He hadn't known why he'd shaken his head like that.
But thinking back, it felt right—no more hiding, no more worrying she might mind.
Si Nian seemed to sense her gaze; when she turned, the wariness in her eyes had eased, replaced by something wordless and almost companionable.
...
While the three of them happily tucked into hotpot,
the villa complex of Chengdu's Tianlong Real Estate was anything but warm.
Inside Tianlong Villas, downtown Rong City.
Cheng Xiaodong had come straight home the moment he left the detention center.
He stood before his family's grand European-style mansion,
the gilded iron gates parting to frame his haggard yet still-feral face.
The past week had been the most wretched of his pampered life.
In the living room the crystal chandelier blazed blindingly bright.
An Italian leather sofa was draped with a cashmere throw.
Mother Cheng sat dabbing her eyes; the instant she saw him she rushed over and seized his hands.
"Xiao Dong! You're finally home—you've lost so much weight… where's your father? Why didn't he pick you up?"
Cheng Xiaodong shook off her hands.
"Pick me up? Does Cheng Gui even remember he has a son?" His eyes were bloodshot, his voice thick with grievance and rage.
"Seven days in there—I waited for him every single day. Other inmates had families sending food or pulling strings to ease their suffering. Me? I was a stray dog no one wanted! Not one call from him, let alone anyone bailing me out!"
Spoiled since childhood, he'd never known such humiliation.
The more he spoke the wilder he became, tears splashing down. "All because I crossed that Jiang Cheng? Dad's so terrified of him he'd abandon his own flesh and blood! I'm his only son!"
His mother's heart broke; she threw her arms around his neck. "Don't blame your father. You can't say that—he's always doted on you. Please, stop this… behave…"
"Behave???" Cheng Xiaodong shoved her away. "Before, no matter what trouble I caused he fixed it. Now, because of Jiang Cheng, he leaves me to rot? I bet he's got another family—he doesn't want me anymore!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the villa door swung open.
Cheng Gui strode in, suited impeccably, his face so dark it looked ready to drip.
Clearly he'd heard every word.
Over this mess he'd bowed and scraped to countless people.
"What nonsense are you spouting!" He slammed his briefcase onto the coffee table, crystal tumblers clinking.
The sight of him flipped Cheng Xiaodong's hurt straight into fury; he rushed forward, finger jabbing. "Nonsense? Dare say you're not scared of Jiang Cheng? Dare say you didn't leave me in there on purpose?"
Smack!
A crisp slap rang through the living room.
Cheng Gui's hand still hung in the air, his chest heaving.
Cheng Xiaodong froze, cheek stinging, eyes wide. "You… you hit me again?"
Mother Cheng darted between them, terrified. "Old Cheng, have you lost it? He just came home!"
"So what if I hit you?" Cheng Gui's voice was hoarse with anger. "If you weren't my son you'd still be locked up! Who is Jiang Cheng? If he lifts a finger, Tianlong Real Estate is finished!"
He drew a sharp breath, gaze hard as steel. "Pack your things. First flight tomorrow to Demon Capital—apologize to Jiang Cheng in person!"
"No way!" Cheng Xiaodong's neck stiffened. "Why should I apologize? He set me up—"
Smack! A second slap, heavier than the first.
Cheng Gui stared him down, eyes icy. "Set you up? You courted death yourself! Go apologize—or get out of this house and never call yourself Cheng again!"
Cheng Xiaodong's lip split; tears of humiliation blurred his sight, but he dared not retort.
Meeting his father's fiercest glare ever, fear crept into him for the first time.
"Old Cheng, he's still a child…" his mother sobbed.
"Child?" Cheng Gui cut her off. "If we don't rein him in he'll drag the whole family down! No discussion—he goes!"
The chandelier's light spilled over Cheng Xiaodong's tear-streaked face.
Humiliation, grievance, and a flicker of dread churned inside him.
For the first time he realized the man his father so feared—Jiang Cheng—might truly be someone he couldn't afford to provoke.
Cheng Gui's hand still trembled slightly. Watching his son clutch his face, eyes full of resentment, the rage in his chest ebbed into weary heaviness.
"You think I didn't want to protect you?" His voice rasped, each word carrying smothered fire. "If I'd really washed my hands of you, do you think you'd be standing intact in this villa?"
Cheng Xiaodong snapped his head up, disbelief written across his face. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean?" Cheng Gui gave a cold laugh, walked to the sofa and sat down, pinching his brow hard with his fingertips. "Do you know Linda? The woman who used to tail you around and do plenty of dirty work for you."
Cheng Xiaodong's face changed slightly; he said nothing.
"She's gone mad." Cheng Gui's voice was soft, yet it struck Cheng Xiaodong like a heavy hammer. "Less than three days after she left the detention house, she was completely insane. Now she stays in the psychiatric ward, yelling 'Don't touch me' every day."
He lifted his eyes to his son, a clarity in them that was almost cruel. "You thought the things you did out there—drugging people, ordering others..." He paused, then spat out the rest, "—to rape them—would be forgotten?"
"Inside, she suffered the same fate." Cheng Gui's voice was as cold as ice. "And those few who followed you, jeering and laying hands on others—some had arms broken, others were beaten half-crippled. After release they don't even dare step outside their doors."
Cheng Xiaodong's face drained of color in a flash; his lips trembled, unable to utter a word.
Although he'd taken some abuse inside and been shoved a few times, compared with what Cheng Gui described, it was heaven and earth.
"Among all those people, only you were locked up for just seven days—no broken arms, no missing legs, not even a decent bruise." Cheng Gui stared at him, word by word. "You really think it was luck? It was Jiang Cheng giving me face! Had he wanted to press it, with what you did, you'd never have walked out so easily!"
"Let me tell you, the fact he let you come out safe and sound is already for the sake of our partnership—he gave me every bit of courtesy." Cheng Gui's tone turned sharp. "Stop clutching your grievances. Think of Linda, think of those dragged down by you. You should be grateful you're still standing here!"
Cheng Xiaodong froze on the spot, all color draining from his face, the grievance in his eyes slowly replaced by fear.
Only then did he realize he'd come out unscathed not because his father didn't care, but because... Jiang Cheng had shown mercy.
Mother Cheng, trembling at the side, clutched Xiao Dong's hand as tears streamed down. "Xiao Dong, did you hear? Listen to your father—go apologize to Mr. Jiang..."
Cheng Xiaodong opened his mouth, his throat seeming blocked; the pampered arrogance, before the stark reality, withered under Cheng Gui's ice-tempered gaze.
Fixing his still-stupefied son with a stare, Cheng Gui warned without a hint of warmth: "I'm warning you—drop that grievance right now!"
He picked up his phone, tapped the screen a few times, his voice hard as iron: "In a moment I'll have someone book you the earliest flight to Demon Capital. At dawn you'll be in front of Jiang Cheng."
"When you apologize, put your attitude low. What should and shouldn't be said—think it through before opening your mouth." He leaned forward slightly, his chest still heaving, evidently still agitated.
He went on: "I worked hard to connect this line. How tough this business is, you have no idea! Those eyeing Tianlong Real Estate are waiting like tigers to replace us. Do you know how many Chengdu companies covet us? If your conflict with him—Jiang Cheng—and the An Family makes us fall out, the rest will swarm like starving wolves and tear our whole family to the bone!"
"If you don't go apologize to Jiang Cheng and the An Family, then from today, don't call me your father! Tomorrow at dawn I'll transfer your household registration out of the Cheng family. From then on, die wherever you like—you'll have nothing to do with us!"
These words struck Cheng Xiaodong's heart like a sledgehammer.
Raised in luxury, he'd never imagined what being "kicked out of the Cheng family" would feel like, yet the ruthlessness in his father's eyes was no bluff.
It was a resolve that would truly be carried out.
Mother Cheng wept anxiously at the side, wanting to plead yet not daring, only clutching Xiao Dong's arm, silently begging him to yield.
Cheng Xiaodong's lips quivered; at last he deflated, shoulders sagging as he whimpered, no longer stubborn: "I'll... I'll go... I'll apologize, all right..."
Cheng Gui gave a cold snort, withdrew his gaze, and walked toward the study: "You'd better remember your words. If you mess it up tomorrow, don't set foot in this house again."
The study door slammed shut; only the sound of mother and son's sobs remained in the living room.
The crystal light fell on Cheng Xiaodong's trembling hands. For the first time he truly felt that the trouble he'd caused could no longer be settled by tantrums or tricks.