Chapter 26: Plans to Leave

After Xi Ming confronted Xi Songkai, the latter never contacted Xi Ming again, nor did he contact Shi Chan. However, Xi Songkai’s son, Xi Hanrong, sent Shi Chan a short message to express his apologies.

Shi Chan had only met Xi Hanrong once, on his first day at the Xi family, and was not familiar with him. After receiving the message, he showed it to Xi Ming.

Xi Ming had no particular malice toward Xi Hanrong but wasn’t close to him either. Moreover, Xi Ming had no intention of forgiving Xi Songkai, so he decided not to have Shi Chan reply. Hanrong did not send any follow-up messages.

For a whole month, nothing significant happened. Shi Chan treated Xi Ming daily, not only reducing Xi Ming’s radiation intensity but also refining the energy in his body, allowing Shi Chan to elevate his cultivation to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement.

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One day, Xi Ming glanced at the footage from the surveillance cameras he had installed throughout the Xi family residence and spoke to Shi Chan, “Someone’s at the door.”

Shi Chan, who was helping Xi Ming regulate his body, looked toward Xi Ming’s wrist screen and frowned. “Why is it her?”

Standing at the main gate was Li Manman.

Since Shi Chan had severed ties with Shi Wen and Li Manman, the two had not contacted him.

Shi Wen was cold and detached, so Shi Chan could understand why he didn’t reach out. But Li Manman, who was always sentimental, not contacting Shi Chan even once surprised him. He suspected that Shi Wen, fearing that initiating contact with Shi Chan would lower his status, had likely forbidden Li Manman from contacting him. After all, the only one who could suppress Li Manman was Shi Wen.

As it turned out, Shi Chan’s guess was mostly correct. After Shi Chan moved into the Xi family, Shi Wen grew angrier the more he thought about it. He believed that arranging Shi Chan’s marriage to Xi Ming had elevated Shi Chan’s social standing, but Shi Chan failed to appreciate his “kind intentions.”

Shi Chan severing ties with them deeply embarrassed Shi Wen. Whenever Li Manman wanted to contact Shi Chan, Shi Wen stopped her and even made her block Shi Chan on her communication device. As a result, neither of them had reached out to Shi Chan all this time.

In Shi Wen’s mind, without the family’s support, Shi Chan would undoubtedly suffer grievances in the powerful Xi family and eventually come crawling back to him. However, to Shi Wen’s frustration, Shi Chan never contacted them. Although he was angry, Shi Wen spent most of his time delighting in the growing wealth of his family.

The Shi family, having initially received resources and connections from the Xi family, expanded rapidly and was on the verge of transitioning from a third-tier to a second-tier family. They had even prepared the documentation for official recognition as a second-tier family.

However, the Xi family recently faced some internal issues. Their enterprises were affected by factional conflicts, and small, resource-dependent families like the Shi family suffered immensely. The Shi family, having risen so quickly, now faced significant crises.

Shi Wen had Xi Songkai’s contact information. Seeing his family’s businesses plummet, he hurriedly called Xi Songkai, hoping the Xi family would help out for Shi Chan’s sake. But after Xi Ming exposed Xi Songkai’s motives and seized Shi Chan’s shares, Xi Songkai found himself struggling in the internal power struggle. He had entirely forgotten about the Shi family and, seeing Shi Wen’s name, vented some of his frustration on him.

If it weren’t for Shi Wen’s repeated assurances that he could convince Shi Chan to transfer his shares, Xi Songkai wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to force Shi Chan into the marriage. Now, with no shares in hand and his other strategies poorly executed, Xi Songkai was struggling, and his rivals had already taken several bites out of his resources.

For the Shi family, the Xi family was a towering giant. Even unintentional ripples from the Xi family had once thrown the Shi family into turmoil. Now, with Xi Songkai deliberately targeting them, the Shi family was on the brink of collapse.

Although few people knew the details of the Xi family’s internal affairs, Shi Wen could deduce from Xi Songkai’s abrupt attitude shift that something had gone wrong on Shi Chan’s end. Furious, Shi Wen tried to contact Shi Chan directly, only to be met with rejection—Shi Chan had long blocked him. Shi Wen then used Li Manman’s device to reach out, but as soon as Shi Chan heard his voice, he hung up and blocked the number. With no other options, Shi Wen finally sent Li Manman to plead with Shi Chan.

Shi Chan knew none of these details but could guess the general situation.

If the Shi family hadn’t run into trouble, Shi Wen would never have sent Li Manman to him.

Even though he knew Li Manman was here with a request, Shi Chan still opened the door.

“Chan Chan…” Li Manman, visiting a first-tier family estate for the first time, seemed timid. She hesitated before calling out to Shi Chan, her voice tinged with apprehension. Seeing Shi Chan’s indifferent expression, she followed him inside with a look of disappointment.

“What brings you here?” Shi Chan got straight to the point after leading her to the living room.

“I…” Li Manman seemed overwhelmed by Shi Chan’s coldness. Her eyes reddened before she even spoke. Looking down at her wrist communicator, she remembered her mission from Shi Wen and forced herself to stay composed. “Chan Chan, how have you been during this time?”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit late to be asking that?” Shi Chan found her words amusing.

Li Manman looked visibly hurt by Shi Chan’s question, her expression briefly filled with guilt. She continued softly, “Your father and I have missed you very much…”

“There’s no need for these pleasantries,” Shi Chan interrupted Li Manman’s insincere words. “I told you when I left the Shi family that we’re done. Whatever happens to the Shi family now has nothing to do with me. Coming to me is pointless.”

“You ungrateful brat!” A furious voice erupted from Li Manman’s wrist communicator. It was Shi Wen. “The Shi family’s current predicament is all because of you! If you hadn’t offended the Xi family’s head, how could he have targeted us?”

Shi Chan’s expression darkened. “Shi Wen, don’t forget—we’ve severed ties. Whatever trouble you’re in now is your own doing. If you’re being targeted, it’s because you’re weak. Don’t try to take it out on me.”

Shi Wen seemed momentarily stunned by Shi Chan’s retort but soon recovered. His tone turned sinister. “Don’t forget you agreed to marry into the Xi family willingly. I have recordings of our conversations. If you don’t resolve this matter, I’ll send the recordings to your Alpha. Let’s see how he reacts to a scheming Omega.”

Li Manman flinched at Shi Wen’s words. Her gaze, previously on Shi Chan, became conflicted and averted.

Noticing her reaction, Shi Chan sneered inwardly, unsurprised. Ignoring her, he responded coldly to Shi Wen. “Go ahead and send it. I won’t be fixing anything for the Shi family. Don’t ever show up in front of me again. We’re strangers now—don’t try to claim any ties.”

The term “claim ties” deeply stung both Shi Wen and Li Manman. Shi Wen could be heard fuming on the other end, while Li Manman began to cry.

“Madam,” Shi Chan addressed Li Manman, “please leave.”

“Chan Chan…” Li Manman called out tearfully, her voice trembling. Her teary eyes met Shi Chan’s indifferent gaze, her heart aching. She couldn’t understand why her child had severed ties with the family or why the relationship with his father was now so hostile.

Shi Chan frowned. “Leave when you’re ready.” With that, he turned and went upstairs, ignoring the woman sitting in the living room.

At the upstairs landing, Xi Ming sat silently in his wheelchair, listening to the commotion below. When Shi Chan came upstairs, Xi Ming hesitated but didn’t retreat to his room.

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Shi Chan paused briefly upon seeing Xi Ming sitting upright. Then he walked over and wheeled him into the room.

Xi Ming placed his hand over Shi Chan’s, completely enveloping it. “I’m fine,” Shi ChanMatched to a Violent Alpha as an Omega Chapter 2 said, his voice steady. Although Shi Chan’s tone was calm, his eyes revealed a hint of disappointment. “I’ve known her character all along. When Shi Wen and I were together, his thoughts always mattered more to her than mine.” Still, hearing Shi Wen threaten to destroy him, with Li Manman silently condoning it, left Shi Chan disheartened again.

But perhaps this was for the best—now he could sever ties with the Shi family without any lingering guilt.

“What happened to the Shi family?” Shi Chan asked, changing the subject. Though his earlier words had been resolute, he genuinely didn’t know what trouble the Shi family faced.

“Xi Songkai couldn’t get the shares from us, so he’s taking his frustration out on Shi Wen. The Shi family’s assets have shrunk by two-thirds,” Xi Ming explained, having just checked their situation.

“Oh.” Shi Chan didn’t show much reaction, as it had nothing to do with him. After all, it was Shi Wen who had chosen to align himself with Xi Songkai.

Seeing that Shi Chan wasn’t particularly upset, Xi Ming didn’t offer any comforting words. In fact, a small, dark part of him was satisfied—now Shi Chan had no family to rely on and would have to depend on him.

“How much longer until my radiation levels drop below the safety threshold?” Xi Ming asked, pulling Shi Chan into his arms and inhaling the subtle fragrance of his hair.

By now, Shi Chan was used to Xi Ming’s affectionate gestures. Nestled comfortably against Xi Ming’s firm chest, he used his spiritual senses to assess Xi Ming’s body. “At most, fifteen days. Your radiation levels will definitely drop below the threshold by then.”

Radiation intensity was essentially the strength of energy leaking outward. While Shi Chan couldn’t fully refine all the destructive energy in Xi Ming’s body, he could easily handle the majority of the overflow.

“Good,” Xi Ming replied, tightening his hold on Shi Chan. His chest vibrated as he spoke. “Fifteen days from now, we’ll leave this place.”

Shi Chan looked up in surprise, not expecting to leave the capital star so soon. Nevertheless, he agreed, “Alright.” There was a hint of unease in his eyes. After twenty years of a relatively stable life, it seemed change was inevitable.

But with Xi Ming by his side, perhaps he wouldn’t feel so lonely this time.