When Papa and Mama Huo were still staring at each other, the woman on the sofa had already stood up, smiling warmly as she approached Ye Leyao and Huo Yan.

“You must be tired from your journey back. Come and sit down!” The woman’s voice was gentle, and her face was full of smiles.

To someone who didn’t know, it might seem like Ye Leyao and Huo Yan were quite familiar with her.

Not only did Ye Leyao not move forward, but he even cautiously took a half-step back.

【Wait, wasn’t the childhood sweetheart just back in the country? Today should be the first day she’s visiting our home, right? Isn’t she a guest? So why does she have more of a hostess vibe than my mama does?】

Thinking this, Ye Leyao glanced at Papa Huo, his eyes full of reproach.

[I get that childhood sweetheart’s family just went bankrupt and her husband divorced her, which is pretty pitiful, but Papa Huo, you can’t just bring anyone home!]

[Papa Huo, the gentle knife cuts deep!]

Papa Huo felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Not true!

When did I ever get lost in tenderness? Ye Leyao, you should speak based on facts and evidence! And besides, Song Yu wasn’t even brought home by me!

Thinking of this, Papa Huo got angry and turned to glare at Huo Jing.

Huo Jing: “…”

Strictly speaking, this isn’t his fault either!

Song Yu had found the Huo family’s company, claiming to be a relative of the Huo family, so Huo Jing had no choice but to meet her.

It just so happened that Mama Huo was at the company at the time…

Huo Jing looked helplessly at Papa Huo.

Clearly, it was Mom who brought her back, so why don’t you blame her?

Papa Huo turned his head, avoiding Huo Jing’s reproachful gaze.

What does this have to do with Mama Huo? She just happened to see an old acquaintance at the company after many years and invited her home for a meal. How could she have known it would be such a coincidence?

This is all Huo Jing’s fault!

Mama Huo, observing the silent exchange between father and son, clenched her hand at her side tightly, even pinching her own arm to keep herself from laughing out loud.

You really can’t blame her. She did know Song Yu originally and, after not seeing her for so many years, simply invited her back for a meal. How could she have known it would turn out like this?

Huo Yan didn’t know what Papa Huo and Huo Jing were thinking. He only felt that Ye Leyao made a lot of sense, so he nodded in agreement, taking half a step back as well, his expression cooling slightly as he looked up at his parents still standing in the living room, asking, “Mom, Dad, who is this?”

The question was blunt, not only ignoring the woman in front of him but also completely disregarding her greeting and concern.

The woman’s expression instantly became a bit hurt.

Ye Leyao observed closely, not missing the change in her expression, and sighed again:

[As expected, another performance personality!]

After sighing, Ye Leyao also looked at Mama Huo and asked, “Mama Huo, is she a guest?”

Mama Huo glared at Papa Huo. Why aren’t you introducing her? Do you plan to leave the kids hanging there?

Papa Huo, full of reluctance, still stood up with Mama Huo and walked over to Ye Leyao and Huo Yan, introducing, “This is, technically, my cousin. Her mother was your grandmother’s sworn sister. She just got back to the country yesterday. You can call her Aunt Song.”

After the introduction, he briefly introduced Ye Leyao and Huo Yan to Song Yu.

In the original novel, there was quite a bit of description of Song Yu, so Ye Leyao knew her identity even without Papa Huo’s introduction.

But what puzzled Ye Leyao was:

[According to the timeline in the novel, Song Yu should have contacted Papa Huo as soon as she returned to the country. Why is Papa Huo saying she only came back yesterday?]

Papa Huo glanced at Mama Huo.

He was just as confused.

Then he heard Ye Leyao suddenly realize:

[No wonder I didn’t see Song Yu at the Yang family banquet earlier. But speaking of which, she really must like Papa Huo a lot. She came to our house on her second day back.]

[Could she have had a crush on Papa Huo since childhood?]

Papa Huo listened, feeling utterly exasperated.

What kind of nonsense is this?

The Song family immigrated when Song Yu was just three years old. The last time they met was at his wedding with Mama Huo!

How could a three-year-old have a crush on me?

Papa Huo looked aggrievedly at Mama Huo.

Mama Huo tightly pursed her lips, pretending to be angry.

Papa Huo: “…”

He really was wronged! How could she really be angry at him?

Then he looked at Song Yu beside him. She had already suppressed the hurt expression on her face and showed a smile again to Ye Leyao and Huo Yan, “Hello, I didn’t expect you kids to grow up so fast,” she said, pausing slightly before turning to look at Papa Huo, “It’s also my fault. Brother, don’t be mad at the kids. It’s been too long since I last came back. It’s normal for them not to recognize me…”

Papa Huo, who was already feeling wronged and couldn’t explain things to Mama Huo with outsiders present, got even more frustrated hearing Song Yu’s ambiguous words and immediately snapped, “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Song Yu thought Papa Huo was going to comfort her, so the smile on her lips deepened, and she said gratefully, “Brother…”

“Which eye of yours saw me getting mad at the kids?”

“And besides, not just Huo Yan and Leyao, even Huo Jing probably hasn’t met you, right?”

The more Papa Huo spoke, the angrier he got, and his tone became increasingly harsh: “Your whole family went abroad and barely ever came back. Not even when my mother passed away did any of you show up. And now that your family’s bankrupt, you know to come back and seek out relatives. Hah.”

As his words fell, the entire villa fell into silence.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but laugh out loud in his heart.

[Hahaha, oh my god, what’s gotten into Papa Huo today? Could it be that he’s equipped with a ‘tea-detecting radar’? He instantly picked up on the hidden meanings in the childhood sweetheart’s words.]

[If Papa Huo always has this attitude towards the childhood sweetheart, then I don’t have to worry!]

Papa Huo, who was still full of anger just moments ago, suddenly felt a bit proud but also a little unhappy.

What does Ye Leyao take me for?

I’ve lived half my life, seen all kinds of people, and still can’t tell the difference between real and fake?

Ye Leyao had no idea what Papa Huo was thinking. His gaze never left Song Yu as he continued to watch her reaction.

Song Yu was obviously stunned.

She had just felt that being completely ignored by Ye Leyao and Huo Yan was a bit humiliating, so she wanted to subtly express her displeasure.

Normally, if an elder felt that the younger generation was being rude, wouldn’t the parents immediately scold the children?

Why did Papa Huo turn around and start sniping at her instead?

And mentioning that her family didn’t attend her aunt’s funeral—wasn’t that implying that she was unfilial?

Song Yu had never encountered anyone who would so blatantly disrespect her at her age, and she could no longer maintain her smile. Her eyes reddened as she stammered, “Brother… I…”

[Oh no, come on, childhood sweetheart, how old are you, and you’re going to cry?]

Ye Leyao’s face showed a look of shock.

Mama Huo pretended to be angry and scolded Papa Huo, then spoke up, “Look at what you’re saying! Little Yu’s family didn’t attend the funeral because they were busy with company matters and couldn’t leave, right?”

Song Yu’s tears were about to fall when she heard Mama Huo’s words. She forced a smile at Mama Huo, “Sister-in-law, you’re still the considerate one…”

“Well, now that the company’s bankrupt and they’re not busy, they came back immediately, didn’t they?” Mama Huo finished the sentence.

Ye Leyao: “Cough, cough, cough, cough—”

[I almost couldn’t hold back my laughter.]

[Cough, cough, cough, this is bad. I’m choking on my own saliva—]

Huo Yan quickly turned his head so Song Yu wouldn’t see him laughing and pretended to be concerned as he patted Ye Leyao’s back, “Are you okay?”

Ye Leyao shook his head, “No, no… I’m fine…”

[Quick, quick, quick, I want to see what expression the childhood sweetheart has now!]

Song Yu stood in place, genuinely not expecting to be so embarrassed by both Papa and Mama Huo.

Her face turned pale, emotions flickering in her eyes, unable to cry. Her hands, hanging by her sides, clenched tightly. After a while, she finally said in a hoarse voice, “I… I know it’s too late to say this now, and it’s true that my family was in the wrong back then. I’m sorry…”

“But, cousin, sister-in-law, I hope you can understand me. Back then, I had just married William, and his family’s situation was really complicated. I really didn’t have time to come back…”

“Stop it,” Mama Huo interrupted, giving Papa Huo a look.

She still wanted to figure out whether Song Yu’s purpose for coming here was because of Papa Huo. If they pressed further, she was really afraid of driving her away, which would spoil the fun.

Papa Huo received Mama Huo’s signal, feeling a bit helpless, but he still spoke up, “It’s all in the past, let’s not dig up old grievances,” then he looked at Ye Leyao and Huo Yan, “You two go upstairs and change clothes quickly. The whole family is waiting for you to come back for dinner.”

Ye Leyao, who was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, nodded repeatedly when he heard Papa Huo’s words, “Okay, I’ll change and be right down.”

When Ye Leyao and Huo Yan came back downstairs after changing, Papa Huo, Mama Huo, and Huo Jing were already seated around the dining table.

Ye Leyao scanned the room but didn’t see Song Yu, feeling a bit surprised.

“Huh? Wasn’t she supposed to stay for dinner? Could it be that after we left, Papa and Mama Huo confronted her again and scared her away?”

Mama Huo found this amusing.

What are you thinking?

Song Yu finally managed to come back to the Huo family. Would she leave so easily?

Although Mama Huo hadn’t interacted with Song Yu much, she had heard the late Grandma Huo talk about her when she was young. Song Yu appeared proud and aloof, but in reality, she was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

After they immigrated abroad, the Song family’s roots were not deep.

Song Yu’s ex-husband, William, was a member of a famous European noble family. Normally, the male family wouldn’t recognize Song Yu’s status, but she managed to do it.

And even though their words earlier were harsh and clearly sarcastic towards Song Yu, she didn’t get angry. Instead, she pretended to be weak and apologized, which shows her cunning and skills.

No wonder Ye Leyao said that in the original plot, Song Yu tore their family apart.

Mama Huo’s gaze swept over everyone at the table, finally landing on Ye Leyao, with a faint smile forming on her lips.

It’s just a shame that with our Xiao Yao here, no matter what Song Yu tries, it’ll all be in vain.

[Huh? Why is Mama Huo smiling at me?]

Ye Leyao noticed Mama Huo’s gaze and slowly blinked.

[Could it be that she missed me too much after a few days of not seeing me?] 

Mama Huo thought of the series of trending topics over the past few days and sighed inwardly.

It’s true, I did miss you a bit!

But she explained, “Your Aunt Song went to the bathroom; we’ll wait for her for a bit.”

[Oh, that’s why. As long as she hasn’t left.]

Ye Leyao sighed in relief and pulled out his phone to look up the relevant plot in his notes.

[Since our family is the villains in the novel, the storyline about the childhood sweetheart suggesting staying at the Huo family’s home is quite detailed.]

[Let me see… Found it!]

[That’s how it is, so everything makes sense now. In the original plot, Second Brother didn’t see Su Rui’s true colors and really broke ties with the family. After he left, Papa and Mama Huo were very upset and even had a fierce argument over Second Brother. After that argument, the two didn’t reconcile and were in a cold war. They even argued again on the day they went to the Yang family’s banquet!]

Huo Yan suddenly felt a bit guilty when he heard this and quickly took a sip of water to cover it up.

Papa and Mama Huo glanced at him reproachfully but didn’t say much, quietly waiting for Ye Leyao to continue.

[Because they were still in a cold war, of course, Papa and Mama Huo didn’t stay together at the banquet. And at this crucial moment, the childhood sweetheart made her appearance and reconnected with Papa Huo!]

“She really knows how to pick her timing!”

Ye Leyao gritted his teeth.

The rest of the Huo family nodded in agreement.

Exactly.

The couple’s argument at this critical moment was just the right opportunity for her.

And then? And then?

They all listened as Ye Leyao continued murmuring to himself:

[Papa Huo and the childhood sweetheart hadn’t been talking for long when a fire broke out at the Yang family’s place. Papa Huo accidentally injured his arm while escaping the fire, and the childhood sweetheart quickly drove him to the hospital, without even notifying Mama Huo! That’s just too much!]

[That was a fire, and Mama Huo immediately thought of Papa Huo, extremely worried, and even prepared to rush into the fire to find him. If she hadn’t been stopped later, the consequences… would have been unimaginable!]

Ye Leyao felt his heart tighten just reading about it.

[the childhood sweetheart is too much!]

It’s more than just too much!

Her tactics are truly high-level!

Huo Yan and Huo Jing both frowned.

Even Papa Huo was scared and quickly held Mama Huo’s hand.

With Ye Leyao around, he couldn’t say much, so he typed a line on his phone: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely not argue with you in the future.”

Mama Huo, who had also been getting angry, couldn’t help but smile when she saw the line Papa Huo typed.

Ye Leyao’s inner monologue continued:

[When Mama Huo finally arrived at the hospital, Papa Huo had just finished surgery and hadn’t woken up yet. the childhood sweetheart deliberately acted very close to Papa Huo, so of course, Mama Huo misunderstood!]

[When Papa Huo woke up from the anesthesia, Mama Huo argued with him again. Papa Huo was very hurt, thinking that Mama Huo didn’t care about his injury, while Mama Huo thought Papa Huo was too close to the childhood sweetheart. After this argument, Mama Huo didn’t visit Papa Huo even once until the day he was discharged. Originally, she planned to have a serious talk with Papa Huo that day, but when she got to the hospital, she didn’t see Papa Huo at all, only the childhood sweetheart.]

Ye Leyao’s voice suddenly rose:

[The most important thing is—at that moment, the childhood sweetheart was wearing the wedding ring that Second Aunt secretly sold off!]

The whole family gasped.

Misunderstanding after misunderstanding after misunderstanding, isn’t this just stacking divorce buffs?!

Thank goodness!

So far, they haven’t had to worry about any of this.

Ye Leyao also breathed a sigh of relief.

[Fortunately, none of these things have happened!]

Just then, Song Yu’s gentle voice rang out again, “Hmm? Why hasn’t anyone started eating yet? Are you all waiting for me?”

Everyone at the table immediately looked up at Song Yu.

Song Yu’s steps faltered. Was it her imagination, or did the hostility from the whole family toward her seem to have increased?

Song Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

No way?

She had just come back, hadn’t even had a proper conversation with Papa Huo alone yet, and they already figured out her intentions?

Impossible.

Unless they have mind-reading abilities!

If the Huo family knew what Song Yu was thinking at that moment, they probably couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Sorry, they really do have mind-reading abilities, but it’s not Song Yu’s mind they’re reading.

Song Yu steadied herself, clasped her right hand, and quickly walked over to her seat. “Sorry to keep you all waiting.”

Mama Huo was the first to smile, “It’s no problem. Now that everyone’s here, let’s start eating.”

The Huo family didn’t have strict rules about not talking while eating.

Mama Huo was very interested in this episode that Ye Leyao and Huo Yan recorded, so she asked a couple of questions.

This episode involved a sensitive topic, so as they talked, the subject of Duan Haoyan came up.

Ye Leyao’s ears instantly perked up, and he turned to look at Huo Yan.

Huo Yan cleared his throat, “What’s there to talk about?”

Huo Jing’s gaze was deep, “He was your former love rival, so why wouldn’t it be worth talking about?”

Papa and Mama Huo couldn’t help but laugh.

Mama Huo said, “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to publicly clarify things on the show.”

Huo Yan said, “Well, I had no choice. If I hadn’t clarified, with Duan Haoyan’s stubbornness, he would have been pestering me and Ye Leyao the entire show. It would have been so annoying.”

Ye Leyao nodded in agreement.

[Absolutely.]

As the family continued chatting, Song Yu found herself unable to join the conversation. After some thought, she asked, “What kind of variety show is it? I’ve been abroad for so long, I rarely keep up with these things. How did Xiao Yan end up on a show with a rival?”

As soon as she spoke, the Huo family’s gazes all shifted towards her.

Huo Yan casually brushed it off, “It’s in the past, not important.”

Just then, the chef brought out a plate of Australian lobster.

Huo Yan said, “Aunt Song, have a taste.”

His dismissive tone was obvious, and Song Yu’s face flashed with a bit of embarrassment.

Looking at the large plate of lobster in front of her, Song Yu said, “Alright, then I’ll peel one for you, Xiao Yan?”

Huo Yan quickly shook his head, “No need, no need.”

“How about for Xiao Yao?” Song Yu asked expectantly, turning to look at Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao shook his head even more vigorously, “Aunt Song, my parents taught me to be independent since I was a child, so if I want to eat something, I peel it myself!”

[Seriously!]

Song Yu could only say, “Alright then, I’ll eat it myself.”

Huo’s mother lowered her head, trying to suppress a smile.

Suddenly, Ye Leyao’s puzzled voice rang out:

[Huh—wait a minute, why does that ring on the childhood sweetheart’s hand look so familiar?]

The whole Huo family paused.

The dining table was round, and Huo Yan and Huo Jing were sitting directly across from Song Yu.

Though they were a bit far away, they could glimpse the general style of the ring.

And it did look quite familiar!

Huo Yan and Huo Jing exchanged glances.

Could it be?

Song Yu was sitting next to Mama Huo, and Mama Huo only needed to turn her head slightly to see clearly.

But when Song Yu had arrived earlier, she wasn’t wearing any jewelry, right?

Why suddenly wear a ring now?

Mama Huo was puzzled, and couldn’t help but slightly turn her head.

At that moment, Ye Leyao’s shocked voice rang out:

[No way! There can’t be two of those wedding rings, right? Wasn’t Mama Huo’s diamond ring with Zhuang Lin?]

Mama Huo’s pupils widened.

It really was her diamond ring!

But wait.

Mama Huo looked at Papa Huo.

He was equally stunned.

Impossible. That ring was specially custom-made, with a unique code. It was one of a kind in the world!

So, the ring on Song Yu’s finger—

Ye Leyao also knew how precious Mama Huo’s ring was, so he quickly figured it out:

[Could it be a replica?]

[In the original story, it was this ring that directly led to Papa and Mama Huo’s divorce. The auction house records showed that Zheng Xiu bought the ring, and Zhuang Lin even showed it off in front of us. There’s no way we could have been mistaken…]

[So… Is it because the childhood sweetheart didn’t get Mama Huo’s ring, which is why she didn’t show up at the Yang family banquet and instead rushed back yesterday?]

Huo Jing furrowed his brows.

So this was the butterfly effect changing the plot?

Huo Yan found it very reasonable, but he still didn’t understand why Song Yu was so obsessed with this ring.

Mama Huo, however, quickly grasped the situation.

Not wearing a ring when going to the company, but deliberately showing it off now—wasn’t that just to show it to her?

Unfortunately, this ring was not Mama Huo’s wedding ring at all.

Song Yu probably didn’t know this, or she wouldn’t have worn it so openly.

Ye Leyao realized this too.

[Song Yu really wanted to drive a wedge between Papa and Mama Huo. Too bad, because she doesn’t come back often and only saw Mama Huo’s ing at their wedding, she had no idea she bought a replica, hahaha.]

[But, if at this moment Mama Huo admits this ring is hers and “accidentally” reveals why she sold it—]

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but smile.

[How could I be so bad!]

The rest of the family also had smiles in their eyes.

Who said Ye Leyao was bad?

Maintaining family harmony, Ye Leyao—good!

Sowing discord between parents, Song Yu—bad!

After a while, the chef brought out more seafood.

There were oysters and king crabs.

Although these dishes had been prepped before serving, due to the size of the seafood, some hands-on help was still needed.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Mama Huo suddenly seemed to notice something and turned her head to look at Song Yu. “Xiao Yu, the ring on your finger looks so familiar. It’s quite pretty, isn’t it?”

Song Yu had purposely put the ring on after returning from the restroom and had been waiting all afternoon for Mama Huo to say this!

A flash of satisfaction crossed her eyes as she feigned nonchalance, raised her hand, and smiled, “Is that so? I like it too. It was a gift from… someone very important to me.”

She spoke vaguely, then glanced at Papa Huo as if by accident.

This scene did not escape Mama Huo or the others.

Ye Leyao was full of admiration:

[Wow, this move is really high-level! If Mama Huo didn’t know where her ring was, she’d probably start suspecting Papa Huo by now, right?]

[Too bad—]

Ye Leyao looked on with a gleeful expression.

Then Mama Huo laughed and said, “It looks exactly like my wedding ring, don’t you think?”

She directed the last part at Papa Huo.

At this point, Papa Huo had to play along and leaned over to take a look, then nodded, “It’s just like your wedding ring.”

Song Yu never expected Mama Huo to directly admit the ring was hers.

Wouldn’t the normal reaction be to see through it but not say anything?

What was Lin Junyi up to?

Song Yu hadn’t even figured out how to respond when Mama Huo asked, “Do you know where the person who gave it to you bought it?”

Song Yu’s face turned pale. Mama Huo wasn’t fooled by the ring’s origin at all, and her plan was now thoroughly disrupted. She quickly replied, “I don’t know, he didn’t say when he gave it to me…”

Mama Huo said, “Oh, I see. I sold this ring a while ago. I never thought someone you know would buy it.”

Song Yu was completely dumbfounded.

What?

Mama Huo sold it herself?

Then wearing this ring today was a complete misstep!

She glanced at Papa Huo, only to find he wasn’t looking at her at all.

Biting her lip in frustration, Song Yu realized her plan hadn’t caused any rift between them.

What now?

This ring had cost her a fortune.

Surely, she couldn’t just hand it over to Mama Huo after she mentioned it was her wedding ring, right?

Song Yu struggled to maintain her composure, suppressing all her emotions.

Not wanting to let the conversation stall, she followed up on Mama Huo’s words and asked, “If the wedding ring is so important, why did you suddenly decide to sell it, Sister-in-law?”

Ye Leyao could barely hold back his laughter.

[Mama Huo really anticipated this! Hahaha, I can’t wait to see Song Yu’s reaction when she finds out the ‘truth’!]

Ho Jing and Huo Yan were equally eager, their smiles starting to show.

Mama Huo turned her head, not saying anything, but with a deeply meaningful expression.

Song Yu felt uneasy, and with her plan disrupted, her mind was in disarray. Without thinking, she asked, “What’s wrong? Is it inconvenient to talk about?”

“No,” Mama Huo sighed. “It’s just a bit embarrassing. I have a troublesome cousin who stole my jewelry to sell. She happened to steal my wedding ring, and I caught her red-handed.”

“Then, if you caught her, why did you still sell the ring?” Song Yu sensed something was off.

She instinctively reached up to touch the ring on her middle finger, then glanced around the table.

What she saw left her stunned.

Why did everyone else’s expressions look so… odd?

Could they all have known that Mama Huo sold the ring herself?

Song Yu bit her lip. Did she just make a fool of herself?

Then Mama Huo, with a pained expression, said, “Because… the way she stole the jewelry was too disgusting to ignore. To avoid getting caught, she swallowed the pieces whole. This ring was no exception.”

No exception?

The same?

Song Yu’s mind went blank.

The next moment, she covered her mouth and bolted to the bathroom.

Ye Leyao could no longer hold back and burst out laughing.