She had seen other Flower Fairy Sisters act coquettishly before—just like this, with soft voices—so she imitated their manner.
Yu Qing rarely acted this coy in the past. With her somewhat spoiled temperament, even when she acted cute, it never carried this delicate, melting quality.
Hearing her younger daughter admit fault with such sweet coquettishness, how could Qin Meng possibly stay angry?
“Qingqing, darling, Dad and Mom will always love you. Nothing will change even when Jiaojiao returns. You’re both our precious daughters!”
“Mhm! I’ll get along well with Sister Jiaojiao.”
Qin Meng nearly shed tears of relief at her words.
Over the following days, Yu Song occasionally visited to chat with her, while Qin Meng personally attended to her care daily.
Bai Jiaojiao actually wanted to visit too, but fearing it might upset Yu Qing again, she decided to wait until Yu Qing had fully recovered.
One day, Yu Song suddenly called from the office, saying that someone from the Xie family was coming to visit Yu Qing at the hospital.
Qin Meng was startled—the Xie family was completely different from the Yu and Bai families. They were genuine old-money aristocrats, a clan standing at the very pinnacle of the social pyramid.
Truth be told, Yu Qing’s verbal engagement to the young master of the Xie family only came about through the grace of the late Yu Yeye.
The Yu family ancestors were all medical practitioners, with Yu Yeye being a renowned National Medical Expert. When it reached their father’s generation, the second son Yu Bai inherited the medical legacy, while the eldest son Yu Song chose to venture into business.
Years ago, Yu Yeye had saved the grandfather of the Xie family’s young master—Xie Qingci’s father. Overjoyed, the old Xie patriarch verbally agreed to a marriage arrangement.
At the time, no specific candidate was designated for the engagement. By their sons’ generation, each had found their own desired marriage partners, so the engagement naturally passed down to Yu Qing’s generation.
Speaking of the young Xie master, Xie Yunzheng, he was the spitting image of his father Xie Qingzheng—completely detached from worldly affairs, wholly devoted to studying classics, with almost no social life or entertainment.
Xie Qingzheng was a university professor solely dedicated to academia, which was why the Xie family leadership ultimately passed to Xie Qingci instead.
By the time Yu’s Father and Xie Qingci each held power in their respective families, contact between the two households had become quite rare.
Xie Qingci was known as “Xie Fozi” because he always twirled a string of Black Agarwood Prayer Beads with his left hand, and because of his aloof, ascetic nature that kept him distant from women.
Xie Qingci was the child of Xie patriarch’s old age. Now just 28 years old, he already helmed a billion-dollar business empire, commanding wind and thunder in the commercial world.
With his status and position, one would think there was no type of woman he hadn’t encountered. Yet, Xie Qingci simply had no females who could get close to him.
When he first took over the Xie family, countless people—openly and covertly—tried to place women by his side, but he rejected every single one.
Gradually, rumors began circulating: some said he might have become a Buddhist disciple because the ruthless decisions made during his takeover left him feeling burdened by too much karmic debt; others whispered that Xie Qingci might actually prefer men…
But given that Yu Qing was hospitalized after a suicide attempt, even if the Xie family sent someone to visit, why would it be Xie Qingci himself?
Both Yu Song and Qin Meng were thoroughly perplexed. With Yu Song tied up at the office, he could only offer a few additional reminders.
When Qin Meng told Yu Qing about this, she showed no particular reaction—mainly because the original host had barely met Xie Qingci before and practically considered him a stranger.
“Mom.”
“What’s wrong, Qingqing?”
“I want to cancel the engagement. Can you and Dad help me talk to them about it?”
To successfully pursue Xie Qing Ci, the most crucial step was naturally to first extract the two of them from such a provocative relationship as future uncle and niece-in-law…
Qin Meng hadn’t been very supportive of this marriage to begin with. That Xie Yunzheng cared about nothing but his studies – her precious daughter would surely suffer if married into that family. Perhaps it was better not to climb such social heights!
“Alright, after you’re discharged from the hospital, your father and I will go cancel the engagement.”
“Thank you, Mom!”
Qin Meng offered a few more simple reminders about staying calm and being polite when meeting Xie Qing Ci later.
As they spoke, a knock came at the door.
[Host, the Emperor Lord is here! Go get him!]
Yu Qing suddenly felt nervous. She hadn’t seen him for so long, and never expected that when they met again, he would no longer be the lofty Emperor Lord of Qingfeng Mingyue.
Qin Meng opened the hospital room door, greeted the visitor, and quickly ushered him inside.
The bathroom stood just inside the entrance, with the hospital bed located further down a short corridor.
Yu Qing stared fixedly at the corner. After several footsteps echoed, the man’s tall figure appeared in her line of sight.
Xie Qing Ci wore a composed black Tang suit, his height appearing at least 185cm. He looked somewhat slender with cool, pale skin. Above his thin lips stood a tall nose bridge, framed by rimless glasses that partially obscured his delicate eyebrows and eyes, giving him an elegant appearance like cold pine.
The moment he entered, Xie Qing Ci precisely captured the gaze of the young girl on the hospital bed, lifting his eyes to meet hers.
His glasses concealed the momentary stunned expression in the man’s eyes. Xie Qing Ci lowered his eyelids slightly, masking the turbulent emotions swirling within.
His visit to the hospital today wasn’t actually for the purpose of visiting a patient.
His elder brother had truly sought his help, wanting him to sound out the Yu Family’s stance on the engagement. Xie Yunzheng had made clear his indifference to the marriage, but common courtesy demanded they first ascertain the Yu Family’s position.
The two families typically had almost no interaction, making an abrupt visit rather inappropriate.
With Yu Qing currently hospitalized, this provided a suitable pretext for a visit.
This matter should have been handled by the Xie family’s eldest brother himself, but Brother Xie was truly poor with words. Additionally, since Xie Qing Ci currently held authority in the Xie family, his presence would demonstrate greater importance.
Beyond work, Xie Qing Ci normally had no particular hobbies, his essence radiating desirelessness. Other matters and people generally concerned him little.
Regarding the Yu Family’s young lady, he searched his memories but found nothing particularly noteworthy. Having seen her from afar a few times before, his only impression was that she was quite attractive.
But the moment he saw the young girl just now, his heart – usually still as stagnant water – suddenly began pounding like war drums.
The vague face in his memory suddenly became vivid and clear. Though it was the same person, why did she now appear so breathtakingly beautiful that he couldn’t tear his eyes away?
Xie Qing Ci had always practiced self-restraint and propriety, yet never expected to lose his composure in public for the first time in twenty-eight years. Though rationally aware, he found himself utterly unable to control his behavior.
Yu Qing sat upright on the bed maintaining eye contact with him until Qin Meng closed the door and returned with water, breaking the subtle atmosphere between them.
“Please have a seat, Mr. Xie! My daughter has been mischievous and foolish, troubling you to make this trip.”
Earlier, Yu Song and Qin Meng had pondered extensively without understanding why Xie Qing Ci would make this visit, leaving them to choose their words carefully.
Xie Qing Ci nodded in gratitude and took a seat on a nearby chair.
“You are too kind, Madam Yu. The Yu and Xie families have long been friends, so it is only natural for me to visit Miss Yu while she is hospitalized. Originally, my elder brother intended to come himself, but he is tied up with university affairs and entrusted me to visit on his behalf. I hope you and Miss Yu will understand.”
His words were impeccably phrased, devoid of any arrogance one might expect from someone of his status. Instead, they were courteous and humble, leaving no room for criticism.