Chapter 262 Home is always home

Chapter 262 Home is always home

When Qin Muchuan arrived, Jiang Ruan was no longer in the main hall.

Looking at Master Qin, who was sitting there with a rather unpleasant expression, he asked naturally, "Didn't you say your niece was here? Where is she?"

"As the Qin family's precious son, it was natural for Dad to take him to visit the old house." Second Master Qin spoke sarcastically, and his gaze towards his brother was not very friendly.

Qin Muchuan didn't ask any more questions and went to sit down in his seat.

"Aren't you going to take a look?" Second Master Qin tried to stir up trouble. "Our niece has quite a temper, just like Qin An."

"That's good." Qin Muchuan didn't show the slightest impropriety. "If a girl has a bit of a temper, she'll suffer less outside."

Master Qin's expression darkened further.

Regardless of whether he was the head of the family or not, she launched into a tirade against him: "Right now, it's just the two of us brothers, there's no need to pretend, is there? You'd rather not have Qin An and Jiang Ruan appearing in the Qin family than anyone else, would you?"

"They were originally members of the Qin family, why wouldn't they want that?" Qin Muchuan never revealed his thoughts to outsiders.

"Hypocritical!" Second Master Qin scoffed. "I hope that when Dad asks you to sell those shares that originally belonged to Qin An to her daughter at the original price, you can still say these things so casually."

Qin Muchuan's gaze fell on him: "Don't you have to give me your share too?"

"My share is pitifully small, it doesn't matter whether I get it or not," said Master Qin nonchalantly. "You're taking the lion's share."

Qin Muchuan's expression was deep and thoughtful, and his words contradicted his true feelings: "That originally belonged to Qin An."

Master Qin smiled.

It definitely belongs to Qin'an.

Without Qin An, there would be no Qin Group as we know it today, and the Qin family might even have been kicked out of the four major families.

But people who have been in the world of fame and fortune for a long time are reluctant to give it up. Once the shares are given to Jiang Ruan, Qin Muchuan, the head of the family, will be just an empty shell, and even his son Qin Mo will be affected.

Qin Muchuan would never give up his shares.

Everyone knows this, including Old Master Qin himself.

Looking at the baby walking beside him, Old Master Qin felt a mix of emotions, but he eventually suppressed them all.

"This is Miss An'an's room," the old butler introduced her. "Nothing inside has been touched. You can go in and take a look."

Jiang Ruan reached out and gently pushed the door open.

The room has a very traditional Chinese layout, with mahogany furniture such as desks and wardrobes. The entire room was cleaned spotlessly.

"The master doesn't trust anyone else to do the cleaning, so he's been doing it himself for all these years," the old butler added.

Old Master Qin smacked him with his cane: "Mind your own business!"

The old butler coughed lightly.

You can't even talk about it after you've done it.

Jiang Ruan looked at the elderly man with white hair beside her. Not wanting her to feel guilty, Grandpa Qin added, "Since you're just idling at home anyway, you might as well find something to do."

Jiang Ruan didn't say much.

She could probably guess why he cleaned it himself.

Longing and guilt.

He longed for his daughter and felt guilty for driving her away.

"This room has always been reserved for her; she can come back whenever she wants," Old Master Qin finally said. "Home is always home."

"I will convey your words to her." That was all Jiang Ruan could do.

Old Qin spent the rest of his life feeling guilty about his wrong decision back then.

But a mistake is a mistake.

Time cannot be reversed, and rivers cannot flow backward.

"The room next door is yours." Old Master Qin wanted to do what he could to be kind to them. "You can stay there whenever you want."

Jiang Ruan: "Thank you."

Grandpa Qin: "Why are you being so polite with your grandfather?"

Jiang Ruan pursed her lips, unable to bring herself to give a cold look to this person who had been smiling kindly at her from beginning to end, but she could only be polite and courteous.

For the next half hour.

Jiang Ruan sat in Jiang An's old room and looked around.

Inside are photos of my mother when she was young and carefree, photos of her with her friends, and various trophies she received.

Aside from the trophy photo, Li Zhishen is present in every other group photo. They stand in the center, their eyes and faces filled with anticipation and confidence for the future.

My mother back then.

Confident and vibrant, youthful and energetic.

"Would you like to know about your mother's life when she was young?" Old Master Qin asked. "I'll tell you about it when I have time."

Jiang Ruan paused for a moment, then quickly refused: "No need."

Through these photos and her mother's previous snippets of conversation, she could probably imagine her vibrant and unrestrained youth.

"If you want to hear it, just tell me. As long as I'm alive, I'll tell you everything." Old Master Qin was very kind to her. "If I'm gone, just call me in your dreams, and I'll tell the King of Hell before I come back to tell you."

A ripple stirred in Jiang Ruan's heart.

He was the most respected elder in the Qin family, an old man whom the entire Haicheng respected. Yet at this moment, he was coaxing her like a child, just so that she could get along better with him.

“If you had treated Mom like this back then, the outcome would have been very different.” Jiang Ruan couldn’t control herself.

Old Master Qin and the old butler were both taken aback.

They both seemed to remember something.

Jiang Ruan put everything back in its place, suppressing her mixed feelings: "Let's go."

Old Master Qin's heart was churning with emotions. If only he had...

He suppressed the thought.

There are no "ifs".

The mistake has already been made.

An'an will never forgive him in her life.

He couldn't help but think that if An'an were by his side, he would be the happiest old man in Haicheng right now. His An'an would coax him and love him, bickering with him while caring for him.

"Master..." the old butler called out to him.

"Let's go." Old Master Qin felt a dull ache in his chest. "It's time to eat."

Jiang Ruan noticed his emotional change and knew that what he had just said might have touched a sore spot for the old man.

On the way back to the main hall.

Old Master Qin's expression was rather solemn.

The three remained silent, displaying remarkable tacit understanding.

It wasn't until everyone was seated at the table that Old Master Qin came to his senses and looked at Jiang Ruan, who was sitting some distance away, and said directly, "Ruan Ruan, come sit with me."

Everyone's eyes turned to that direction, and no one uttered a word of complaint.

Jiang Ruan stood up and walked over.

The atmosphere at the dining table was unusually quiet.

"This is Jiang Ruan, An'an's child, my granddaughter." Old Master Qin's gaze swept over everyone, his words steady and powerful, "From today onwards, she is a member of the Qin family."

The group looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Over the years, Qin An has become a taboo subject in the family. Few people dare to mention her in front of the elders. Now, she is talking about An An in front of everyone and has even acknowledged her daughter. Everyone has some reservations.

"These are your two uncles, Qin Muchuan and Qin Muchi." Old Master Qin turned his gaze to Qin Muchuan and Second Master Qin.

Jiang Ruan thought about what her mother had told her before she left, and called out, "Uncle, Second Uncle."

"It's good that you're back." Qin Muchuan took out a large red envelope from his pocket and handed it to her with a kind expression. "This is a small gift from your uncle to mark our meeting. It's not much, but it's the thought that counts."

Qin Muchi: "???"

Qin Muchi frowned as he looked at him.

It was as if they hadn't expected him to be so hypocritical.