Chapter 12 Chapter 12 You are my grandson, okay? Go and...
"Where are you going?"
"Shen's house."
The scenery outside the window quickly swept by, and Xie Zhizhi leaned quietly against the window. Except for his slightly tense jawline, at first glance, he looked very obedient with his lowered brows.
Song Huanqing raised her delicate red lips lightly, reminding him: "Say a few nice words at least."
"What's so nice to say?" Xie Zhizhi pretended to be confused.
Song Huanqing didn't want to argue with him about this little twist and turn, so she said slowly, "Big things can be reduced to small things, small things can be reduced to nothing. Thank you for knowing this."
He mentioned the full name and the tone was straightforward, and the warning was very obvious.
Xie Zhizhi blinked and nodded almost imperceptibly: "Oh."
No one spoke anymore.
The carriage was so quiet that only the low, indistinct hum of the engine could be heard. In the blurry light and shadows rapidly receding outside the window, Xie Zhizhi saw Song Huanqing tapping lightly on the armrest with her fingertips. The subtle rhythm was like a countdown that was gradually approaching.
The more Xie Zhizhi looked, the more impatient he felt, so he turned his head to look out the window on his side.
An hour later.
The black S8 slowed down and drove into a quiet private tree-lined road.
Not far away, the Shen residence boasts a towering gate and a spacious layout. Mr. Shen, a man of traditional taste, deliberately chose to evoke the spirit of a garden, its landscapes scattered and intertwined, creating scenes within scenes.
After the car stopped, Xie Zhizhi got out reluctantly. He glanced around and saw the rugged Taihu stones standing in the artificial lotus pond, with a few red carps swimming leisurely under the leaves, looking very comfortable.
He is not unfamiliar with this place.
In the past, the Shen and Xie families had quite close contacts. He was very good at pleasing Mr. Shen, and when the atmosphere was right, he even stayed here for ten days or half a month. He even had reason to suspect that the side bedroom that belonged to him might have been preserved until now.
But I always feel timid when I revisit the old place.
...No matter what kind of cowardice it was, Xie Zhizhi's heart sank uncontrollably as he stepped onto the Shen family's territory, and he felt sad.
"Let's go." Song Huanqing said.
Xie Zhizhi hesitated and acted awkwardly for a few seconds before he slowly took a step forward.
The reception room is spacious.
The carefully designed floor-to-ceiling windows frame the courtyard scenery like a painting, and light shines through the window lattices, casting elegant geometric shadows on the ground. The custom-made set of ebony furniture has clean lines and is paired with a plain long carpet to create a calm atmosphere.
Song Huanqing took Xie Zhizhi to a seat and gracefully put down her haute couture handbag, looking gentle and demure.
"Mr. Shen, it's been a long time since we last met. You look as energetic as ever."
At the main table, Mr. Shen, over seventy years old, looked energetic, his clear eyes betraying no trace of fading age. He was slowly sipping tea from a bone china cup, his movements steady and graceful, as if unsurprised by their visit.
"Here I come." said Mr. Shen.
His wrinkled eyelids lifted slightly, but his gaze passed over Song Huanqing and fell on Xie Zhizhi.
Xie Zhizhi's cheeks felt inexplicably hot, he blinked his eyes and asked hello sweetly, then sat obediently to the side and blended into the background.
During the old-fashioned conversation between the two people, Xie Zhizhi's eyes were fixed on the air, and he seemed a little absent-minded.
It was hard for him not to recall things that had become obsolete with time.
For example, when he was still young and not very sensible, he was not so restrained when he came to see Mr. Shen. Instead of sitting on these hard and cold places, he usually chose to sit on Mr. Shen's lap...
While sitting, he ate the bird's nest soup fed by Mr. Shen.
"I know."
Xie Zhizhi's eyes, which had been fixed on the carpet, suddenly came back to his senses and he put on a very standard smile: "Grandpa Shen, I'm here."
Mr. Shen looked at him lovingly and asked worriedly, "How's your health lately? Your mother said you went to the hospital several times."
He had barely listened to the two men's witty politeness. Mr. Shen's sudden question made Xie Zhizhi look at Song Huanqing in a very obscure and complicated way, and he felt inexplicably depressed.
“It’s much better today, Grandpa Shen, don’t worry.”
Mr. Shen sighed and waved at him: "It's been a long time since we last met. Come here and let grandpa take a look at you."
Xie Zhizhi then obediently stood up and walked a few steps closer, standing in front of Mr. Shen. He let his hand be led over and patted him a few times as if to comfort him.
"It's all because of that impulsive kid Shen Che. I'll have him come and apologize to you later, okay?"
When Xie Zhizhi lowered his eyes and met Mr. Shen's concerned gaze, he felt complicated.
How good can a person be to outsiders? Xie Zhizhi didn't want to guess, nor did he dare to gamble.
The earlier memories were certainly true, but just like what he and Song Huanqing said, it was clear at a glance who was close and who was distant. No matter how nice it sounded, it could only be listened to as a song, not to mention that time had passed.
"...No need, Grandpa Shen." Xie Zhizhi closed his eyes and said insincerely, "Shen Che and I just had a small conflict, don't worry."
When Mr. Shen heard this, his eyebrows moved, as if he frowned for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "Ache has been staying in the back yard these days, do you want to meet him?"
Xie Zhizhi understood that this was meant to ease the relationship between him and Shen Che, so he nodded obediently and followed the butler out.
patio.
The corridor is winding, and the ancient pines and cypresses remain green.
The housekeeper left at the right time. Xie Zhizhi walked along the corridor and saw from afar a golden dog head moving from time to time under the corridor.
I don't know what he was doing. He was squatting in the corridor and making rustling noises. From time to time, one or two birds could be heard singing.
Xie Zhizhi walked in distractedly, deliberately making his steps heavier.
The not-so-small commotion made Shen Che look up, his golden eyes squinting over gloomily. Xie Zhizhi noticed that he was holding a parrot that was almost entirely milky yellow in color, with two playful blushes on his face.
Seeing him, Shen Che's expression became alert, and his dog eyes and bird eyes swept over him at the same time, forcing Xie Zhizhi to stop abruptly in the corridor.
"Fuck, what are you doing here?" Shen Che said in a bad tone.
Xie Zhizhi, who was standing high up in the corridor, retorted indifferently, "Do you think I want to come?"
Shen Che asked him cautiously: "What did you say to the old man?"
"Are you still afraid that I'll complain?" Xie Zhizhi asked him, "What did you tell the old man?"
"Me?" Shen Che touched his nose, "I said we just had a quarrel, and in the heat of the moment, you slapped me and ran away."
Xie Zhizhi sneered and said, "Oh, you always say good things when you open your mouth."
"Did the old man believe it?"
Shen Che shrugged: "I half believed it. After all, I really met the old man with a slap in the face."
"Where's the other half?"
Shen Che loosened his hand, and the parrot flew up, landed on his shoulder affectionately, and chirped crisply.
Chen Che said with a forced smile, "It all depends on how you come up with this story today. Don't tell me you came here specifically for tea today. I don't believe it."
Xie Zhizhi rolled his eyes.
"Aren't you going to tell the old man about the engagement?"
"I did."
"What did the old man say?"
"The old man said that I don't have the final say."
"You don't have the final say? Then who has the final say?"
"How should I know?!"
Chen Che took a long step onto the corridor, his eyes scanning him sharply: "Xie Zhizhi, you must have bewitched the old man. Why is he so on your side?"
Xie Zhizhi didn't understand what was going on. He looked at him blankly, then opened his thin lips and said in a very unpleasant voice:
"Come on, Shen Che, it's because you're useless."
Shen Che sneered, rarely showing any intention to retort.
While teasing the parrot on his shoulder, he subconsciously recalled in his mind -
Last night in the study, he was standing while Old Master Shen was sitting. The man, who was over seventy years old and had dominated the world for most of his life, looked at him with a calm gaze, without any fluctuations.
He had just finished talking about breaking off the engagement when Mr. Shen, holding a solid wooden cane custom-made from Germany, looked up at him and spoke without hesitation:
"Cancel the engagement? Archer, kneel down first."
A completely elbow-out tone.
Shen Che was completely confused by his grandfather's actions and shouted angrily: "What's wrong with breaking off the engagement?!"
Then, after Mr. Shen slammed the ground with his cane, he knelt down in anger.
But kneeling down with your legs doesn’t mean kneeling down with your mouth.
"What did I do wrong? Why should I admit my mistake! I don't like him! What are the benefits of marrying into the Xie family?! Don't you know that the Xie family is about to go bankrupt?!" Shen Che asked with his neck stiff, looking at his own grandfather with an extremely incredible expression. For a few seconds, he even suspected that his grandfather had been possessed by someone, and the ghost who possessed the body might just happen to have the surname "Xie".
In the long silence, Mr. Shen just looked at him calmly and said, "You shouldn't treat Zhizhi like this. Tell me, did you bully him?"
?
Weird.
This world is crazy.
After Shen Che came out of the study, he almost couldn't help but use his mobile phone to question Shen Siduo: Are we related by blood to Mr. Shen? There must be some problems here.
A gentle breeze blew by, and the afternoon sun was not too harsh on the porch.
The tip of Chen Che's tongue rubbed against the roof of his mouth, and he let out a light sound of annoyance and helplessness.
Xie Zhizhi on the side glanced at him sideways, his expression clearly saying "What's wrong with you again?"
Shen Che didn't want to be angry with him. After all, it seemed that he was standing on the Shen family's territory on the surface, but it was very likely that he had already secretly replaced it with Xie Zhizhi's name. He teased the parrot from time to time and spoke in a negotiating tone:
"What are you going to do? You can't really be planning on getting married, right? That's not what you said when you hit me the other day."
Xie Zhizhi stood with his arms folded, and said with a headache: "How can I know if you are my grandson? Why can't you speak to me?"
No matter how he thought about it, he was skeptical. Xie Zhizhi glanced at him distrustfully: "Did you really mention it to the old man?"
Chen Che, expressionless, held the bird in his hand and sent it away: "What good would it do me to lie to you? I even knelt down, and Grandpa asked me...if I bullied you. Although I admit that I did go a little too far that day, didn't you hit me? No, Xie Zhizhi, your last name is Shen, right?"
As the words came out, the cream-colored parrot spread its wings, glided in the air for a while, and landed steadily on top of Xie Zhizhi's head.
"You're my grandson, okay? Go talk to Grandpa?"
“…”
Xie Zhizhi reached out, grabbed the bird, and caged it in his palm, then fell into silence as he stroked its feathers.
My mind is a mess, and I always feel that things are confusing and unclear.
Is this correct?
That's not true at all.
Since his own grandson was not happy about it and it was obvious that he was not helping the Shen family at all, there was no need for Mr. Shen to be so tight-lipped.
But from the current perspective, if what Shen Che said is true, Mr. Shen’s behavior is too abnormal.
Xie Zhizhi sighed, "What position am I in? Is it the position of being shameless?"
This matter was not something he could easily bring up, otherwise why would he go to such lengths to force Shen Che to go? Shen Che didn't like him in the first place, and considering the Shen family's current status and worth, proposing to annul the engagement, which was not legally binding, was the best solution no matter how he looked at it.
The Xie and Shen families' marriage, as they wished, would only benefit his family, with no downsides. So, what reason did he have to say, "No, I won't do it, I want to run away from the marriage..."
Do you think that life needs true love and that you can't live without it? Don't be so ridiculous. If you keep thinking about it, you'll feel like you're just accepting your fate.
Xie Zhizhi clasped his hands in annoyance, his expression conflicted.
Chen Che, who was standing by, was observing his expression very frankly. He could sense that the man's expression was gradually getting worse, so he suddenly snatched the bird back and said in a stern tone, "What's with that expression?"
Xie Zhizhi came back to his senses and blinked a little slowly: "What expression?"
"You look so helpless. I feel like you would agree to marry a dog if I forced you to do so in the next second." Shen Che said sarcastically.
Xie Zhizhi pulled the corner of his mouth: "If it's just with the dog and not you, it seems that it really can be done."
He grinned indignantly: "What kind of bullshit are you talking about? How can it be so harsh? Am I that bad? Why are you so sharp now that you've stopped acting?"
Xie Zhizhi raised his eyes and looked straight at the blond alpha in front of him.
After a while, the hesitation on Xie Zhizhi's face completely disappeared. He nodded firmly and said in a strong tone, "Yes, you are that bad."
"You fucking..."
"Marrying you would be worse than death. If I have to, I'll definitely buy a huge insurance policy and figure out a way to make you die."
"?"
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