Chapter 316: Driving Away the Bai Family
"You! It’s impossible to reason with you people!"
Bai Rao’s gaze was ice-cold as she supported Mr. Bai and took a few steps back.
She had, of course, long known about Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng’s reputations. Even their own parents couldn’t control them, so there was currently nothing that could be used as leverage against them.
Knowing when to yield is a sign of wisdom. Mrs. Bai retreated to the side of another one of her Beast Husbands, not daring to say another word.
She hadn’t expected Mu Tangfeng to strike without any warning.
She glanced at the husband Bai Rao was supporting, her eyes filled with disdain. ’Other people’s Beastmen are so powerful, yet he can’t even take a single kick.’
’So embarrassing!’
Yan Huoshui, who had been watching the whole spectacle from the side, finally stepped forward with a smile. "Mrs. Bai, since there’s nothing else, you should hurry on home."
Mrs. Bai’s gaze swept over to Yan Huoshui. Yan Huoshui’s appearance had always been deceptive. He wasn’t wearing his glasses at the moment, but since he was with his wife, he was dressed in comfortable, refined home clothes. His red hair was neatly combed back at the nape of his neck. A vermilion-red cinnabar dot sat on his smooth, fair forehead, warm and gentle, which, paired with his mild smile, gave him an indescribably kind and benevolent air.
She didn’t dare say anything to Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng, but seeing Yan Huoshui, her courage returned. She stepped forward and said, "It’s a good thing Shi Lan married a Beast Husband like you—so nice and kind. Unlike certain frivolous and dissolute people."
Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng’s faces fell instantly. ’Who is this old hag cursing?’
Mrs. Bai felt their ferocious glares and immediately shut her mouth. She took a genetic test report out of her Space Chain. "Here, could this Beast Husband please take this for Lanlan to see? We accidentally lost her back then, and we’ve regretted it deeply all these years."
"Accidentally? Oh? Then why didn’t you look for her?"
A smile still played on Yan Huoshui’s lips. He slowly took the genetic report, gave it a brief glance, and asked his question.
Mrs. Bai put on a pained expression. "Sigh, it’s a long story. I was pregnant with twins back then. Before I even had a chance to tell my family, a doctor secretly took one of the babies away. After all, no one had given birth to two females at once in all these years. That doctor must have been jealous. We searched secretly for her decades ago, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. All these years, I thought I’d never find her, so I didn’t dare hope for too much. Who knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel? Lanlan looks so much like her grandmother, so we investigated a little..."
As she spoke, she moved herself to tears, which streamed down her face nonstop.
"Heaven truly has blessed my child, sending her back to my side..."
The scene should have been a touching, heartfelt reunion, but Mrs. Bai was the only one in character.
Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng looked on with disdain, rolling their eyes.
Bai Rao supported Mr. Bai, who was still grimacing in pain.
Mrs. Bai’s other Beast Husbands were largely indifferent; after all, it wasn’t their child.
As for Yan Huoshui, he sighed faintly. "Is that so."
Mrs. Bai thought she had found an ally and immediately nodded.
But the next moment, he nonchalantly added, "Speaking of which, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen Lanlan, is it? How come you only showed up to claim kinship right after her 3S Spiritual Power was revealed?"
Mrs. Bai’s expression froze.
Yan Huoshui’s thin lips curled into a cold line, the smile completely vanishing from his face. "You’re just a bunch of social climbers. My wife has no need for family like you."
With that, his well-defined fingers deftly tore the genetic test report to shreds in a few swift motions. "Tsk. A forged report from god-knows-where."
"You..."
Mrs. Bai was stunned, unable to process Yan Huoshui’s drastic change. She couldn’t understand how the man who just moments ago wore such a gentle, amiable smile could suddenly spew such harsh, cutting words.
Seeing him tear up the genetic test report, Mrs. Bai was so furious she nearly lunged forward to grab it back. But she looked up and met his red eyes, which were icy and devoid of all emotion.
The cinnabar dot between his brows, which had seemed so gentle and kind, now looked like the mark of a deadly Asura. His sharp, crimson gaze seemed poised to snatch her life away in the next second.
Her lips trembled in fear, and she was speechless for a long moment. It was one of her Beast Husbands who noticed something was wrong. He immediately came over to shield her, looking at Yan Huoshui with a wary expression.
Yan Huoshui tossed the shredded paper onto the ground, his lips pursed as he glared at them. "I’ll give you ten seconds. Take your trash and go back where you came from. Otherwise, I’m calling the guards."
Hearing this, Mrs. Bai’s Beast Husband immediately knelt to pick up the scraps of the report, then helped Bai Rao drag Mr. Bai away as they hastily departed with Mrs. Bai in tow.
As a fellow male Beastman, he could clearly feel the oppressive spiritual power and coldness radiating from Yan Huoshui. It was obvious he wasn’t joking.
Although Mrs. Bai wanted to claim their relation, under these circumstances, protecting his wife was what he, as a Beast Husband, was supposed to do.
The Bai Family had come and gone in a hurry. After the commotion outside died down, Yan Huoshui and the other two returned just in time for the lunch Ye Ming was finishing up.
During the meal, it was obvious that all four of them were worried about Shi Lan’s state.
They took turns placing her favorite dishes on her plate and frequently glanced at her expression. Even Jiang Xia, for once, wasn’t solely focused on devouring his food; his gaze was mostly fixed on her face.
Shi Lan felt their gazes on her and said with a helpless smile, "Alright, if you want to ask something, just ask. Staring at me like this is making me too embarrassed to eat."
Jiang Xia ducked his head. "Lanlan, I’ll stop looking! You need to eat well. It’s not just for you, our little one needs to eat too."
Ye Ming placed a piece of her favorite seafood on her plate. "Yes, Lanlan, we won’t disturb your meal."
Shi Lan put down her chopsticks. "Are you sure you don’t have any questions? Opportunity knocks but once. I won’t answer after this, you know?"
Jiang Xia’s eyes darted around. Unable to contain his curiosity, he was about to ask when Yan Huoshui spoke up directly. "Lanlan, you should be the Bai Family’s daughter. I saw the genetic test report for you, Mr. Bai, and Mrs. Bai. It showed a blood relationship."
He had read the report. It had a special mark on it that was impossible to forge. He figured it was better to tell her clearly now rather than have the Bai Family come and harass her with the information later.
’So they’re really her family?’ Jiang Xia’s jaw dropped.
Mu Tangfeng’s eyes were also full of surprise. But the thought of Lanlan having to be family with such disgusting people made his expression turn to one of pity and indignation.
’What right does the Bai Family have to a daughter this good?’
’They don’t deserve her at all!’
Ye Ming had actually guessed it long ago; this was just confirmation.
He looked at Shi Lan again with concern, monitoring her emotional state.
Noticing the concerned gazes of her Beast Husbands, Shi Lan said slowly, "I actually knew. But I don’t plan on acknowledging them."
"Lanlan..."
The pity in the four men’s eyes deepened. This was especially true for Yan Huoshui; as an orphan himself, he could keenly empathize with her feelings.
’But, he had long since stopped needing parents. Lanlan, however... maybe she still hoped to have them...’
Housewarming Meal
Wen Te’s Wedding