Chapter 6: Both Sides Overly Cooperative

Based on Xie Ting’an’s previous observations, the red numbers indicated surgery, and the deep red above the old butler’s head suggested it wasn’t just a minor injury, yet there were no visible symptoms on him.

“Mr. Xie, you have no idea how much I regret getting on the Gu family’s pirate ship!” Sun Zong sobbed, raising his hand to point at Gu Mingchen.

“I just want my child to break off the engagement with Gu Mingchen, but he and that old man refuse, insisting on dragging my child down. If I had known it was you coming, I would have been overjoyed. Anything you can’t handle, I would absolutely do without hesitation!”

The relationship between the Gu family and the Xie family was well-known, so Sun Zong didn’t need to think much to know that Xie Ting’an’s visit was definitely aimed at these two from the Gu family.

With a common goal, yet being beaten because of his own loose tongue, Sun Zong slapped himself a few times in front of everyone, but looking at Xie Ting’an’s face, he couldn’t find any emotion.

“Mr. Xie, I apologize to you here.” Sun Zong’s face was red from his own slaps, and seeing Xie Ting’an’s gaze pass over him and land on the two from the Gu family, Sun Zong felt relieved and stopped his actions.

“Mr. Xie, you can ask others who know me, I’m not the kind of person who changes with the wind. I truly think you’re amazing…”

“Continue,” Xie Ting’an said lightly, noticing the old butler’s health value drop a bit.

Sun Zong was stunned, instantly understanding what to continue, and could only grit his teeth and continue slapping his own face.

“To be honest, before the engagement, my child only met Gu Mingchen once. All that ‘childhood sweethearts, mutual affection’ nonsense was spread by Gu Qiu.”

Sun Zong spoke in between slaps, his words sounding muffled.

“I was deceived by Gu Qiu. I thought I was finding a good family for my child, but after the engagement, I found out that many young people who had interacted with Gu Mingchen said he seemed to have some emotional indifference, incapable of love. Gu Qiu cares about face and can’t stand hearing this, so he had Gu Mingchen get engaged as soon as he became an adult, even making up a story about the two kids being childhood sweethearts just to shut people up.”

Sun Zong’s face swelled as he slapped himself, tears glistening in his eyes.

“In short, Mr. Xie, in Gu Qiu’s eyes, my child is just a tool. I’ve wanted to break off the engagement for a long time, but due to the pressure from the Gu family, I had no choice but to delay until now.”

“Nonsense!”

The old butler frowned deeply, stepping forward with a slightly pale face.

“My young master just doesn’t like socializing, he doesn’t have the illness you’re talking about. The engagement was because the young master’s parents wanted to give him emotional constraints, to prevent him from fooling around like other rich kids. At that time, you were the one who eagerly handed over your child’s photo to the young master’s parents, praising your child to the skies!”

“I was forced!” Sun Zong glared, leaning forward as if to argue, but Xie Ting’an closed his eyes, raised his hand in a gesture to silence them.

The courtyard fell silent, the old butler’s chest heaving, and Sun Zong’s face was red and swollen, both glaring at each other as if they wanted to bite a piece of flesh off the other.

“Enough.” Xie Ting’an’s gaze moved over the old butler’s head, noticing another drop in health value.

Yesterday, Xie Ting’an’s value dropped to 28, and he couldn’t hold on and fell asleep. Now the old butler was at 31 points, and it seemed he wouldn’t last much longer.

The matter of the Gu and Sun families breaking off the engagement was almost certain, and Xie Ting’an didn’t want to intervene too much. He could ignore others, but he had to be wary of his old rival Gu Qiu, not to mention the crazy Gu Mingchen in the future.

If he got involved in the engagement break-off, and Gu Mingchen went mad after inheriting the Gu family and held a grudge, seeking an explanation from Xie Ting’an, there would be no escape.

His phone suddenly vibrated, and Xie Ting’an thought it was a reminder of expenses from his bodyguards outside. Picking up his personal phone, he found it was a message from his sister, Xie Boxia, saying she learned a new dish and wanted to show off to Xie Ting’an in the afternoon.

Thinking of Xie Boxia’s dark culinary creations, Xie Ting’an’s expression softened a lot. Looking at the mess in the courtyard, he slowly stood up.

“I’m not interested in your family matters right now.” Xie Ting’an put away his phone, glancing down at Sun Zong.

“Resolve it civilly, don’t let me catch you getting physical again.”

“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare.” Sun Zong let out a long breath, his cheeks red and swollen, forcing a smile at Xie Ting’an.

Without looking at the opposite side, Xie Ting’an stepped towards the courtyard gate, his bodyguards quickly following in neat formation.

Xie Ting’an’s steps were steady, just about to step over the gate when he suddenly heard a sound behind him, like metal clashing, a sound that was subtle but particularly unusual in this setting.

Turning back, Xie Ting’an saw Gu Mingchen had somehow taken out an exquisitely crafted velvet bag, and under everyone’s gaze, poured out two rings from it.

Both rings were not ordinary styles, one was platinum with jade, and the other was a pure gold thumb ring, both engraved with intricate patterns. Gu Mingchen took out the gold thumb ring, his deep blue eyes looking at Xie Ting’an.

Xie Ting’an found the thumb ring familiar, and after a brief moment of recollection, remembered its origin.

At that time, Xie Ting’an had just returned from Germany for a year, and had only paid off a small portion of a debt of over three billion. The creditors were pressing hard, and the Gu family was constantly causing trouble, making the promotion of Xie Ting’an’s invested films a disaster.

Every time the Xie family started promoting, artists under the Gu family would make big news. The Gu family’s industry was large, with more than one affiliated entertainment company. Xie Ting’an knew he couldn’t let this continue, so he started attending events with Gu family members, trying to find a breakthrough.

For two months straight, Xie Ting’an observed the Gu family members, noticing that many of them wore family rings in public and were proud of them.

After much thought, Xie Ting’an had a master craftsman make a gold thumb ring with more exquisite patterns than the Gu family’s family ring, and even had it aged to look ancient yet luxurious.

The next time he attended an event with Gu Qiu, Xie Ting’an wore this gold thumb ring, casually showing it in front of Gu Qiu. When someone asked about it, he vividly made up a story, saying it was a ring only the head of the Xie family had.

At that time, Gu Qiu’s father was healthy and hadn’t let Gu Qiu take over the Gu family. Xie Ting’an kept provoking him with the head of the family status, and sure enough, he took the bait in no time.

In front of everyone, Xie Ting’an and Gu Qiu made a bet, comparing the net profits of the two families for the next year. The stakes were Xie Ting’an’s ring symbolizing the head of the Xie family and the family ring on Gu Qiu’s hand.

According to the betting agreement, the Gu family couldn’t interfere with the Xie family’s business anymore. In that year, Xie Ting’an focused on producing and investing in films and TV dramas, earning considerable profits. The previously suppressed works were successfully released, paying off most of the debt and boosting the company’s reputation.

When it came time to compare the profits of the two families, Xie Ting’an didn’t even need to look at the results and directly gave the thumb ring to Gu Qiu. When Gu Qiu realized it, he was so angry he almost vomited blood on the spot.

As for that thumb ring, when it was made, Xie Ting’an had the master use less gold, making it thinner than a regular thumb ring. Including the bonus for the master, it cost less than two hundred thousand, yet it solved the problem and made the Gu family spread the news of the bet, giving the Xie company a lot of publicity.

Gu Qiu cared about face the most, and even though he knew he was tricked to this extent, he had to pretend he won. After that, whenever he couldn’t win an argument with Xie Ting’an, he would bring up the story of Xie Ting’an losing the head of the family ring, which Xie Ting’an had heard almost a hundred times, enough to make his ears grow calluses.

So much time had passed that Xie Ting’an’s memory of the thumb ring’s appearance had become a bit fuzzy, never expecting to see it again one day.

Looking at the thumb ring and then at Gu Mingchen, Xie Ting’an knew clearly that in front of outsiders, this thumb ring was still a symbol of the Xie family’s authority. Now that he took it out, he must have a request.

“Speak directly.” Xie Ting’an met Gu Mingchen’s eyes, still smiling, concise and to the point.

“I want to use this ring to ask you to be a witness.” Gu Mingchen met Xie Ting’an’s gaze, standing straight, his slightly cold eyes showing a hint of focus.

Xie Ting’an instantly guessed Gu Mingchen’s intention.

Gu Mingchen didn’t want to break off the engagement. As long as Xie Ting’an was the witness, even if the Sun family had the guts, they wouldn’t dare bring up breaking off the engagement again.

What about the task?

Xie Ting’an’s gaze lingered on the gold thumb ring, and before he could speak, he saw the slender hand opposite lightly flick the thumb ring, sending it flying through the air. Xie Ting’an reached out and caught the slightly warm thumb ring steadily.

“I, I also hope Mr. Xie will be the witness.” Sun Zong gritted his teeth, forcing himself to say the words against his will.

Even if he hadn’t seen the gold thumb ring, Sun Zong had heard Gu Qiu boast about how “the Xie family lost the item representing the head of the family” to him. Now that Gu Mingchen took out the treasure to remain the Sun family’s son-in-law, if he didn’t agree, it would be like going against the Xie family.

Sun Zong, with a swollen face, knew he had already offended this Mr. Xie. If he didn’t cooperate now, it would be a sure path to death.

Both sides were very cooperative, and after a long silence, Xie Ting’an put the gold thumb ring into his pocket.

“My Sun family acknowledges this engagement.” Sun Zong looked distressed.

“We acknowledge Gu Mingchen as the prospective son-in-law of the Sun family. With Mr. Xie as the witness, our Sun family will never cause trouble for Gu Mingchen or those around him because of this matter.”

Xie Ting’an nodded slightly, looking at Gu Mingchen.

“My Gu family also…” The old butler stepped forward excitedly, but before he could finish, a hand covered his mouth.

“Please, Mr. Xie, be the witness.” Gu Mingchen covered the old butler’s mouth, his expression stern.

“I, Gu Mingchen, here and now, want to break off the engagement with the Sun family.”

His words brought a silence to the surroundings, the bruised and battered thugs looking shocked, and Sun Zong stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened.

What did he say?

He wants to break off the engagement himself!!?

“Mmm mmm mmm!” The old butler was both angry and anxious, struggling to break free from his young master’s grip, almost twisting himself into a knot.

“Are you sure?” Xie Ting’an looked at the young man in front of him, questioning if Gu Mingchen had misspoken in his haste.

“There’s nothing more certain than this.” Gu Mingchen’s voice was cold, and under the intense gaze of the person in front of him, he awkwardly avoided Xie Ting’an’s eyes. Not knowing what he thought of, he raised his hand to wipe the side of his face.