Chapter 7: Chapter 19 (part 1)

Qiao Wenxing and Bai Yue looked at each other.

"Aren't you... aren't you angry?" Qiao Wenxing asked, a little blankly. Though praised by the media as 'a noble son' and 'an elite youth', he was actually only 24 years old, and due to having been pampered by his mother, somewhat naïve. However, due to being very self-disciplined, he had never indulged in drinking, clubbing, women, drugs, car racing, gambling, or any of the vices, thus making him a very popular young man in the eyes of his elders.

Bai Yue's eyes flashed in suspicion of Han Yanyan's indifferent attitude.

For Han Yanyan, however, it was little more than an hour ago that she had been thrown out as a meat shield by Ding Yao. She was still in a terrible mood. When she gazed upon this pair of lovebirds with 'this is true love!' written all over their faces, she smiled ironically. "What's there to be angry about? You and I aren't engaged for love. This is a business marriage. I'll find someone else after we break up."

Although Han Yanyan was telling the truth, Qiao Wenxing felt slightly uncomfortable inside being so directly shot down by his former fiancée. "How will you explain it when you get back?" he asked.

"What am I explaining?" Han Yanyan replied, surprised.

"When you're telling Uncle Han about the dissolution of our engagement," Qiao Wenxing said.

"Why am I the one telling anyone? You're the one who wants to break off the engagement, not me," she said. "You're going to go home and talk to your dad, of course, and when you've worked it out with him, then he'll come and talk to my dad..."

Her voice came to an abrupt halt, and she looked at Qiao Wenxing as if she was talking to a fool. "...did you think that it was up to you and me to decide something as important as breaking off the engagement?"

Qiao Wenxing's face flushed in embarrassment, while Bai Yue exclaimed in astonishment, "Why not?"

Han Yanyan ignored her as if she didn't exist. "If you have all this extra time to waste with me, you might as well use it to head home early and find your father. The crux of this matter is between your father and mine, not with you and me. So long as you work it out with them both, I'm fine with it."

Qiao Wenxing lowered his eyes. It wasn't that he wasn't aware of what Han Yanyan was saying, but it was easier to face her than to face his father.

Turning to see his look, Bai Yue took his hand and said softly and firmly, "Wen Xing, you are an adult. You have the power to decide your own life."

Her trust and worship seemed to infuse Qiao Wenxing with courage. He sat a little straighter.

"And you, Miss Han," Bai Yue turned to look at Han Yanyan and said sincerely, "You're also a full-grown adult. You can be brave. Why settle for a marriage without love?"

Thanks to this eloquent speech, Han Yanyan finally condescended to look at this girl.

Eldest Miss Han was the proud daughter of a wealthy family, one brought up to be naturally arrogant. When her relationship with Qiao Wenxing was still uncertain, Bai Yue wasn't sure enough of herself to confront Han Yanyan. But now Qiao Wenxing had acknowledged her, and not only that, but he had done so to Han Yanyan's face and demanded that they dissolve their engagement. Bai Yue felt emboldened. Not only was she able to stand on an equal footing with Han Yanyan, but there was also the pleasure of victory in her heart. This time when she spoke, her lowered posture was gone. She looked straight at this Eldest Miss.

Merely an hour ago, Han Yanyan was still in the zombie apocalypse, fighting side by side with Ding Yao against three corpse emperors and nearly a hundred mutants, and finally thrown out to die by the man she loved. A great sea of simmering rage and murderous intent was suppressed to the bottom of her heart. She looked over upon hearing Bai Yue's laughable words.

To Han Yanyan it was a fleeting glance, but the pressure of that killing glare condensed from life and death crushed the little pleasure of victory that Bai Yue was feeling. She felt a chill go down her back, and couldn't help but tense her shoulders and shrink into herself, her heart fluttering in fright.

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"Settle? Settle, you say?" Han Yanyan scoffed. "Do you know what a business marriage is?"

"A business marriage is a man and a woman representing two families to integrate their capital and technology. They exchange their connections and resources through marriage. This is a about making an alliance."

"We're talking about marriage, not starting a feud. Qiao Wenxing doesn't wish to ally with our family. That's acceptable to me. It's just business - we talk about it, and if we can't work it out, then we won't go through with the deal, no hard feelings. Later, we'll all work together in the future to earn money together."

"But," Han Yanyan looked at Bai Yue, her eyes slightly narrowed, "Just because Qiao Wenxing and I will part amicably doesn't mean a gold-digger like you gets to tell me what to do."

Bai Yue was so angry at being called a 'gold-digger' that her lips trembled. "How dare you insult me like this..."

"Am I wrong?" Han Yanyan looked her up and down. "You're hardly ugly. You should have plenty of boys chasing after you at school. But you chose Qiao Wenxing. Why? Isn't it money? Surely there must be at least a few boys amongst your pursuers who are outstanding students from regular backgrounds. You could have chosen someone just like that and worked hard together humbly, and in ten or twenty years, you would have done well for yourselves. But you didn't. You chose one that was ready-made. You wanted to skip over the suffering in the middle and dive straight into happiness, so you chose to marry into wealth."

Bai Yue turned pale with anger. She bit her lip and gazed stubbornly at Han Yanyan. "I like Wen Xing because he has a kind heart. When my father was seriously ill, it was Wen Xing who extended a helping hand and selflessly helped my family and I through our difficulties. You don't know him at all, he..."

"The money he used to help you is his father's, not his," Han Yanyan sneered. "If that's the reason why you love him, you're aiming your affections at the wrong man. It's Chairman Qiao you should be in love with."

Bai Yue choked on her words.

"Well? So besides money and the glow of wealth, what do you love about him?" she jeered.

Tears were swirling in Bai Yue's eyes. Feeling sorry for her, Qiao Wenxing said sternly, "Yanyan, don't talk nonsense! Yue Yue's not like that."

Han Yanyan laughed mockingly. "Perhaps she doesn't understand. Right now she's not even married into the Qiao family yet, but even if one day she becomes a young mistress of the Qiao family, she still wouldn't have the right to tell me what to do." When she finished, she stood and said, "Well then, your lady has quite ruined my appetite for today, so I'll leave you here. You two can eat by yourselves."

Qiao Wenxing stood up, and upon seeing this, Bai Yue followed.

Picking up her bag, Han Yanyan glanced at Qiao Wenxing. "I've known you since I was a child, so I'll leave you a little advice. This marriage was decided by your father and mine, and yours was the one who pushed particularly hard for it... you know why he did. He has the final say in your family, and I advise you not to disobey him. After all... you're not his only son."

This obviously came as a surprise to Bai Yue. She turned to Qiao Wenxing in astonishment and asked: "You're not an only child?"

Qiao Wenxing shrugged it off. "Just an illegitimate child. If my dad cared about him, he would have brought him home already."

Han Yanyan smiled.