“Later, my dad said that if little Ranran dared to be with Qingchen, he would disown her. A few days passed, and then Ranran said she and Qingchen had broken up.”

Xuan Yanyu laughed and said, “I asked Qingchen about it, and he said Ranran had asked him to play along with a act, but he didn’t know the specifics of what it was about.”

Yan Yunning clicked her tongue. “He didn’t even know what it was about, and he still played the role of her boyfriend?”

“Well, Qingchen watched Ranran grow up from childhood. When she went to him for help, he naturally wouldn’t refuse.”

Yan Yunning bit her lower lip lightly, finding it hard to believe. “Could it be that Ranran wanted to be with A’Ci, but she knew that Uncle would never agree to her marrying A’Ci?”

“So she found the divorced Qi Qingchen to play along with the act. After all, between a divorced man with a child and a single bodyguard, most people would choose the latter.”

“Clever.” Xuan Yanyu pinched her little nose and sighed softly. “My dad isn’t foolish either. A little investigation and he understood the whole story from beginning to end. He also found out that Xiao Ting likes A’Ci.”

“He didn’t try to persuade A’Ci to break up with Ranran. He simply waited until Ranran was away, and then gave both A’Ci and Xiao Ting a card each, telling them to find a way to make Ranran give up.”

“Of course, my dad also said that A’Ci could choose not to accept the card — only that he would immediately dismiss him if he didn’t. And if Ranran refused to break up with A’Ci, he would cancel all her cards, reclaim her shares in the company, and never let Ranran set foot in the Xuan residence again.”

“He told A’Ci not to think about scheming after Ranran’s money. My dad, once he makes up his mind, he does exactly what he says. Everyone in the Xuan household knows that.”

Yan Yunning took another bite of the chicken leg. “This wasn’t persuading a breakup — this was forcing one.”

Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Actually, my dad’s intent was that if A’Ci hadn’t accepted the card, and could prove he wouldn’t make Ranran suffer in the future, he would compromise and stop interfering in their relationship. Unfortunately, A’Ci accepted.”

“And then he brought up breaking up with Ranran, and on the third day, he was already with Xiao Ting.”

Xuan Yanyu sneered. “It’s understandable, really. A’Ci’s family situation is average — at home there are only his elderly grandparents. After being dismissed, finding another high-paying job would be very difficult. So of course he would compromise.”

What none of them knew, however, was that the card Xuan Shi’an had given A’Ci had been placed by A’Ci beneath Xuan Zhaoran’s bedsheets.

Yan Yunning nibbled at her mochi in small bites. “Is it possible that A’Ci didn’t want Ranran to be with him without any blessings, with their living conditions dropping sharply — that he compromised for Ranran’s sake?”

Xuan Yanyu curled his lips and laughed aloud. “Without blessings, he could have worked hard to earn my dad’s approval. As for living conditions dropping — honestly, isn’t that just him being unwilling to put in the effort? If he tried a little harder, couldn’t he keep Ranran’s living conditions from changing?”

Yan Yunning swallowed what was in her mouth and pressed her lips together slightly. “Not everyone who tries hard can build a good life for themselves.”

The man turned to look at Yan Yunning, his tone earnest and certain. “But without trying, you will definitely end up worse off — isn’t that right?”

Yan Yunning gave an undeniable nod. Effort might not always be rewarded, but without effort and without trying, there would certainly be nothing gained.

“If we ever have a daughter, I wouldn’t agree to her marrying a family bodyguard either. I’ve raised such an outstanding daughter — how could I bear to watch her marry a bodyguard and live a hard life? Besides, their ways of living have been so different from childhood. Once the passion fades, the conflicts will all come pouring out.”

“Ahem.” Yan Yunning was caught off guard by Xuan Yanyu’s words. She teased him with a smile. “Aren’t you thinking a bit too far ahead? Who said anything about us having a daughter?”

Xuan Yanyu glanced at her languidly. “A son is fine too. I’m not picky — whatever we have, I’ll take.”

“A daughter would be best,” the man added lazily.

“……” Yan Yunning blinked, smiling with a mischievous glint. “Would it be alright if it wasn’t your child?”

Xuan Yanyu gave a strained smile. “Yan Yunning!!!”

“I’m right here,” the girl giggled. “You said it yourself — you’re not picky.”

The man reached out and tickled the soft spot at Yan Yunning’s waist, humming lightly. “Still deliberately trying to rile me up?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I was wrong.” Yan Yunning laughed and dodged away from him.

Xuan Yanyu pulled her into his arms. Yan Yunning looked up at him and poked at his Adam’s apple with her finger. “My brother is coming back in a few days.”

The man dipped his head and pecked her on the lips. “Jingjing?”

“Mm.” Yan Yunning smacked her lips. “Once my brother’s back, I’ll have to go stay at his place.”

Xuan Yanyu thought about it for a moment, then made up his mind. “It’s fine — I’ll come stay at your brother’s place too.”

Yan Yunning: “……?”

The next morning, Yan Yunning had just finished breakfast and returned to her room when Wen Zhilu called at precisely the right moment.

As soon as the call connected, the young man’s muffled voice came through. “Yanyan, are you up? Achoo——”

The sound of nose-blowing followed through the receiver. Yan Yunning listened and frowned. “How did it get worse again?”

Wen Zhilu’s voice was sticky and thick. “Mm, I had the air conditioning on too cold.”

Yan Yunning’s brow furrowed even tighter. She switched to speakerphone, set the phone down, and began packing her bag while asking, “Have you eaten?”

The young man sniffled weakly. “No — I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Go straight to the hospital. I’ll buy some millet congee and meat buns and meet you there.”

“Mm… Achoo……” Wen Zhilu coughed a few more times.

Seeing this, Yan Yunning tucked two packs of tissues into her bag, gave him a few reminders, and then ended the call and went downstairs.

First floor lobby.

Spotting the man lounging lazily against the sofa, Yan Yunning walked over and asked with a bright smile, “How come you haven’t gone to the office?”

Xuan Yanyu handed his phone to Yan Yunning.

Yan Yunning’s eyes paused. “Has Shiyao gone insane?”

She had gone live and exposed her relationship with Qi Qingchen, as well as how Old Master Qi had looked down on her, and how Qi Qingchen, when he was ill, had given benefits to Xuan Yanyu in exchange for him looking after her.

But Xuan Yanyu had taken the money and not looked after her — and had instead caused her to be hospitalized three times.

She was a woman, pregnant at that, and her boyfriend had clearly asked Xuan Yanyu to take good care of her, yet Xuan Yanyu had made her work as a servant in the house, sleeping in the servants’ quarters, and so on.

There was a clear intent behind it all: if she was going to suffer, she would make sure Xuan Yanyu and Old Master Qi didn’t get off easily either.

The live stream had only been running a short while before it was forcibly taken down, but a great many viewers had taken deep pity on her.

Because of Xuan Yanyu’s fame, Shiyao was no stranger to the internet either. In the brief time the stream had been live, her account had gained several million followers.

Yan Yunning took Xuan Yanyu’s phone and glanced at the comments. Online opinions were all over the place — the majority were speaking up for Shiyao, and the comment sections on both the Xuan Group’s and the Qi Group’s official accounts were absolutely unbearable to read.

Some netizens even commented that Xuan Yanyu deserved to have been in that car accident, calling for a boycott of all products under the Xuan Group banner.

Many people were copying and pasting the message along.

Online mob mentality was truly terrifying.

A woman, pregnant and wronged — it really did stir people’s sympathy.

But there were also clear-headed netizens: [He was in a car accident himself — how was he supposed to look after you?]

[Setting everything else aside, didn’t little President Xuan get into that car accident because of Shiyao? Doesn’t that count as looking after her?? “Eating popcorn.” “Eating popcorn.”]