Zhu Xin returned to the Zhu family’s house half an hour later than Zhu Shoushan. At the banquet, Zhu Shoushan, who was silent as if he ate bitter herbs, immediately flew into a rage when he returned home.
At first, Qin Manwen went forward to help him calm down. But after being slapped hard as a way for Zhu Shoushan to vent his anger, she never dared to go forward again.
Zhu Shoushan angrily rebuked Qin Manwen and said, “If it wasn’t for your son doing that kind of thing to Tongtong, and if it wasn’t for him to let Jiang Wan come to the door, how could things become like this?”
If Qin Junhong hadn’t entangled Zhu Tong, Cheng Qingsong wouldn’t have called the company to scold him. He also wouldn’t have been so eager to prove himself to the Cheng family and agree to the marriage alliance.
If Qin Junhong hadn’t introduced Zhu Tong to Jiang Wan, how could Jiang Wan have the chance to plot against him? Seeing Jiang Wan and Cheng Chen standing together at the banquet today, what else did he not understand?
Jiang Wan never thought of working with him since the beginning!
They all look down on him! They all calculated against him!
Now Liu Jianbai has intervened and placed Zhu Tong and Zhu Xin under his protection. If this was what Cheng Qingsong intended, then the company… If there were major mistakes in the future, would he still care to help him?
Xiao Xin was about to come of age. Among the people he has been cooperating with this year, many have hinted that their children at home have a good relationship with Xiao Xin. He knew what they meant and was happy, but he had been careful not to break his silence.
Those who are rushing to seek marriage alliance weren’t his choice targets.
His daughter deserves and is worthy of someone better –someone who can elevate the Zhu family to a higher level.
But now Liu Jianbai has intervened. Although some people might worry that the cooperation between the two families will bring them greater pressure, this was only temporary. He knew that Liu Jianbai would not cooperate with him. Once others also realize this, people who seek to please him would directly go to please Liu Jianbai instead, which would bring immeasurable losses to him.
He has to do something.
After calming down, he took out his mobile phone and called Zhu Tong.
Before a call was connected, the villa door suddenly opened.
The girl was still wearing the indigo-colored dress from the banquet scene. She walked into the villa with elegance and grace.
Zhu Shoushan’s pupils shrank, and before he had time to be surprised, he saw a burly man following behind Xiao Xin.
That was the bodyguard that Elder Cheng arranged for Xiao Xin.
Zhu Shoushan’s eyes suddenly sank.
Qin Manwen always played the loving mother in front of Zhu Xin.
When she was neglected by Zhu Shoushan, Zhu Xin was her only hope. At one point, she resented why Zhu Xin didn’t call her after leaving home. But despite the resentment, Zhu Xin was still her only hope.
She couldn’t care less about the palm print left on her face by Zhu Shoushan. She hurriedly walked towards the villa door, full of excitement. “Xiao Xin is back? Have you eaten yet? Aunt Qin asked someone to cook something for you…”
“Aunt Qin, no need to do that.” Zhu Xin interrupted her softly.
Qin Manwen froze slightly.
Zhu Xin said calmly, “I only came back today to pick up what my mom left behind. I’ll leave when I’m done.”
After she finished speaking, she bypassed Qin Manwen and planned to go upstairs directly.
Zhu Shoushan finally couldn’t sit still, he came over and said, “Leave after picking them up? Where do you plan to go? To that surnamed Liu’s house? Do you really intend to recognize that thief as your father?”
Zhu Xin said, “I’m not going to Uncle Liu’s place, I’m going back to school.”
“What’s the point of going back to school after picking your mother’s belongings?” Zhu Shoushan said anxiously, “Your brother has lost his conscience, and you have followed suit? I’ve raised you for more than ten years, and you’re just leaving? That Liu Jianbai, he is simply unsettled, you…”
“Gege… losing his conscience?” Zhu Xin suddenly tilted her head.
Zhu Shoushan was startled.
“Dad, if you’re sending Gege away, what does that make you?” Zhu Xin’s voice was low.
“What sending away? Don’t listen to your brother’s nonsense,” Zhu Shoushan’s face flushed. “I just want him to get along with her first, I’m not trying to force him. By protecting your brother like this, how has he treated you? He took you to be someone else’s child, he made you a goddaughter to Liu Jianbai. Do you know what people will say about you outside? They will say that I, Zhu Shoushan, am trying to curry favor with the Liu family by selling my son and daughter. They will say that you and your brother have an improper relationship with Liu Jianbai. Your reputation will be ruined!”
Zhu Xin responded coldly, “Selling your son and daughter? If you care so much about our reputation, did you think about Gege’s reputation when you wanted to give him to Jiang Wan? If he married Jiang Wan, what would people say behind his back? Do you know how he was talked about in school from childhood until now? You left him at the hospital, used work as an excuse not to visit him, and didn’t let me visit him either. People called him a sickly child, said he was unwanted, and that he might even die in the hospital without anyone knowing. Have you ever cared about how he managed to get through those years alone in the hospital?”
Zhu Shoushan’s eyes narrowed. “Xiao Xin, you…”
He looked at his daughter, who bore some resemblance to him, and felt incredibly estranged.
Zhu Xin had suppressed her feelings since forever. But now, she let it out, and it was like a floodgate had opened. “Sell your son? You let Gege marry Jiang Wan, isn’t that selling your son? People would talk behind your back just the same, but you don’t care because you have something to gain. Compared to the benefits you can get, what others say about you is irrelevant. Dad, you don’t care about our reputation, you only care about yourself. Yes, you raised my brother and me, you married Aunt Qin to help, you hired a nanny, you paid for Gege’s medical expenses, and you think you’ve done a great job. You think you’ve arranged the best for us. You’re always so self-righteous and easily satisfied when it comes to Gege and I. But for yourself, you’re never content. You won’t let us go to Uncle Liu’s house, is it truly for our sake? If Uncle Liu hadn’t made it public at the banquet, would you still have tried to stop us from leaving home?”
If Uncle Liu hadn’t made it public, then regardless of where the two children were, anyone with ill intentions towards them would first have to please Zhu Shoushan. Now that the two children have a relationship with someone else, those with malicious intent would know that simply pleasing Zhu Shoushan was no longer effective.
It was the first time Zhu Shoushan and Qin Manwen saw Zhu Xin so confrontational. They both were stunned speechless.
Zhu Xin took another deep breath. “You don’t need to worry about our reputation anymore. If anyone dares to say anything, Grandpa will shut them up. If people talk privately, as long as it doesn’t reach our ears, we don’t care. If anyone dares to say anything in front of me, I’ll make sure they never speak again.”
Her tone was calm, but her words were piercingly chilling.
Zhu Shoushan looked at Zhu Xin in disbelief.
In his impression, Xiao Xin has always been a well-behaved, obedient, innocent, sunny and lively girl.
When did she become like this?
Zhu Shoushan was shocked and stunned. He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood his two children. The people he had deliberately ignored and avoided, when they no longer needed him, would leave him without hesitation.
He couldn’t help but begin to reminisce. Since Cheng Lan’s death, has he truly spent time with his two children? Has he ever fulfilled his responsibilities as a father, even for a single day?
No… not even once.
He watched as Zhu Xin went upstairs. Even if the bodyguards didn’t intervene, he couldn’t bring himself to move and pull Zhu Xin back down.
Soon, he received a phone call from his assistant, informing him that the company’s hard-won expansion into overseas markets had been seized and blocked by someone else.
Hearing this news, Zhu Shoushan felt like he was falling into an icy pit.
He knew that this was a warning from that old man and a punishment for him. Perhaps, this was just the beginning.
Zhu Shoushan stood motionless in the hallway until Zhu Xin left the villa with her suitcase, and not a single word was spoken between them again.
But Qin Manwen, unwilling to give up, chased after her.
Zhu Xin said to her, “Aunt Qin, thank you for taking care of me all these years. I appreciate your kindness, but I won’t forget what your son did to Gege.”
Before knowing about those ulterior motives and calculations, she had indeed felt maternal love from Qin Manwen.
Zhu Xin didn’t give her the cold shoulder – perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps because she truly felt pity for things that were lost. Qin Manwen also didn’t dare to detain her any longer.
Coming out of the villa area, the driver asked, “Young Lady, where to?”
Zhu Xin hesitated for a moment before saying, “School.”
She texted her brother to let him know she was safe, then leaned back in the back seat and stared out of the window at the receding night scenery, lost in thought.
In the retro-style decorated room of the private estate, after staring in astonishment at the person who appeared at the door for a few seconds, Zhu Tong quickly jumped down from Shao Ming’s lap and stood up, asking, “How… how did you come here?”
Cheng Chen: “…”
His arrival seems a bit untimely.
Should he go?
Just as he was about to close the door again, Zhu Tong had already walked towards him, “Is there something wrong?”
Instead of being embarrassed because he was disturbed, Zhu Tong sounded like he was trying hard to escape.
Is his cousin being forced?
Cheng Chen glanced at the youth who had risen from the sofa and was observing them. With a momentary lapse of attention, the fruit platter he had been carrying was already snatched away from his hand.
Zhu Tong took the fruit platter and turned around. “Please come in.”
“So, it seems Cheng-zong’s presence in Young Master Zhu’s eyes isn’t as important as a fruit platter?”
A teasing remark came from behind Cheng Chen, and Zhu Tong turned his head again, only to discover another person following his cousin.
Jiang Wan greeted genially, “Young Master Zhu, do you mind if I join too?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
As his almost-fiancee, Zhu Tong still felt a bit uneasy about her.
He glanced back at Shao Ming, seeming to have a thought, but without stopping it, he returned to the sofa first.
The four took their seats again.
A square marble table surrounded by sofas on three sides. Jiang Wan and Cheng Chen sat facing each other, while Shao Ming and Zhu Tong sat together on one of the sofas.
Glancing at the close proximity between the two, Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow. “How come I remember a certain young man telling me last time that he’s allergic to perfume?”
“…”
Zhu Tong said, “I am allergic to women’s perfumes.”
Speaking of it, there did seem to be a foreign scent on Shao Ming.
When Shao Ming hugged him just now, he accidentally smelled it.
His attitude was still clearly unwelcoming, but Jiang Wan didn’t mind. She simply looked at the two of them, her interest piqued even more.
Cheng Chen was also looking at them.
When he came in just now, his cousin was sitting directly on that young man’s lap. The way they were at that moment didn’t seem like his cousin was just harboring an unrequited love.
He suddenly asked, “Are you Shao Ming?”
Shao Ming was not surprised. He nodded and replied, “Yes.”
Zhu Tong placed the fruit platter Cheng Chen had brought in front of him on the marble table. He took out a fruit fork and began cleaning it with the saline solution he carried with him. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Shao Ming and introduced, “He’s Cheng Chen. You… can just call him by his name.”
Cheng Chen: “…”
Is this a bit disrespectful?
Actually, Zhu Tong was also conflicted. With outsiders present, he couldn’t openly discuss his relationship with his cousin. If he asked Shao Ming to address him by his title as “Cheng-zong”… it might seem a bit distant.
Zhu Tong was suddenly surprised. Why did he feel like it would be distant?
Feeling a bit guilty, Zhu Tong glanced at Shao Ming, only to see him suddenly smile and say, “I wouldn’t dare. How could I directly address someone as distinguished as Cheng-zong, a big boss in the entertainment industry?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
–He forgot that his cousin was famous.
Cheng Chen also was caught in surprise. “You know me?”
Shao Ming said, “Regarding the incident with my family’s milk tea shop last time, It was Cheng-zong’s company’s artists who helped me clean our reputation. I never got the chance to say thank you.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
When did Shao Ming know about this?
Zhuo Yunan was an artist in his cousin’s company, and this information was easily searchable on the internet. Now that his cousin has come to find him without even knocking the door, it’s enough to indicate the relationship between them. So, following this thread, Shao Ming should also be able to guess that it was his decision to help clarify the situation with the milk tea shop.
Previously, he didn’t tell Shao Ming the truth because he was afraid Shao Ming might think he had ulterior motives. But now, it seems… there’s no need to worry about that anymore.
Zhu Tong continued wiping his fruit fork.
Cheng Chen glanced at him with a meaningful look and said, “You don’t need to thank me for this. I was also acting on someone else’s behalf.”
Shao Ming smiled and nodded, and also looked at Zhu Tong.
Cheng Chen continued, “Speaking of the person who asked me to help, I’ve known him for so long, and I’ve never seen him care about anyone like this. Even when he fainted and was taken to the hospital earlier, he was dreaming about…”
“Psstt-“
A sudden burst of cool mist interrupted Cheng Chen’s words mid-sentence.
Cheng Chen didn’t have time to close his mouth tightly, and his tongue tasted a slightly salty flavor.
He looked expressionlessly at the person spraying mist in front of him. “When can you stop carrying this thing around with you all the time?”
What was sprayed on his face was the saline solution in Zhu Tong’s hand.
Zhu Tong angrily retracted his hand and reminded, “Then dDon’t talk nonsense.”
Cheng Chen retorted, “When did I say nonsense? Why are you so shy…”
Zhu Tong lifted the saline spray again.
Cheng Chen: “…”
At this moment, there was a light chuckle from across the table. Jiang Wan remarked ambiguously, “You two have a great relationship.”
Cheng Chen: “…”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘Jiejie, you really can’t speak properly.’
He looked at Shao Ming subconsciously, and sure enough, his expression darkened.
Did he misunderstand his relationship with his cousin?
“You…”
“How is your body?” Shao Ming asked him suddenly.
Zhu Tong immediately replied, “Everything’s good, there’s nothing wrong.”
Shao Ming asked again, “Really?”
Zhu Tong reaffirmed his reply: “Yes.”
Then, Shao Ming said lightly, “Oh.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Why did he feel that the heavy pressure he had felt beside the rockery before had returned?
But he didn’t know how to ask, so he could only change the subject and hand him the wiped fruit fork. “Do you eat fruit?”
Shao Ming took it without saying anything. He then forked a piece of dragon fruit and put it into his mouth.
Zhu Tong: “…”
The pressure was really heavy…
He snuck a glance at Cheng Chen again. “By the way, what do you want with me?”
Cheng Chen also noticed that the atmosphere between the youths was rather odd, but he didn’t know what was wrong. He chose to ignore it, and instead said with a rather serious tone, “Well, I do have some news for you. Qin Junhong is gone.”
Zhu Tong was stunned. He put aside the awkward tension between him and Shao Ming for a moment. “What do you mean by he’s gone?”
After knowing that Jiang Wan was aiming at him because of Qin Junhong, his grandfather had someone to keep an eye for him. He planned to settle the scores with him after the banquet.
Why did he suddenly disappear?
Cheng Chen continued, “Simply put, we can’t find him. It’s unknown whether or not he has left A City, but his whereabouts are a mystery.”
Zhu Tong frowned.
Cheng Chen saw his gloomy face, then continued to talk, hoping to ease his tension. “But you don’t have to worry too much, I’ve already asked someone to look for him. Plus, we made sure to protect Xiao Xin, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Zhu Tong still did not relax.
How Xiao Xin fell into Qin Junhong’s hand wasn’t specifically described in the original novel. Because it was an unknown territory for him, Zhu Tong couldn’t take it lightly.
He thought about it and said, “I’ll go out and make a phone call.”
Xiao Xin had to be more vigilant.
He went straight out of the room.
After he left, the room became quiet. Shao Ming looked absentminded, his hand still gripping the fruit plate. He didn’t seem to notice that Zhu Tong had left his side.
Jiang Wan stared at him for a while, then got up with a light smile, “I’ll go to the bathroom.”
