Chapter 22.2

Watching Fan Qi leave, Liu Xiangnian felt a tremor in his heart, as though he saw Chen Wanyin signing the divorce papers and parting ways with him. He had never expected that separation to last for decades, and for a moment, he couldn’t control his emotions. He called out, “Wait.”

Fan Qi turned around, glancing at him with questioning eyes.

Mrs. Feng looked at her mother’s pale face and her father’s expression tinged with anxiety. Liu Xiangnian spoke in a low voice, “Apologize to Fan Qi.”

“Dad…” Mrs. Feng was appalled. In such a situation, how could a woman of her status, a lady of a wealthy family, apologize to a small-time celebrity? Even if this celebrity… what did it have to do with her?

Old Lady Liu felt even more humiliated. She knew how things truly stood inside their family, but outwardly, they had always presented themselves as deeply affectionate. Yet today, without full confirmation, Liu Xiangnian was forcing his daughter to apologize to his granddaughter-in-law for the sake of that woman?

Feng Xueming quickly walked to Fan Qi, “Fan Qi, I apologize on behalf of my mother. We do have some connection, right?”

Fan Qi shook her head, “I don’t accept it. This matter started because of you. If you were trying to tell me that the car holds some special meaning for you, I wouldn’t have gotten in. You’ve seen my husband. Even when I only referred to him as my boyfriend at the time, my actions made it clear that I was trying to avoid any misunderstandings. You didn’t stop your fiancée and mother from making baseless remarks in the newspaper, which caused me trouble. At the very least, before the charity event started, you should have told your fiancée and mother that I have a boyfriend, and that I was just doing an ad for WO. If you had done that, your mother wouldn’t have said such vulgar, crude things. You should be apologizing to your fiancée. It’s your actions and words that made her feel insecure and unsure of herself.”

Xu Miao’er’s eyes reddened. “I don’t need your false pity.”

“Stock trading requires logic. I was just showing off my analytical skills. You think I’m speaking well of you? Your logic doesn’t hold up.”

Someone from the crowd laughed, but quickly coughed to cover it up.

“When insulting others, people speak without a care, unaware of the harm they’re causing. But when it comes time to own up to their mistakes, they realize their face matters more than anything else,” Fan Qi shrugged, “Liao Yazhe, let’s go.”

Liu Xiangnian didn’t want to drag this out any longer. His mind was preoccupied with finding out about that person’s whereabouts. He tapped his cane on the floor and snapped at his daughter, “Apologize.”

Forced by her father, Mrs. Feng’s eyes filled with tears. “Miss Fan, I’m sorry!”

Fan Qi nodded, “Hmm, remember this: when you catch a thief, catch them with the evidence; when you catch an affair, catch them in the act—proof is necessary. Revenge should be swift, but never let a scumbag off the hook.”

Those around her overheard this and thought it sounded like she was scolding the younger generation, and even Mr. Feng seemed to be included in the rebuke.

Liu Xiangnian’s face darkened, “A young girl should be more reserved in her speech. Being too sharp-tongued is not a good thing.”

The others picked up on the tone. Although Liu Xiangnian’s words were stern, calling Fan Qi “a young girl” implied he still saw her as a junior.

Fan Qi smiled politely, “Mr. Liu, perhaps each family has different ways of teaching? Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex was recommended to me by my mother-in-law, and it was also given to her by her mother-in-law. This book offers women a lot to think about. Just like how I enjoy acting and wanted to explore the film industry in Hong Kong because I thought it was thriving. At that time, my husband was preparing for the public-funded study abroad exams, planning to go to the U.S. If we followed your thinking, it would mean that the woman should always step aside for the man’s career. But we communicated equally. He could do research in both the U.S. and here, but my career could only develop in Hong Kong. So in the end, we decided to come to Hong Kong. In our family, we don’t believe girls should behave a certain way, and boys should behave differently. We respect each other and give each other the freedom to speak. Please don’t impose your thinking on others!”

Fan Qi spoke without holding back, mixing fact with fiction, showing no mercy to the scumbag.

Liu Xiangnian watched Fan Qi. He had already been very tolerant of this child, but she didn’t know when to stop. She kept contradicting him, but when she mentioned her mother-in-law’s mother, Liu Xiangnian chose to endure. He even smiled kindly, “Alright, stop being so stubborn. The auction is about to start. Come sit next to me and talk.”

Given Liu Xiangnian’s status, to be rebutted so thoroughly by a junior and yet still treat her like this was, in a way, a sign of appeasement.

Could it be that the Liu family was about to change? Feng Xueming was the grandson, now there was a grandson, and what role did the grandson have in this?

But Fan Qi had been offered face, and she didn’t care for it. “Mr. Liu, your daughter apologized to me, so this matter is settled. We’re not familiar with each other. I was brought by Mr. Liao, so I will sit next to him.”

Liu Xiangnian felt like smashing his cane. He gritted his teeth, “You’re so ungrateful.”

After all these years, Liu Xiangnian had reached this level of status, where everyone had to read his expression, but here was a young girl who, in front of everyone, was humiliating him at such an event.

Liao Yazhe sat beside Fan Qi, lowering his head to speak, “You really went too far just now. If it weren’t for that necklace, and if he still harbored a little old sentiment, you might have even lost your life.”

Fan Qi was confused. Liao Yazhe explained, “This place is full of factions, and some of his businesses are on the shady side.”

In the 21st century, where people generally let pedestrians cross the road, Fan Qi patted her chest and said, “Why are you telling me this? Isn’t it useless? Let’s just watch the auction. Let me see how the socialites and wives buy their stuff. Hasn’t it started yet?”

Liao Yazhe handed her the program and nodded at his watch. “It’s about to start. Will you bid?”

Fan Qi shrugged. “That’s a question that hurts a poor person!”

“I think next year, you’ll be sitting here,” Liao Yazhe remarked.

“You’re thinking too much,” she replied.

Liao Yazhe asked, “If it’s four times a week, how many times would it be in a year?”

“Liao Yazhe, that idea of yours is dangerous. In the stock market, money made by luck will eventually be lost by skill.”

After the first round of the auction ended, a famous singer performed with energetic songs and dances. Liao Yazhe handed Fan Qi a piece of cake. She hesitated as she looked at the dense brownie. Would she eat it? She remembered that Chen Zhiqian had said he would cook “Xian Du Xian” tonight, and her fork paused. If she ate this cake, she wouldn’t have room for dinner.

No, wait! That bastard Chen Zhiqian gave her this necklace on purpose to draw Liu Xiangnian’s attention. Was he trying to be the grandson of an old, rich scumbag? No matter how good his cooking was, she wouldn’t eat it now.

When she read the books, she thought he was a bit obsessive but, upon reflecting on it, he did things quite well. And he was so charming. Though her views didn’t follow just his looks, she still liked that fictional character a lot.

After crossing over, she accepted the original owner’s thoughts, and many of the original owner’s actions were excessive. She even found herself defending him in her heart.

The more Fan Qi thought about it, the angrier she got. She stabbed the brownie with her fork, imagining she was stabbing that jerk, Chen Zhiqian.

“You’re poking it so badly, how can you eat it?” Liao Yazhe asked.

Fan Qi snapped back to reality. Not wanting to waste food, she stuffed piece after piece of cake into her mouth, feeling frustrated inside.

“Miss Fan, Mr. Liu would like to speak with you privately,” a man in a suit bowed to Fan Qi, who was still eating her cake.

Fan Qi shook her head. “I’ve already said, I don’t know him well and I won’t accept the invitation.”

She responded and continued eating her cake.

A cane and a pair of leather shoes appeared in front of her. Fan Qi looked up to see Liu Xiangnian, looking somewhat pale and thin, standing before her.

“Why don’t you want to see me?” Liu Xiangnian asked.

Fan Qi stood up, handed the almost finished plate of cake to a server, and said, “The deceased has passed. As juniors, we have no right to forgive her. If we have any involvement with Mr. Liu, it’s an insult to the ancestors.”

“What are you saying?” Liu Xiangnian swayed, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“I’m saying, grandma has been gone for many years.”