The Feng family didn't keep him waiting long and quickly got down to business.
Mr. Feng said apologetically, "Yuanming, the two children have been engaged for some time now. Logically speaking, I shouldn't have made such a request when Zifan was in trouble. But as you know, I'm currently competing for a position. If my son-in-law has such a big stain on his record, all my efforts will be in vain."
He looked at Xu Zifan and was surprised to find that Xu Zifan's expression was normal, without the slightest sign of being downcast. He was surprised for a moment, then paused and continued, "Yuanming, we are old friends, so I won't say anything more. As for the children's matter... let's just leave it at that."
Mr. Feng gave Mrs. Feng a wink, and Mrs. Feng took out the engagement tokens and placed them on the table.
Xu Yuanming's expression was not good, but he didn't say anything and prepared to return the token.
Xu Zhikai, standing nearby, grew anxious. In his past life, Xu Zifan and Feng Ya Hui married, with the husband managing external affairs and the wife handling domestic matters. The Xu and Feng families united, becoming a powerful support for Xu Zifan. After Xu Zifan became a general, both the Xu and Feng families rose in status. Moreover, the Feng family only had one daughter, and all their resources were passed down to Xu Zifan. How could he miss such an opportunity?
He hurriedly stood up, bent over to pour tea for everyone, and said with a smile, "Uncle, Aunt, please have some tea first. We can discuss things slowly, there's no rush." He personally handed the tea to Feng Ya Hui, saying, "Miss Feng, please have some tea."
Feng Ya-hui smiled and thanked him. Xu Yuan-ming squinted his eyes and said happily, "I haven't introduced you yet. This is my youngest son, Zhi-kai. I focused too much on Zi-fan before and neglected him. Otherwise, with his double A grades, he would definitely have performed even better. It's rare to find someone with such a good personality who doesn't hold grudges. He's a good kid."
The Feng family immediately understood his meaning and looked at Xu Zhikai.
Xu Zhikai is indeed handsome, but changing from a double S to a double A is not how you replace someone.
Besides, the Feng family is on the rise. Once Mr. Feng's position is promoted again, the Feng family will surely surpass the Xu family. It won't be difficult for them to find a better family for marriage alliance. Why get involved with the Xu family? Feng Ya-hui also looks down on the unknown Xu Zhi-kai.
Just as Mr. Feng was about to refuse, Xu Zifan suddenly reached out and picked up the engagement token on the table, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
Xu Zifan's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. "The Feng family disregarded past friendships, kicked us when we were down, and betrayed the arranged marriage. Feng Ya Hui despised her useless fiancé and turned to another man. Isn't this headline enough to grab attention? Tell me, if I personally stepped in and said a few words, would Uncle Feng still be able to win the position he was fighting for? Would any of those big families still be willing to form an alliance with the Feng family through marriage?"
Xu Yuanming shouted sternly, "Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Xu Zifan ignored him, tapping his fingers lightly on the table in a peculiar rhythm. He looked at Mr. Feng and smiled, "Uncle Feng, it was your Feng family that begged for a marriage alliance with my Xu family. What? Now that I'm in trouble, you want to kick me while I'm down and abandon my Xu family to fly away on your own?"
He leaned forward, looking into Mr. Feng's eyes with an intense sense of pressure, and said in a low voice as if bewitching him, "The Feng family and the Xu family are a community of shared interests, inseparable. I still have some influence. If you abandon the Xu family, I'm afraid you won't be able to withstand the public outcry, and it will be a loss for you."
Mr. Feng's face darkened. "What kind of compensation do you want?"
Xu Zifan smiled calmly, "It's simple. The marriage alliance remains the same; only the person will be changed to Xu Zhikai. The Feng family and the Xu family will always be in the same boat; everything will remain the same as always."
The Xu family was astonished and couldn't understand why he had suddenly helped Xu Zhikai.
Thinking about it, it might be because he was already crippled, and in order to avoid going to Huangsha Star, he could only please the Xu family heir and the family, so I felt relieved.
They remained silent, and with Xu Zifan stepping forward to put the Feng family in a difficult position, a deal could only benefit the Xu family.
Xu Zhikai was the only one who was very vigilant, but since Xu Zifan was helping him, he couldn't refute it. He could only wait until things were over before trying to figure out Xu Zifan's intentions.
Mrs. Feng's face darkened. She preemptively appealed to Mr. Feng's emotions, saying, "Zifan, you've come to our house often these past two years. How have I treated you? Haven't I treated you like my own son? We didn't want to be too harsh when we brought this up, but you should know why this happened. If you hadn't done something wrong, we would never have asked to annul the engagement. Now you're threatening us, wanting to break off all ties. Who's really disregarding our past relationship? Do you really want to do this?"
Xu Zifan looked directly into Feng's eyes, tapped the table, and said, "There's no point in saying more, Uncle, you make the decision!"
Mr. Feng looked at him coldly, "Fine, let Xiao Hui and Zhi Kai get engaged. Don't regret it."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Of course I won't regret it. I'll just wait to attend their wedding. I hope Uncle Feng keeps his word and doesn't try to go back on his promise, or I won't be polite."
Feng Ya-hui and her mother were both panicked! Feng Ya-hui blurted out "Dad," forgetting even to maintain her composure. Her mother, even more exasperated, shoved her father, yelling, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
But Mr. Feng showed no intention of changing his mind, and scolded, "Do you want me to ruin the Feng family's reputation if I don't agree? Fine, I've made up my mind, don't say any more."
Seeing this, Xu Yuanming quickly said, "Deqing, please take this token back. It hasn't been easy for our two families to be friends for so many years; we've always been as close as family. From now on, let's not speak like that. Zifan is a child who is ignorant and has offended us; I'll discipline him later."
Mr. Feng put away the token, rose to take his leave.
He left with his wife and daughter, seething with anger. Only then did Xu Zifan stop tapping on the table, open his smart device, log into the Star Network, and send a message using his social media account.
[Xu Zifan: My engagement with Feng Ya-hui has been dissolved. Feng Ya-hui is now engaged to Xu Zhi-kai.]
This blunt statement clearly explains the situation of Feng Ya-hui's fiancé changing. Even if no one knows the cause and effect, the result is clear.
The internet erupted in uproar. Xu Yuanming, seeing his actions, immediately roared, "What are you doing now? How can you say something like this out loud? How can you announce it at such a sensitive time? Delete it immediately and apologize, right now!"
Xu Zifan closed the StarNet, shrugged, stood up, and smiled, "This news is something I can't let anyone see? I think it's perfect for me. I don't want to be blamed for anything for no reason anymore. The Feng family is incredibly snobbish and opportunistic. In a way, they're a perfect match for you. Don't separate and go off to harm others. Let's be in-laws for life."
Previously, the Xu family members thought he was trying to curry favor with the family, but now, upon hearing his words, their expressions changed.
"Xu Zifan! You've gone too far!" Xu Yuanming, having been repeatedly provoked by his two younger brothers and illegitimate son, finally couldn't hold back any longer and ordered the gray wolf to attack.
The gray wolf growled and pounced on Xu Zifan.
A fierce glint flashed in Xu Zifan's eyes. He took out a black iron knife from his spatial storage, and instead of retreating, he advanced, accurately finding the gray wolf's right eye and thrusting it out with lightning speed.
"Awooo!" The gray wolf let out a shrill scream, spraying blood all over Xu Zifan's face. Xu Yuanming also instantly covered his right eye, screamed, and all the color drained from his face.
The bond between a contracted beast and its master is very deep. If the contracted beast is injured, the master will feel the pain as if it were his own and will be affected to a certain extent.
Xu Zifan's ruthlessness was tantamount to touching Xu Yuanming's sore spot. He took action himself and stepped forward to grab Xu Zifan's neck. Xu Zifan flipped backward on the spot and shouted, "Go ahead and make a scene if you want everyone to know. I've already started a live broadcast."
Xu Zifan pointed the smart device on his wrist at them, and the Xu family members instantly moved out of the camera's range and calmed down. Xu's second uncle angrily shouted, "Turn it off, this farce should end."
Xu Zifan stood up and retreated step by step to the door. He didn't turn off the live stream until he got into the car and drove out of the Xu family's house. Before turning it off, he breathed a sigh of relief at the camera and said with a bitter smile, "High talent means being surrounded by admirers, while poor talent means being killed to silence you. It's a pity that the person who murdered me has not been found yet. For my own life, I will pursue this to the end."
After he finished speaking, he went to a remote, desolate place, a place where he would definitely not be photographed, and entered his own space.
His ambiguous statement once again seemed to reveal a lot of information, which is chilling to think about.
At first, netizens on Xingwang were still criticizing him. Even though the Feng family broke off the engagement, some people thought the Feng family was materialistic for replacing him with their illegitimate brother. But most people were still criticizing Xu Zifan for reaping what he sowed.
But that live stream can be replayed as long as the owner doesn't delete it.
As more and more netizens watched the video after hearing the news, they were all shocked by the menacing expressions on the Xu family's faces. Then, they saw Xu Zifan cautiously using the live stream to escape in his car, and finally, with his face covered in blood, he addressed the camera with those words. People's opinions began to shift.
What exactly happened? The Xu family members looked like they wanted to kill Xu Zifan? Did they have to be so ruthless to punish Xu Zifan for using banned drugs?
Put yourself in their shoes. If they did such a thing, their parents might scold or beat them, or even give up on them, but surely they wouldn't be so ruthless as to kill them? The Xu family are officials; are all officials this vicious?
Xu Zifan also claimed that he was murdered, and that he had previously denied using banned drugs at school, even saying that the beneficiaries were the ones who harmed him.
Thinking about it this way, Xu Zhikai's appearance in the Xu family clearly signifies his return to the ancestral line. He even replaced Xu Zifan as Feng Ya Hui's fiancé—isn't he the biggest beneficiary of this?!
If Xu Zhikai murdered Xu Zifan, and the Xu family killed Xu Zifan to prevent the news from leaking, that seems to be the most reasonable speculation!
The StarNet was in an uproar again. The issue of banned drugs had faded from public attention. People were more concerned about whether Xu Yuanming, the official, was acting arbitrarily, whether Xu Zhikai had plotted against Xu Zifan, and what role the Feng family had played in all of this. Xu Zifan suddenly retreated to the back of the group, leaving them to bear all the storms of criticism.
The atmosphere at the Xu family residence was heavy; they had mobilized all their resources but still couldn't find Xu Zifan. The gray wolf's wound had been treated; the doctor said it had lost an eye, the knife had gone too deep, and there was no way to save it. Xu Yuanming, because of his contract with the gray wolf, would also experience prolonged pain in his right eye until the wound in the wolf's right eye healed.
Although it didn't have a substantial impact on Xu Yuanming, the pain in his right eye filled him with rage, making him want to kill Xu Zifan.
Uncle Xu Er saw through his thoughts and said solemnly, "Brother, we can't touch Xu Zifan anymore. We can only appease him for now and we must not let him slander the family again."