Those words undoubtedly gave Xiao Zhan a way to step down gracefully. If he kept pressing the matter, the Xiao Clan would only look petty. Xiao Zhan drew a deep breath and waved a hand, his voice regaining some of a Clan Head's composure.
"Elder Ge Ye, you are being too serious. What happened today was indeed a clash of tempers between the younger generation. Young people are hot-blooded; a little fire in their words is perfectly normal and should not be taken to heart. As for the marriage agreement, that is a matter of great importance. Let us discuss it face-to-face another day."
Xiao Zhan and Ge Ye had intended to put an end to this farce, shrinking a major affair into a minor one, then smoothing the minor one into nothing. The atmosphere in the hall seemed to ease somewhat as a result. Yet to the two young people, the elders' attempt to "stir everything into a muddy compromise" was no different from pouring oil onto a fire.
What did they take us for? Children who didn't know any better? A bit of nonsense they could simply wipe away? This confrontation concerned our dignity and fate for the rest of our lives, yet in the elders' eyes, it amounted to so little?
The same fury at being belittled blazed in Xiao Yan's and Nalan Yanran's hearts at once. They continued to stare each other down, their gazes like two invisible blades clashing fiercely in the air, throwing off soundless sparks.
In the end, Nalan Yanran was the first to break this "peace" imposed by the elders. Her innate pride would never allow her to retreat in disgrace as an "unreasonable junior." She stepped around Ge Ye and forward, her cool gaze stabbing straight at Xiao Yan.
**"Xiao Yan!