Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Shattered Memories
"You're here?" Yang Jieyu smiled and stood up as soon as she heard the footsteps.
"Ran into a bit of trouble, but at least I wasn't late," Yang Chen replied with a smile as he sat down.
Yang Jieyu didn't press for details about the trouble and went straight to the point, "What would you like to drink?"
"Anything will do," Yang Chen said casually.
Yang Jieyu suggested, "They have NuWak here, which you can't find anywhere else. Would you like a cup?"
Yang Chen was taken aback, "They really have NuWak?"
"Though it's a bit pricey, you saved Xiaoye, so treating you to a cup of coffee is no problem." Yang Jieyu laughed.
Yang Chen waved his hand, "Forget it. I know about that coffee, but I don't think I'll ever drink it in my life. Something simple is fine."
"Why not? Have you tried it before?" Yang Jieyu asked with curiosity.
Yang Chen laughed and said, "Don't you know how NuWak coffee is made?"
"I just know it's the most expensive coffee in the world, going for thousands of dollars per pound, even before other costs. Is there something special about it?" Yang Jieyu replied.
Yang Chen adjusted his sitting posture and nodded, speaking confidently, "You're right, scarcity makes it precious. NuWak is the rarest coffee still available, often referred to as the gold of coffee. It comes from a particular coffee bean found in Sumatra, Indonesia."
"You seem to know a lot about it?" Yang Jieyu asked with interest.
Yang Chen smiled lightly, "I spent some time there once, and a local friend gave me a small packet. Initially, I thought it smelled wonderful and liked it a lot, but after he told me about the production process, I returned it to him."
"What's wrong with the process?"
"Local farmers let a species of civet, a type of small mammal, into the coffee plantations when the coffee cherries are ripe. These civets love eating the coffee beans. After they've eaten enough to get diarrhea, the farmers collect the civet feces, pick out the undigested coffee beans, and use them to make coffee. These beans are considered the finest, and the coffee made from them is NuWak coffee," Yang Chen explained. "So, the world's most expensive and luxurious coffee is actually made from cat feces. It's funny, isn't it? Most people are proud to have a sip, but I guess I just think differently. I don't like it."
Yang Jieyu's expression changed slightly, and she covered her mouth, looking at her now empty coffee cup with a bitter smile, "I regret listening to you now."
"Sorry, I didn't know you were drinking that," Yang Chen said with an awkward smile.
Yang Jieyu called over the waiter and had their drinks replaced with two glasses of orange juice before she seemed to feel better.
"Xiaoye told me you're a Harvard graduate who came back from abroad. It seems you've really seen a lot," Yang Jieyu said calmly.
"Not really, the standards for foreign universities aren't that high. I just barely graduated," Yang Chen said, blatantly lying with a straight face.
Yang Jieyu nodded, "You're indeed very modest, but judging by how you handled those terrorists the other day, you're clearly more than just a returnee from abroad."
"A mistake? It was your mistake, Brother. Why should the child bear the consequences?!" Tears welled up in Yang Jieyu's eyes. "Every time I look at Yang Chen's face, it's like seeing you when you were young. He's more amiable, more humble, and kinder than you ever were. Don't you feel guilty when you see him?"
The man took a deep breath, his expression cold. "Jieyu, to achieve great things, one must overlook small details. Our Yang family has had a strict code of conduct since the founding of the country. We've achieved this by sacrificing more than others can imagine. Don't try to persuade me anymore, and don't mention this to your sister-in-law. The successor of the Yang family must be born with a spotless background."
"Ha, spotless background," Yang Jieyu scoffed, standing up. "Pretending to be spotless on the surface only makes the filth underneath more obvious! Yang Pojun, I'm truly disappointed in you!"
With that, Yang Jieyu turned and made to leave.
"Yang Jieyu! Are you rebelling against the family?!" Yang Pojun shouted angrily.
Yang Jieyu halted abruptly, not turning back. "Don't worry. I'll act as if nothing happened and won't jeopardize your grand career. This is your sin, and one day you'll regret it!"
With that, Yang Jieyu quickly exited the café.
Yang Pojun sat there with a furious expression, his mind shifting through various memories, a complex look crossing his face.
Time is like yellowed paper, flipping back over twenty years ago:
On a snowy night, a military jeep parked in front of an orphanage in a small town in the northern part of the scorching summer.
A couple dressed in military coats handed a sleeping child, two or three years old, to the arms of an elderly woman.
The child slept soundly, huddled in a plush blanket on a night with the howling north wind, warm and unable to hear the sobs of the young woman.
After receiving a heavy envelope, the old woman flattered and hugged the child, then turned back to the orphanage.
The young couple watched as the woman carried their child back into the courtyard, then reluctantly got on the car and struggled to leave on a snowy night.
Over the course of time, over a year has passed.
When the couple returned to the orphanage, they were surprised to find that this remote courtyard had already been demolished.
There was no news of the children here, not even their contact information was left, as if they had disappeared out of thin air.
The young woman held her slightly raised abdomen and leaned against her husband's embrace, crying until she fainted.
All of this was completely unknown to Yang Chen as he walked back to Yulei after leaving the coffee shop. The emotions that Yang Jieyu finally expressed to him made him feel uneasy. Despite seeing so many storms, anything related to shattered memories from childhood always made it difficult for Yang Chen to calm down.
Just as I was walking in a daze, my phone in my clothes pocket vibrated because my pants pocket was torn.
Yang Chen took it out and was slightly surprised to find that it was Lin Ruoxi who called him.
Whenever Lin Ruoxi proactively calls him, there must be something to notify him of. Yang Chen smiled and answered the phone.