The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 320: Chapter 320: You Can Say Anything, But Not That You Were Beaten

The plane had already taken off and was flying smoothly.

Xiao Zheng, Ye Ling, and Ye Chen were sitting in the same row. ”Are you guys thirsty? Do you need me to get you some juice?”

Ye Chen shook his head. ”Brother Xiao Zheng, I don’t need a drink. But I have something to tell you, and you have to do exactly as I say.”

Xiao Zheng nodded and asked with a smile, ”Xiao Chen, you know we have regulations. It depends on what it is. If it violates principles or regulations, I’ll have to report it, even if you don’t want me to.”

Ye Ling, who had a milder temperament, said, ”Xiao Chen, don’t be naughty. Don’t make things difficult for Brother Xiao Zheng.”

Ye Chen chuckled, a mischievous look on his face. ”It’s not actually an unreasonable request. It’s just that when we get back, if my mom asks you, you can tell her anything... except for the fact that my big brother hit us. Don’t mention that.”

Xiao Zheng asked doubtfully, ”Why not? Comrade Ye Feng hit you quite a few times. Why don’t you want to tattle on him?”

Ye Chen lifted his chin. ”I’m not a tattletale! Besides, Big Brother only hit me because I did something wrong!”

”If I don’t mess up, Big Brother doesn’t hit me at all! When I do good things, he even praises me! So it’s not his fault, it’s mine.”

”If you tell my mom, she won’t care if I was right or wrong. She’ll just think my big brother is mean to me.”

Realization dawned on Ye Ling. ”That’s right! Brother Xiao Zheng, don’t tell Mom about Big Brother hitting us!”

”After all, we don’t have the same mom. She seems friendly to Big Brother, but she’s still a little wary of him.”

”If Mom finds out he hit us, she definitely won’t let us come visit during summer vacation.”

Xiao Zheng was very happy to hear this. ”Alright, then. I won’t mention such an insignificant matter to the Madam.”

”However, it looks like you haven’t finished your winter vacation homework. You’ll have to work overtime to get it done when you get back.”

”If you don’t finish your homework, or if your grades are bad, those will be reasons you won’t be able to come to Shencheng.”

Ye Ling and Ye Chen looked at each other, their faces falling. ”Then we’ll have to hurry up and do our homework when we get back. We’ll burn the midnight oil.”

”We’ll study hard, and we’ll ask Mom to find us a tutor. Once we get our grades up, she won’t be able to stop us from visiting Shencheng.”

The two brothers reached an agreement.

Back home in Beijing, Wang Liwen did exactly as they’d expected, subtly and not-so-subtly inquiring whether the two brothers had been bullied in Shencheng.

Ye Chen and Ye Ling only said that they had a great time in Shencheng and that their big brother and sister-in-law had taken very good care of them.

Even the old master and madam of the Xu family had been very kind to them.

In short, according to the two brothers, there was nothing bad about Shencheng at all.

Unable to get any useful information from her two sons, Wang Liwen questioned Xiao Zheng in private.

Having already coordinated with the two brothers, Xiao Zheng handled her questions with ease.

Wang Liwen was suspicious, but her two sons had become more sensible. It seemed unlikely they would be bullied and not say anything.

Ye Zheng found Xiao Zheng to chat privately. ”Xiao Zheng, those two kids must have been a lot of trouble for you. They’re back in school now. You didn’t go home for the New Year, so I’m giving you half a month off to go see your family.”

Hearing this, Xiao Zheng smiled and said, ”Sir, it’s my job. Xiao Chen and Xiao Ling have become much more mature.”

Ye Zheng was curious. ”Those two didn’t get into any trouble over there? Ye Feng didn’t get angry and hit them?”

Xiao Zheng replied, ”They did get into trouble, and they did get hit. But they were completely convinced by the punishment and held no resentment.”

”On the way back, the two brothers even asked me not to tell the Madam that their big brother had hit them.”

Ye Zheng was taken aback. ”Why not? Ye Ling is older, so I can see him not tattling, but Ye Chen is still young and loves to do it. His big brother hit him, and he actually managed to keep quiet about it?”

Xiao Zheng smiled. ”Yes. Because Xiao Chen knew Ye Feng only hit him because he’d done something wrong. Plus, he knows he and his big brother have different mothers, so if the Madam found out, she’d get very angry and wouldn’t let them go to Shencheng anymore.”

Ye Zheng was dumbfounded. ”The little rascal really said that?”

Xiao Zheng nodded. ”Word for word. That’s what he said. Sir, you used to always worry the boys would go down the wrong path, but now you can rest easy.”

Ye Zheng was delighted. ”Tell me, how have they been behaving during this time?”

Xiao Zheng recounted everything about Ye Ling’s and Ye Chen’s time there to his superior in detail.

Ye Zheng was even happier after hearing the full story. He wouldn’t have to worry about his sons going astray anymore. ”Good. Xiao Zheng, you’ve worked hard. Go pack your things and take your leave.”

Xiao Zheng expressed his thanks. ”Thank you, Sir!”

Ye Zheng made a special call to Ye Feng. ”Ye Feng, you’ve gone through a lot. I have to thank you for helping me discipline my sons.”

Hearing this, Ye Feng rolled his eyes in his office. ”They’re your kids, not mine. Don’t dump them on me anymore. My honeymoon was practically ruined because I had to look after those two little hellions.”

Ye Zheng didn’t buy it. ”They say that in a tiger hunt, you need brothers, and on the battlefield, you need a father and sons. You may not have the same mother, but you both have the surname Ye. Don’t be so distant. I heard from Xiao Zheng that they were very obedient on the trip back and that they really look up to you. From now on, whenever they have a break from school, I’m sending them over.”

Ye Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Are you really asking me to raise your kids for you? You might be willing, but Ms. Wang isn’t. I’d be doing a thankless job—spending my own money and effort just to get criticized.”

Hearing this, Ye Zheng retorted, ”I’m the one who makes the decisions in this family. Boys shouldn’t be raised solely by women. This matter is settled.”

”You’re married to Xiao Rui now, so treat her well. Xiao Rui is a good girl; you need to cherish her. It’s not easy to find a partner who shares your aspirations.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”Of course! We’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry about us. You, on the other hand, are getting older. Don’t work yourself too hard. If you want to have my back, you need to stay healthy and live a long time. Otherwise, if you die young, it’ll all be for nothing.”

At first, Ye Zheng was happy to hear his son’s concern, but his face darkened at the end. ”You little bastard. You can’t say a few words without making me angry.”

”I’m serious!” Ye Feng replied. ”You know Xiao Rui and I are in business, and we’ve made a decent amount of money. We’ll make even more in the future, and we were discussing how to use it. One of the things we want to do is help the families of fallen soldiers visit them at the martyrs’ cemeteries.”

Ye Zheng was stunned. ”That would require a huge amount of money. Although the government has related policies now, the funding isn’t much.”

”We know,” Ye Feng said. ”That’s why we want to establish a foundation for fallen soldiers to handle this. Xiao Rui and I can’t make it happen on our own. But with you involved, I’m sure the foundation could continue its work indefinitely.”

Hearing this, Ye Zheng nodded. ”I understand. Don’t rush into this; take your time. I heard last time that Xiao Rui was making a lot of investments. You’re earning a lot, but you’re also spending a lot.”

”I know this comes from a good place, but you must act within your means. Don’t force it. Understand?”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I know. I have a handle on it. We’ll start with Malipo in the initial phase...”

Hearing that his son had a well-organized plan, Ye Zheng felt reassured. ”Good. As long as you’re willing to do it, I’ll be right behind you, offering my support.”

Ye Feng paused for a moment. ”Thanks, Dad.”

After such a long phone call, finally hearing Ye Feng call him ”Dad,” Ye Zheng felt a complicated mix of joy and other emotions.

”We’re father and son. There’s no need for thanks. That just makes us seem distant.”

Ye Feng smiled. ’Having a father you can count on isn’t so bad, after all,’ he thought.