Chapter 48 – But he can’t

The Meng family’s ancestral home was located in the eastern part of the city, nestled against a mountain and beside water, making it a precious piece of land with a reputation for auspiciousness, known for the purple aura coming from the east.

When Xi Yufeng arrived, no one was in the living room. After a while, Mother Meng descended from upstairs and instructed the housekeeper to brew tea.

They sat down and chatted for a bit.

When Xi Yufeng took out the prenuptial agreement, Mother Meng’s expression soured, barely maintaining politeness. “This marriage is absolutely going to be canceled?”

Xi Yufeng said, “Rather than dragging it out, it’s better to resolve it early so it doesn’t delay Meng Lan from finding another suitable match.”

Mother Meng pursed her lips. “Actually, I never approved of this marriage in the first place. Lanlan is too playful, and you…you’re…”

She paused. “But considering it was just a formality, and neither of you had objections, we elders didn’t have much to say. Who would have thought that after setting the wedding date and sending out invitations, you’d suddenly change your mind.”

“It was my lack of foresight, causing you trouble.” Xi Yufeng said, “Since this is my fault, if people talk about it, tell them it was Meng Lan who looked down on me and broke it off, to avoid damaging the Meng family’s reputation.”

Hearing this, Mother Meng’s expression softened slightly, sighing lightly. “It’s been hard on you. With such a big incident involving your father, you’ve had to manage everything inside and out, it hasn’t been easy, has it?”

Xi Yufeng saw that the situation wasn’t bad and mentioned the shareholders meeting. Mother Meng pondered for a moment, saying, “Business matters are handled by your uncle, I’ve never interfered. But since there are shares in Lanlan’s hands, I naturally don’t wish to see your group’s internal turmoil. Even if I can’t stand by your side due to my position, I won’t oppose you either.”

The message was clear – Since you’re not marrying my daughter anymore, I have no reason to help you. However, since your family holds shares with me, I won’t let them get into trouble, so I’ll likely remain neutral and try to smooth things over, preventing matters from escalating.

Xi Yufeng hadn’t expected the Meng family to still assist him after the cancellation of the engagement, so this commitment was enough.

They discussed some details regarding the cancellation of the wedding, and Xi Yufeng handed over the pen he had prepared, pointing to the blank space next to Xi Chengli’s signature on the added page at the back of the agreement. “If there are no objections, please sign here, Auntie.”

Mother Meng carefully read through the sections concerning the cancellation of the agreement, then sighed again.

“You young people, treating marriage like a game.” She lamented, “Meng Chao is the same; last year, he met a girl through matchmaking who was suitable in every way. He agreed at first, but later changed his mind for some unknown reason.”

Xi Yufeng had heard rumors of this, but at the time, Xiao Yin and her son were causing trouble, kidnapping Jiang Ruo, leaving him with no time to care.

“Meng Chao is still young,” Xi Yufeng said, “he should focus on his career right now.”

Mother Meng chuckled. “There’s no need to comfort me. I’ve heard all about how unruly he is outside.”

As she was about to sign, hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs.

Meng Lan appeared at the top of the stairs. “Mom, don’t sign for him yet.” Then her gaze fell on Xi Yufeng, laced with mockery. “Don’t just placate the elders. Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

On the rooftop terrace, Meng Lan stood in the shadow of a building near the railing, letting the wind billow her dress.

As Xi Yufeng ascended the stairs, he witnessed the aftermath of destruction, confirming Meng Chao’s claim that “everything that could be smashed was smashed.”

He stood beside Meng Lan, silent for a moment, before suddenly hearing her ask, “You dared to follow me up here, aren’t you afraid I’ll hit you with something?”

Glancing around, apart from the wrought iron tables and chairs, the potted plants by the wall could also serve as weapons. Xi Yufeng showed no intention of retreating. “What’s destined to happen will happen, fear is useless.”

Meng Lan laughed. “Such determination. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I, Meng Lan, am some sort of monster, and Young Master Xi would rather suffer huge losses than face me.”

Xi Yufeng said, “That’s not it.”

Meng Lan turned to look at him. “Then why are you canceling the engagement?”

“We’re not suitable for marriage. I can’t give you what you want.”

“Do you know what I want?”

This time, Xi Yufeng didn’t answer, but Meng Lan could understand from his clear eyes that her intentions had been exposed.

She wanted to laugh, but when she opened her mouth, no laughter came out.

Turning her face away, as she faced the vast horizon, Meng Lan suddenly recalled how she once declared that Xi Yufeng was a cold-blooded creature who would only view others’ kindness as ulterior motives.

Now, she wished her judgment hadn’t been wrong, wishing that Xi Yufeng assumed she wanted to marry him for some ulterior motive.

She knew this was her last chance.

“Can’t you just pretend you don’t know anything?” Meng Lan asked.

“No,” Xi Yufeng replied.

In that instant, Meng Lan felt like history was repeating itself.

Bitterness filled her throat. “People like you really excel at stirring up chaos in others’ lives, then walking away.”

She remembered twenty-two years ago, when her mother gave birth to her younger brother, Meng Ze. Her brother’s smile was so adorable, even though he divided her parents’ attention, she accepted him and resolved to be a good older sister.

But Meng Ze disappeared, and for many years afterward, their home was as quiet as a prison. She couldn’t speak loudly or laugh freely. Whenever she was at home, she had to face her mother’s tears and her father’s endless sighs.

Later, a young man appeared in her life.

He often visited their home, claiming to be Meng Chao’s friend, but he was nothing like Meng Chao. He would sit in the compartment under the stairs, holding a book, silent for hours on end, yet he always drew Meng Lan’s gaze, wondering what book he was reading, whether he was wearing his school uniform today.

With repeated encounters, their gazes inevitably met at times. The young man had a refined appearance, his eyes a cold clarity like melting ice and snow, yet they made her cheeks flush, causing her to quickly look away. A while later, she couldn’t resist turning her neck, secretly glancing at him.

And now, this person who had disrupted her heart was also leaving her.

Meng Lan heard Xi Yufeng say, “I’m at fault for this matter, so I gave you shares as compensation.”

The word “compensation” made Meng Lan’s eyes widen in surprise.

“So, you were planning to cancel the engagement all along?” she found it hard to believe, “Giving them to me alone, you were afraid I wouldn’t accept them, so you used the pretense of buying wine…”

No wonder he gave so much; if she hadn’t accepted them at the time, it would have been fine, but accepting them undoubtedly meant she tacitly acknowledged these expensive shares as compensation for the cancellation of the engagement.

Once this news spread, outsiders would only assume that both families had reached an agreement. Any further fuss would merely make the Meng family seem greedy.

At this moment, Meng Lan truly wanted to laugh, laughing at her own stupidity, thinking that those shares represented sincerity, thinking that as long as they got married, she could eventually win his heart over time.

In the end, she had merely fallen into his trap, losing face and honor, while he had gained both completely.

Anger and sorrow, she couldn’t distinguish which was stronger.

Meng Lan felt her entire body’s blood rushing to her head. By the time she realized it, she had already picked up a flower pot and raised it high, just as she did when she was angry.

And as the intended target, Xi Yufeng stood still, seemingly prepared for it.

Her eyes instantly reddened, and Meng Lan raised her voice in a threatening manner. “Why aren’t you dodging? Don’t think that because I like you, I won’t hit you!”

Xi Yufeng remained calm, looking at her with a faint gaze. “If you want to hit, then hit, but this isn’t love.”

“You just enjoy the pleasure of crushing and surpassing me.”

Over the years, whenever Xi Yufeng developed a hobby, she would learn it too. When Xi Yufeng had romantic rumors with female celebrities, she would stay out all night with male celebrities. When Xi Yufeng kept a lover, she would change boyfriends more frequently than clothes. This was to prove to others, and to herself, that she didn’t care about him at all, that she was better at playing games than he was.

Only now did Meng Lan suddenly realize that she had been wrong from the start.

She chose the wrong person and used the wrong methods.

Xi Yufeng wasn’t heartless and emotionless; the gentleness hidden in his heart was reserved for those who treated him gently as well.

And her self-proclaimed little tricks would only push him further away.

The flower pot clattered to the ground, only breaking a corner.

Xi Yufeng bent down to straighten the flower pot, gently spreading the curled leaves, then stood up and turned to leave.

Taking a few steps forward, he heard Meng Lan’s weak voice. “Right now, you need a marriage to consolidate your power, right? I can help you…”

Without hesitation, Xi Yufeng said, “No, what I want, I’ll go after myself.”

Meng Lan continued, “I can accept that kind of open marriage relationship.”

Xi Yufeng didn’t even turn around.

“But he can’t.”

At the beginning of July, the upper echelons of Feng City were abuzz with two major events.

The first was that Xi Yufeng secured a merger deal, resulting in a reshuffle within the group. The shareholders’ meeting overwhelmingly passed the resolution appointing the eldest son of the Xi family, Xi Yufeng, as the executive president. Thus, the final decision-making authority of the group was settled. Despite a few dissenting voices, they were isolated and powerless, unlikely to stir up significant waves in the short term.

The second event, also related to the Xi family, was that immediately after Prince Xi Yufeng established his name, the engagement with the Meng family was announced to be canceled. While people were surprised, there was also a sense of expectation fulfilled. They began speculating about the inside story – was it Miss Meng who had come to her senses, unwilling to tie herself to a man whose sexual orientation was uncertain, or was it Prince Xi Yufeng who hadn’t had enough fun, deciding not to bind himself just yet?

There were also those who brought up old stories – “Have you all forgotten that last year, there were rumors that Young Master Xi fought with his family because of his kept lover outside, refusing to get married?”

Upon hearing this, everyone dismissed it with a sneer. “Bah, just rumors, how could they be true?”

And all these noisy voices didn’t reach Xi Yufeng’s ears.

After taking care of company affairs, he flew to Los Angeles when he had a chance. His grandfather, Qiao Wanghe, had been residing in a suburban mansion for more than thirty years.

On the way from the airport to his grandfather’s house, the roads gradually widened, with lush greenery on both sides.

Qiao Wanghe stood at the door, having calculated the arrival time, personally directing the driver to park the car in the courtyard, watching as Xi Yufeng stepped out of the vehicle. The elderly man with white hair had a kind face, tapping his cane on the ground, urging him to come in quickly.

The house wasn’t large, with two floors, ample enough for an elderly man and two caregivers.

Qiao Wanghe led Xi Yufeng to the study and personally brewed tea for him to drink.

As a junior, Xi Yufeng naturally couldn’t sit idly. When Qiao Wanghe brought the tea over, he stood up to receive it with both hands, and the elder took the opportunity to gauge his height.

“You’ve grown so tall,” Qiao Wanghe placed his hand at his waist, “the last time we met, you were only up to here.”

Xi Yufeng could vividly recall the last encounter.

In fact, he had been estranged from his grandfather since childhood.

Back then, his mother defied her father’s objections and insisted on marrying Xi Chengli. It was said that at the time, his grandfather was so angry that he didn’t even attend the wedding, moving silently to Los Angeles, where he had lived for over thirty years.

Their contact during this time was probably limited to a summer vacation during elementary school, when Xi Yufeng went abroad for study tours, and his mother arranged for him to arrive in Los Angeles a day early to accompany his grandfather.

Perhaps harboring resentment, that meeting wasn’t particularly pleasant. Qiao Wanghe didn’t give Xi Yufeng a good face throughout, not speaking to him at the dinner table. After the meal, grandfather and grandson sat in opposite corners of the study, one handling documents and the other reading a book, and the day quietly slipped away.

And now, Xi Yufeng understood that his grandfather hadn’t intentionally neglected him back then, and he remembered that the two meals he had here included French fries and ice cream, things only children liked to eat.

Between people, some things didn’t need to be said to be understood.

Therefore, Qiao Wanghe didn’t bring up those old matters, only asking Xi Yufeng how long he could stay this time. Upon hearing that he would be leaving the next day, he understood. “At this critical juncture, being busy is inevitable. But no matter how busy you are, take care of your health, it’s more important than anything else.”

Xi Yufeng agreed.

Cicadas chirped outside the window, and the scent of tea wafted in the room.

Approaching noon, Qiao Wanghe sat in a rattan chair beside the desk, casually asking, “How is your father?”

Xi Yufeng put down his cup. “He’s out of danger, but with the injury to his spine, he may be wheelchair-bound from now on.”

Qiao Wanghe snorted. “He got off easy.”

Neither of them mentioned the accident, but they both knew.

“This tea was your mother’s favorite when she was alive,” Qiao Wanghe looked at the floating tea leaves in the cup, “originally, she could have tasted the tea I brewed, originally, she should have been here, together with us grandfather and grandson…”

Xi Yufeng looked at him, feeling a pang of sorrow.

Stripped of his outer layer as a business tycoon, the person before him was merely an ordinary father missing his daughter.

Qiao Wanghe said, “Your father has been able to live so many more years entirely because of you. Otherwise, at the age of nineteen, he would have already left this world. You mustn’t bear the burden of guilt for this.”

Hearing this, Xi Yufeng couldn’t help but feel a chill.

“I’m fine,” he said, “since he never treated me as family, I no longer regard him as such.”

Qiao Wanghe seemed hesitant. “Those years, your mother was so obsessed that she neglected your upbringing. Did your father…did he treat you…”

This time, Xi Yufeng didn’t say “I’m fine.”

He lowered his eyes, then lifted them again, his eyes icy like frost. “It’s been too long, I can’t remember clearly.”

Staying for a meal at the house, Xi Yufeng had to rush to a trade summit in the afternoon.

Qiao Wanghe supported himself with a cane and sent him off at the door, suddenly remembering something. “By the way, for so many years, I contacted you every year before your mother’s memorial day, but you never agreed. Why did you suddenly…this year…”

Hearing this question, Xi Yufeng was initially taken aback.

As if he hadn’t expected this question to come from his rarely seen grandfather, while someone like Xi Chengli hadn’t mentioned a word.

However, upon reflection, it was understandable – not asking meant not caring. They only cared about themselves, regardless of his reasons.

Now that someone cared about his motives, it made him feel uncomfortable.

But the reason wasn’t difficult to express.

Xi Yufeng turned sideways and answered in a deep voice, “Because of a person.”

The next day, on the way to the airport, Xi Yufeng received an electronic ticket for the premiere of “Cliff” from Zhou Xinyao, scheduled for next Saturday.

Attached was a message: “Whether you come or not is up to you, but Jiang Ruo will be there.”

The tone was identical to when she had sent out the wedding invitation previously.

Xi Yufeng didn’t reply, clicking on the QR code to save it to his photo gallery.

Then he returned to the ticket, using two fingers to zoom in and move the poster image, placing the blurry side profile in the corner at the center of the screen.

Half an hour later, Zhou Xinyao, who was visiting the filming site of “Actor’s Flower Road,” exclaimed, “Ah!”

Jiang Ruo, who was getting makeup applied, jumped in fright, causing the makeup artist’s hand to shake, smudging the lipstick.

“Sister, lower your voice,” Jiang Ruo said helplessly, “I’m going to perform as a deaf-mute person in a bit, let me find a sense of tranquility.”

“There’s no way to be tranquil!”

Zhou Xinyao held her phone in front of Jiang Ruo, with the chat interface open to “President Xi.” Seeing the character “Xi,” Jiang Ruo hastily looked away. “Why are you showing me this…”

“Hurry and look, hurry and look!”

Zhou Xinyao enlarged Xi Yufeng’s profile picture and forced Jiang Ruo to stare straight at the screen.

Under this almost forced action, unless blind, it was impossible not to see –

Xi Yufeng’s current WeChat profile picture was cropped from the “Cliff” movie poster, featuring Jiang Ruo’s side profile gazing at the sky.