Are you blaming your parents for being useless?

That's not what I meant.

"Then you should drop out of school and reapply to universities in Beijing."

"It's too late. Even if it were possible, I wouldn't go to Beijing."

"How dare you!" Yu Peiyan slapped Cheng Zhili hard across the face, who covered her cheek in utter astonishment.

"mom……"

"Don't call me Mom, I'm not your mom!"

The words "you can't raise a child to be ungrateful" and "this isn't your mother" were a devastating blow to Cheng Zhili. She thought that her parents at least loved her a little and cared about her wishes a little. It turned out that it was all wishful thinking on her part.

"Since you don't want to go to Beijing to study, then go to Beijing and stay with Ji Yunyang. Don't even think about going abroad."

Yu Peiyan confined Cheng Zhili, took away her ID card and passport, cut off all her social activities, and even confiscated her mobile phone.

On the other hand, when Ji's parents learned that Song Xia did not intend to give Cheng Zhili much property, they began to waver in their decision regarding the marriage.

"Didn't Cheng Zhili tell you anything?"

"Mom, what do you want her to tell me?"

"The Cheng family is clearly going to give everything to Cheng Zhibo. Besides, the Cheng family's business and stocks have plummeted. In the future, Cheng Zhili may have nothing. Didn't she tell you about her mother's asset distribution?"

"Aunt Song is still young, how could she distribute her assets so quickly?"

"But I heard that Song Xia gave Song Wenwen a large amount of assets, but Cheng Zhili didn't get a single penny."

"How can I possibly ask people this? Mom and Dad, when did you become so materialistic?"

"Snobbish? Your marriage was originally a combination of interests between the two families. It's just that your father and I didn't expect the Cheng couple to be so unreliable. Now that we've invested money, do we expect to get a daughter-in-law who has no assets in return?"

"Zhili is not as bad as you all say."

"If she were really that good, would you be fickle?" Mother Ji knew her son too well; how could she not know his little thoughts?

Then she smiled knowingly and said, "Mom doesn't mean to blame you, nor does she look down on Cheng Zhili. It's just that Mom thinks marriage is too long, and I still want you to marry a woman you like."

Ji Yunyang frowned: "You want me to pursue Song Wenwen? What about Zhili?"

“You two haven’t developed any feelings for each other. Besides, we’ve given the Cheng family so many resources, and we haven’t wronged them. Song Wenwen is their daughter, so this doesn’t count as breaking off the engagement.”

Ji Yunyang hesitated: "But I can't get over it in my heart. Not only will I hurt Zhili, but Wenwen will also look down on me."

"With your qualities, it wouldn't be difficult for you to wholeheartedly pursue a young girl, would it? As for Zhili, if the Cheng family really doesn't care about her in the future, then you and Song Wenwen can just give her more help, right? Without feelings, forcing a relationship will only cause pain. Son, I don't want you to be unhappy in the future. Can you really calmly watch Song Wenwen marry another man in the future?"

Ji Yunyang clenched his fist. Just thinking about that scene made his heart ache unbearably.

Mrs. Ji continued to persuade her, "What if Cheng Zhili meets a better man in the future? If you marry her, wouldn't that be a waste of her time? If you divorce then, will you and Song Wenwen still have such good conditions to be together?"

The more Ji Yunyang talked, the more excited he became. Perhaps he really should be brave this time?

"What if the Cheng family doesn't agree to cancel the engagement?"

"Aren't your mom and dad still here?"

With a weight lifted from his heart, Ji Yunyang finally made up his mind: "Then I'll leave it to Mom and Dad."

The Ji couple exchanged a glance, a triumphant calculation flashing in their eyes.

I don't know if Ji Yunyang was genuinely unaware or selectively ignoring it, but if his parents really cared about his happiness after marriage, why weren't they afraid that Cheng Zhili was the wrong person when they chose her for their engagement?

Ultimately, it's just that Song Wenwen is now in a better position, and they feel that Cheng Zhili is no longer worthy of the Ji family.

Ji Yunyang is the kind of person who is indecisive and needs someone to make decisions for him. It seems that by doing so, he doesn't have to bear the psychological and moral condemnation.

After that conversation, Ji Yunyang became increasingly proactive and bold in seeking out Song Wenwen, always bringing flowers and small gifts that girls like.

He thought he was being romantic, but little did he know that Song Wenwen was incredibly annoyed. She was already busy enough with work, and now she had to deal with him too. It seemed like she hadn't seen Zhili for a while, and hadn't even received a phone call or WeChat message from her.

Taking advantage of her mother's return from a business trip that evening, she called Zhili, wanting to invite her out for dinner with the three of them, but she couldn't get through.

When Song Xia arrived home, she announced with a grave expression, "Mom, I suspect something has happened to Zhili."

Song Xia frowned: "What's going on?"

"It's all my fault for being too busy with work these past few days. I only managed to contact Zhili today, but no matter what I did, she either showed as offline or didn't reply. So I suspect the Cheng family did something, but why would they control Zhili for no reason?"

Song Xia's gaze was deep: "Whatever the purpose, a trip to the Cheng family will tell you."

"Mom, why don't you take a shower and change your clothes first?"

"No, let's go see Zhili first. Last time I gave you the department store, but I didn't give her anything. Outsiders might think that I don't care about her and that she has suffered a lot."

"Mom, did you do this on purpose?"

Song Wenwen's mind raced, and she immediately understood the key point: "You just want to see the Cheng and Ji families' attitudes?"

"That's right. It seems they really can't keep their composure at all."

"I was wondering why Ji Yunyang has been hanging around me these past few days, sending me flowers and small gifts every day, and even ordering snacks in the afternoon. Is he trying to give up his engagement with Zhili and pursue me instead?"

Song Xia sneered: "He really did that?"

"Honestly, it's really annoying me. Because of Zhili, I don't want to refuse too obviously and ruin the relationship. I didn't expect him to be so opportunistic. He's really 'loyal and righteous,' always pretending to be affectionate, gentle and considerate."

Song Wenwen was disgusted. Everyone says Cheng Zhibo is a scumbag, but at least he's clearly a scumbag. Ji Yunyang, you're trying to have your cake and eat it too! Shameless!

Song Xia also sneered. In the previous century, Yunyang had been flirting between Zhili and Wenwen, but at that time Wenwen was weaker, so he never took the initiative to pursue her. Later, when the Cheng family fell into ruin, he quickly broke off his engagement with Zhili.

Afterwards, everyone said that he had been tricked by the two sisters of the Cheng family, but luckily he got out in time and then became a flawless young nobleman again.

But what about Wenwen? Although Wenwen was with him partly to use him to spite the Cheng family, if he weren't fickle, how could Wenwen have slapped him in the face all by herself? He took Wenwen, so how could he possibly ignore her tragic end?

Is this what he calls love? Song Xia cannot agree.