The Xia family, where the madam of the household usually never returned home all year round, suddenly found her back on New Year’s Day this year.
Not only was Xiang Shuyi there, but also the Xiang family elders, all seated in the living room of the Xia family villa.
A maid poured tea for the three of them.
Mrs. Xiang sat on the sofa, looking upstairs, and asked angrily, “Where is the young master?”
The maid, influenced by the low-pressure atmosphere in the living room, spoke and acted with some trepidation, whispering, “The young master went out early this morning. He said he was going to see a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.”
Mrs. Xiang was instantly furious, “Seeing a friend? What friend is more important than his mother? Call him and tell him his grandparents are here to see him, and he should come back immediately!”
The maid looked troubled and said, “We already called him, young master said… he said he has something very important to do and will be back later.”
“Bang!”
The teacup was slammed onto the coffee table, and Mrs. Xiang’s eyes widened in anger, “Fine, fine! This is the good son that Xia Weiyi raised. No wonder he never let the child get close to us for so many years. Turns out he’s an illegitimate child he brought back from outside! Ungrateful wretch! How dare he…”
Suddenly, Mr. Xiang’s cane struck the ground heavily, cutting off Mrs. Xiang’s outburst.
Mrs. Xiang glanced at the maid beside them, her face changing slightly. She forced herself to calm down and said to the maid, “You can leave now.”
The maid, as if granted a pardon, nodded and left the living room.
Mrs. Xiang then looked at the woman who had not spoken a word since entering the Xia family, sitting leisurely on the sofa drinking tea, and frowned slightly, “Shuyi, such a big matter, after all these years, you didn’t notice anything?”
Xiang Shuyi took a sip of tea and then said indifferently, “You told me to marry, I married. You told me to have children, I had children. What else did you expect me to notice?”
“You…”
Mrs. Xiang was at a loss for words and looked at her husband.
Mr. Xiang remained calm, but the bulging veins on the back of his hand gripping the cane betrayed his outward expression.
Mr. Xiang said in a deep voice, “Now is not the time to pursue these matters. Shuyi, what do you think should be done?”
Xiang Shuyi said, “Divorce.”
Mrs. Xiang’s face changed immediately, “How can that be? The marriage alliance between the Xiang and Xia families has lasted for nearly twenty years, with countless interests intertwined. Do you think you can divorce just because you say so?”
Xiang Shuyi looked up, “Interests? How much does the Xia family get now? How much does the Xiang family get?”
Mrs. Xiang: “…”
It was unclear when it started, but the Xia family had already grown independently from the Xiang family. The marriage alliance no longer ensured mutual benefits. In recent years, the Xia family had often acted unilaterally, and in some people’s eyes, the Xiang family had become an enterprise dependent on the Xia family, frequently ridiculed behind their backs.
Mrs. Xiang couldn’t help but look at her daughter with resentment, “Isn’t it because you haven’t done well? Since the marriage, what have you been doing? Either fooling around outside or coming home drunk. If you had managed this marriage seriously, would Weiyi have suspected that the child wasn’t his and done such a deceitful thing? If Yangyang were really your son, would today’s situation have arisen?”
“As long as the child is his biological son, the Xia family will eventually be inherited by him. At that point, the Xiang family won’t need to rely on Xia Weiyi anymore. Maintaining cooperation through blood relations will be much more stable than it is now, won’t it?”
Xiang Shuyi didn’t say anything, just smiled at her mother.
Xiang Shuyi was undeniably beautiful, even over forty, she was still well-maintained without a single fine line on her face. However, this delicate and pretty face looked inexplicably repulsive when she smiled.
Mrs. Xiang felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze and turned her eyes away uncomfortably, “In any case, this marriage cannot end. Now that this matter has come to light, isn’t it a leverage? Xia Weiyi wants to acknowledge that child, doesn’t he? Shuyi, that is your biological son. If you step forward and recognize him, you can use this to negotiate with Weiyi. If he doesn’t want his scandal exposed, he won’t disagree…”
“Dad, what do you think?”
Xiang Shuyi directly looked at her father. She placed the teacup back on the small tray and said, “You are a wise man. Before coming here today, you must have already understood some things. How did we come to know about this matter? Why did that child tell us about it? Does he want to be recognized by us? You should have heard the recent rumors in A City. Who spread those rumors? What is Xia Weiyi planning, and what is that child’s goal? If you intend to downplay this issue and use it to negotiate with Xia Weiyi, have you considered the consequences?”
Xia Weiyi spreading rumors suggests that the child does not want to be acknowledged.
If they rashly play the family card to acknowledge him, it might backfire. The child has the capability to bring the issue to their attention, which means he also has the power to expose it. If the Xiang family does nothing, they would be seen as colluding with the Xia family. Conversely, if they divorce now, when the matter is exposed, they will be the victims.
Although divorcing would lose some joint venture interests, relying on Xia Weiyi’s gained benefits wasn’t sustainable. The Xiang family has its own entertainment industry, and they could leverage this incident to create publicity. The losses from Xia Weiyi could potentially be regained through this.
Mr. Xiang quickly understood the pros and cons and pretended to compromise with a sigh, “This is your own matter. Dad respects your decision. If you want a divorce, then divorce.”
Mrs. Xiang looked at her husband in disbelief.
Mr. Xiang added, “That child… although he refuses to acknowledge Xia Weiyi, he is still your flesh and blood. The bond of motherhood cannot be severed. Try to find opportunities to connect with him. If he is willing, you can bring him back to live with us.”
As fellow victims, the child would likely not be as hostile to them as he was to Xia Weiyi.
Rumor has it that the child has a close relationship with the Zhu family’s young master. If they could use this to connect with the Zhu family, Liu Jianbai, or even the forces behind Liu Jianbai, losing cooperation with the Xia family wouldn’t be a big deal.
Xiang Shuyi paused at these words, then said, “I will go see him.”
Mr. Xiang nodded in satisfaction.
Xiang Shuyi picked up her teacup again, her expression indifferent. As she drank, she lowered her eyes, hiding the full extent of the ridicule in them.
When Xia Weiyi returned, the elders had already left the villa after being persuaded by Xiang Shuyi.
As soon as he entered and saw his wife leisurely drinking tea on the sofa, he frowned even before speaking and walked over, saying, “What are you causing a fuss about again?”
Xiang Shuyi calmly put down her teacup, took a paternity test result from her bag, and placed it on the coffee table. “This is for you and your son.”
She didn’t spell it out, but Xia Weiyi’s heart immediately skipped a beat.
He looked at the two pieces of paper on the table, his frown deepening. “What do you mean?”
Xiang Shuyi said, “It doesn’t mean anything. Someone shared some old stories from over a decade ago with me, and I found them quite interesting. So, I got curious and had a test done.”
She spoke lightly, but Xia Weiyi’s face darkened.
With the paternity test right in front of him, any further explanations were futile.
He looked at Xiang Shuyi and asked, “Who told you?”
“Who told me isn’t important,” Xiang Shuyi had already set down her teacup, picked up her bag, and stood up. “Let’s get a divorce, Xia Weiyi.”
Xia Weiyi’s face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth. “Who told you?”
Xiang Shuyi had no intention of arguing with him. Their marriage, formed due to the intertwined interests of their families, had never held any real affection.
She gave a slight smile and walked past Xia Weiyi out of the hall.
Xia Weiyi glared at the paternity test on the coffee table, his hands clenched tight with veins bulging on the backs of them.
It only took a moment of thought to realize who had shared those old stories. But how did Shao Ming know about this?
Xia Weiyi thought of Shao Yujie.
That bitch!
She had actually told Shao Ming about this.
But why?
If Shao Ming knew he was a legitimate child, shouldn’t he want to come back to him?
As a legitimate child, as long as he was acknowledged, he could shed his poor student identity and leave that remote city. He could become a wealthy young master of A City, and if he wanted, he could even inherit the entire Xia Corporation after Xia Weiyi’s death.
What more could he be dissatisfied with?
What was the point of telling the Xiang family the truth? Did he want to cut ties with the Xia family completely and return to the Xiang family?
Anger gradually appeared on Xia Weiyi’s face.
Thinking he could get away that easily? Not a chance!
Xia Weiyi obviously refused to agree to the divorce. Soon, Xiang Shuyi filed for divorce in court. Meanwhile, what was once a united front of mutual interests between the Xia and Xiang families completely disintegrated into open and covert conflicts.
When Xia Yang heard the news of his parents’ impending divorce, he was on a date.
He called his father to ask about it, only to be harshly reprimanded.
Angry from being scolded, Xia Yang decided not to ask further.
He didn’t care whether his parents divorced or not. His mother had rarely been home since he could remember, so their divorce wouldn’t make much difference to him.
Right now, he had more important things to worry about.
Holding a steaming cup of milk tea, he glanced sideways at the young man next to him, meeting his fiery gaze. Embarrassed, he quickly looked away again.
After the New Year holiday, the students returned to school, and the atmosphere in the classroom became more intense.
Zhu Tong, aiming for his goal of getting a total exam score of 600 points, studied even harder than before. However, he didn’t forget about his boyfriend.
Shao Ming seemed to have gotten busier recently.
He was always holding his phone, and sometimes he would go back to his room to use his computer.
Once again, after returning from his room to Zhu Tong’s side, Zhu Tong couldn’t help but ask, “What were you doing in your room?”
Shao Ming sat down beside him, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said, “Guess.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Zhu Tong replied honestly, “I can’t guess.”
Shao Ming smiled and said directly, “Xia Weiyi is currently in the middle of a divorce lawsuit.”
Zhu Tong: “?”
“So soon?”
Shao Ming nodded.
He had overestimated the Xiang family.
They’re actually quite short-sighted and thought too highly of themselves.
Just the potential but uncertain benefits were enough to make them (the Xiang family) decisively abandon the existing benefits of cooperation with the Xia family and openly confront Xia Weiyi.
Shao Ming didn’t expect it to go so smoothly. He initially thought that he would need to let the Xiang family taste some benefits to make them willing to fight against Xia Weiyi.
Looking at the current situation, it seemed that in the past few years, Xia Weiyi probably hadn’t conducted himself well.
After the brief shock, Zhu Tong looked at Shao Ming with some hesitation.
Shao Ming smiled and said, “What do you want to say?”
Zhu Tong hesitated for a moment, “You… you told them about your background. Won’t they, like that man, come and…”
“Come to take me back?”
Shao Ming calmly finished his sentence.
Zhu Tong was stunned for a moment and then nodded.
Shao Ming said, “Maybe they will.”
But right now, they probably don’t have the time to come looking for him.
Neither does Xia Weiyi.
Hearing him say “maybe,” Zhu Tong immediately became nervous and said, “Then you…”
“What if I say I don’t want to recognize them? Will you support me?”
Zhu Tong was taken aback but answered without hesitation, “Of course, I will support you no matter what decision you make.”
Shao Ming said, “Even if they are innocent victims who were deceived by Xia Weiyi?”
A mother who had been deceived wanting to recognize her own son was a perfectly reasonable thing.
However, Zhu Tong shook his head and said seriously, “If she really cares about you and comes to find you, she will definitely respect your decision. If she forcibly wants you to go back, then she must have ulterior motives. You don’t need to worry about what others think; just stick to your own ideas.”
Shao Ming couldn’t help but smile, his eyes shining. Suddenly, he placed his hands on the back of Zhu Tong’s chair, rested his chin on his arms, and looked at Zhu Tong intently, saying, “Tongtong.”
“……”
Zhu Tong’s heart skipped a beat.
He blinked. “Hmm?”
Shao Ming smiled and said, “I love you.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
He turned his body back to face his desk, his ears turning red rapidly.
Shao Ming moved closer, biting his ear and said, “You support me in everything I do. Wouldn’t you say we’re a perfect match?”
Zhu Tong, embarrassed to discuss such things, whispered, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Shao Ming said, “You’re right. We’re not married yet, so we can’t be considered a perfect match.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Ignoring him, Zhu Tong focused on finishing his work.
Suddenly, he felt a hand around his waist, slipping under his shirt.
Zhu Tong shivered and glared at him, “Stop messing around. I only have one more question to finish.”
Shao Ming glanced at his paper, “The minimum value is -5, and the maximum value is the square root of 13.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
He’d heard of spoilers for TV shows, but spoilers for math problems?
Unhappy, he looked at Shao Ming, who mischievously moved his hand inside Zhu Tong’s shirt.
Zhu Tong couldn’t sit still, his body twitching as he tried to push him away. “Don’t…”
“You’ve done several of these types of problems today. Skipping one won’t matter,” Shao Ming said, touching Zhu Tong’s earlobe and whispering huskily, “Tongtong…”
Zhu Tong’s ears tingled at the sound of his name.
Blushing, he turned his head away.
Shao Ming’s handsome face was right in front of him. His frequent vanity was not unfounded – this face indeed made hearts race.
Just looking at him made Zhu Tong’s body heat up.
He loved being kissed by Shao Ming, loved being touched by him, loved everything Shao Ming did to him when they were alone, and he couldn’t get enough of it. Just thinking about those lewd things made his heart tremble.
His face grew hotter, and he turned his eyes away. “No leaving marks toda–”
Before he could finish, his chin was cupped, and a familiar warmth covered his lips.
Zhu Tong instinctively closed his eyes, his lashes trembling.
Shao Ming, however, did not close his eyes.
Once again, he confirmed that Zhu Tong liked him, wouldn’t leave him, and would support him unconditionally.
So even if Zhu Tong knew he was scheming against his “family,” he wouldn’t be disappointed in him.
He would understand him.
Shao Ming couldn’t help but smile as he deepened the kiss.
When the kiss ended, Shao Ming habitually brushed Zhu Tong’s swollen lips with his thumb, chuckling, “How about we relax this weekend and go on a date?”
Zhu Tong, totally dazed, asked, “A date?”
Shao Ming: “Yes.”
Zhu Tong instinctively asked, “What about the milk tea shop?”
Shao Ming: “…”
This young master’s sense of responsibility was a bit too strong.
Zhu Tong quickly realized his mistake.
His boyfriend invited him on a date, and he was being a buzzkill?
Immediately, he smiled and decisively changed his answer, “Sure, ah.”
