Ye Fei was relieved that it wasn’t peak tourist season and that the places they visited weren’t particularly famous, so their journey was relatively peaceful.
In the span of a morning, the three of them visited several such spots.
Wei Qing, who was usually rather quiet, became quite talkative.
At each location, she could introduce the characteristics and historical anecdotes of the place to Ye Fei and Liu Junyi in great detail, even more so than the locals.
This surprised both Ye Fei and Liu Junyi.
"Sis Qing, how do you know so much about these places?
If I didn’t know you’ve been in the Special Forces since graduating from military academy, I’d think you were a tour guide," Liu Junyi couldn’t help but ask, half-jokingly, as they prepared to eat lunch.
"My mom loved to study these things. I often came to these places with her when I was little, so I know them well," Wei Qing’s originally bright smile turned somewhat bitter, and her voice carried a hint of loss.
"Later, she left. Whenever I missed her, I’d come to these places alone, so I became familiar with them."
Liu Junyi didn’t expect her casual question to trigger Wei Qing’s painful memories and apologized, "Sis Qing, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked."
"It’s okay. This has been on my mind for years, and I was actually looking for someone to talk to," Wei Qing, a Special Forces elite with strong mental fortitude, quickly adjusted her mindset and smiled faintly.
"And I believe, one day, I’ll find my mom."
Both Ye Fei and Liu Junyi were taken aback by Wei Qing’s words. They had assumed her mother had passed away, not realizing there was more to the story.
However, it wasn’t the right time to delve into this, so they didn’t press further. Ye Fei suggested,
"It’s getting late. Let’s find a place to eat first and continue sightseeing in the afternoon."
"Sounds good," the two women replied in unison, walking on either side of Ye Fei.
After spending the morning together, Wei Qing had not only gotten to know Ye Fei better but had also gradually overcome her shyness. She could now walk beside him quite comfortably, though she still felt a bit too shy to link arms with him like Liu Junyi.
The trio was now in a small, free tourist spot.
Apart from them, most visitors were local residents.
Since it was lunchtime and the residents had mostly gone home, the place was quite serene, which suited Ye Fei’s taste. He detested crowded environments.
Although Wei Qing was well-versed in the history of the place, it had been a long time since she had visited.
The three of them had to search for a while before finding a small restaurant. Just as they were about to enter, a couple walked out from the restaurant.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Ye Fei, who could be domineering and even ruthless towards his enemies, remained polite to ordinary people.
Seeing that the path in front of the restaurant was narrow, he pulled the two women aside to let the couple pass first.
However, his polite gesture was not reciprocated.
The couple initially raised their heads arrogantly and glanced at the three of them with disdain.
But upon recognizing Ye Fei, Liu Junyi, and Wei Qing, their expressions changed dramatically.
The man was slightly better.
He caught a glimpse of Liu Junyi and Wei Qing, his eyes briefly reflecting admiration, but he quickly turned away, seemingly worried about what his female companion might think.
The woman, however, was a completely different story. When she saw Ye Fei, her eyes flickered with a mix of confusion and excitement, as if she had seen someone incredible.
But upon seeing the two women, especially recognizing Liu Junyi, her face first showed surprise, then quickly turned into a deep, jealous scowl.
The speed of her changing expressions made Ye Fei marvel involuntarily.
If Ye Fei were a fan of television, he would have recognized the couple immediately.
The woman was a popular actress from his childhood, while the man was a rising young actor.
Unfortunately, Ye Fei rarely watched TV and had no impression of them. However, Liu Junyi seemed to recognize the woman, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon seeing her.
"Ah, isn’t this Junyi? Why aren’t you staying in Wang Hai City and instead came to our capital?"
The woman’s tone was sarcastic, especially emphasizing the word "capital," which made Ye Fei inwardly sigh at yet another person with a misguided sense of regional superiority.
"Who would have thought it would be you, Sister Feng," Liu Junyi replied with a cold smile. "What brings you to such a humble place?"
Ye Fei was stunned by Liu Junyi’s response. He couldn’t imagine his usually strong-willed aunt engaging in such a quarrelsome exchange with another woman.
There were only two possibilities for this uncharacteristic behavior: either the woman was a close friend and they were joking around, or Liu Junyi had a very negative impression of her, causing her to lose control.
Judging by the current situation, the latter seemed more likely.
This piqued Ye Fei’s curiosity, and he couldn’t help but ask, "Auntie, who is this?"
Before Liu Junyi could respond, the woman sharply turned to Ye Fei, staring intently at him, and asked, "Are you Liu Yiru’s son?"
"Yes," Ye Fei replied without surprise. It made sense that this woman knew his mother, given the close bond between the Liu sisters and the apparent significant relationship between this woman and Liu Junyi. He inquired further, "Do you know my mother?"
Upon hearing Ye Fei’s confirmation, the woman’s eyes flashed with a complex emotion. She stared at Ye Fei for a long moment before gradually calming down and forcing a smile.
"Yes, of course I know her. I was very close friends with your mother back in the day. You can call me Auntie Feng."
"Is that so? Yet I’ve never heard my mom mention you," Ye Fei observed a hint of jealousy in the woman’s eyes when she spoke of Liu Yiru, a sentiment that couldn’t be concealed from anyone paying attention.
From her reaction, Ye Fei deduced that the conflict between this woman and Liu Junyi likely stemmed from his mother.
Frankly, the woman possessed a beauty and grace that could rival his mother’s, but even so, Ye Fei couldn’t bring himself to show her any leniency, simply because she harbored animosity towards his beloved mother.
The woman seemed taken aback by Ye Fei’s words, then let out a soft sigh, seemingly losing the desire to argue with Liu Junyi further. She turned to the man and said, "Let’s go."
Without waiting for a response, she walked ahead, and the man, who appeared to lack any real backbone, quickly followed.
Liu Junyi didn’t comment on their departure.
Only after they were out of sight did she turn to Ye Fei and ask, "Is there something you want to ask me?"
Ye Fei nodded but didn’t inquire immediately. Instead, he entered the small restaurant, booked a private room, and sat down with the two women before asking, "Who is she? Does she have a grudge against my mom?"
"Not exactly a grudge," Liu Junyi explained, unsurprised that Ye Fei didn’t recognize the once extremely popular actress.
"Her name is Zhuo Feng’er. As she said, she was a good friend of your mom’s back in the day. In fact, you should be grateful to her in a way."
Ye Fei was puzzled. "What do you mean? Why should I be grateful?"
"Because without her, you and Yunqi might not have been born," Liu Junyi took a deep breath and recalled, "Zhuo Feng’er and your mom were classmates in high school and very close friends. She often visited your mom at home, and that’s when I got to know her.
She was a very gentle girl back then, and I, being much younger, also got along well with her. However, something happened later that almost cost her her life. Your dad, who wasn’t yet married to your mom, happened to save her.
Maybe because of that, she fell deeply in love with your dad."
Ye Fei’s eyes widened in surprise.
"So, she resents my mom because she lost my dad? But how does that have anything to do with whether I and Yunqi exist?"
Liu Junyi sighed softly. "Initially, all three of us sisters were extremely dissatisfied with the arranged marriage suddenly imposed on your mom. We planned to help her elope.
But just as we were about to leave, your grandfather caught us and forcibly brought your mom back home.
We later found out that it was Zhuo Feng’er who had tipped off your grandfather about our plans.
As for why she did that, well, only she knows for sure."
Ye Fei was even more confused now.
Even with his sharp mind, he couldn’t fathom any reason for Zhuo Feng’er’s actions. It was impossible that she no longer had feelings for Ye Lingyun; otherwise, she wouldn’t harbor resentment towards Liu Yiru.
But why would she push the man she loved away? It couldn’t be a sacrifice for her friend, because she must have known that Liu Yiru had no feelings for Ye Lingyun at all.
Thinking this through, Ye Fei couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
It seemed that matters of the heart were indeed complicated, and even he couldn’t make sense of it all.
He also didn’t know how he should deal with Zhuo Feng’er.
His aunt was right; without her, he and Ye Yunqi wouldn’t exist. But to feel gratitude towards a woman who harbored animosity towards his beloved mother was equally impossible.
Fortunately, he likely wouldn’t have to worry about running into Zhuo Feng’er again, sparing him further distress over this issue.
Ignoring Ye Fei’s daze, Liu Junyi continued, "After we were caught by your grandfather, Zhuo Feng’er left Wang Hai City. Two years later, she suddenly became an entertainer and rose to fame across Longguo. Sis Qing should know something about this, right?"
Wei Qing nodded. "I know about her. She was extremely popular back then, not only because of her wonderful singing voice but also because of her very proper private life. I even admired her for a while. But then she suddenly married an old, wealthy man, which was a great pity for everyone."
A sudden thought struck Ye Fei, and he quickly asked, "Did she marry that tycoon before or after my dad passed away?"
Liu Junyi was taken aback for a moment, then understood Ye Fei’s implication. She sighed, "It was after the news of your dad’s death spread. No wonder she would dare to challenge our Liu family after taking control of that tycoon’s entire fortune."
Speaking of this, Liu Junyi sighed again, feeling that Zhuo Feng’er was truly a foolish woman. However, she couldn’t hate her as before for betraying the three sisters; instead, she felt that Zhuo Feng’er was really pitiable.
From Liu Junyi’s expression, Ye Fei and Wei Qing also understood a lot. They couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Seeing the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Ye Fei said with a smile, "Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s order some food and continue sightseeing later."
Although he said this, he still had a question in his mind: why did Zhuo Feng’er reveal the Liu sisters’ movements to his grandfather back then?