บท 25: Chapter 25
Author's POV:
Huang Jiang's leathery features tightened with reluctant acceptance before he released a weary sigh. "Very well. As painful as the delay will be, disrupting the girl's education would only breed more resentment. We cannot have that, not after finally locating her."
Wu Haoyu nodded once, the ghost of approval flickering in his obsidian eyes. "A wise decision, Grandpa. For now, perhaps we should focus on integrating you into her daily life through..." He trailed off, features scrunching faintly as he mulled over the options.
"Through her connection to Wu Ling," he finished at last, straightening imperceptibly in his chair. "This Song Yanyan is a classmate of my sister, which grants us an organic inroad without having to force any uncomfortable introductions prematurely."
Huang Jiang's eyes widened a fraction, consideration warring with simmering impatience as he stroked his thin mustache. "A reasonable approach, I suppose. Get the girl accustomed to my presence through your sibling before revealing anything too earth-shattering."
"Precisely," Wu Haoyu affirmed with a faint dip of his chin. "Allow her to become comfortable around you in controlled settings first. Build a rapport, if you will."
"Yes...yes, I can see the wisdom in that tactic." The elderly man hummed in thought for a long moment before straightening with renewed resolution. "Very well, then make whatever arrangements you deem necessary on that front. I shan't overwhelm my newly discovered kin until she's been...adequately prepared."
Wu Haoyu inclined his head once more. "Of course, Grandpa Huang. Give me a few moments."
With a few deft swipes at his mobile, he reached out to Ling, requesting her presence at the restaurant from their earlier luncheon after classes had concluded for the day. He made sure to specify she should feel free to bring any friends - specifically one diminutive firecracker who had already left such an indelible mark.
Once the message was sent, he re-pocketed his phone and turned his attention back to the elderly man watching him with a potent mixture of hope and restless longing. "It's done. We'll wait to make our next move until they've joined us this evening."
The hours ticked by at an agonizing crawl as both men wrestled with their respective swirling thoughts and emotions surrounding this pivotal revelation. Decades of unanswered questions and gnawing "what ifs" now finally pierced by a brilliant ray of clarity and closure.
Yet even that light came tainted with ominous ripples just beneath the surface - the true stories and circumstances behind this mysteriously severed familial link. What deep betrayals or tragic consequences could have led Huang Yue down such a self-destructive path that she'd abandon her own newborn child?
And what of this Song Yanyan herself? Did she have any inkling of her grand heritage and the powerful dynasties that spawned her bloodline? Or was she truly just a clueless pawn amid the two aging patriarchs' desperation and machinations?
Wu Haoyu's jaw tightened infinitesimally as those disquieting unknowns swirled in his mind's eye. One thing was certain – he would unearth every last secret cloaking this newly discovered relation, no matter how many traditions or taboos he had to obliterate in the process.
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The final school bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. Wu Ling and Song Yanyan made their way out of the prestigious academy's gates, chatting animatedly. Unbeknownst to the feisty, full-figured girl, a sleek town car was already awaiting them at the curb.
The driver held the rear door open deferentially as the two young women approached. "Miss Wu, Mr. Wu instructed me to bring you both to the restaurant from this afternoon."
Wu Ling's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected arrangement, but she nodded in understanding. Slipping into the plush interior first, she patted the seat beside her invitingly. "Come on, Yanyan. My brother wants to treat us to dinner."
Song Yanyan arched one perfectly groomed brow but shrugged her abundant curves into the spacious cabin without protest. As the car pulled away, she couldn't resist shooting her friend a sly grin. "Your family sure does love spending that old money, doesn't it?"
The drive passed quickly, the two girls relapsing into comfortable chatter and social media scrolling. Before long, they were ushered into one of the high-end restaurant's private dining rooms, where Wu Haoyu and an unfamiliar elderly gentleman awaited them.
Song Yanyan's dark eyes immediately honed in on the wizened, well-dressed stranger. Despite his aristocratic bearing and air of restrained power, something about his lined face and probing gaze struck an uncanny chord within her.
As if sensing the weight of her scrutiny, the old man turned his rheumy eyes to meet hers in a lingering look loaded with unspoken meaning. Huang Jiang felt his breath catch in his hollow chest as he drank in the generous curves and striking, exotic beauty of this mysterious young woman.
She was the mirror image of his long-lost Huang Yue staring back at him from decades past, the same phoenix-like vitality and confidence burning in her kohl-rimmed eyes. Yet underpinning that blazing spirit were ominous glimpses of anguish and a weariness that went soul-deep – scars inflicted by a world that had clearly been anything but kind to her thus far.
As their hushed greetings and introductions commenced, Huang Jiang remained largely silent, drinking in every subtle shift of Song Yanyan's expressions and mannerisms like a parched man at an oasis. This was his granddaughter, flesh and blood, so close after years of fruitless searching he could scarcely breathe for the wonder of it all.
For now, there would be no mention of that revelation, no upending of her life irrevocably. Huang Jiang would bide his time, carefully laying the groundwork for the day when he could call her family without fear of her fleeing from him entirely. But until then, he would simply observe, committing every last detail about this brash, beautiful young woman to heart and memory.
His granddaughter had finally been returned to him, and no force in the heavens or earth would part them again before he'd atoned for all the decades of her life stolen from him by cruel consequences.
As dinner was served, Song Yanyan's typically ribald commentary and uncompromising wit were on full display. Huang Jiang found himself utterly entranced by the feisty spirit and candor she exuded so fearlessly. This was no browbeaten, mild-mannered young lady of high society, but a dazzling firebird clawing her way to the skies with razor-sharp talons.
Yes, he could clearly see the best aspects of his lost Huang Yue reborn in this lush, uncompromising beauty across the table. And somewhere beneath the layers of swagger and defensive bluster, he sensed a profound yearning for connection, for family – whether she would ever admit it aloud or not.
Huang Jiang vowed to himself in that moment that he would stop at nothing to reforge those severed ancestral bonds. This Song Yanyan may not have been raised to the lofty status her bloodline demanded...but he would spend every last day of his life ensuring she wanted for nothing as the Wu family heiress she was born to be.
No matter what outrageous schemes or controversies awaited around the bend with her integration, Huang Jiang knew his path had finally become clear after decades shrouded in regretful fog.
He had found his granddaughter at long last. And he would walk through the fires of damnation itself before letting her slip away again.
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