Although Lin Ming's family was always abroad, they weren't particularly wealthy. Following Wei Yumeng to this high-end coffee shop made him feel rather uneasy.
In fact, Wei Yumeng had originally considered choosing a space where Lin Ming would feel more at ease. However, she had deliberately lured Zhan Yangyi out. If Zhan Yangyi sensed anything, who knew what might happen.
Zhan Yangyi was still on his way to his destination, but he had already dispatched others to the coffee shop ahead of him.
Wei Yumeng suddenly contacting him was strange enough; there was no way he would let his guard down completely and participate without caution.
Wei Yumeng's anxious demeanor didn't seem fake. The person or matter that could make her so worried, Zhan Yangyi could only think of it being related to Zhan Mohan.
At this thought, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he looked out the window, his gaze deep.
Just then, his phone rang. It was the informant who had arrived early.
"What's the situation over there?"
"It's confirmed, Ms. Wei is only meeting with one man."
"A man?" Zhan Yangyi frowned slightly. If it were Zhan Mohan, the informant wouldn't have failed to recognize him. Then who was this person?
"I've taken photos; I'll send them to you shortly."
After hanging up, a photo indeed arrived on Zhan Yangyi's phone. When he saw the person in the photo, his eyes widened even further.
The person with Wei Yumeng was Lin Ming? His former adoptive father.
Zhan Yangyi didn't know how long it had been since he felt such panic. Perhaps he shouldn't have agreed to today's meeting, but did he really want to run?
Behind Zhan Yangyi's car, a black sedan was following them.
"Mr. Zhan, I've located Zhan Yangyi's car. Understood, I'll keep an eye on this."
Wei Yumeng checked the time. It had already been half an hour past their agreed meeting time, which was starting to worry her. If Zhan Yangyi didn't show up, they would have been waiting in vain.
Lin Ming also sighed, "Miss Wei, I appreciate your kindness, but it seems Yangyi doesn't want to see me."
Wei Yumeng quickly explained, "Mr. Lin, I don't think that's the case. Although I invited him out, I didn't mention you would be here, so it's definitely because of work that he's delayed."
After hearing Wei Yumeng's words, Lin Ming said nothing more, merely shaking his head.
In his heart, it seemed that nothing could be salvaged.
Time ticked by, and even Wei Yumeng grew restless. She walked out of the coffee shop to check the situation herself.
"Miss Wei, I apologize. I'm late due to work."
As Wei Yumeng stepped out, she bumped right into Zhan Yangyi.
Wei Yumeng finally breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're here. I thought you wouldn't come today."
Zhan Yangyi, however, smiled, "Since I promised you, there's no reason for me not to come."
Wei Yumeng said nothing more and immediately led Zhan Yangyi to their pre-arranged table. According to Wei Yumeng's plan, Lin Ming would later pretend to be there by chance and run into Zhan Yangyi.
"Alright, tell me, why did you ask to see me today?" Zhan Yangyi propped his head with his left hand, tilting his head to look at Wei Yumeng.
Wei Yumeng felt a bit awkward. She didn't actually have any serious business to discuss with Zhan Yangyi, but she had to find some topic of conversation. After all, having Lin Ming appear right now would be too coincidental and suspicious.
"Actually, it's like this, I have some better suggestions regarding our current project that I wanted to discuss with you," Wei Yumeng said, taking out her phone.
Zhan Yangyi knew what Wei Yumeng was planning but it wasn't the right time to expose it directly. He needed to know what Wei Yumeng was truly after.
So, he could only pretend to be ignorant and started chatting with Wei Yumeng.
"Yangyi?"
A voice suddenly cut through their conversation.
Wei Yumeng deliberately acted surprised, "You know each other?"
"Yangyi, is that really you? Child, how long has it been since we last saw each other? I didn't expect you to become so accomplished now. Your aunt and I are relieved."
Wei Yumeng looked at Zhan Yangyi, then at Lin Ming, "Elder, since you know each other, why don't you join us at our table to chat?"
Lin Ming naturally sat down without any hesitation.
However, since seeing Lin Ming, Zhan Yangyi had not uttered a single word, nor had he even looked up at Lin Ming.
Seeing Zhan Yangyi's demeanor, Wei Yumeng felt a bit worried. She knew her approach was reckless, but she had no other choice.
"Mr. Zhan..."
As Wei Yumeng was about to remind him, Zhan Yangyi spoke.
"What are you doing here?" His voice was cold, devoid of any warmth.
"I was just passing by and didn't expect to run into you."
"Passing by?" Zhan Yangyi chuckled, but his laughter was deeply unsettling.
"Isn't it because your family heard about my current status and wants to latch onto me?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ming also became angry. "Yangyi! What do you really think of our Lin family? I can put my hand on my heart and say I have a clear conscience. I've never treated you unfairly. Why do you always go against us?"
Hearing this, Wei Yumeng was stunned. What did Lin Ming mean by that?
Had Zhan Yangyi been causing trouble for the Lin family behind the scenes? Wei Yumeng couldn't help but recall how Lin Ming had tried to avoid her when she explained her intentions.
Wei Yumeng suddenly understood. Perhaps Lin Ming was also looking for an opportunity to clarify everything with Zhan Yangyi, both for the Lin family and for Zhan Yangyi himself.
"I go against you? If you hadn't all disbelieved me back then, and even driven me away in the end, how could I have possibly retaliated against you?"
Zhan Yangyi sneered, "You don't honestly think you're just victims, do you? When you treated me like that, did you ever consider what might happen now?"
Lin Ming clenched his fists. He looked remorseful.
"You are all the same, only abandoning one for the sake of so-called blood ties. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I wanted to stay, the outcome would never change!"
Wei Yumeng looked at Zhan Yangyi and realized he seemed to be losing control. He seemed to be connecting the events with the Lin family to his own situation with the Zhan family, as he had been abandoned by the Zhens, which was why he had ended up with the Lin family.
"Mr. Zhan, please calm down."
But Zhan Yangyi merely sneered, "How can you ask me to calm down? You weren't the one who went through those things!"