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Chapter 1015 - 1012: Going Home

Chapter 1015: Chapter 1012: Going Home

Tong Laoda and his wife returned to the Tong family the day before New Year’s, but Tong Xiaohua had no idea beforehand. When she got home from school, as soon as she walked through the door, she saw her dad’s and mom’s keys hanging on the storage cabinet behind it.

"Dad, Mom, you’re back?"

Tong Xiaohua called out loudly towards the inner room while changing her shoes, and then she heard Tong Laoda’s voice coming from the backyard.

"Girl, we’re back."

Tong Xiaohua dropped her backpack carelessly and ran towards the backyard.

During the days when she was sick, she had missed her parents terribly.

But she didn’t want to burst the benevolent lie her parents had so painstakingly kept from her, even though she felt like dying because of the issues with Yan Bo, she had not dared to bother her parents at all.

Her mother was in poor health and lived in a sanatorium in the suburbs because the air was good there and conducive to her recovery.

Therefore, she was very understanding; every time her mother asked if she was used to staying home alone, she would force a smile and say, "How could I possibly mind? While you and dad are enjoying your world for two, I’m equally enjoying my own world for two with Yan Bo."

As for Yan Bo’s disappearance, she had made Qin Ming and the others promise a thousand times not to tell her parents.

"Mom and Dad, why didn’t you let me know in advance that you were coming back?"

Tong Xiaohua reached the backyard and threw herself into her mother’s arms, cuddling and complaining at the same time.

"Isn’t tomorrow New Year’s Day? We specially came back to celebrate the new year with you."

Tong’s mother seemed to be in better spirits than before and had gained a little weight.

At that moment, she was looking down at her precious daughter, raising her hand to touch Tong Xiaohua’s face with a look of pity.

"Xiao Hua, how did you get so thin?"

Tong’s mother said worriedly, pinching her daughter’s arms and back, which caused her eyebrows to inadvertently furrow.

"Girl, are you working too hard to the point of exhaustion?"

Regarding Tong Laoda’s insistence on his daughter taking over the family business, Tong’s mother had always taken a neutral stance.

"If Xiao Hua likes it, I won’t obstruct her, but if she doesn’t want to manage it, you can’t force her either."

Those were the exact words Tong’s mother had said to Tong Laoda at the time.

Tong Xiaohua didn’t say whether she liked it or not, but she hadn’t explicitly refused either.

Tong Xiaohua buried her face in her mother’s chest and rubbed against it a few times, "Mom, it’s not work, I have exams coming up soon, and I’ve been cramming at the last minute, staying up late for a few days, that’s why I’ve lost weight. Besides, I was a bit overweight before, so now it’s like I’m dieting."

Tong’s mother patted her head and scolded her softly, "Nonsense, where have you gained weight? Even at your original weight, I thought you were too thin!"

"Yun Xiang, that’s true, isn’t it?"

Tong Laoda, who had been preoccupied with a new treasure he had just brought back, glanced at his daughter briefly after his wife asked him.

"Hmm... indeed, too thin..."

Tong Xiaohua glared at her dad, "Dad, you’re just echoing whatever mom says."

Tong Laoda ignored her and continued examining his treasure with lowered eyes.

Only then did Tong Xiaohua notice the wooden carving of a monkey in front of her father and she moved closer with curiosity.

"Dad, where did you find this new treasure?"

Tong Laoda looked through his magnifying glass here and there, "This is a root carving; Fei Zi gave it to me as a New Year’s gift."

Tong Xiaohua furrowed her brow slightly, "Fei Gang? Since when did he understand these things?"

Tong’s eldest still didn’t look at her, "He doesn’t need to understand, it’s enough that I do."

Tong Xiaohua didn’t utter a word, wriggled out from her mother’s embrace, shifted her butt, and sat down next to Tong’s eldest; then, she leaned in closely and started to watch seriously as well.

Tong’s mother got up, "You father and daughter enjoy yourselves, I’ll go to the kitchen and check on the soup."

The father and daughter analyzed the details of the statue bit by bit through the magnifying glass.

"Well, do you see anything?"

Tong Xiaohua shook her head honestly, "No!"

Tong’s eldest glanced at her with disdain, about to say that since she didn’t understand, why bother joining in; then Tong Xiaohua spoke again.

"I can’t see anything from the statue, but I can see what Fei Gang is thinking."

Tong’s eldest scrutinized her with an inquisitive gaze for quite a while, straightened up, and looked at her leisurely.

"Oh? Then tell me, what are you thinking he’s thinking?"

Since Tong’s eldest had handed over the Tong Family business to Tong Xiaohua, he no longer directly interfered with her affairs, even if he did occasionally visit various sites after returning to the country, but he basically didn’t give any commanding orders.

When chatting with Tong Xiaohua about these matters, he never said, you should do this or that.

Therefore, he had never interfered in any of Fei Gang’s affairs.

"Dad, after he and Brother Liu switched roles and took over the bank, there have been quite a few issues. However, I want to see if he really has taken a dislike to me, doesn’t accept my authority, or if it’s because someone’s backing him up from behind."

Tong’s eldest looked at her thoughtfully, "You mean, I’m the one backing him up behind the scenes?"

Tong Xiaohua shook her head, "Of course not, you are my dad, and he isn’t stupid; he just wants to test whether you’ve distanced yourself from him because of previous incidents."

Tong’s eldest laughed and put down the magnifying glass, "I’m no longer the boss, so my opinion of him doesn’t matter anymore, does it?"

Tong Xiaohua shrugged, "Who knows!"

Tong’s eldest turned to look at the lifelike root carving, feeling a bit reluctant, "Then, should I send this back?"

Tong Xiaohua shook her head again, "Of course not, he’s been under your charge for so many years and made quite a profit. Sending you a broken tree root, you should not take offense, right?"

Tong’s eldest couldn’t help but laugh again, "Girl, this is not just any broken tree root, this is the work of a renowned sculptor, and it’s quite valuable."

"Valuable or not, you can take it. Our Tong Family has never made a habit of mistreating our brothers. The last time he handled things very poorly, I’m willing to let him off because he really did make a lot of money for the Tong Family while following you, Dad. If he doesn’t learn to restrain himself after that incident and insists on causing trouble, next time, I won’t be so patient."

Tong Xiaohua was also somewhat angry. Although Fei Gang seemed compliant lately, who knew what he might be plotting behind the scenes?

Anyway, this man was now designated by Tong Xiaohua as someone to be especially mindful of, not moving against him, just because she wanted to pull out everyone behind him in one go.

Tong’s eldest gazed at her steadily for a while, "Turns out, my silly girl isn’t so silly!"

Tong Xiaohua gave him a look and stood up, "I’ll go to the kitchen and see what soup we have today."

As she stepped away from the room, Tong’s eldest asked towards her back, "Isn’t Xiao Yan coming over for dinner today?"

"I don’t know, he’s been very busy lately. If you want, you can call and ask him!"

Tong’s eldest thought to himself, that doesn’t seem right, didn’t this girl used to care a lot about Yan Bo’s diet and daily details? Could it be that these two youngsters had a disagreement?

With suspicions in his mind, Tong’s eldest picked up the phone and dialed Yan Bo’s number.