At 4pm, Zhou Ming arrived at San Francisco Airport with Lin Muqing and Tang Ran once again. Also with them was an extended Lincoln limousine. A circle of bodyguards in black suits surrounded them, separating them from the crowd like an enchanted circle.
Zhou Ming was there to pick up Tang Ran's parents, but these preparations were not meant to show off his wealth in front of Tang Ran's parents. Perhaps when he was in Nanjiang, he had more or less wanted to regain face for himself and for Tang Ran, but now there is no need to do so, because after all, they are Tang Ran's parents. Although they are not related by blood, they have raised her for more than 20 years. It is a bit inappropriate to mock them like this when they are old.
However, in order to prevent her parents from forcing her into marriage again, she must also prove to them that she is capable of taking care of her, and that she is definitely better than that inexplicable Wei Hua.
Standing at the airport exit, Tang Ran anxiously scanned the crowds back and forth. Suddenly, she happily stood on her tiptoes and waved her arms frantically. She saw a dark, skinny middle-aged man walking towards her. Zhou Ming had once invited her parents to dinner in Nanjiang to resolve Wei Hua's situation, so Zhou Ming still remembered him. That was Tang Ran's adoptive father, Tang Jun.
Tang Ran looked back at Zhou Ming. After Zhou Ming smiled and nodded at her, Tang Ran happily went over and threw herself into the middle-aged man's arms, calling out, 'Dad.'
It was only after the initial joy that Tang Ran suddenly realised that only her adoptive father had come, and her adoptive mother, Lin Weixiu, was not there.
Tang Jun did not rush to explain. He brought Tang Ran to meet Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing. Tang Jun looked up and down Zhou Ming a few times and finally sighed, 'It's really you!'
This remark made Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing feel a little puzzled. In fact, before that, Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing had also thought about what the first words they would say when they met Tang Ran's parents would be, and they had also thought about many different scenarios, but they never imagined that only Tang Jun would come, and he even blurted out such an inexplicable thing. For Zhou Ming, who had been Tang Ran's boyfriend and had met her parents before, he could understand the sentence a little, but Lin Muqing was completely at a loss. However, no matter what, this also made all the prepared speeches useless.
Tang Jun didn't say much about it, and they all got into the car directly. After getting in the car, Tang Jun looked at the limousine back and forth, and sighed, 'No wonder it's the Tang family. This kind of car. I have never seen one like it in the mainland, and I was lucky enough to see one in Hong Kong City once. Only the wealthy and powerful can afford one of these. With my background, I'm afraid I could never afford one even if I worked in a shopping mall for generations.'
Putting aside self-deprecating humour, Zhou Ming heard the main point in Tang Jun's words. He immediately asked, 'From the tone of your voice, Uncle Tang, I can tell that you are also aware of this Tang family, and you also know the secret of Ranran's background, don't you?'
Facing Zhou Ming's question, Tang Jun said with a bitter smile, 'As a member of the Tang family, how could I not know? In fact, this is also the reason why I came to San Francisco alone today. Lin Weixiu is just an ordinary woman, and there are some things that she is better off not knowing.'
'Uncle, you said you are also a member of the Tang family?' Lin Muqing said in surprise.
Tang Jun nodded and said, 'There's nothing to be surprised about. When the Tang clan first sailed to San Francisco, they didn't originally intend to move their entire family. In fact, only a branch of the clan actually went to San Francisco. The real members of the Tang clan were still in Lingnan at that time, otherwise after the head of the Tang clan suddenly died, Tang Ran's father, Tang Jingrong, would not have been the first in line to inherit the title.'
'As for As for me,' Tang Jun said, "if I weren't a genuine Tang clan member, my brother Jingrong wouldn't have been so at ease before going abroad to pass Ranran on to me.'
'It's just that this status is too sensitive in the country, which is why you always say that your composition is not good, Uncle Tang, right?" Zhou Ming asked.
'No right. I don't want to be dragged out for public criticism and suffer like that. Besides, I don't have the courage and ability of Brother Jingrong, and I don't want to have anything to do with this super family that has been away for 150 years!'
Tang Jun smiled at himself, but as he laughed his smile grew cold. He then asked, 'Ran, when we were in the country, your mother and I lied to you and said we were going to marry you to Wei Hua. Do you hate us?'
Tang Ran shook her head and said, 'Dad, I have never hated you and Mum. I know you must have had your own unavoidable reasons, right?'
'I I really wanted to be like your mother and simply find you a rich local match from Nanjiang, but unfortunately,' Tang Jun said, exhaling, and revealed his secret, 'actually, it was your biological father's wish that you marry someone from the mainland.'
While Tang Jun said, and handed Tang Ran an envelope. Tang Ran opened it and found a few pages of letter paper inside. Tang Jun said to Tang Ran, 'That's a letter your father asked a friend in Gangcheng to bring me. It says a lot but it all boils down to the same thing: the Tang family is in chaos, everyone wants to be the emperor of the family. If he dies one day, they will definitely try to take advantage of you in order to fight for the right of succession.'
'In the beginning, you in our family was because they did not know the situation abroad. Once something happens to him, you will be left unattended over there. Now, in order to prevent you from becoming a victim of family political struggles, sacrifice, the best way is for you to marry someone ordinary in the country first, so that even if they find you, they will give up for the sake of the family's reputation.'
Tang Jun finally looked at Tang Ran from the bottom of his heart and said, 'Ran, I'm sorry that I forced you to marry someone you didn't like, but we had no choice.'
Almost as soon as the sound of his words, Tang Ran pounced into Tang Jun's arms and cried, 'I'm sorry, Dad. I'm the one who should say sorry. You and Mum both love me so much, so how could I not have thought that you must have had a good reason for suddenly forcing this marriage on me? And I actually run away from home. I am the world's worst daughter!'
Behind Tang Ran Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing also looked at each other in shock. Although this scene was unexpected, it was also reasonable. After all, it wasn't the kind of disgusting thing that happened where Tang Ran was used as a bargaining chip or where a daughter was married off for a bride price.
Zhou Ming said to Tang Jun, thinking about this.