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Elder Sang struck her again with the rod. "You broke your engagement. You broke your word."

"I... I broke my promise. I broke my word." She cried from the pain, her words coming out between sobs.

"What else?"

"I... I shouldn't have hidden it from you." Sang Ya choked out the words.

Elder Sang's heart ached, but he brought the rod down even harder.

After three blows, Sang Ya, who had never been beaten before, finally begged for mercy. "Grandpa, I was wrong. Please stop hitting me. It hurts so much."

"Waaah..."

Elder Sang gripped the Family Discipline Rod so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "What else?"

"You showed contempt for the law. You knew it was illegal and did it anyway."

"Who told you to steal trade secrets? Do you want to go to prison? Huh?"

Elder Sang struck her three times in a row. Sang Ya rolled on the floor in pain, tears and snot streaming down her face. All the poise and elegance of a wealthy young lady had vanished.

"Waaah, I didn't mean to! A Ye said that once he secured the project, he'd come ask for my hand, and we'd tell everyone the truth together... Waaah..."

Elder Sang fumed. "Is your head full of water? If he told you to eat shit, would you eat that too?"

Elder Sang had been a firecracker in his youth. Years of self-discipline had mellowed him, but Sang Ya's lovestruck foolishness had driven him to swear.

Sang Ya realized she had said too much. "I... I'm sorry, waaah. Grandpa, please stop hitting me... You're going to beat me to death."

When she saw the rod about to fall again, she rolled across the floor crying, wishing she could pass out right then.

Someone save me! Waaah, A Ye...

"Waaah..."

Elder Sang grew tired of hitting her. "What did you do wrong? Repeat what you said just now."

"..."

Her whole body hurt, and her mind went blank. "Waaah, I know I was wrong! Waaah, you're going to beat me to death... It hurts so much..."

All she could do was cry. Bitterly disappointed, Elder Sang said, "Ya Ya, you've let me down so badly..."

His anger surged, and in his agitation, he fainted.

Sang Ya tried to get up but collapsed again. The wounds on her back twisted her face with pain, and a moment later, she passed out too.

With both grandfather and granddaughter unconscious, the Sang Family descended into chaos.

Xie Zhiyu returned to the Xie Residence just in time for dinner.

Shen Baili spotted his tall figure at the door. "Eldest Brother, you're back?"

"Mm, I'm back," Xie Zhiyu replied as he changed into his slippers.

Something about him seemed off to Shen Baili. He looked a little tired.

Xie Chengyue came downstairs and saw his eldest son. "Wash your hands. It's time to eat."

"Okay," Xie Zhiyu said.

They needed no more words. The look father and son exchanged held plenty of feeling.

When dinner began, Xie Zhiyu announced something momentous.

"Sang Ya and I have called off our engagement."

[What?!]

"Cough, cough..." Shen Baili had been drinking water and choked on it.

That wasn't in the original story!!

Shen Baili knew the outline of the original story, though some details were hazy. She only knew that after the heroine, Sang Ya, called off her engagement to Xie Zhiyu, the Xie Family gave her a great deal of compensation. It had seemed as though Xie Zhiyu was the one at fault.

What exactly happened? Had the plot changed where she couldn't see it?

Shen Wan hurriedly patted her back to help her breathe. "You're all grown up, and you still manage to choke on water."

Xie Zhiyu passed her a box of tissues.

"I drank too fast." Shen Baili took the tissues from him. "Thanks, Eldest Brother."

She asked cautiously, "Eldest Brother, why did you call off the engagement?"

Shen Wan spoke up. "You naughty child. Grown-ups' affairs are complicated..."

She had caught on at once: her daughter was asking on her behalf.

With that one remark, she gave everyone an opening.

"There's no reason I can't tell you," Xie Zhiyu said gently.

"Sang Ya has a boyfriend. There's no need for our engagement to continue."

He stated the reason—his fiancée's infidelity—with perfect calm. "Aunt Shen, there's no need to send the Sang Family gifts on holidays anymore."

"All right," Shen Wan said.

She nudged Xie Chengyue with her foot, signaling him to offer some comfort.

Xie Chengyue understood. He nodded. "Mm."

That counted as approval of how Xie Zhiyu had handled things.

Shen Wan and Shen Baili: "..."

Father and son clearly cared about each other, yet neither knew how to express it. Both were at ease in all kinds of negotiations and could speak eloquently at banquets.

So why did they both clam up whenever they were together?

Shen Baili complained silently.

[Uncle Xie asked about Eldest Brother as soon as he got home today. Was he worried about him?]

[And all evening, he kept checking his watch and looking toward the courtyard... He was waiting for Eldest Brother to come home, wasn't he? If he cares so much, why won't he say it?!]

[This is driving me crazy. I want to speak for him myself.]

Xie Zhiyu changed course with his chopsticks and placed a piece of chicken in Xie Chengyue's bowl.

His unexpected gesture stunned the three people across from him.

Xie Chengyue said nothing, but he ate the chicken. A smile flickered in his eyes.

Xie Zhiyu caught it, and warmth spread through his chest.

He took a sip of water to hide the smile tugging at his lips.

Then he helped himself to a piece of chicken. The meat was sweet and tender. It really was delicious.

As though a switch had been flipped, Shen Baili's inner voice started chattering nonstop.

[Eldest Brother must be so upset... Sigh.]

[Sang Ya has terrible taste. Eldest Brother is handsome and capable, comes from a great family, and is responsible and dependable... He outshines that trashy social climber in every way. She really ought to get her eyes checked.]

The barrage of praise caught Xie Zhiyu off guard, leaving the tips of his ears red.

"Suìsuì, have some fish too."

With a piece of steamed fish, he successfully stopped her silent stream of praise. Then he used the serving chopsticks to put a few pieces of beef in Shen Wan's bowl.