The old Zhao blew his beard and glared, exasperated beyond words. Whenever he tried to criticize the disgraceful past of Li Chenggui and the other four, including the embarrassing antics of their fathers, they would retaliate by dragging out his own embarrassing past.

The old man’s fury was evident, yet his eyes shone brightly, and his spirit seemed as strong as ever.

This kind of stimulation made the old man show signs of a final burst of energy.

Because of this, when the old man smugly belittled Li Chenggui and the others, they dared to fight back, choosing their words based on his condition; otherwise, they wouldn’t dare provoke him so much.

Ye Fan’s instructions were not forgotten by Li Chenggui and his group; they could only follow the old man’s mood in conversation.

The old man swung between happiness and anger, all within their control.

Once they mastered this balance, Li Chenggui and the others dared to counterattack recklessly.

If the old man wasn’t in good condition, Li Chenggui and his group wouldn’t dare act rashly, even if he pointed at their noses and criticized their shameful past, or exposed the trivialities of their elders, they could only let him speak happily.

But now, it was clear that the old man was prompted by both good and bad images of himself, remembering many things.

The good naturally referred to the proud and accomplished feats he boasted of.

The bad were those pointed out by Li Chenggui and his group.

Zhao Feipeng and Zhao Zhongtian rarely saw such a humanized side and reaction in their father; seeing him lucid for a moment brought them genuine joy. The old man had spent countless days lost, and any period of clarity was welcome.

Zhao Feipeng was full of gratitude for Li Chenggui and the cooperation of his group.

All of this was due to Ye Fan, which made Li Chenggui and the others willing to humor an elder’s ramblings, heightening Zhao Feipeng’s gratitude toward Ye Fan to the extreme.

After talking for a long time, about twenty minutes later, the old man became sleepy.

Like today, the old man had only rarely expended so much spirit, and now he finally tired and fell asleep.

The old Zhao was wheeled away by a servant to rest.

Zhao Feipeng, looking at Li Chenggui and his group, sincerely said, "Thank you all for your understanding, for accompanying my father through his ramblings, and for allowing him a genuinely clear moment of time. We truly thank you."

"No need to thank us. On the contrary, I should thank old Zhao. If not for him bringing up the past, I might have forgotten all the bastard things I’ve done. My father is long gone, and to have someone from the same era as him reminisce about the past is truly engaging," Li Chenggui mused and said, "As the saying goes, having an elder at home is like having a treasure; this cannot be more true. Sadly, the old man wasn’t always this clear, and his health isn’t good; otherwise, we would have many more topics to discuss, to reminisce about the past. Not many elderly folks who remind me of the past are still alive."

"Indeed, these are awkward memories and events from decades ago; who still remembers them?" Ma Qianqian laughed, "Hearing the old man’s recounting made me inadvertently recall my youth. Time is unforgiving; most of the elder generation has passed, and not many remember their tales or those who did foolish things in our rebellious era."

"Back then, our elders were competitors with old Zhao; now looking back, it was those competitors who enriched each other’s lives, whether in moments of triumph or embarrassment. All of this forms an indispensable part of life," Huang Jingwei said, full of emotion.

Li Chenggui and his group harbored complex feelings toward old Zhao. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"No matter what, I must thank you again," Zhao Feipeng said grateful.

"Let’s all raise a glass; no need to say more words of gratitude," Li Chenggui lifted his cup and said, "Originally, I thought this visit was to leave a good impression on Ye Fan and increase our presence, but we ended up gaining such treasured memories from old Zhao. This visit was truly worth it, absolutely worth it."

"Cheers!"

They clinked their glasses together and drank it all in one go.

The family banquet at the Zhao residence came to an end. Zhao Gui and Chen Yifei found a moment of distraction to slip away from the others’ gaze; their presence was insignificant to others, so naturally, they left.

Several times, Chen Yifei gathered the courage to approach Ye Fan to say something, but he just couldn’t do it.

Li Chenggui and the others gathered around Ye Fan, with Li Chenggui smiling broadly, "Mr. Ye, this visit was worthwhile, and we have to thank old Zhao for bringing back those buried memories."

Ye Fan had no interest in knowing the content of their conversation with old Zhao and casually said, "I suspect that your reason for coming today isn’t so simple, is it?"

"Simple, absolutely simple. We just wanted to assert our presence in front of you so you don’t forget us," Chen Tiande said honestly, "Since you and President Chu don’t attend events like banquets, we can only seize the opportunity to stand in the light of others to shine in front of you. Inviting you to a banquet would involve a lot of formalities, so we had to take this opportunity to visit Mr. Ye."

These words wouldn’t have sounded genuine without being laid bare, but Chen Tiande expressed them frankly, making it quite pleasant.

"You are indeed sincere," Ye Fan smiled helplessly, "The heads of five prominent families went through a lot to assert your presence before me; if others knew, wouldn’t they laugh their teeth out?"

"Ordinary people have no chance of understanding our dealings with Mr. Ye," Zheng Zhonghai said seriously, "As for laughter, I don’t think anyone has the courage to; they would probably just be scared silly. Only Mr. Ye can understand our anxious hearts."

"Anxious? You all are anxious?" Ye Fan said helplessly, "Didn’t the God of Gamblers just visit you? I heard your arrogance wasn’t small?"

"Mr. Ye, don’t tease us. We know exactly the kind of scoundrelly deeds the God of Gamblers has done; we’re naturally not as forgiving as you. If we belittle him in front of you and it upsets you, we’d be in deep trouble," Ma Qianqiu said sincerely.

They didn’t dare to tell lies; they could only speak plainly.

"There’s no need for you to try so hard to curry favor with me or Mengyao. You are our friends, you are the friends of Chu Group. Understanding this is enough; no one can bully you or dare to," Ye Fan said calmly.

"With these words from Mr. Ye, we are content," Li Chenggui and his group were genuinely moved, and in unison, they bowed to Ye Fan.

The word "friend" represented everything to them.

And was more important than anything.