Chapter 264: Chapter 264 Tong Yan Curtain Call
When Yang Fei and Tong Yunshu had tidied up and knocked on the door of the room where Tong Yan was, there was no response from inside.
Without hesitation, Yang Fei pushed the door open, but found that it was blocked by something after opening slightly.
He peered through the crack of the door and saw Tong Yan sitting behind it.
Yang Fei’s heart sank suddenly.
Tong Yan was sitting by the door, leaning against it, yet Yang Fei couldn’t sense his heartbeat or breathing.
"Elder Tong?" Yang Fei called out, but Tong Yan did not react at all.
He didn’t care much, pushed the door with force, and Tong Yan’s body was pushed by the door, tumbling to the ground.
"Third Grandpa, what’s wrong with you?"
Tong Yunshu followed Yang Fei into the room and, seeing Tong Yan lying motionless on the floor, felt a sense of foreboding arise within her.
Yang Fei checked Tong Yan’s pulse and breath and found that the old man had already been dead for quite some time, his life forces had ceased.
He probably died not long after he attacked me last night.
He was already in a state of being at the end of his tether, only showing some improvement after being treated with the Qi Control Needle technique, followed by a transmission to Tong Yunshu, and finally attacking me at the last moment.
His life forces were exhausted, beyond any recovery.
"Third Grandpa, why... why did you leave Yunshu behind, wowowow..."
Tong Yunshu was no ordinary person; she noticed that Tong Yan was no longer breathing, his body already stiff, and she immediately burst into tears.
Yesterday, when the Tong family faced a great crisis, and her grandpa and second uncle were killed by the Third Grandpa, she was shocked but not very saddened as she had already seen through the true nature of her grandpa, Tong Hai; his affection was merely because she was his granddaughter and brought many benefits to the Tong Family due to her competence.
In the depths of her grandpa’s heart, he valued males over females and looked down on her.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to discipline Tong Jianzhou after how he treated her, acting as if nothing had happened, much less harboring hate against Yang Fei knowing well the close relationship between Third Grandpa and herself.
Moreover, yesterday he even plotted with outsiders to instigate trouble against Third Grandpa and herself.
Therefore, Tong Yunshu had seen through her grandpa, Tong Hai; although she was shocked and slightly sad at his death, she was not overly grieved.
But now, with Tong Yan dead before her, Tong Yunshu’s tears flowed like a fountain, her grief profound.
Third Grandpa had always been truly kind to her and genuinely considered what was best for the Tong Family.
He even sacrificed his own life to pass on the Great Yellow Court technique to her.
If he hadn’t done so, despite his severe injuries, he could have lived a bit longer even if he couldn’t fully recover.
Yang Fei didn’t comfort Tong Yunshu as he knew her emotions could not be calmed at the moment; he just stood by her side, gently patting her back, silently accompanying her.
Yang Fei had anticipated Tong Yan’s death since yesterday.
Having lived overseas for many years and seen many life and death situations, he thought he had grown numb, but the death of Tong Yan, a senior from the Martial Arts World whom he had met and interacted with only after returning to the country, still affected him deeply and stirred many emotions.
Yesterday, during the treatment of Tong Yan, Tong Yan had already spoken to him about the events that had occurred in the Tong Family and had entrusted Tong Yunshu to Yang Fei, asking him to take good care of her and look after the Tong Family as much as possible.
This was a man worthy of respect.
It wasn’t long before Tong Yunshu regained control of her emotions.
Although a woman, she was softly steadfast inside, efficient and decisive.
The death of Third Grandpa was a great blow to her, but the dead cannot be resurrected, and the living must continue moving forward.
The current situation of the Tong Family was precarious, unable to withstand any more turmoil; she was well aware that what Third Grandpa cared about most was the Tong Family, so she had to be strong and had to go back to take charge.
"Yang Fei, I must take Third Grandpa back. Yesterday my grandpa and second uncle also died, and with such a huge change in the Tong Family, someone needs to take charge. If it were before, I might have run away or even leave the Tong Family, but now I need to go back and take over everything in the Tong Family," Tong Yunshu said, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes, her gaze steadfastly fixed on Yang Fei.
Yang Fei nodded and said, "I’ll accompany you back."
Tong Yunshu felt a warmth in her heart but smiled at him and shook her head, "No need, I am not the same person I was yesterday. For the Tong Family to go on, we must rely on our own people."
Yang Fei nodded, "I’m not going to help the Tong Family, it’s you I’m worried about. Whether those people from yesterday will take further action against the Tong Family is still an unknown. How could I be at ease if you go back alone?"
Upon hearing this, Tong Yunshu also started to worry.
Three important members of the Tong Family had died, and they could not go without holding funerals, so she had to return.
After a short consideration, she nodded and said, "Thank you, Yang Fei, I appreciate it."
Yang Fei suddenly felt a pang of heartache and said to her, "Why be so formal with me? To me, you are..."
Tong Yunshu gently smiled, smoothed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and interrupted, "Then I won’t be formal with you."
She did not want Yang Fei to feel too grateful to her. The events of last night were her own choice, and they were secretly instigated by Third Grandpa, aiming to manipulate Yang Fei. Thus, she felt somewhat sorry for Yang Fei and did not want him to brood over this or feel indebted to her.
She liked Yang Fei, therefore she was willing to give her all, but she definitely was not the type of woman who would cling to Yang Fei over this affair.
Even if she had to compete with Qin Yanyang in the future, she wanted to win Yang Fei’s love fairly and squarely, not have him feel grateful because of his sense of responsibility.
When leaving the hotel, Yang Fei realized his phone was out of battery.
Thinking about his overnight absence and the betrayal of Qin Yanyang from the previous night, he felt a twinge of guilt.
Today, he still had to assist Tong Yunshu with Tong Yan’s funeral at the Tong Family and could not return to his place. He felt it necessary to notify Qin Yanyang.
Qin Yanyang might even need to pay respects to Tong Yan as well.
He told Tong Yunshu, "I need to inform my wife about this."
Tong Yunshu hummed in response, offering no objection.
Hearing him call Qin Yanyang his wife, her heart felt a dull pain.
After borrowing a portable charger and powering up his phone, Yang Fei immediately turned it on.
Sure enough, there were several missed call alerts, all from Qin Yanyang the previous night.
Seeing the times of those calls, Yang Fei’s sense of guilt intensified.
At that time, he was deeply exploring the pleasures of the flesh.
He took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and then dialed Qin Yanyang’s phone.
Qin Yanyang almost instantly answered, "Hello?"
Having already managed his feelings, Yang Fei began, "My phone died last night."
"Mmm, I know," Qin Yanyang responded, her heart easing as a smile formed on her lips.
Yang Fei said gravely, "Tong Yan is dead."
"What?"
Qin Yanyang exclaimed, "Elder Tong is dead? Are you sure?"
Yang Fei briefly explained the events that had transpired at the Tong Family the previous evening, then continued, "After I rescued Elder Tong, his internal injuries were severe. Though he could have been treated, his old age meant that yesterday’s fight had damaged his life source. Even with treatment, he wouldn’t have long to live, so he asked me to help. He passed on the Great Yellow Court to Tong Yunshu, which is why I didn’t return home last night."
He chose to hide his affair with Tong Yunshu.
He felt shameless for lying and concealing the truth from Qin Yanyang, but he genuinely did not want to sever ties with her just yet.
Listening to Yang Fei’s phone conversation, Tong Yunshu sighed silently.
In his heart, he still cared more about that woman, left her feeling a bit sour, but she quickly suppressed these feelings, burying them deep inside.