"Ah..."
Suddenly, another scream erupted from the crowd, and a figure lunged forward. This time, the target was the furious woman.
"Darling, why are you beating people again? Haven't I told you, leave this rough work to your husband! How are your hands? Do they hurt?" As he spoke, he gently held her fair hands, massaging them with a face full of concern.
Only now did the crowd get a good look at the man's face, and they couldn't help but marvel—yet another demonic beauty!
They looked at this man, then at Quentin, and reached a conclusion: there was indeed a resemblance. Could it be that the Lotus Sect Master was truly the illegitimate son of this mysterious man?
Sylas Ren retreated step by step, moving with great caution, but was still noticed by the man.
The man turned to Sylas Ren, his gentle expression vanishing, replaced by a fierce glare. "Brat, do you think you can run? How are you looking at your mother, huh?"
Sylas Ren was on the verge of tears. "Dad, I've told you a thousand times—my mom only bullies others, no one could ever bully her!"
Hearing this, the man's anger flared even more. He rushed over, grabbed Sylas Ren by the collar, and shook him violently. "You think I don't know?"
Sylas Ren was shaken so hard his head spun. He grew angry too. "If you know, why do you keep giving me trouble? Am I really your son or not?"
The man's grip tightened even more, making everyone wonder if Sylas Ren would be shaken apart. The man's furious roar sounded again: "You brat! Don't you know hitting people hurts your hands? Since you're here, why did you let your mother do it herself? Ungrateful child! So what if you're my son? A son is never as important as a wife!" He said it with such righteous conviction.
Sylas Ren felt utterly heartbroken. See? He never had any status in this family!
"Evan Hua, how dare you use violence against my son!" A sharp rebuke rang out, and the man instantly let go, obediently moving closer. For a moment, everyone could almost see a tail wagging behind him.
"Darling, how could I ever bear to use violence against our precious son? You must have seen wrong!"
Sylas Ren finally felt a bit comforted. At least his mother still cared about him. At least the old man was afraid of his mother!
Roxy Shangguan frowned. Another Hua? Maybe this man was the one who lived at the Hua Mansion back then, Charles Hua's sworn brother. Quentin said Autumn Du couldn't possibly be involved with him, so why did Quentin happen to look like him? And they even share the same surname—surely that's not just a coincidence?
Roxy Shangguan suddenly turned to Sylas Ren and asked, "Sylas Ren, why isn't your surname Hua? Aren't you your father's son?"
Sylas Ren, still dizzy, glanced at his father and replied, "I take my mother's surname!"
"Oh." Roxy Shangguan's response was indifferent.
Sylas Ren couldn't help but look at her again and asked, "Little Demon, don't you think it's strange?" Then he remembered—Roxy Shangguan was just a two-year-old child. Maybe she didn't understand these things yet!
"What's strange about that?" Roxy Shangguan was momentarily puzzled before she understood his meaning. She pouted, "What's so strange? I take my mother's surname too!"
"Huh?" Sylas Ren leaned in, surprised. "Is your dad just as hopeless?"
There are three great unfilial acts, but leaving no heir is the worst. Passing on the family line is very important. For a son to take his mother's surname—this is something a man simply can't tolerate. It's a humiliation!
Quentin let out a soft laugh. If Damien Gray heard this, who knows how he'd react? At most, he'd shoot a cold look, or maybe he wouldn't bother reacting at all!
Roxy Shangguan shot Sylas Ren a glare and lectured, "How is that hopeless? It's a sign my father really loves my mother!" Although she and her brother each took a different surname, she was sure that if her mother wanted her brother to take her surname too, her father wouldn't object!
Evan Hua suddenly squeezed Sylas Ren aside and, with eyes just like Quentin's, stared at Roxy Shangguan, face alight with excitement at finding a kindred spirit. "Little girl, you really understand me!"
Roxy Shangguan twitched her lips. She understood her own father—what did it have to do with him?
Suddenly, her head was forced upward. Evan Hua turned, straining his eyes downward to look at the fuming Kathy Ren. "Darling, what are you doing?" He struggled to speak because Kathy Ren's hand was pressing hard against his chin.
Kathy Ren lifted her chin, pointed at Quentin, and snorted coldly, "Tell me! Is he your illegitimate son with that woman?" As she spoke, she gestured to the unrecognizable Autumn Du on the ground.
Evan Hua glanced at Autumn Du, exclaiming in disbelief, "How could I ever fall for a woman like that?"
Evan Hua didn't even spare Quentin a glance. He anxiously grabbed Kathy Ren's hand, pleading, "Darling, my precious, you have to trust me! I have very high standards—how could I ever fall for a woman like that? You can't doubt my eyesight!"
Half-conscious on the ground, Autumn Du heard this and was furious. What was so wrong with a woman like her? She wanted to see which man dared to say such things about her, but her eyes were too swollen to open.
Truth be told, she was nowhere near Kathy Ren's level. Right now, she still hadn't realized that Evan Hua was the infamous 'husband beater' from back then. Maybe she'd been hit too hard by Kathy Ren—her mind couldn't keep up. So even when she heard Evan Hua's voice, she didn't connect him to that demonic beauty from the past.
Kathy Ren turned Evan Hua's head toward Quentin and asked, "Then what's his story?"
Evan Hua finally looked at Quentin, touched his chin, and muttered, "This kid does look familiar."
Quentin narrowed his eyes slightly. Evan Hua really did look a lot like him, especially those eyes. Maybe there really was some connection between them?
Sylas Ren shook his head, wearing a look of utter disappointment. "Dad, look carefully—he looks more like you than I do!"