A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return Chapter 817 - Adoption

Little Shaohui had mixed feelings.

Xia Moyan as well—he never would’ve thought that Li Lei would try to curry favor with his father with chess. But well, it certainly worked.

He glared at his father—this old man wasn’t reliable at all, nor was Shaohui. It seemed like he could only count on himself and his mother to ensure his sister’s happiness.

He glanced at Madam Xia, who was still chatting happily with Xia Ling. The two of them went from talking about how difficult Xia Ling’s life had been, to the latest fas.h.i.+on trends in the market. On that note, Xia Ling seemed to have thought of something and got Ah Nuo to hand her an item from the luggage. “Mom, take a look at this satin. This North European craft is about to become a lost art, so Li Lei especially got someone to make this for you. He heard that you like cape jasmines, and hence requested for it to be dyed this color…”

“Really? Oh my, it looks beautiful. This print and shade are so unique, I’ve never seen anything similar. Xiao Lei is really filial.” Madam Xia’s eyes lit up with joy and immediately addressed Li Lei affectionately.

Xia Moyan couldn’t bear the sight, even his mother had fallen into the trap.

Little Shaohui quietly distanced himself from his uncle, whose expression now was really scary.

Xia Family Head held onto the game score and chess set like it was his treasure, and asked Li Lei into the room to continue their discussion on chess. Madam Xia hooked arms with Xia Ling and led her along. “Come, Mom decorated a room for you. See if you like it.”

Xia Ling smiled. “Anything Mom decorates is good.”

Mother and daughter happily strutted in.

They left Little Shaohui and Xia Moyan behind.

Had they been… forgotten?

Shaohui hurried towards the luggage and looked up at Ah Nuo. “Uncle Ah Nuo, Mom and Dad didn’t prepare any gift for me?” He asked expectantly.

The big man squatted down and smiled. “Little Young Master, of course they did. You’ve been on their minds this whole time.”

He took several things out of the luggage—toy cars, toy guns, remote-controlled airplane models and more. Shaohui cheered. “I knew it. Mom and Dad are the best!”

On the other side, Xia Moyan’s expression stiffened even more.

Little Shaohui hurriedly zipped his mouth and turned around slowly and cautiously, like a child who had done something wrong. Seeing that Uncle did not go on to lecture him, he asked, “Uncle Ah Nuo, did Dad bring anything back for Uncle as well?”

Ah Nuo smiled and retrieved something from the luggage. He straightened up and politely handed it to Xia Moyan. “Preceptor, Young Master heard that you’re a tea lover. He went up the mountain to look for what is known to be the legendary white tea tree on Earth and picked the fresh tea leaves personally. Please try them and see if they’re to your liking.”

Xia Moyan received the gift but did not look any less unhappy.

Did these people think that he was just like his unreliable parents and the untrustworthy kid Shaohui? He wouldn’t be bribed by just a gift, hmph.

“Manager Haichao, take them to the guest room for a rest.” He instructed.

Xia Haichao nodded and said to Ah Nuo, Father Ye, and Auntie Liu, “It’s been a long way here, please come with me.”

The Xia family’s reunion had left Auntie Liu and Father Ye feeling a little awkward, but the valuable gifts were what truly shocked them. Auntie Liu did not bother with the civilities. “So, Ah Nuo, did your Young Master prepare any gifts for me? Don’t forget that Old Ye and I are Xiao Ling’s real parents!”

Ah Nuo said matter-of-factly, “Young Master did not prepare any.”

Li Lei had intended to get them gifts. After all, the Ye family was Xia Ling’s family in this lifetime.

But Xia Ling stopped him. “Haven’t I done enough for them all these years? It’s not as if they’ve ever treated me like family. They’ve tried to sell me away time and again, and they’re even asking me for money now. In any case, I’ve already given them 30,000 yuan. That’s considerably generous in their context. You don’t have to give them anything more, lest they get addicted to money and come asking for more in the future.”

She’d taken over Ye Xingling’s physical body, but even so, she would’ve repaid any favor that she needed to over all these years. From this point on, she’d only attend to the Ye family if it was regarding major issues, such as sickness and death. Otherwise, if it was just a scheme to take advantage of and exploit her, she would not give an inch.

Li Lei laughed at how petty she was.

And she snapped back at him. “Well, what’s wrong with that?”

Li Lei ended up having to coax her for the rest of the day.

Hence, this time, Li Lei had followed his wife’s orders and did not prepare anything for the Ye family. He even told Ah Nuo that if the Ye family was to ask about it or kick a fuss, he didn’t have to be too polite in response.

Once Ah Nuo said that Li Lei had not prepared anything, Auntie Liu flared up. “What’s going on? Why isn’t there one? It must be you, you’re corrupt! Mr. Li loves my daughter so much, how could he possibly not have prepared a gift for me?”

On the inside, Ah Nuo utterly despised her— so now you remember that Miss Ye is your “daughter,” huh?

When you’ve never treated Miss Ye like a daughter all this while!

He was fuming on the inside but managed to maintain a dignified demeanor.

Meanwhile, Xia Haichao had had enough of her nonsense and gave a deliberate cough. “There are some things that we should clarify as soon as possible. Mr. Ye, Madame Liu, we invited you over this time, not simply because we wanted Miss Ling to acknowledge them as G.o.dparents. In fact, we hope that Miss Ling can be officially adopted by the Xia family from today onwards. Once that is done, Miss Ling will be the daughter of the Xia family, and would have nothing to do with the Ye’s.”

“What?!” Both Father Ye and Auntie Liu exclaimed in shock.

This was Xia Haichao’s task, to begin with. Now, more than ever, he really wanted to give the Ye’s a piece of his mind. “Three days from now, the locals will be holding a ceremony for Miss Ling’s return. We hope that you both will cooperate to allow the smooth completion of the process.”

“Fat hope!” Auntie Liu disagreed. “You’ve got it all planned out, eh? You poor, grimy village people were lucky enough to find Xiao Ling’s son, and now you’re getting all haughty? Trying to get yourselves connected with a superstar like Xiao Ling? You wis.h.!.+ Let me tell you, she can forget about trying to sever ties with me!”

Her saliva was splattered all over Xia Haichao’s face.

Xia Haichao calmly wiped his face with a tissue and said, “Madame Liu, this will not change, whether or not you agree to it. Our Xia family doesn’t like committing sins, but that doesn’t mean we don’t kill.”

“W-What does that mean?” Auntie Liu was stunned.

Xia Haichao smiled. “Remember when we were on our way up the mountain? I wanted to toss you off the mountains. I could carry on with it now if I wanted to.”