"You keep saying you’ve visited us, that’s it, we admit it, that was before. You said we were too busy to entertain you, which makes sense, but as for the excuse of being busy, it’s probably one you made up for us. The truth is we haven’t seen you." Ye Fan was polite in addressing Zhao Feipeng but exposed his flowery words in his speech.

No matter what Zhao Feipeng’s purpose was, trying to fish for information, talking like this was really intolerable.

It would be better to speak more normally and avoid those grandiose words, but Zhao Feipeng just wasn’t getting it.

Since Mengyao entrusted the task of dealing with Zhao Feipeng to him, Ye Fan naturally wouldn’t hold back.

"You speak so bluntly, Zhao Feipeng’s old face probably has nowhere to hide." Mengyao couldn’t bear it and turned her head away, unwilling to see Zhao Feipeng’s embarrassed scene, sparing him further awkwardness.

Mrs. Zhao looked embarrassed, silently thinking, "You old fogey, if you’re visiting them, you should show sincerity. You insisted on using slick words, now it’s backfired. They aren’t responding with hollow pleasantries, let’s see how you save face."

"Dad, you told me to speak less, and now I’ve got nothing to say. Deal with it yourself." Jian Tao thought awkwardly.

Zhao Feipeng’s old face indeed turned red, realizing something was off with the atmosphere. Covering his mouth, he coughed lightly a few times, then quickly pondered his words to deflect his embarrassment, saying, "Mr. Ye is straightforward, direct, doesn’t speak empty words, acts genuinely, truly admirable."

In his mind, he was baffled, muttering continuously, "I said I’ve visited you, and that’s true. You didn’t meet me before because you didn’t want to allocate benefits to me. I said you were busy as a way to give you a graceful exit, can you not chat properly? Why not follow the protocol? Don’t you know how to engage in diplomatic conversation? Speaking bluntly, do you think you’re a three-year-old, immune to consequences? Do you know how hard it is to speak the truth now? Just know that truth can scare people, what identity and position do you hold to act so freely? Can I afford to do that? Don’t you see how inferior I am in front of you?"

Zhao Feipeng glanced at Ye Fan, his look obscure and unclear, carrying an inexplicable grievance akin to a wronged wife, making people both want to laugh and cry.

"Patriarch Zhao, the reason for saying these words is not to show how straightforward I am or to impress you, got it?" Ye Fan said lightly, with unprecedented gravitas.

"Got it." Zhao Feipeng forced a bitter smile, having no choice but to agree with Ye Fan, though he really didn’t understand what he got.

"Then what do you understand? Tell me." Ye Fan asked amusedly.

"This? This..." Zhao Feipeng’s eyes darted around, truly unsure of what to say, awkwardly responding, "Let me think about it." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He felt extremely uncomfortable inside, thinking, get a grip on what? Get a grip he did, is there anything wrong with agreeing with you? Do I have to say I don’t understand? Do you even know how to speak? Can you chat properly?

In Zhao Feipeng’s heart, it tasted bitterer than gallbladder, unbearably vexed.

"Allow you to think? What the heck are you going to think about? Can you even think it through?" Ye Fan thought to himself.

Mengyao didn’t open her mouth, still waiting for the right opportunity to interject—as it was clear the timing wasn’t right yet.

Jian Tao and Mrs. Zhao felt a bit awkward, firstly for Zhao Feipeng speaking officialese in the wrong place, secondly for being unsure of Ye Fan’s intentions.

Ye Fan didn’t plan to say more unnecessary things to reprimand Zhao Feipeng, elucidating, "What I mean is, since you’re here wanting to discuss something, can we have a normal chat? If you insist on pretending, who’s going to have the leisure to accompany you in pretense?"

"Pretend? I’m not pretending, and, by the way, what even is pretending?" Zhao Feipeng asked dully.

Mengyao couldn’t help but have a smile tugging at her mouth, she looked in another direction to avoid appearing disrespectful at the scene.

Mrs. Zhao really felt ashamed, looking at Zhao Feipeng’s eyes, really wanted to vanish from embarrassment.

"Pfft!" Jian Tao couldn’t hold back, laughing out loud, firstly because he didn’t expect Ye Fan to say such things, catching him off guard, secondly Zhao Feipeng’s response was irresistibly funny.

Zhao Feipeng’s old face really turned bright red like an apple, shockingly imagining such an old fogey still feeling embarrassed and blushing, truly rare.

What nonsense, in front of juniors, especially with Jian Tao present, how could an occurrence like this not lead to a loss of face?

"Patriarch Zhao, what Ye Fan means is, let’s speak plainly if we have something to say, avoiding overly diplomatic language, which is not only uncomfortable but also feels distant." Mengyao sensed the timing was right, naturally offering Zhao Feipeng a way out.

Zhao Feipeng promptly climbed down the pole, sheepishly saying, "What slipped out, slipped out, unknowingly making a gaffe for laughter."

"Auntie, what do you think?" Mengyao looked at Mrs. Zhao, saying, "Since you’ve personally visited, surely you have much to say, and we also have a lot to discuss, let’s be natural, avoiding superficiality."

"Really sorry for the laughter. It’s our fault, this person here," said Mrs. Zhao, glancing at Zhao Feipeng, instantly changing her tune, "Sigh, let’s not talk about him, let’s discuss other topics."

Mrs. Zhao indeed didn’t expect Ye Fan and Mengyao to be so easy to talk to, a result of Zhao Feipeng practicing with his face.

Mrs. Zhao said, "The most important reason we’re here today is to thank you for saving Xixi and helping Jian Tao through this crisis, truly thank you."

Reflecting now, the group, from the initial greetings, had gotten off track from the beginning, led astray by Zhao Feipeng, not even expressing gratitude before engaging in a battle of diplomatic and counter-diplomatic conversation.

The result was evident, with Ye Fan leaving Zhao Feipeng speechless.

"You don’t need to say words of thanks, we merely did what we should, it’s not worth expressing gratitude." Mengyao said seriously, "Saving Xixi, you’re aware of that, as for helping Jian Tao, since Ye Fan was one of the parties involved, regarding those disparaging remarks, Ye Fan had the most say, and of course, we wouldn’t stand idly by."

"That mysterious man, it was him?" Zhao Feipeng’s eyes widened, showing incredulity.