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Chapter 21 — Father and Son Face Off!

Xie Yanli knew exactly who was outside the door. Every time he had a conversation with Xie Changfeng, Lin Xue was either eavesdropping outside or trying to smooth things over. But he didn’t care. No matter how much trouble she stirred up, he would never allow that illegitimate child to enter the family.

Xie Changfeng was infuriated by Xie Yanli’s words. Gritting his teeth, he snapped,
“Xie Yanli, who are you calling an illegitimate child? Lin Xue and I are already married. Chenyu is your half-brother.”

Just as Xie Yanli was about to retort, Lin Xue pushed the door open. She first looked at Xie Changfeng apologetically and said softly,
“Changfeng, I knew you and Yanli were talking in the study, and I just wanted to bring you some tea. But when I approached the door, I happened to overhear your conversation. I accidentally dropped the cup. It’s all my fault. I’m so clumsy.”

Her voice carried a hint of sobbing, and after speaking, she lowered her head, eyes reddening.

Xie Changfeng, knowing how gentle and considerate Lin Xue usually was, quickly walked over to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and softened his tone,
“Xue’er, how can you say that about yourself? I know how capable you are. Did you burn yourself?”

Lin Xue bit her lip lightly, then shook her head.
“It’s just a little scrape on my finger. It’s nothing.”

Hearing that, Xie Changfeng immediately checked her hand. Seeing her swollen, reddened finger, he frowned deeply.
“Xue’er, you still say it’s nothing? I’ll ask Aunt Zhou to bring the first aid kit.”

Lin Xue leaned weakly against Xie Changfeng, speaking softly,
“It’s just a small injury. Don’t worry.”

Xie Yanli couldn’t stand staying there to watch them act so lovey-dovey. Without saying a word, he turned to leave.

But he had barely taken a few steps when Lin Xue called out to him.
“Yanli, wait. You usually don’t talk to me much. Let me take this opportunity to say a few words to you.”

She gently stepped out of Xie Changfeng’s embrace and approached Xie Yanli timidly.
“Yanli, everything that happened back then was my fault. If you must blame someone, blame me. Chenyu is innocent, and he has always respected you as his elder brother. You two are siblings by blood—you shouldn’t speak about him like that.”

As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks, her whole body trembling slightly, her gaze full of pleading.

Xie Yanli stared at the tearful woman in front of him and lifted his eyelids lazily.
“What? Taking over someone else’s place wasn’t enough for you? Now you want to shove that bastard in here too? Keep dreaming.”

Hearing this, Xie Changfeng’s face turned red with rage. He stormed back to his desk and hurled the inkstone at Xie Yanli with all his strength.

Xie Yanli didn’t dodge. With a loud thud, the inkstone hit his forehead and bounced to the floor.

Blood immediately gushed from his forehead, streaming down his face and quickly staining a large patch of his pristine white shirt.

But Xie Yanli didn’t care. His gaze remained firmly locked on Xie Changfeng as he coldly declared,
“As long as I’m here, that bastard will never step into the Xie family’s house.”

Seeing his resolute expression, Xie Changfeng froze on the spot, speechless.

Lin Xue quickly rushed to Xie Yanli’s side. After examining his injury, she turned to Xie Changfeng and anxiously complained,
“Changfeng, no matter how wrong he is, he’s still a child. How can you be so heavy-handed?”

She pulled a handkerchief from her coat pocket, stood on her tiptoes, and tried to wipe the blood from Xie Yanli’s forehead. But Xie Yanli frowned and forcefully pushed her away.

He didn’t use much strength, but Lin Xue let out a sharp cry and staggered backward, falling heavily to the ground.

Seeing Lin Xue pushed down, the guilt that had briefly flickered in Xie Changfeng’s heart instantly vanished. He quickly helped her up and, after checking on her, turned to Xie Yanli and roared:
“You unfilial son! Do you even see me as your father anymore? Whether you admit it or not, she is your stepmother! She was just worried about you, and you treat her like this?”

Xie Yanli glared at Xie Changfeng and rebuked harshly,
“Stepmother? Back then, you cheated with this woman, had a child outside, and drove my mother into severe depression, leading her to commit suicide by jumping off a building. To me, she will always be the home-wrecking mistress who lived in the shadows.”

Xie Changfeng, trembling with rage, pointed at Xie Yanli.
“Xie Yanli, it was all my fault back then! Blame me, not Xue’er. And your mother wasn’t innocent either—she didn’t treat Xue’er kindly…”

Before Xie Changfeng could finish, Lin Xue quickly covered his mouth. Collapsing into his arms, she sobbed,
“Changfeng, I just wanted Chenyu to be accepted into the family so we could live together harmoniously. Since Yanli won’t accept Chenyu, let’s not mention it for now. Chenyu has always been understanding—I’m sure he’ll understand.”

After glancing at Lin Xue, Xie Changfeng turned and furiously yelled at Xie Yanli,
“You and your mother are both inflexible people—that’s why she ended up the way she did!”

“You’re not worthy of mentioning my mother.”
Xie Yanli’s eyes reddened, rage boiling with bloodthirsty intensity.

“What? I can’t mention her? Was the affair only my fault? Was she blameless? I was married to her for so many years, and I gave her everything she wanted. But as a woman, she was too domineering—nothing like Xue’er’s gentleness and kindness.”

A dark, mocking sneer flashed in Xie Yanli’s expression.
“You married her and pampered her only because you were after the Li family’s power and status. Once the Xie family was stable, you showed your true face. Xie Changfeng, people like you—so fickle and heartless—are truly contemptible.”

“You—you unfilial son! Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death today!”

Infuriated, Xie Changfeng lunged toward Xie Yanli, raising his hand to strike him, but Xie Yanli grabbed his wrist mid-air.

With sharp eyes, Xie Yanli growled,
“Do you think I’m still a child? Push me any further, and I’ll kick both of you out of the Xie family.”

He then turned to Lin Xue and scoffed,
“Faking a fall to gain sympathy? That trick only works on Xie Changfeng. Lin Xue, I’ll warn you one last time—if you try any more dirty schemes, I won’t sit back and wait.”

With that, he flung Xie Changfeng’s arm aside and strode out.

“You unfilial son! I want to see what you can possibly do to us!”
Xie Changfeng roared after his departing figure.

Standing not far away, Lin Xue’s face darkened menacingly, a bone-chilling cold glint rising in her eyes.

When Xie Yanli descended the stairs, Duan Lingxiao, who had been waiting below, immediately frowned upon seeing the blood still dripping from Xie Yanli’s forehead.

Duan Lingxiao had been indebted to the old master of the Li family since childhood. After growing up, he stayed in the Li family to work. When Li Lan married Xie Changfeng, he followed and became the Xie family’s steward.

He had watched Xie Yanli grow up. To him, Xie Yanli wasn’t just the young master of the Xie family—he was more like his own son. Expecting Xie Yanli would get hurt, he had called a family doctor ahead of time.

Seeing this, Xie Yanli still coldly refused medical treatment and headed straight out the door.

“Young master, if the young lady were still alive, she would ache seeing you like this.”

Duan Lingxiao sighed and called after him.

Xie Yanli paused, then stopped. He spoke quietly,
“Uncle Duan, I’ll get treated.”

The family doctor immediately stepped forward, bandaged Xie Yanli’s wound, and advised him to go to the hospital for scans just in case.

Not wanting Duan Lingxiao to worry, Xie Yanli agreed, then left the Xie family estate and headed straight to a bar to drown his sorrows.

By the time Shen Huaichuan arrived at the private room, Xie Yanli had already drunk quite a bit. Seeing the injury on his forehead, Shen Huaichuan immediately understood. In all of Beijing, who else besides Xie Changfeng would dare lay a hand on him?

He snatched the wine glass from Xie Yanli’s hand.
“Yanli, you’re injured. Stop drinking. You haven’t been to the hospital yet, right? Let me take you.”

He reached out to pull Xie Yanli, but Xie Yanli slapped his hand away. Grabbing the glass from the table, he threw his head back and drained it in one go. When he slammed the glass back down, Shen Huaichuan saw it was empty.

Shen Huaichuan sighed and frowned,
“Yanli, your dad’s quarrel with you is ultimately because you refuse to get married. You just want to marry the person you love, right? That’s easy—I’ll take you to confess to Song Qiao right now. Once you tell her everything about Chen Yang, I don’t believe she’ll still want to be with him.”

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