CHAPTER 734: CHAPTER 734: WHOSE CHILD IS QINGQING?

Lian Qingyang clenched his lips tightly, his dark eyes full of disappointment and forbearance.

Lian Qingyang took a deep breath, suppressing all the emotions in his heart, and said, "Mom, I’m just too busy."

"Being busy is an excuse for treating your mom, who came all the way to see you, like this?" Xiang Yazhi saw Lian Qingyang showing weakness and held herself in high regard, saying, "Qingyang, I’ll take you out for Western food tonight. It’ll be a good opportunity for just the two of us to spend some time together."

"Mom, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the time. The computer store is about to open, and there are still so many things to prepare." Lian Qingyang refused. He lowered his eyes and didn’t say that what he least liked was Western food; he preferred Chinese cuisine, Huaxia dishes.

"Don’t you have employees? You hired so many employees, shouldn’t they be doing the work? Do you, as the boss, have to do everything yourself?" Xiang Yazhi looked dissatisfiedly at Lian Qingyang and said, "Qingyang, I’m in Sea City dealing with plenty of business too. The Xiang Family’s business is also facing difficulties, but Mom still made time to come and see you. Qingyang, it’s been two days since I arrived, and you don’t even have time for a meal?"

"Mom, I really don’t have time." Lian Qingyang firmly refused.

Each sentence Xiang Yazhi spoke was a challenge to Lian Qingyang’s limits of endurance.

Regarding the Xiang Family’s business, Xiang Yazhi would visit two or three times a month at most. As for her claim of being here for two days, Lian Qingyang did not want to mention how many things Xiang Yazhi had delayed; after all, she was his mother.

Endure.

Lian Qingyang turned around and dove back into his busy work. The location for the store was beside a house on Southwest Road. He had rented one floor; it was close to where he originally worked, and being street-facing, it had a decent flow of passersby. The interior of the house had been renovated - simple, bright, and stylish.

But there were still details that Lian Qingyang needed to finalize.

"Lian Qingyang," Xiang Yazhi couldn’t help but call out his name loudly. She saw many people were here, and with a shout, she sent all the employees out.

"Mom."

Lian Qingyang couldn’t help but say, "Are you here to see me, or do you begrudge my success? Do you want to ruin my business?"

Those employees were hardworking and diligent day-to-day, but now they were scolded by Xiang Yazhi without reason, making Lian Qingyang feel even worse than if he had been scolded himself.

"What, are you going to talk back to me for the sake of those people?" Xiang Yazhi glared angrily and looked at Lian Qingyang’s face, cursing in her heart: An ungrateful wretch, nothing but an ungrateful wretch.

"I am your mother. I’ve traveled thousands of miles to see you, and this is how you treat me? I think your conscience has been eaten by a dog." Xiang Yazhi accused Lian Qingyang, "Busy, busy, busy, what is there for you to be busy with? A lousy gaming company can’t hold a candle to the Lian Family’s business; why are you so devoted to it?"

Lian Qingyang took a deep breath, looking at Xiang Yazhi with a face full of disappointment, his gaze filled with disdain and contempt.

"All these years, the things you bought me, you just took me to stores and then had the clerks fit me."

"Later, when I grew up, don’t you know that I now wear shoes one size larger? And the suits you sent, they are all black or gray, do I look like I’m Dad’s age?"

"Also, I’m allergic to durian, Mom. All these years have passed, and you can never remember."

Lian Qingyang couldn’t forget his sense of loss when he saw the durian the day before yesterday; it was unstoppable.

He was allergic to durian, which made his entire body itch upon eating it. Sometimes it was so severe he needed to go to the hospital. Yet, because Xiang Yazhi liked it, he couldn’t help himself. It seemed normal not to bring it before him, as he, being her son, couldn’t dictate her eating habits due to his allergy.

But when his mother repeatedly claimed she was offering him fruit when it was durian, that made him quite uncomfortable.

"You... I..."

Upon hearing Lian Qingyang’s words, Xiang Yazhi’s face changed. She raised her hand and slapped Lian Qingyang, saying, "The shoes, I didn’t realize you had outgrown them, and I wanted the clothes to make you look more mature and stable. As for the durian, the durian..."

Xiang Yazhi couldn’t bear to meet Lian Qingyang’s gaze and said, "It was for me to eat, not for you."

"Xiang Yazhi, are you still a mother?"

Tang Yue arrived just in time to hear Lian Qingyang’s words. She looked at the palm print on Lian Qingyang’s face with heartache. How much force did it take to leave such a clear mark?

"Qingyang, go to the kitchen and put some eggs on it, otherwise, in the grand opening day after tomorrow, with your swollen face, who would dare buy computers?" Tang Yue spoke softly, comforting Lian Qingyang. She patted his shoulder amidst his worried look and assured, "Qingyang, don’t worry, she wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me."

Tang Yue’s gaze was filled with confidence.

Lian Qingyang involuntarily trusted her. Though he was worried, he still left.

"What are you doing here?" Xiang Yazhi’s mood soured at the sight of Tang Yue. Especially when Tang Yue pointed at her nose and scolded, she took a seat on a nearby chair and said, "Qingyang is my son, how I teach my son is none of your business."

"Xiang Yazhi, whatever means you used to keep Lian He from returning to Wangjiang County, I don’t care. But Qingyang is my younger brother, and you can’t bully him." Tang Yue took a seat opposite her. Her words were firm and powerful; although she wasn’t shouting, she exuded an imposing aura.

She wore a purple sweater and tight bell-bottom jeans, with a pair of white sneakers on her feet. Her clothing was simple and stylish, highlighting her delicate features. Sitting straight-backed on a chair, she seemed calm and composed, her bright eyes seemingly piercing through everything.

"Qingyang may be your son, but as a mother, you don’t even know the size of your son’s shoes. Doesn’t that make you a laughingstock?" Tang Yue’s mouth curled in a half-smile.

"I..." Xiang Yazhi adjusted her clothes and lowered her gaze, concealing her panic and embarrassment, "Qingyang is in the midst of growing."

"Actually, I have something I’ve been wanting to ask you." Tang Yue suddenly changed the topic.

Xiang Yazhi’s eyes met hers, almost involuntarily.

Tang Yue spoke slowly, "Both Qingyang’s father and I are type B blood, but Qingyang is type A, yet Lian Qingqing is type O."

Tang Yue’s gaze was direct, not missing a flicker of emotion in Xiang Yazhi’s eyes. She asked, "Whose child is Lian Qingqing?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Xiang Yazhi frantically interrupted Tang Yue, standing up and nervously fixing her hair, her gaze darting elsewhere as she exclaimed, "What type A, type O blood, you’re talking rubbish!"

"What are you feeling guilty about?" Tang Yue raised a faint smile and tentatively asked, "Or should I ask, whose child is Qingyang?"