Faced with a potential loss of 100 million, the clan elder finally bowed his head.

He rubbed his teeth and said, "I'm sorry."

After saying that, the elder said nothing more.

Lu Zheng's face darkened: "That's it? This isn't an apology. Do I have to teach you how to apologize?"

The clan elder nearly fainted from anger, while his two sons grew anxious.

"Dad, a little patience will calm things down."

"Yes, Dad..."

Lu Zheng looked at his two sons and sneered repeatedly.

This clan chief has raised two truly good sons; they've lost all sense of shame for money.

The two of them had indeed angered the old clan chief, who turned around and glared fiercely at them, saying, "Shut up."

The two men shrank back at the rebuke.

The clan chief stood up, panting, bowed to Lu Zheng, and said, "Mr. Lu, please forgive me. I am old and some of my words may have offended you. I apologize and ask for your forgiveness."

With each word he uttered, his heart clenched, the pain making it hard for him to breathe.

After getting the answer he wanted, Lu Zheng grabbed Ming Xiang's hand and said, "Alright, you've apologized, which means you support us being together. Since you support us, there's no need for us to talk anymore. Let's go back to sleep."

“We both went to bed early,” Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiaxing's expression instantly turned ashen: "You two are living together?"

When Lu Zheng heard his question, it was as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world: "Look at what you're saying, we're a couple, isn't it normal for us to live together?"

Zhou Jiaxing had long heard that Ming Xiang was very chaste and had never been involved with other men.

She even consistently turned her back on suitors.

That's why Zhou Jiaxing stayed.

He felt that even if Lu Zheng and Ming Xiang started dating, given the traditions of Mingjia Village, the feudalistic shackles ingrained in her bones would not be removed.

They might kiss and hug each other at most, but nothing more would cross the line.

Unexpectedly, they ended up living together.

For someone of Zhou Jiaxing's status, this was hard to accept. He gasped, "Mingxiang, is this true?"

Ming Xiang nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. Although we've never been husband and wife in name, we've already lived like husband and wife."

Of course, nothing actually happened between the two of them.

But since Lu Zheng had spoken, she naturally had to cooperate, and Ming Xiang also knew that Lu Zheng was protecting her.

Mingxiang's father jumped to his feet: "Mingxiang, you and him..."

Mingxiang said, "Dad, I'm all grown up now. I have the right to make my own choices. You shouldn't make all the choices for me. I'm a person too."

She saw a business opportunity at that time and knew that if she missed this opportunity, she would never have the chance to start a business again. So she decisively dropped out of school. It wasn't that she didn't need a degree, but at that time she only had one choice: either become a boss or remain an employee under a boss forever.

But after she made her choice, her parents, whom she loved recently, cut off all contact with her.

She became successful, and her parents seemed to instantly gain face. They also started to pretend to care about her more.

But no matter what she does, they interfere.

Her parents felt that her business investments were unsafe.

Mingxiang relies on her calculation skills, insight, and analysis to determine which industries can make money, rather than investing blindly. However, her parents simply believe that certain industries are not worth investing in and insist on interfering.

If it weren't for Mingxiang's innate independence, her several projects that could have earned over a billion would have been wasted.

It was only after she proved herself right to her parents several times that they stopped interfering in these matters.

Now, they're interfering again about whether she gets married, who she marries, who she dates, and what she's done.

This is her right; why should she be controlled by them?

If the man Mingxiang chooses is a jerk, then... they can interfere, and she can listen to whatever they say.

But Lu Zheng's problem was simply that he didn't have enough social standing, nothing more.

However, she saw immense potential in Lu Zheng, while her parents only intended to marry her off to a rich young man.

It was enough that the people in her clan thought that way, but she didn't understand why her parents thought the same way.

They are happy when their clansmen praise them, and unhappy when their clansmen look down on them.

Then, in order to please the clan members and to get them to continue praising them, would they be willing to sacrifice Mingxiang's happiness?

Countless times, Mingxiang told herself that she wanted to live in her own world, not a world created specifically for her by others.

Whether you're happy or not is something only you know. Is happiness something imposed on you by others? That's just a lifelong regret.

If she were to say now that she and Zhou Jiaxing are living together, her parents' reaction would be very different; they would probably be overjoyed.

Of course, Mingxiang is very independent; she just doesn't understand what her parents are thinking.

She's putting her words out there now.

She and Lu Zheng have settled their relationship, and no one can stop their relationship from developing.

"Let's go, let's leave."

Mingxiang pulled Lu Zheng and turned to walk outside.

"You bastard!"

As Lu Zheng and Ming Xiang walked out of the clan chief's courtyard, the clan chief angrily overturned the table.

After getting into the car, Lu Zheng scratched his head: "Was what I just said a bit too much?"

After all, she was a member of the Ming family. Lu Zheng completely disregarded the dignity of the clan leader, showed no respect to her parents, and even offended Zhou Jiaxing, the son of a top-tier tycoon.

When Lu Zheng asked her that, Ming Xiang giggled and rolled her eyes at him: "There's nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I think it's right. That's how it should be."

Lu Zheng's courage to face powerful forces without showing any weakness is exactly what Ming Xiang wants.

"Given your performance, I'll reward you properly today."

As she spoke, Mingxiang gave Lu Zheng a mischievous smile.

Lu Zheng's face immediately turned red, and he coughed before asking, "Is it...is it that kind of reward?"

Mingxiang couldn't stop laughing: "Not that kind of reward, it's that kind?"

"Okay! I'm driving now."

With that, he sped off in his car, taking Mingxiang to a nearby hotel.

Not long after they left, Li Jingxuan emerged from a gloomy corner.

He glanced at Lu Zheng and the others, a smirk playing on his lips: "Tsk tsk, you're happy today, but your days are numbered soon..."