Xingkong smiled and turned his gaze at Rong Jiali, feeling surprised when he saw her hat, “Why is Jiali wearing the stage hat?”
“Well… She was attacked by our enemies.” Zhang Guangyou replied helplessly.
“Wind Snow School?” Gai Xingkong raised his eyebrows slightly. He did not say anything more because Mengmeng was present.
He was familiar with Zhang Han’s family and knew he could not talk about the martial arts world in front of Mengmeng.
“Dinner is ready.” Zhao Feng entered the room and smiled at them, “Well… Venerable masters, I’m Zhao Feng, Zhang Han’s disciple.”
Zhao Feng finally got the opportunity to introduce himself.
He addressed Zhang Guangyou and Rong Jiali as venerable masters because he could not think of a more suitable appellation for his Master’s parents.
Everyone in the room was surprised at Zhao Feng.
Zhang Guangyou cast several glances at him.
“Feng, Han’s first disciple and an excellent young man. He is now in charge of managing Mount New Moon, Cold Immortal School and Han’s company.” Gai Xingkong introduced him with a smile, “It took Han one year to turn all the security group members, including him, from ordinary people to high-level martial artists.”
Zhang Guangyou nodded when he heard “ordinary people” and “one year”.
“My son is capable and even amazing.”
He was surprised at Zhang Han’s achievements.
Then he remembered something and said, “I’m not a venerable master. Just call me Uncle Zhang.”
“Okay, Uncle Zhang.” Zhao Feng nodded with a smile.
“Aunt Rong and Uncle Zhang, shall we have our dinner first?” Zi Yan stood up.
“Come on, let’s eat and talk.” Rong Jiali answered with a smile.
“Let’s have dinner.” Mengmeng echoed.
Her enthusiasm for eating had decreased with the absence of Zhang Han.
The group walked to the restaurant, chatting and laughing along the way.
Gai Xingkong, Zhang Li, Wang Ming, Zhou Fei and Rong Jiaxin praised the dishes that were served.
Zhang Guangyou was confused and thought they were exaggerating. He had tasted so many high-quality foods, especially those in Heavenly Knights Sect.
“Is the food really so delicious, since you all praise it so highly?” Zhang Guangyou shook his head and chuckled.
Then he took a bite of the food.
“Yummy.”
Zhang Guangyou was stunned because the food was so outstanding.
“This… Does he have a divine object specially for cultivating food ingredients?”
He suddenly realized that Zhang Han was much more outstanding than their description and what he saw now!
During the dinner, the group of women chatted together, while Zhang Guangyou and Gai Xingkong drank cups of white wine.
“Where are the three spirit beasts from?” Zhang Guangyou asked in a low voice.
“Han raised them.” Gai Xingkong replied casually.
“Raise? What do you mean?”
“I told you that Zhang Han cultivated everyone here, so we all had to start from scratch, with the exception of the Wangs.” Gai Xingkong sighed with emotion. He helped me make a breakthrough, improved my marksmanship and taught Changqing the new cultivation method. Both Wang Ming and Jiaxin owe their breakthroughs to him.”
“It sounds like he has done so much.” Zhang Guangyou grinned happily, “Cheers!”
Being in a good mood, the two outstanding men drank 50ml of white wine in one mouthful.
“Ah.” Gai Xingkong said as he put down his cup, “Your son is not only the second director of National Security Agency in Hong Kong, but also a General. Otherwise, he would not have sent the army here.”
“Huh?”.
Zhang Guangyou narrowed his eyes slightly in astonishment.
“It’s incredible.”
There were martial artists in the army, but not all of them could become Generals.
“He must have contributed a lot to the government.”
Zhang Guangyou guessed right.
Gai Xingkong explained, “I will not list all his countless contributions. There is no one as talented as Han in cultivating martial artists. He trained many Qi Strength Masters for Wolf Head Detachment. They may all be at Heaven Stage now and are more powerful than those who cultivated by themselves. Therefore, there will soon be a new team of Martial Arts Grand Masters in the army. What is more interesting is that a former officer of Wolf Head Detachment is now in the security group. He is Instructor Liu.”
“Hello, Uncle Zhang.” Instructor Liu smiled and nodded at Zhang Guangyou.
“Nice to meet you.” Zhang Guangyou replied with a smile.
The more he found out about his son, the more surprised he was.
After dinner, they took a walk to the back mountain.
Rong Jiali was still chatting with Zi Yan and the other ladies and their relationship grew rapidly closer.
Mengmeng and Dahei were playing in the pet area.
“Is this tree a divine object? I did not sense its Qi clearly before.” Zhang Guangyou asked.
“That is normal. Even Divine-Realm Masters can’t see through Han’s array.”
Wang Zhanpeng burst out laughing. Then he walked to one side of the furnace and picked up a small stone.
Clatter!
In front of them, the air vibrated like rippling water which soon dissipated.
The ancient and majestic Qi of the thunder yang tree gushed forth.
The medicine field not far from the left also changed. Thunder Yang Flower, Yuan Qing Tree and all the other treasures showed their original appearances.
“Hiss!”
Zhang Guangyou gasped in fear.
“Three divine objects?”
“Three?” Wang Zhanpeng was confused, “I see only two of them.”
“No.” Zhang Guangyou shook his head slightly and turned to look at the thunder yang tree.
He sensed that the Thunder Yang Tree was a top-level divine object and fifth-stage spirit treasure, which was rarely seen. But it was not the tree that attracted his attention. On the top of the Thunder Yang Tree, the luminous Thunder Yang Wood was sending out waves of strong fluctuations.
“That is a top-level divine object too!”
“If it is true, it should be the legendary Thunder Yang Wood!”
Zhang Guangyou was shocked.