Chapter 226: The Illegitimate Child
The next day, Sun Lixia called her brother Sun Weilong to inform him they would be paying a visit to their elderly father. Grandpa Sun had been grumbling lately that Sun Lixia rarely came by anymore. She decided to spend the entire day with him and finally share the news of Li Chen’s engagement.
So later that morning, a small convoy of vehicles headed out to Sun grandfather’s villa - Li Chen driving with Zhang Mei, Sun Lixia riding along with son Li Xinjie, his left arm in a cast, and Li Yanyan joining Zhu Fengrui in her car.
It was shaping up to be lively family gathering. Sun Lixia was especially looking forward to seeing her father’s reaction when he learned he would soon have the beautiful Zhang Mei as a granddaughter-in-law.
As the three cars pulled up the long drive to Grandpa Sun’s home, they spotted Sun Weilong already waiting outside with Sun Fang.
Li Chen parked first and greeted his uncle cheerfully. "Uncle Weilong! Cousin Fang! Good to see you both."
"Glad you all could make it today," Sun Weilong said, giving Li Chen a strong pat on the back. "Dad’s going to be over the moon with this big family gathering."
Just then, Grandpa Sun himself came hobbling out the front door, supported by his cane. "There’s my family!" he called out delightedly.
Sun Lixia rushed over to carefully help her elderly father down the front steps. "Hello Dad! I’ve missed you!"
The joyful reunion continued as everyone exchanged greetings and gradually made their way indoors. Zhang Mei smiled seeing Li Chen’s obvious adoration for his grandfather.
As the family settled in the living room, Li Yanyan introduced her son Zhu Fengrui. Grandpa Sun beamed "Another grandson! Wonderful!"
Then Sun Lixia asked "Where is Sun Gang, Dad? Will he be joining us?"
Grandpa harrumphed "That insolent boy is not welcome here after the way he insulted me."
Sun Weilong looked shocked. "What? Why didn’t you tell me Dad?"
"It’s fine, I can handle him," Grandpa said firmly, his smile returning. "Now, let’s eat!"
Over the hearty breakfast, Sun Lixia cleared her throat "I have an important announcement. Li Chen and Zhang Mei are getting married!"
Grandpa erupted in delighted applause. "Marvelous news! They must wed quickly so I can meet my great-grandchildren!"
Li Yanyan chuckled "We planned the wedding for the 31st actually. Just two weeks away."
"Perfect!" Grandpa exclaimed. Sun Weilong shook his head in amusement at his father’s unchecked enthusiasm. But it warmed his heart to see the elderly man take such joy in the latest generation.
The lively family breakfast at Grandpa Sun’s city home was interrupted by the butler entering the dining room. "Pardon me, sir, but there is a gentleman at the door asking to speak with you."
Grandpa knitted his brow in annoyance. "Who is interrupting my time with family? Ah, show him in I suppose."
The butler returned momentarily, accompanied by a distinguished gentleman of around fifty-five with salt and pepper hair. He wore an elegant black suit and had a polite yet intense look in his eyes.
"Good morning...Father," he addressed Grandpa Sun directly. A hush fell over the room at his words. Grandpa froze with his teacup halfway to his lips, utterly confused. The rest of the family stared between this stranger and the elderly man.
"I’m sorry, do I know you?" Grandpa finally sputtered out. "You must have the wrong person - I am not your father!"
The gentleman appeared unperturbed by this denial. Hands clasped behind his back, he simply continued gazing steadily at Grandpa Sun with an inscrutable smile that hinted at long-buried secrets.
An uncomfortable silence descended on the room as the imposing stranger made himself at home at the dining table. Oblivious to the tension, he glanced up expectantly at the frozen butler.
"Well, don’t just stand there, I’m famished," he declared, picking up a pair of unused chopsticks.
The butler hesitated, then mutely brought over a clean plate and servings of the breakfast dishes. The family continued staring as this bold interloper began helping himself to steamed buns and porridge as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
Grandpa Sun found his voice first. "I demand to know who the blazes you are and why you claim relation to me!" he blustered, face reddening.
The stranger paused over his bowl with an infuriating unruffled demeanor. "All in due time, Father," he said mildly. "Let us first get nourishment for this enlightening conversation."
Frustrated confusion reigned amongst Sun Lixia and her siblings as their uninvited guest continued breakfasting unexplainably. What revelations about Grandpa Sun’s past was this mystery man hinting at?
The strange man dabbed his mouth with a napkin, appearing greatly satisfied with the meal. "My compliments to your chef. If I’d known the fare would be so fine here, I would have introduced myself much earlier."
Sun Weilong slammed his fist on the table. "Enough riddles! Tell us who in blazes you are!"
The man turned to Grandpa Sun’s son. "You must be Sun Weilong. Eldest son, correct? And the lovely daughter here" - he nodded at a tense Sun Lixia - "is the spitting image of her late mother."
Surveying Li Chen and Li Xinjie next, he mused "I see I have two nephews here as well."
Grandpa Sun flushed crimson, half-rising from his seat in fury. "Speak plainly right now or I’ll haul your presumptuous behind out!"
The stranger appeared nonplussed by this reaction. "Come now, you wouldn’t toss your own blood out twice over, would you?" He stared challengingly at the elderly man.
Shocked outrage rang through the room. What was this lunatic implying about Grandpa Sun’s past?
The presumptuous man finally introduced himself. "I am Yang Bojun, son of Yang Mei...and Sun Weijie."
Sun Weilong slammed a fist down. "Impossible! Our father only had me and my sister Lixia!"
But Yang Bojun kept an intense gaze fixed on Grandpa Sun. "Surely you still remember Yang Mei...don’t you, Father?"
Grandpa Sun’s face had turned ash-white but he shook his head stubbornly. "I tell you again, I know no person by that name!"
"Come now," Yang Bojun persisted smoothly. "If you fish far back in your spotty memory, I believe you’ll find the truth."
Cold shock permeated the room as the implication sank in. This Yang Bojun was claiming Grandpa Sun had a secret love child with some woman named Yang Mei!
Lixia grasped her father’s shaking hand, worry creasing her brow. Grandpa looked strangely feeble all of a sudden, his bluster gone. What buried history was this aggressive Yang now dragging to light?
Yes...he remembered now. Yang Mei - the vivacious young hostess who worked at his favorite nightclub spot. With her curves, batting lashes and intoxicating laugh, she had charmed the young bachelor Sun Weijie completely during one wild, indulgent summer.
It was only ever meant to be a casual fling. But then Yang Mei had shown up at his door filled with the life they had created together, and shame at his own recklessness made Sun push her away.
He placated his conscience by paying for her silence and disappearance - sweeping their tryst aside to carry on with the respectable, carefully planned future his parents envisioned. Over the long decades as a husband and father, he rarely let himself dwell on that youthful indulgence gone awry...
Yet now here was Yang Bojun, a living reminder returned to upend Grandpa Sun’s neatly composed world. Gripping the table for support, Grandpa raised regret-filled eyes to the son he had heartlessly abandoned so long ago.
Sun Lixia grasped her father’s trembling hand, deeply unsettled. Rarely had she seen his bluster crumble away to reveal such remorse and grief. "Dad...?" she asked gently. "Is what he says true?"
Grandpa Sun could not meet his beloved daughter’s eyes, sitting slumped in wretched silence.
Yang Bojun gave a thin, wintry smile. "Oh yes, he remembers my dear mother Yang Mei perfectly now, I am sure. As for myself..." His tone grew biting. "How could he know a child he demanded be gotten rid of before I could disrupt his spotless reputation?"
Gasps of dismay went around the table. Zhang Mei covered her mouth in horror while Li Chen gripped her shoulder, shaken. Sun Weilong stared at his father, for once at a loss for bellowing words. The family reeled in dismay at this brutal revelation from Grandpa’s buried past.
"You paid her to disappear while she still carried me," Yang Bojun relentlessly continued. "But Mother struggled on and gave birth to me alone...you showed no interest in our existence after." His piercing gaze drilled into the elderly man. "And now here I stand before you after all these years. Don’t I deserve some answers too, Father?"
