The slap came too quickly.
Neither Tang Yushen nor Xia Qiaoxi had time to react.
“Xia Qiaoxi, where the hell have you been!” Xia’s father raised his arm angrily, ready to deliver a second slap.
Tang Yushen grabbed his wrist firmly. “This is a hospital. If you want to discipline your daughter, Uncle Xia, you should choose a different location.”
“Who are you?” Xia Qingfeng winced in pain. “You’re the one who took my daughter away last night! Do you know what day it is today?”
“I haven’t introduced myself yet. My surname is Tang, Tang Yushen.” After speaking, Tang Yushen released his hand.
Tang Yushen?
There was only one famously prominent Tang Yushen in Jing City—the eldest son of the Tang family, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, deeply cherished by the entire Tang household. It was said that he was as elusive as a dragon, rarely making public appearances.
And he was actually with Xia Qiaoxi.
Xia Qiaoxi was usually strictly disciplined. When did the two of them get to know each other?
“So it’s Young Master Tang.” Xia Qingfeng forced an awkward smile. “May I ask what your relationship with my daughter is? Why did you hide her away last night?”
Tang Yushen looked down, his eyes filled with heartache as he gazed at Xia Qiaoxi’s reddened cheek, where the clear imprint of fingers was visible.
The Xia family elders truly showed no mercy when hitting their own daughter.
It was exactly as Heluyi had said—they merely treated Xia Qiaoxi as a tool to climb the social ladder.
“Does it hurt?” Tang Yushen asked softly.
“Yes,” Xia Qiaoxi replied weakly, as if she had found support. “It hurts terribly.”
Tang Yushen gently blew air toward her small face.
Xia Qingfeng stared at their interaction. “Young Master Tang, this might not be appropriate. Although the wedding has been canceled, my daughter is still engaged to Third Young Master He. Such intimacy between you two won’t sit well with the He family, and it won’t do my daughter’s reputation any good if word gets out.”
“The wedding has been canceled, and it won’t happen again.” Tang Yushen held Xia Qiaoxi’s hand. “But I can marry her.”
“What?”
Xia Qingfeng froze.
Tang Yushen wanted to marry Xia Qiaoxi?
Xia Qiaoxi had been under his close watch all along. How could she possibly have hooked up with Tang Yushen?
“Young Master Tang, isn’t this decision a bit rash?” Xia Qingfeng glanced sideways at Xia Qiaoxi. “My daughter… she and Third Young Master He have been engaged since childhood…”
“Whatever the He family can offer you, I can provide as well. There’s no need for you to approach the He family—I’ll handle that myself. Right now, I only have one request…” Tang Yushen lifted Xia Qiaoxi’s hand. “I’m taking her with me.”
Xia Qingfeng asked, “To… to where?”
“To live together.”
Live together?
Xia Qiaoxi looked up. Live together?
Shouldn’t such an important matter require her opinion?
“Although I fell in love with your daughter at first sight and intend to marry no one but her, she doesn’t have feelings for me yet. We need to live together to develop our relationship.” Tang Yushen looked down at Xia Qiaoxi, his eyes filled with deep affection, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Love at first sight?
The lighting on the rooftop last night had been quite dim!
Was his eyesight that good?
She vaguely remembered that when she ran to the rooftop last night, Tang Yushen was sitting there alone, drinking himself drunk.
Xia Qingfeng stood frozen in place, completely bewildered by everything.
He tentatively asked, “Did you two… last night… sleep together?”
“No.” Xia Qiaoxi touched her stinging cheek, her eyes red as she answered, “Dad, I didn’t…”
Her voice trembled with unshed tears, “I really didn’t, please don’t say that…”
The poor thing was about to cry.
Tang Yushen cast a cold, sharp glance at Xia Qingfeng. “Uncle Xia, do you agree with my proposal?”
“This isn’t about whether I agree or not. The He family…” Xia Qingfeng hesitated, “Young Master Tang, this isn’t something I can decide alone.”
Whether it was the He family or the Tang family, both were far beyond Xia Qiaoxi’s social standing.
That He Luyi was in poor health and could die at any moment.
But Tang Yushen was different. This young master who grew up at the foot of the imperial city clearly had a robust constitution, though his eyes seemed to have slight dark circles.
The hospital room door opened.
He Luyi’s personal assistant emerged. “Our young master says that since this incident occurred before the wedding, it indicates his incompatibility with Miss Xia. Their engagement is hereby canceled. The betrothal gifts need not be returned—consider them a gift to Miss Xia. Gentlemen, the young master needs rest, please leave.”
Just like that…
It was resolved?
Xia Qiaoxi glanced timidly at Tang Yushen. Could this heart condition be fake too?
Since childhood, her father had drilled into her that she would marry He Luyi when she grew up. Thus, she had no freedom—only endless studying. Male friends were forbidden, social interactions strictly controlled, and she didn’t even have a single cent to her name.
The Xia family had flourished under the He family’s patronage. After all the He family had invested initially, were they really letting her off so easily?
Without even meeting her once.
Tang Yushen didn’t hesitate either, taking Xia Qiaoxi’s hand and turning to leave.
Hospitals—Xia Qiaoxi had disliked them in her previous life.
In that life, he had defended the nation on battlefields, often hanging by a thread. She had dreaded any news of him being in the hospital.
Feared he would lie on a sickbed, never to recover.
Leaving her alone.
“Slow down…” Xia Qiaoxi hurried after him in her high heels.
Was there really such a rush?
In the elevator, Xia Qingfeng followed them in.
The three stood inside, Tang Yushen positioned between them, separating father and daughter.
“Young Master Tang, your affection for Qiaoqiao is her good fortune. But you two living together… this matter…” The more Xia Qingfeng thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
The He family had generously let it go just like that.
The news of the He-Xia alliance had spread throughout Jing City. If Xia Qiaoxi suddenly married Tang Yushen, how would it sound when word got out?
“Uncle Xia, is there any reason to hesitate?” Tang Yushen couldn’t understand. “In what way am I inferior to that Third Young Master He?”
“Of course not! It’s just that the He-Xia engagement has been longstanding, while you two have only just met…”
“Hence the need to cohabit and develop feelings.” Tang Yushen tightened his grip on Xia Qiaoxi’s hand. “Xier, do you need to go home and get anything?”
“I…” Xia Qiaoxi hesitated, then said, “Yes.”
“Then we’ll head to the Xia residence first. On the way, Uncle Xia can ponder this slowly. I won’t disregard Xier’s reputation. The reason for the dissolved He-Xia engagement and her being with me last night—no one in Jing City knows.” Tang Yushen tilted his head. “Unless Uncle Xia spreads it.”
“I certainly won’t…”
Xia Qingfeng shook his head.
No wonder we couldn’t find anyone at the hotel last night, no wonder there was a group of people who went to the rooftop but were driven away.
The hotel we stayed at last night belongs to the Tang family.
After going out, Xia Qiaoxi was pulled into Tang Yushen’s car.
Their car followed Xia Qingfeng’s vehicle as they left the hospital.
Inside the car, the cold wind blew fiercely.
Tang Yushen touched Xia Qiaoxi’s cheek with the back of his hand, suppressing his heartache as he calmly asked, “Does your father often hit you?”