Chapter 499: Your Uncle
Wei Zhiqian then drove Tan Mo back to the Tan Family mansion and stopped in front of the door.
They happened to run into Tan Wenci, who had just returned home from work.
They happened to get out of their cars at the same time.
“Mr. Tan,” Wei Zhiqian greeted, addressing Tan Wenci as such without hesitation as he had decided it was time to not be Tan Mo’s uncle.
Tan Wenci forced a smile and asked, “Aren’t you Momo’s uncle? Why are you addressing me so formally?”
“You’re around the same age as my parents, and Jinqi is only one year younger than me. Isn’t that normal?” Wei Zhiqian replied with the answer that he had already prepared.
It would put him at around the same age as Tan Mo instead of her parents, signaling that it was time they abandoned their relationship as uncle and niece.
“Haha…” Tan Wenci laughed bitterly. He knew that Wei Zhiqian was smart and knowledgeable, but he had no idea why the man was a little short-wired when it came to this sort of stuff. “Momo, why didn’t you ask your brothers to pick you up from the campus? You didn’t have to ask your uncle to go all the way there to fetch you back home.”
Tan Wenci had no idea why he did that, but he naturally emphasized the word “uncle” when he said that.
It was Wei Zhiqian’s turn to be speechless now.
‘What’s wrong with father-in-law? He never addressed me as Momo’s uncle before. Why is he doing that now?’
“No worries. Anything that concerns Momo is never a bother to me.” Wei Zhiqian gently smiled. “But fa… Mr. Tan, if you really think it’s a bother to me, why don’t you repay me with a meal?”
As Wei Zhiqian addressed Tan Wenci as his father-in-law in his head a moment ago, he almost said that out loud.
It made Tan Mo’s father stare at the man curiously.
Tan Wenci was not at the age where he would have bad hearing, and he knew that very well. He clearly heard Wei Zhiqian say something that started with “fa-” before changing it.
What was he going to say? Was it because he was hungry and wanted to have fast food or something?
“No, no. Of course not. I don’t think it’s a bother to you if you don’t.” Tan Wenci smiled at Wei Zhiqian, knowing that the man from the Wei family in front of him was always scheming something ever since he was a kid.
Wei Zhiqian was dumbfounded. He recalled the time when they went to the hot spring resort to celebrate Qin Muye’s 18th birthday. Their relationship had gotten better to the point where Tan Wenci even suggested waiting for Wei Zhiqian so that they could head back together.
The man was now utterly confused as to why the sudden change again.
“Dad!” Tan Mo scolded as she was also wondering why there was a sudden change in her father’s attitude toward Wei Zhiqian. “I’ve already told Mom and my brothers that he is dining with us today!”
Tan Mo was trying to tell her father that to not sound so mean and stingy.
Tan Wenci looked at his daughter. He suddenly felt as if his position as the head of the family was going to be taken away.
It had already come to the point where no one would discuss things with him before deciding on something.
Of course, he never had the power to make the decision in the family to begin with.
The reason why Tan Mo insisted on having Wei Zhiqian dine with them was so that he could back her up when she explained the situation that had happened the day before to her family.
Without any choices left, Tan Wenci and the other two walked into the mansion together.
“Oh?” Xu Mingzhen exclaimed. “Did you guys run into each other outside?”
“Yup!” Tan Mo nodded. “Dad was parking his car when we came back.”
“What a coincidence.” Her mother smiled. “Come on. Go wash your hands. Dinner’s ready in a jiffy.”
The three of them quickly washed their hands and sat down at the dining table.
As they had dinner, Tan Mo finally took a deep breath before telling her family about the incident that had happened back at the university.
Just as she had expected, Tan Jinqi did not have much reaction to it as he already knew about the incident. Tan Wenci, Xu Mingzhen, Tan Jinsheng, and Tan Jinyi were all furious to hear that.
They weren’t even angry at Tan Mo for not notifying them the moment it happened. They were furious at the person who had the audacity to try and frame her.
Tan Mo then told her family how she had handled the whole situation and how Wei Zhiqian had helped her.
“You only go to your uncle for help now…” Tan Wenci sighed. “It’s like we aren’t here anymore.”
“O-of course not!” Tan Mo quickly waved her hands. “He was there when it happened. It’s just all a coincidence!”
“She’s right.” Wei Zhiqian nodded. “I was at Beijing University when everything went down. There’s no way I would not help her when I was already there, right? I’m sure that Momo would notify you guys first if I wasn’t there already. It’s just because the incident could be handled easily and one person was enough to help her. That’s why she didn’t tell you guys right away.”
The last sentence was said to make the rest of the Tan family members feel better.
There was no way he wouldn’t know about the incident. Tan Mo would tell him right away when anything happened. Even if she didn’t, he could hear it happening with his power too.
“Also, Momo was too busy collecting the evidence.” Tan Jinqi finally stood in to help his sister. “There’s just no way she could think of anything else when she was too angry at the person who did that to her. We should sympathize with Momo sometime instead of pressuring her. This is the best way we can help her.”
Tan Jinsheng couldn’t help but acknowledge his oldest brother’s ability to calm everyone down.
It was evident that the way Tan Jinqi had worded it was perfect. Tan Mo was nodding her head in agreement when he said that while looking at him full of gratitude.
Just as Tan Jinsheng was about to agree with his older brother, Tan Jinyi butted in. “Big bro is right! Momo, we shouldn’t pressure you like that. Just let me know if you need anyone to help you with anything! I’ll do anything for you!”
Tan Jinsheng glared at his younger brother, wondering when Tan Jinyi had become so sensitive to things like this.
“I agree with Jinyi.” Tan Jinsheng quickly nodded as well.
The three brothers were now grinning, leaving their father with a frown on his face. He couldn’t believe that his sons had beat him to it.
“So, that’s why you suddenly come back today. Is it because you wanted to tell us about this?” Xu Mingzhen asked with a pained expression on her face.
Even though Tan Mo was successful at Beijing University, her success had garnered a lot of hate as well.
Her mother couldn’t bear with the fact that her daughter had to go through all of that at such a young age, forcing her to curse at the people who were envious of Tan Mo’s success in her head.
“No, of course not. Well, it is one of the reasons, but I have to discuss with Eldest Brother about his script later,” Tan Mo said.
“Ah! Right! Jinqi mentioned that before.” Tan Wenci nodded. “He’s about to direct his first film.”
“Director Hou and Director Liu have also agreed to help us!” Tan Mo reminded everyone else.
“But this is Jinqi’s first film, right? If other people saw that Director Hou and Director Liu are helping him, won’t they say it’s all because of them that the film could succeed?” Xu Mingzhen asked worriedly.
“Mom, you don’t have to worry about that,” Tan Mo said. “The director is still big bro. Even though Director Hou and Director Liu are the assistant directors, there’s no way we would really let them actually do what an assistant director is supposed to do, right? Their main role is to solidify the quality of the film. They don’t even have to come to the studio every day. They have their own work to do. If they ever pop by, it’s just to make sure some old-timers won’t try to pressure big bro or try to ruin the whole film. As long as Director Hou and Director Liu are the assistant directors, they won’t dare pull something like that. In the end, the success of the film all depends on big bro alone.”
After hearing Tan Mo’s explanation, Xu Mingzhen nodded in agreement.