Chapter 24: Refusing to Leave

Du Huacheng was thrown into panic as soon as he heard those words.

He absolutely, absolutely could not leave the Zhong family now.

It wasn’t that he was particularly attached to the land and house of the Zhong family.

It was because the Buddha statue was still here!

That was the sum of his life’s devotion, the wealth he had accumulated over decades, the asset he had scraped together from the Zhong family with a lifetime of effort.

He could not just abandon it.

He shot Yang Yuehe a meaningful look, signaling that they needed to put on a show—

A performance of breaking off with Yang Yuehe, Du Ying’er, Du Changlin, and Du Changgong.

Du Huacheng calculated in his heart that he must first persuade Zhong Xiao to let him stay at the Zhong family, then, after transferring the Buddha statue out of the courtyard, he would reunite with the others.

Thus, his expression changed instantly as he stepped forward to speak to the police:

“I am Zhong Rui’s husband, and Zhong Xiao’s biological father. Legally speaking, am I not also a part of the Zhong family? I am fully qualified to stay here, am I not?”

The police glanced at Zhong Xiao.

“This isn’t a matter of law; it depends entirely on whether the owner of the house agrees.”

At this moment, the owner was Zhong Xiao.

Du Huacheng immediately turned around, his demeanor shifting faster than anything, and smiled obsequiously at Zhong Xiao, speaking in a flattering tone:

“Xiao Xiao, you know your father has always loved you most. Yesterday’s incident was purely because your Aunt Yang and your sister Du Ying’er were stirring things up behind my back, deliberately setting me up so I’d sever ties.”

“I regretted it all night. I had planned to apologize to you first thing this morning and ask you to let me stay at the Zhong house, but who knew Second Uncle Gong would arrive before me… Wasn’t it just a misunderstanding…”

Du Ying’er and Yang Yuehe were stunned by this exchange.

Especially Yang Yuehe.

She hadn’t picked up on Du Huacheng’s signal at all.

Du Huacheng had indeed given her a look, but she thought it meant they should plead with Zhong Xiao together, to ask her for leniency.

But unexpectedly.

Du Huacheng dumped all the blame on her and Ying’er!

This spineless freeloader! Yang Yuehe cursed in her heart. She had noticed things were off yesterday.

This freeloader was both cowardly and foolish, and he didn’t take things seriously!

Now that trouble had come, he wanted to shift all responsibility onto her?!

No way!

Yang Yuehe acted immediately, dragging Du Ying’er aside and rushing at Du Huacheng, shouting:

“Old Du, heaven and earth bear witness, I’ve never wronged you all these years. I bore you three children, nearly died giving birth to Changlin, and to this day I still have issues—every time I run, I leak…”

The police nearby looked embarrassed.

It was, after all, a private matter and sounded rather indecent.

Du Huacheng turned and scolded harshly, “Why talk about such things in front of outsiders? Which woman doesn’t go through this giving birth? Everyone has children, you’re the only one with so many complaints!”

Afterwards, he desperately signaled Yang Yuehe again.

He wanted her to pretend to quarrel with him, so he could say a few soft words to Zhong Xiao and stay in the Zhong family for now.

Once he found a chance to move the Buddha statue, he would break off with Zhong Xiao.

But Yang Yuehe was in no mood to pay attention to Du Huacheng’s “hints.”

Everything had happened so quickly and suddenly; her mind was filled with only one thought.

She absolutely could not leave the Zhong family.

In these times.

If she left, she would have neither money nor anywhere to go; it would be a dead end.

Yang Yuehe’s face flushed red with anger.

She pointed at Du Huacheng and said, “Old Du, how can you be so heartless... I’ve been with you all these years…”

Then she rushed toward Zhong Xiao.

Zhong Xiao sidestepped smoothly.

Yang Yuehe stumbled forward, looking as wretched as could be.

Standing on the steps at the entrance, Zhong Xiao looked down at the group, her gaze finally settling on Du Huacheng.

“Pack your things and leave now. If you hurry, maybe I’ll forgive your rent for all these years if I’m in a good mood.”

“But if you dawdle here any longer, or waste any more time, don’t blame me for airing all the family’s dirty laundry!”

“I’m not afraid. Worst comes to worst, we’ll all go down together!”

Of course, Zhong Xiao would not risk her hard-earned new life on dying with these people.

But having died once, she spoke with a severity that could intimidate.

Du Huacheng wanted to say something, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through him—he had been kicked from behind and fell flat onto the ground.

Turning to look, he saw it was Qin Dezheng who had kicked him hard.

Du Huacheng lay on the ground, howling:

“Officer! Look at this man—he’s resorting to violence! Aren’t you going to do something?”

The police looked troubled.

“You’re the ones refusing to leave. The owner has made it clear you’re outsiders. Pack up and go quickly, don’t escalate things, don’t waste the public’s resources!”

Du Huacheng glanced at the furious Qin Dezheng, then at Zhong Xiao standing above him, showing no intention of “taking him in.”

Beside him, Yang Yuehe was sobbing.

He felt as if the sky had collapsed.

At last, Du Huacheng stood up, looked at Qin Dezheng, then silently took his two sons and returned to the main house.

As he passed Zhong Xiao, she reminded him:

“Make sure you only take what belongs to you when packing. Leave everything that’s Zhong family property. If anything’s missing, I’ll report it to the police.”

Du Huacheng gritted his teeth and went up to the third floor.

Standing in the spacious master bedroom, he gazed at the place he had lived for twenty years.

The master bedroom was bright, warm in winter, cool in summer, and the view from the window was excellent.

Du Huacheng often sat by the window, drinking tea and admiring the scenery.

To him, this was the kingdom he had painstakingly built.

But now, he was being driven out by that unfilial daughter Zhong Xiao!

Du Huacheng’s teeth ached with anger.

Yet the house was not the most important thing now.

His gaze shifted through the window to the Buddha statue in the courtyard.

The statue was three stories tall, and at this moment, the Buddha’s eyes were level with his own.

Suddenly, Du Huacheng’s body wobbled.

He looked down to see his youngest son, Du Changlin, holding a box and tugging at his leg.

“Daddy, daddy, the things in this box are so pretty. You said you’d give them to me when I grew up. Are we taking them with us?”

Du Changlin was only six years old and had no concept of moving.

He knew his parents were wealthy—always had been. To him, leaving here just meant moving somewhere even better.

But—

Du Huacheng opened the box in Du Changlin’s hands and saw its contents.

His expression changed dramatically!

Inside were two Rolex watches.

And a gold necklace studded with vibrant green jade!

Du Huacheng remembered these items very clearly.

He had personally organized and stored them in the basement of the warehouse!

Now—

How did they end up in Yang Yuehe’s possession?