CHAPTER 423: CHAPTER 423: THE SHOW IS ABOUT TO START

This time, Cheng Lie went to the Meng Family.

Old Mrs. Meng had already prepared fine silver needles to perform acupuncture on Cheng Lie.

She chatted with Cheng Lie while doing so.

She asked him about his daily life and the kind of life he had lived in South City in the past.

Cheng Lie noticed that Old Mrs. Meng was particularly interested in his childhood, especially in the life he had shared with his mother.

Later, Cheng Lie showed photos of himself and his mother to Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng.

Old Mrs. Meng couldn’t hold back her tears after seeing the photos.

She even turned to hit Elder Meng: "It’s all your fault. I told you back then, if she liked him, then let her marry him. Who cares if he’s poor? But you—what did you do? You drove her out of the family!"

Elder Meng’s eyes also became moist. "It’s all my fault... It’s all my fault..."

Their gazes turned back to Cheng Lie. This child who resembled Meng Zhao—he must be her son.

Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng had no doubts anymore.

Elder Meng held Cheng Lie’s hand and said, "Xiao Lie, do you know? We are your grandparents. Your mother was our daughter."

Cheng Lie lifted his dark eyes. Perhaps thanks to Old Mrs. Meng’s acupuncture, his vision seemed slightly better, though still blurry. He appeared confused. "Grandparents?"

"Yes, we are your grandparents!" Old Mrs. Meng said, her voice choking as she stroked Cheng Lie’s hair. "Child, you’ve suffered so much all this time."

They decided that, no matter what, they would formally acknowledge Cheng Lie.

Cheng Lie sat quietly among them for a while before saying, "But I’ve never met my grandparents since I was little."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Meng glared at Elder Meng again. But after thinking about it, what had happened had already happened; Ah Zhao was gone and couldn’t come back. The most important thing now was to acknowledge this child.

So, Old Mrs. Meng patiently explained everything to Cheng Lie.

Only then did Cheng Lie learn that when his parents had been together, Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng had opposed their union, believing his father unworthy of his mother.

Later, his mother had eloped with his father and severed all ties with the Meng Family.

"After that, we went to South City to look for her but didn’t see her anywhere," Old Mrs. Meng said, tears threatening once again.

She felt both sorrowful and embarrassed.

Cheng Lie suddenly recalled something from his childhood. At one point, they had moved houses; back then, his mother had told him that the previous place wasn’t suitable. It occurred to him that it might have been to avoid Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng.

Cheng Lie almost fully understood his mother’s feelings. Perhaps she believed their circumstances were too poor to want to be discovered by Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng.

At this thought, his expression turned cold. He felt his mother’s actions had been too foolish.

If she hadn’t acted that way back then, she might not have died.

As for him, he wouldn’t have endured so many hardships over the years.

Thinking this, Cheng Lie couldn’t help but pause.

But then again, if his mother had reunited with the Meng Family and Old Mrs. Meng had seen that she was living poorly, they surely would have brought them back to Beijing.

In that case, he might never have met Yun Shifei.

Fate’s arrangements are often so mysterious.

Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng held Cheng Lie and reminisced sentimentally for a long time.

Meanwhile, Xia Yuezhen was lurking nearby, her anger simmering inside her.

She felt she had to find a way to deal with this matter. What kind of "grandson" was this? He had lived outside for so many years, reportedly had autism in the past, had even been abused—his mind must already be twisted.

Eventually, they once again urged Cheng Lie to stay for dinner.

When Cheng Lie was about to leave, they held onto his hand reluctantly. "Xiao Lie, why don’t you stay here? The environment here is good; it’s beneficial for your eyes."

Indeed, the environment here was excellent.

But Cheng Lie wasn’t comfortable staying with so many people, especially knowing that someone here wanted him dead.

Xia Yuezhen watched Cheng Lie nervously, already formulating a plan in her mind.

There was a hill nearby—not tall, but a misplaced step could still kill someone.

But unexpectedly, Cheng Lie smiled and shook his head.

"No need," he said. "I’m used to living over there."

Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng didn’t press further and escorted Cheng Lie to the car.

They even asked Xia Yuezhen to fetch a bunch of gifts from home to give to Cheng Lie. "Xiao Lie, these are tokens of your grandmother’s affection. I’ll inform your uncles and aunts so they can all come to meet you."

Cheng Lie wasn’t inclined to deal with so many people right now, so he replied, "Grandmother, let’s wait until my eyes are fully healed before meeting them."

Considering the state of his eyes, it indeed wasn’t the best time to meet anyone.

Old Mrs. Meng thought about it and agreed—it made sense.

She had Xia Yuezhen hand the gifts to Cheng Lie.

Even though Xia Yuezhen disliked the situation, she still had to feign happiness on the surface.

She handed the gifts to Cheng Lie, smiling as she said, "Xiao Lie, come over tomorrow. Aunt will cook a grand meal for you."

"Thank you, Aunt," Cheng Lie replied lightly.

Xia Yuezhen glanced at his face. It was undeniably handsome—but also undeniably irritating.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard Cheng Lie’s low voice: "The real drama is about to begin."

It was as if Xia Yuezhen had been provoked; she instinctively turned to look at Cheng Lie.

But all she saw was Cheng Lie bowing his head, placing the gifts aside, as though he hadn’t spoken those words.

Xia Yuezhen’s breath hitched. She clenched her fists tightly. Whether it was an illusion or not, she was determined to eliminate Cheng Lie.

What he didn’t know was that his appearance threatened to compete with her for the Meng Family’s inheritance.

For years, she had worked tirelessly for the fortune that was undoubtedly worth a fortune, and now an unexpected grandson could claim a share of it?

Even a slight loss would make Xia Yuezhen feel pained, not to mention the guilty expressions Elder Meng and Old Mrs. Meng had shown today toward Cheng Lie.

She already knew that when the time came, the inheritance would undoubtedly include him.

As Cheng Lie sat in the car, Zhao Pan said, "Mr. Cheng, rest assured, this time I will ensure nothing happens to you again."

"Hmm. If it happens again, you won’t be working under me anymore."

Hearing Cheng Lie’s relaxed yet ruthless tone as he prepared to fire him, Zhao Pan felt his heart ache.

He also knew full well that he absolutely couldn’t let such a thing happen again.

Cheng Lie closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them to look at the scenery outside. His vision was gradually improving.

This was proof of Old Mrs. Meng’s impressive medical skills.

Thinking of their earlier expressions filled with excitement and regret, Cheng Lie felt as calm as a still pond.

No matter what, he couldn’t see them as his grandparents.

He didn’t care about the title of "Meng Family grandson."

After all, relying on himself, he might not necessarily fare worse than the Meng Family.

Upon returning home, Yun Shifei didn’t rush up to him like she usually did, which surprised Cheng Lie.

He waited a while before hearing footsteps approaching—but she still didn’t fling herself into his arms.

He raised an eyebrow. "What’s the matter?"