CH 82

Shenzhen Nongke Orchid.

Yue Gu Zai was reading a newspaper in the living room. He didn’t know why Yue Ni was spying on him for more than half an hour. He couldn’t believe he and Zhen Zhen gave birth and raised Yue Ni, but Yue Ni was more like Ling Jia than him and Zhen Zhen combined. He wished Yue Ni was like Zhen Wu so he wouldn’t have to worry about Yue Ni so much.

‘Hurry up and say what’s on your mind,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Yue Ni sat on the sofa next to Yue Gu Zai.

‘Dad, let’s negotiate,’ Yue Ni said. ‘I want you to take back your order to send me to train in Africa as a punishment.’

‘No,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Yue Gu Zai was still angry at Yue Ni for making Zhen Zhen misunderstand him.

‘Dad, it’s embarrassing if other Ni Sheng members find out I’m being punished,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘When you made your mum depressed and go to a bar for other men to serve her wine, you didn’t consider it’ll embarrass me,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

‘Dad, you forced me to do this,’ Yue Ni said. She threw Yang Han An’s family background report on the coffee table. ‘Your former lover is back. I’m going to tell mum.’

Yue Gu Zai wasn’t threatened by the report on the coffee table. Zhen Zhen knew he was innocent.

‘Dad, I heard you lived with this girl’s mother for a year,’ Yue Ni said. ‘Her mother has a good body. I don’t believe you could live with her mother for a year and not sleep with her mother. Did you have a love child with her mother? Is this girl my half-sister?’

Ni Sheng’s gang members were scared to investigate what happened during the year Yue Gu Zai was missing. Yue Ni could only gather news that Yue Gu Zai lived with Tan Xu Er during the year he was missing.

‘Dad, that Tan woman lived in the U.S. for many years,’ Yue Ni said. ‘Why did she suddenly come back? Is she using Yang Han An to blackmail you? Yang Han An is pursuing big brother. If Yang Han An is your daughter with the Tan woman then Yang Han An is having incestuous thoughts about big brother.’

‘Xiao Ni, if you’re this free to say nonsense, why don’t you focus on your studies?’ Yue Gu Zai said. ‘Your mum received a call from your teacher. You not attending classes made your mum angry.’

Yue Gu Zai thought at least Ling Jia valued family harmony. He was angry at Yue Ni for causing trouble for their family members. He suspected it was Shu Tang Jue’s bad influence that Yue Ni wanted to cause misunderstandings between him and Zhen Zhen so Zhen Zhen would divorce him.

Yue Ni stood and followed Yue Gu Zai.

‘Dad, don’t leave,’ Yue Ni said. ‘Tell me the truth. Did you sleep with that Tan woman? Is Yang Han An my half-sister…’

Yue Ni bumped into Yue Gu Zai’s back, because he froze when he saw Zhen Zhen holding a whip and walking downstairs.

Zhen Zhen was angry Yue Ni skipped classes. Everyone said that Zhen Zhen was too strict on Zhen Wu so Zhen Zhen gave Yue Ni more freedom. In the end Zhen Wu didn’t skip grades, and attended all his classes from primary school to college. Yue Ni on the other hand, skipped grades and skipped her classes too.

Zhen Zhen pulled Yue Ni to the side. Zhen Zhen raised the whip in her hand, but Yue Gu Zai grabbed the whip from her before she could hit Yue Ni’s bottom.

‘Mum, don’t be angry at me,’ Yue Ni said.

Zhen Zhen held Yue Ni’s arm and she pulled Yue Ni to the car.

‘Xiao Ni, today you’re going to attend all your classes,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘If you dare escape, you’ll be spending the rest of your life training in Africa.’

‘Mum, I’m your daughter,’ Yue Ni said. She didn’t want to attend classes. ‘Mum, did you know dad has a love child with his mistress?’

Zhen Zhen turned around to look at Yue Ni.

‘When?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘Dad’s mistress is Tan Xu Er,’ Yue Ni said. ‘Mum, do you remember when dad lost his memories? He slept with Tan Xu Er, and he sent her to the U.S. because he didn’t want you to find out he has a love child with Tan Xu Er.’

‘Impossible,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Zhen Zhen heard Tan Xu Er’s name and she knew Yue Gu Zai was innocent.

Yue Gu Zai followed Zhen Zhen and Yue Ni to the car. He was in a good mood Zhen Zhen didn’t believe Yue Ni’s nonsense.

Yue Ni was frustrated Zhen Zhen and Yue Gu Zai had a solid marriage after many years, and she didn’t have a bargaining chip to use with them.

‘Mum, why is it impossible?’ Yue Ni asked. ‘Dad’s a man. Dad lived with Tan Xu Er for a year. Why is it impossible for dad to have a love child with Tan Xu Er?’

‘Your dad doesn’t like other people touching him,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘If he has to shake hands with someone, he’ll wipe his hands straight away. If he slept with Tan Xu Er, he would have peeled off his skin years ago. Besides, your uncle Bai showed me proof your dad had a vasectomy when I was pregnant with you. So your dad is not the father of Tan Xu Er’s child.’

‘Really?’ Yue Ni asked. ‘Dad, does that mean I was an accidental baby?’

‘Now you know,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

‘Mum…’ Yue Ni said.

‘Xiao Ni, you don’t get any benefits if I divorce your dad,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Stop causing trouble for your dad and me.’

‘Xiao Ni, if you’re into breaking up marriages then we can negotiate,’ Yue Gu Zai said. ‘If you can find a way to make your small mum divorce your small dad, you won’t need to train in Africa.’

Zhen Zhen hit Yue Gu Zai’s shoulder.

‘Gu Zai, don’t say nonsense,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Yue Ni was Yue Gu Zai’s daughter. Yue Gu Zai was lenient by punishing Yue Ni to train in Africa. If Yue Ni found a way to make Nan Ma divorce Shu Tang Jue, it wouldn’t matter how much Shu Tang Jue loved Yue Ni, Shu Tang Jue would kill Yue Ni without hesitation.

At Yue Ni’s teacher’s office, Yue Gu Zai read the newspaper and Yue Ni looked out the window while her teacher snitched on her to Zhen Zhen.

‘Mr and Mrs Yue,’ the teacher said. ‘I don’t know why you two enrolled your daughter to learn at this school. She skipped all her classes, never hands in her assignments or show up for exams.’

‘I’m sorry my husband and I raised a bad daughter,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘Mr Yue, how can you sit here and read the newspaper after hearing about your daughter’s behavior?’ the teacher asked. ‘Don’t you care about your daughter’s education?’

‘Dad, my teacher implied you’re an irresponsible father,’ Yue Ni said.

Yue Gu Zai was petty like Ling Jia. He could curse and discipline Yue Ni at home, but he wouldn’t allow anyone to insult his precious daughter. If Zhen Zhen wasn’t in the office with them, he would have called someone to blow up the school at night.

‘My husband is a busy businessman,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘He doesn’t have time to oversee our daughter’s education.’

Yue Gu Zai acted like he couldn’t see Zhen Zhen blinking at him to behave.

‘Being busy is not a valid reason,’ the teacher said. ‘Young people should be disciplined while they’re young. Look at your daughter’s dyed hair, and the piercings on each of her ear. Who knows how many tattoos your daughter is hiding from you…’

Yue Ni’s arm accidently knocked over the pot plant off the teacher’s desk.

‘My Shenzhen Nongke orchid!’ the teacher said.

The teacher grieved for his precious orchid.

‘I’m sorry,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘My husband and I will compensate for your orchid.’

‘How can you compensate how long it took me to nurture my precious orchid?’ the teacher asked. ‘I don’t know why the school let a trouble maker like your daughter enrol here.’

‘It’s only an orchid,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Gu Zai, call our gardener to bring one of our orchids here.’

Yue Gu Zai called the Yue Mansion’s gardener.

‘Bring ten pots of Shenzhen Nongke orchids to young mistress’ school,’ Yue Gu Zai said and hung up.

Ten? The teacher couldn’t believe he would receive ten orchids to replace his one orchid. Ten of his orchids were worth two million dollars.

‘What’s precious about one orchid?’ Yue Ni asked. ‘In my parents’ garden there are hundreds of these orchids.’

‘Xiao Ni,’ Zhen Zhen warned.

The principal ran into the teacher’s office.

‘Mr and Mrs Yue, I’m sorry,’ the principal said. ‘I didn’t know the teacher called you two here behind my back. I know how busy you two are. I’m sorry.’

‘Principal, my husband and I are the ones who should say sorry for raising a bad daughter,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘No, no,’ the principal said. ‘Xiao Ni is an exemplary student. All the teachers and students love her. Mr and Mrs Yue, you can leave first.’

‘Then my wife and I will leave first,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Yue Gu Zai held Zhen Zhen’s hand and led her to the car.

Yue Ni smiled, waved bye to the unlucky teacher who snitched on her and she followed her parents to the car.

‘Do you want this school to close down?’ the principal asked the teacher. ‘Do you know who pays your salary? Mr Yue owns this school.’

‘It doesn’t matter if Mr Yue is Yue Ni’s father,’ the teacher said. ‘It’s still wrong for Yue Ni to skip classes.’

The principal shook his head helplessly, and left the teacher’s office.

Minutes later, the Yue Mansion’s gardener arrived with a tray of ten pots of Shenzhen Nongke Orchid.

‘Mrs Yue asked me to give you her formula to grow these orchids in your garden,’ the gardener said.

The teacher sat in his office and stared at two million dollars’ worth of orchids.

***

End of Chapter Eighty-Two