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Elder Sang brought the rod down again. "You broke your engagement and went back on your word."

"I... I broke my promise. I went back on my word." Sang Ya sobbed through the pain.

"What else?"

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

Elder Sang's heart ached, but he struck her even harder.

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

"Waaah..."

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

"You showed contempt for the law. You knew what you were doing was illegal."

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

Elder Sang struck her three times in a row. Sang Ya rolled on the floor in pain, crying so hard that tears and snot streamed down her face. All the composure and elegance of a wealthy young lady had vanished.

"Waaah, I didn't mean to! A Ye said he'd come propose if we secured the project, and then we'd tell you everything... Waaah!"

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

In his youth, Elder Sang had been quick to explode. Years of self-restraint had mellowed him, but Sang Ya's blind devotion 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 cried and rolled across the floor, wishing she would pass out on the spot.

Would someone please save me? Waaah, A Ye...

"Waaah..."

Exhausted from striking her, Elder Sang asked, "What did you do wrong? Repeat what you said earlier."

"..."

Her whole body hurt, and her mind was blank. "Waaah, I know I was wrong! 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 he fainted on the spot.

Sang Ya struggled to her feet, then 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 in the doorway at once. "Big Brother, you're back?"

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

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

Xie Chengyue came downstairs and saw his eldest son. "Wash your hands and come eat."

"Okay," Xie Zhiyu said.

They needed no more words. A great deal passed between father and son in that glance.

As 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. The shock made her choke.

That wasn't in the original story!!

Shen Baili knew the broad outline of the original story, but some details were unclear. She only knew that after the heroine, Sang Ya, ended her engagement to Xie Zhiyu, the Xie Family gave her substantial compensation. Had Xie Zhiyu been the one at fault?

What on earth happened? Had the plot changed somewhere she couldn't see?

Shen Wan hurriedly patted her back. "You're all grown up, and you can still choke on water?"

Xie Zhiyu handed her the tissue box.

"I drank too fast." Shen Baili took it from him. "Thanks, Big Brother."

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

"You naughty girl," Shen Wan said. "Things between adults can be complicated..."

She had caught on quickly. Her daughter was asking on her behalf.

With that one remark, she had given everyone a way to broach the subject.

"There's nothing I can't tell you," Xie Zhiyu said gently.

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

He stated his fiancée's infidelity calmly. "Aunt Shen, there's no need to make a point of sending gifts to the Sang Family on holidays anymore."

"Okay," Shen Wan said.

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

Xie Chengyue understood. He nodded. "Mm."

That was his way of approving how Xie Zhiyu had handled it.

Shen Wan and Shen Baili were speechless.

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

So why did they both go tongue-tied whenever they were together?

Shen Baili grumbled to herself.

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

[And he kept checking his watch this evening and looking out toward the courtyard... He was waiting for Big Brother to come back, 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.

The unexpected gesture stunned all three people across from him.

Xie Chengyue said nothing, but he ate the chicken. A flicker of a smile appeared in his eyes.

Xie Zhiyu noticed, and warmth spread through his chest.

He took a sip of water to hide the corners of his mouth turning up.

Then he helped himself to a piece of chicken. It was tender and sweet, just as delicious as expected.

As if a switch had been flipped, Shen Baili's thoughts started flowing again.

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

[Sang Ya has terrible taste. Big Brother is handsome and capable, with an excellent family background. He's responsible and dependable... He outclasses that awful social climber in every way. She really ought to get her eyes checked.]

Caught off guard by the barrage of praise, Xie Zhiyu blushed all the way to his ears.

"Suìsuì, have some fish too."

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