Quarrel

"Huh? Uncle, listen to me, we really aren't boyfriend and girlfriend, you've misunderstood. This house is just being temporarily lent to me by Siyi. She injured her foot a few days ago and got a fever, so she's staying at my place to make things more convenient."

Li Changle insisted on explaining. He couldn't be wrongly accused. Looking at the aura of the middle-aged man, it was clear he was someone who often lectured people.

Wang Weimin looked at Wang Siyi and asked uncertainly, "Siyi, is this kid telling the truth?"

Wang Siyi stared blankly at Wang Weimin, her mind replaying his words, that familiar tone, that familiar attitude. She hadn't said a word, and they were already starting to make decisions for her again.

She felt like a canary in a cage, without freedom. She couldn't decide her own life, and they wouldn't even let her decide who she liked?

Feelings and fate were always predetermined by heaven. Why did they want to control what she liked and what she wanted to do?

Wang Siyi was tired. She had originally thought about giving up singing, reconciling with her family, and being a good daughter to her parents. Now, she realized she was wrong.

Even if she gave up singing, she wouldn't be able to reconcile with her parents. Their conflict wasn't just about whether she liked singing.

What she wanted was freedom.

What they wanted was for her life to have predictable outcomes that they could see. They wanted to ensure she had no accidents.

Under the guise of: "This is all for your own good."

But in Wang Siyi's eyes, a life planned according to their designs was one where she was merely a puppet, and her parents were the ones pulling the strings.

Wang Siyi finally understood the root of the conflict with her parents over the past few years. Although she knew, she couldn't resolve it, nor did she know how.

"He's not my boyfriend yet," Wang Siyi said calmly.

Hearing this, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. His little cabbage was still intact and unharmed.

But Wang Weimin had grasped the key point: not yet! This meant Siyi really liked this brat. What was so good about this brat? No, he couldn't agree.

"It's good that he's not. I don't want to dwell on why you're living here. Pack your things and come home with Dad today."

Wang Weimin made the decision for Wang Siyi directly. He couldn't let Siyi stay here. Who knew if staying longer would lead to Wang Siyi giving them a chubby grandson?

This kid didn't look like a good person. Siyi was such an innocent child, she had seen too few people.

"I'm not going back. I want to live here." Wang Siyi's firm reply came without hesitation.

"You, Siyi, stop this tantrum. Dad traveled all this way. Just give me some peace of mind and come back with me. What's so good about this place? Your grandfather is gone too. I plan to sell this house soon. You won't come to Yangcheng anymore. We'll live in Jinling. I'll arrange a spot for you at our school, and you can choose any major you want."

"I already said I'm not going back! And this house was left to me by Grandpa. If you dare to sell it, I'll never speak to you again."

Seeing that Wang Weimin even had the idea of selling the house, Wang Siyi became angry.

Putting aside the fact that this house was left to her by Grandpa, it held memories of him.

Li Changle was also living here. If the house was sold, where would he go? Although he wouldn't lack money soon.

But if he left, the scenes from her dreams might become reality.

She would no longer have any connection with him, and he would find a girl who was very suitable for him, get married, and have children.

The thought of that scene made her heart ache. She couldn't accept such a reality.

She also didn't want to leave Li Changle. Although she didn't know how long she could stay by his side here, she wasn't going to think about it anymore.

"You..." Wang Weimin was furious. His daughter was good in every way except for her stubborn personality. Seeing his daughter about to get involved with someone of unknown origin was something he absolutely could not accept.

"I don't care why you're living here. In short, one sentence: come home with me." Wang Weimin issued his ultimatum. Wang Siyi opposite him didn't respond, looking at Wang Weimin with sadness in her eyes.

Wang Weimin had never seen such an expression in his daughter's eyes before. It pained him slightly, but he remained firm in his conviction. His daughter... no matter what he did, it was for her own good.

Wang Siyi looked at Wang Weimin. She stood up from the bed, walked in front of him, her expression desolate, and choked out to him:

"From childhood until now, whatever you and Mom wanted me to learn, whatever you wanted me to do, I did it. To make you happy, I worked hard to be the best, even at things I disliked."

"But those weren't things I liked. From childhood until now, I've won first place in so many competitions, but I never felt truly happy."

"Until one day, Grandpa said my singing was beautiful, that he liked the way I sang, and that was the real me. When I sang, I was always smiling, and I also felt my singing was beautiful, and I loved singing."

"So I chose to sing and entered the entertainment industry. But you never supported me. I know the environment in the entertainment industry isn't good, but I just wanted to sing..."

Wang Siyi kept talking, her voice becoming more choked, her eyes turning red, and tears welling up.

"After Grandpa passed away, I realized what it felt like to have no one supporting you from behind. It was so sad. I almost couldn't go on and wanted to reconcile with you..."

"But before I could even speak, you wanted to arrange this and that for me like when I was a child. Can't you let me make my own choices? I've already compromised..."

At this point, Wang Siyi broke down in tears, crying as she spoke.

"In your eyes, I can't have my own thoughts. Everything I do must follow your plan. It was like that when I was a child, and it's the same now that I'm grown up..."

"Now, I want to give up singing, which I love the most. It's not your fault, I just couldn't persevere. But why, why do you even have to control who I want to like, who I want to spend the rest of my life with..."

"I'm the one spending the rest of my life with him, not you, Dad, and certainly not Mom. Why do you have to strip away even this right from me? Just because you're my parents...?"

At this point, Wang Siyi was sobbing uncontrollably. She paused, then suddenly lifted her tear-streaked face towards Wang Weimin, her eyes red as she looked at him: "If that's the case, I'd rather not have parents..."

She didn't pay any more attention to the stunned Wang Weimin and ran out of Li Changle's room, hiding in the master bedroom and locking the door.

Burying her face in the quilt, she began to cry loudly. She cried so sadly that it was the most heartbreaking she had ever felt since her grandfather passed away. Tears quickly soaked the quilt, but she still couldn't stop.

Wang Siyi thought about what she had just said. Besides feeling sad and hurt by her parents' actions, she found it even harder to accept leaving Li Changle.

Li Changle hadn't disturbed them since their father and daughter conversation began, thinking they should have a good talk.

He decided to cook a meal first, and then they could eat and chat at the table when it was ready.

Li Changle had observed and concluded over a long period that Wang Siyi's mood was always at its best of the day when she was at the dinner table.

However, he didn't expect to see them come out amicably. Instead, he saw Wang Siyi with red eyes, crying even harder than the last time by the stairs.

Li Changle's heart tightened. He wanted to go after her, but found that Wang Siyi had locked the door and he couldn't get in.

He knocked on the door a few times from the outside.

"Hey? Open the door!"

"Open the door, Wang Siyi!"

Li Changle was anxious. She had already been a mess last time, and this time it was even worse. He didn't know what they had said in the room.

He looked back into his own room. Wang Weimin was still standing there, stunned and motionless.

Li Changle didn't know what to do, but he no longer felt as respectful towards the middle-aged man.

He must have said something very excessive to Wang Siyi, or intended to do something very excessive, for her to be like this.

He suspected that the crying incident by the stairs last time was also related to him.

Li Changle couldn't do anything, so he sat on the sofa in the living room. The food was ready, but he had no appetite.

He was used to Wang Siyi sitting opposite him at the dinner table. If she wasn't there, he would rather not cook.

Wang Weimin still hadn't recovered. His own daughter actually wanted to sever ties with him.

He thought about it. He just wanted his daughter to have a better life in the future, and he didn't see where he had done anything too excessive.

But from his daughter's perspective, he felt like an unfeeling machine, like a puppet on strings.

Where had he gone wrong? He was starting to realize that his approach might have been a bit off.

For his daughter's personality, to say she wanted to cut ties with him was truly unbelievable.

He hadn't snapped out of his daze when Wang Siyi ran out. Thinking of her resolute yet pained expression as she brushed past him.

It pained him, and he hurried out, looking at the closed master bedroom door.

"Siyi, open the door..."

"What Dad said might not have been right, don't take it to heart. Open the door, Siyi. Let's talk properly, Dad..."

Li Changle watched Wang Weimin knocking on the door and talking to it, remaining indifferent.

What took him so long? Apart from being a bit shy and a little slow when sick, Wang Siyi had almost no flaws.

Gentle, generous, in short, any beautiful adjective could be used to describe her, and Li Changle wouldn't think it excessive.

To make someone like Wang Siyi so heartbroken, Li Changle found it hard to imagine.