Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

"Ugh, I really did do wrong. I thought that as long as I broke him and Su Ya apart, I could be with him, but I was far too naive. Now I really regret it—but how am I supposed to make up for it?"

Watching Zhou Yanning's journey of the heart, Yang Yongjin shook his head and sighed, over and over. Who hadn't been young once? Those truly were innocent yet impulsive years. The stubborn devotion to a callow love, the longing for happiness—they could make a person throw caution to the wind. Zhou Yanning was like that, and hadn't he been the same? Here he was mocking Zhou Yanning for being foolish when it was really the pot calling the kettle black. He had actually hired people to beat Zhou Yanning up, and over the Su Ya affair he had even let himself go to ruin. Looking back now, those were truly unwise choices.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock came at the door. Yang Ce hurriedly shut the diary and asked, "Who is it?"

"Daming, it's me, your dad." Yang Cheyan pushed the door open and walked in.

"Dad, what is it?" Yang Ce set Zhou Yanning's diary on the nightstand and sat up.

Yang Cheyan glanced at the diary on the nightstand and asked, a little puzzled, "Daming, you keep a diary?"

Zhou Yanning's diary was one of those special locked diaries you buy in the market, so it was obvious at a glance.

"Oh, it's not mine." Yang Heng laughed wryly. "It's Zhou Yanning's diary."

"Zhou Yanning?" Yang Cheyan blinked, frowning. "Isn't she that girl from middle school—the one who reported you?"

"The very same." Yang Shuoxuan did not deny it and nodded. Since he had already resolved in his heart to accept Zhou Yanning, he could not keep hiding it from his parents any longer.

"Even so, you can't go prying through her diary. That's hardly moral." Yang Cheyan had clearly misunderstood—he assumed Yang Ce had been reading Zhou Yanning's diary in hopes of finding something private to use against her.

Yang Xutang was caught between laughter and tears. "Dad, you've got it wrong. This diary—well, how do I even explain it to you?"

"What on earth is going on? If there's something to say, just say it. Why be so secretive with your own father?" Yang Cheyan shook his head. "If you can't give me a convincing reason, then stop reading it and take it back to her at once."

Yang Ce hesitated, weighing his words for a long while before speaking. "Dad, I can't explain this in a few sentences. Let me start from the beginning."

"Go ahead. I'm listening." Yang Cheyan wanted to hear Yang Juehuan's reasons too. He had a fair measure of confidence in his son's character, so there had to be a reason behind this—and Yang Cheyan wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Dad, Zhou Yanning and I were classmates in university. But she got hurt because of me. She's in the hospital, and she still hasn't woken up," Yang Yanzhou said.

"What? She got hurt because of you and she's in the hospital?" Yang Cheyan was startled. "What exactly happened?"

"Dad, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to worry." Yang Yanzhou finished and studied Yang Cheyan's expression; only after seeing him nod did he continue. "Earlier this year, while helping Uncle Chen crack a smuggling case, I was abducted by the smugglers and taken to their base. At the critical moment, Zhou Yanning took a bullet for me."

The feud between Yang Ce and Wang Lin was not something that could be explained in a few words, so Yang Ce simply laid the whole matter at Chen Fei's feet. Going after criminals—his father, a man brimming with righteous fervor, would surely support him in that.

Sure enough, Yang Cheyan nodded after hearing it, then let out a long sigh. "So that's how it was. Ah, that foolish child. Daming, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Dad, aren't you going to ask why she took that bullet for me?" Yang Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"What's there to ask?" Yang Cheyan glanced at the diary on the table and shook his head. "I've lived this many years—you think I can't figure out such things? If I'm not mistaken, the reason that little girl reported you back then was jealousy over you and Su Ya, wasn't it?"

"Ah?" Yang Ce had not expected his father to be so sharp—to put his finger on the heart of the matter in one stroke.

"What do you plan to do?" Yang Cheyan said nothing more and asked directly.

"I promised her I'd take care of her from now on," Yang Mo said, a little ashamed.

"Daming, it's not my place to interfere in your affairs." Yang Cheyan was quite helpless. "But you already have two girlfriends, Mengyan and Lanling. Now you're adding another—how do you think Mengyan and the others will take it?"

"Mengyan sympathizes with her too. Getting her to come around probably won't be a problem," Yang Yanzhou said.

"If I remember rightly, you still owe a debt of feeling to a girl named Lin Yanhe," Yang Cheyan reminded him.

"That's true." Yang Ce nodded deeply. The responsibilities weighing on his shoulders were growing heavier and heavier.

"One of these days, your mother and I will meet her parents together," Yang Cheyan said. "Whether Zhou Yanning wakes up or not, your mother and I will help you look after her."

"Dad, thank you for understanding." Yang Mo was rather moved. He had expected his father to fly into a rage at him.

Yang Cheyan patted Yang Juehuan on the shoulder. "Daming, you're a grown man now. I won't say any more. If you believe it's right, then go ahead and do it with all your heart."

Yang Heng smiled, then suddenly thought of something. "By the way, Dad, what did you want to see me about?"

"It's like this, Daming." Yang Cheyan took a sheet of paper from his pocket. "Old Feng, Xiao Wang, and I have been discussing the concert. Have a look—where do you think would be better to hold it? One option is your school, the gymnasium at Songjiang Engineering University; the other is the District Seven Stadium. Which do you think is better?"

"Do you really need to consult me about this? It's all trivial stuff." Yang Ce glanced at the materials in his father's hand. "I think the school gymnasium would be a bit better—plenty of university students are Shu Ya's fans, so the atmosphere there would be livelier. But if we're looking at it from the angle of social influence, holding it at a public stadium would be better."

"That's exactly the disagreement we ran into," Yang Cheyan said with a bitter smile. "Old Feng wants the District Seven Stadium, while Xiao Wang wants the school gymnasium. Just as you said, each has its advantages. Old Feng, thinking about our advertising effect, believes a public venue gives us broader exposure. But Xiao Wang, looking at it from the angle of economic return, says Shu Ya is the idol of university students—holding it on campus would pack the place and make money too."

"What's so hard about that?" Yang Heng said. "Shu Ya's schedule has her staying in Songjiang for quite a few days anyway. Just arrange several shows at each venue."

"You're right—why didn't I think of that?" Yang Cheyan slapped his thigh. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow I'll go make the arrangements for the venues."

"By the way, Dad, bring me a copy of Shu Ya's detailed schedule tomorrow. I'll come along when it's time to pick her up at the airport," Yang Yanzhou said.

"All right. Daming, you know Shu Ya?" Yang Cheyan was a little surprised.

"I suppose you could say I know her. Her name is so close to Su Ya's that I paid a bit more attention," Yang Ce explained.

Yang Cheyan nodded, said nothing further, and turned to leave Yang Juehuan's room.

Yang Cenbin had not been online for quite a while, so once his father was gone, he casually switched on the computer and logged into QQ.

The offline messages chimed away without stopping, giving Yang Ce quite a start. Most of them, though, were baffling group messages, which Yang Puqi closed one by one. There was one group called something like the "Fish-Man Devotee Corps"—Yang Ce had no idea when he had even joined it—and he quit it outright.