After that, Kyoko left her seat almost without a word and went straight upstairs, never returning.
Seeing this, Shozo could only apologize to Luo Zhen before also leaving his seat and heading upstairs, seemingly to persuade her.
The servants had become nervous because of the conversation just now. After the master and madam left, and with Koichiro and Asuna's permission, they hurriedly left the hall and went to the kitchen to prepare the New Year's dinner.
The living room was suddenly left with only Luo Zhen, Asuna, and Koichiro.
"Ugh..."
Koichiro sighed.
"This is bad. You probably won't ever be able to reconcile with my mother now."
Koichiro said this helplessly.
Asuna was equally worried as she looked at Luo Zhen.
"Mom has never liked people contradicting her, especially over important matters. Even Dad often listens to her. You openly argued with her and made her lose face like that. Mom definitely won't treat you kindly anymore."
The Yuuki siblings were worried about this.
Luo Zhen, on the other hand, had clearly slapped his mother-in-law hard enough to leave her unable to save face, yet he looked completely relaxed.
"Should I obediently follow your mother's arrangements and hand over the rest of my life to her?" Luo Zhen shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't want my future to become this lacking in freedom."
Although the path Kyoko had mentioned was something Luo Zhen could achieve without much effort given his abilities—his academic background and grades were flawless, and even after entering society, his intellect would let him rise above countless others with ease—none of this was difficult for him, even without using the supernatural. Still, Luo Zhen simply couldn't stand Kyoko's attitude of arranging other people's lives as though it were only natural.
"Perhaps, in her eyes, the path she chose