Over the phone, Xie Jinghu hadn’t expected Xie Qian to talk back like that.
Xie, the big shot, had lived half a lifetime with only one regret: parting with his true love.
Beyond that, his life had been remarkably smooth.
Though he lost his father young, as the third son, Xie Jinghu was mostly cared for by his older brothers, spared life’s hardships.
By his teens, his eldest brother, Xie Yuping, was working, young and promising, favored by superiors. Their late father’s old friends, seeing Xie Yuping’s reliability, were eager to help the Xie family.
Xie Yuping rose steadily.
With his success, the second brother’s career also thrived.
Both brothers were hardworking and driven, others’ help merely icing on the cake.
When it was Xie Jinghu’s turn, with his brothers’ support, he didn’t need to strive as hard. He landed a cushy job, idling his days away. Xie Yuping, unimpressed by his laziness, tried to discipline him, but their mother intervened.
Xie Jinghu was born handsome, the best-looking of the four brothers, inheriting their parents’ finest features. Though their mother relied on the eldest, she doted on Xie Jinghu, even more than the youngest, Xie Four.
When Xie Yuping tried to rein him in, their mother blocked it.
By then, nearing retirement, she’d been sharp in youth but grew protective with age.
Xie Yuping, a filial son, didn’t want to upset her and accepted Xie Jinghu’s lack of ambition.
Blood is blood, what could he do if his brother wouldn’t listen? As the eldest, he stepped in only when Xie Jinghu erred.
Xie Jinghu never made big mistakes, blessed with looks and luck. His only setback in life was losing his true love. The “princess” others couldn’t win, he did, and their sweet days were truly sweet, even Xie Yuping had to concede defeat.
But good times didn’t last. The “princess’s” family hit trouble, and she had to go abroad.
Xie Jinghu wanted to follow, but circumstances didn’t allow it. His idle job, low on responsibility, offered little power. Her family’s issue was beyond him, and going abroad was tough—in the ‘80s, public-funded trips were common, but private travel was near impossible. Language aside, how would he survive abroad?
Xie Yuping asked if he could stomach washing dishes in a foreign restaurant. Xie Jinghu fell silent.
He’d never faced such hardship.
And washing dishes illegally wouldn’t support the “princess.”
Xie Jinghu watched his love fly across the ocean. Within three months of landing, she married a merchant twenty years her senior for survival.
Hearing this, Xie Jinghu realized money was the real prize.
His first life setback, he sank into gloom, then quit his job to start a business!
Xie Yuping, pitying him, rallied the other brothers, pooling five thousand yuan as Xie Jinghu’s startup capital.
Xie Jinghu took the money south, slowly building his business. Others scraped by with pennies, but he started with his brothers’ funds, not quite a rags-to-riches tale.
He hit a golden era, as later generations would say, even a pig on the right wind could soar.
Xie Jinghu, though lacking grit, was far smarter than a pig.
His business grew, once just “Xie Three” in the circle, now “Boss Xie.”
Boss Xie was well-liked, especially by women, flattered wherever he went. Who’d dare upset him?
He now knew only Xie Qian could rile him, proof kids were born to collect debts!
Listen to what Xie Qian said!
Whose son was this, always invoking Xie Yuping to pressure him?
During a pause, Xie Jinghu caught other sounds.
“Who’re you with?”
He didn’t buy the coincidence of them crossing paths. He suspected Xie Qian had people tracking her abroad.
Xie Qian, only sixteen, was mostly in school, he couldn’t do this himself.
Someone was helping him!
Was it Xie Yuping’s people?
Or a traitor close to him?
Zou Weijun’s trip to Rongcheng might be Xie Qian’s diversion. The thought fueled Xie Jinghu’s resentment toward his son, words couldn’t capture it.
Those praising Xie Qian’s smarts and manners didn’t know his true face, a rebellious brat!
A father, maliciously misjudging his own son… Xie Qian nearly laughed.
Xie Jinghu mistook Wen Ying’s identity, thinking her someone else. Xie Qian didn’t bother clarifying, “Uncle said this is the last time. You’d better take it seriously. If there’s a next time, no matter where I see her or the other two I don’t want to see, you know what I’ll do.”
“That’s your brother and sis—”
Beep, beep, beep.
Xie Qian hung up before Xie Jinghu finished.
His father must be fuming on the other end.
Wen Ying gave Xie Qian a thumbs-up, thrilled yet worried, “Your dad’s probably livid!”
Challenging authority, disrespecting his father, each hit Xie Jinghu’s sore spots.
Xie Qian was now a master at provocation.
Wen Ying didn’t mind, she liked his change.
Life’s short, why grovel and suffer for others’ wrongs? If someone must be mad, better them than you, a hundred times over!
Anger was good, it exposed flaws, spurred rash moves.
With Xie Qian, Wen Ying overheard Xie Yuping’s promise—if it happened again, he’d exile Xie Qian’s father abroad.
Perfect!
Keep messing up, get sent abroad, far away, never bothering Xie Qian again.
Whether the promise was real, Wen Ying couldn’t help but rejoice.
Worries lingered, though, fearing these clashes would erode Xie Qian’s bond with his father, deepening his father’s malice. Zhao Dong’s setup with Shu Lu seemed like a petty test, but what if Xie Jinghu openly tasked Zhao Dong to harm Xie Qian?
Imagining Xie Qian, refined as a snow-capped rainbow, in such a messy family, and in her past life, with no one to shield him from countless hidden arrows, dragged through muck until thirty-one, finally breaking… Wen Ying’s heart clenched.
Why did it come to that?
Clearly, the Xie family valued Xie Qian now.
At least for now, Xie Yuping genuinely cared, and Xie Jinghu’s strong reaction proved Xie Yuping’s word held weight.
What changed in fifteen years?
Did Xie Yuping lose sway at home?
By Xie Qian’s age, his father was around forty, third of the brothers, Xie Yuping likely older by years.
Fifteen years later, Xie Yuping would be nearing retirement.
Retired, he couldn’t restrain Xie Jinghu, who might then legitimize his mistress, beyond Xie Yuping’s control.
If the rest of the Xie family paled beside Xie Jinghu, he’d dominate the family!
Or, over fifteen years, the mother and her two kids abroad slowly won the Xie family’s acceptance.
Wen Ying’s heart ached with worry.
In preventing Xie Qian’s tragic path, she was like a fretting mother, endlessly anxious!
At their room’s door, she even considered urging Xie Qian to remind Xie Yuping for annual checkups, his strongest ally in the family, who mustn’t falter.
Seeing Wen Ying’s conflicted face, as if she hurt more than him, Xie Qian felt warmth, a friend so devoted deserved his vigilance.
“Going out tonight?”
He asked suddenly.
Wen Ying wanted to sneak out to buy him a gift, but it had to be secret for the surprise.
When he asked, she shook her head, “Uncle Qin said none of us need to hit the casino again. I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
Xie Qian had no interest in gambling, so why would Wen Ying?
Many gamblers lost everything, not knowing when to quit. Wen Ying had nearly spent her 20,000-plus winnings, going back now wasn’t wise.
When she said she’d stay, Xie Qian’s lips curved, “Good, come to my room later, we’ll do problems together. Did you look at the reference book I gave you on the plane? Any questions, I’ll explain.”
“…!”
The shift was so sharp, Wen Ying’s back ached.
Xie Qian had just faced off with that woman, how was he now on about homework?
She suspected he had a “teacher’s itch,” principal-level.
Maybe true prodigies not only excelled but saw slackers as viruses to eradicate?
Others’ Macau trips were glitz and glamour.
Wen Ying’s? Tearing up over problems, correcting, redoing.
By the end, she was dazed, if she’d known it’d be homework, why come to Macau?
Problems in Macau weren’t any cuter.
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Xie Qian, head down, caught Wen Ying’s expression in the cup’s reflection, hamster Ying was definitely cursing him.
If he didn’t keep her close, she might slip downstairs.
She might seek the purple-suited woman, digging into his father’s mistress.
She wanted to help him.
Xie Qian appreciated it but didn’t want her involved.
He didn’t know the purple-suited woman, but since she associated with his father’s mistress, she was likely on her side.
He didn’t fear them, even his father’s moves against him were covert, through proxies.
He feared they’d notice Wen Ying, like Zhao Dong, and target her.
