Bei Shi’an was furious, but Bei Qinghuan was very calm.
“Grandpa, I haven’t forgotten, but I think you have. When my father was dying, besides telling me to listen to you, didn’t he also tell you all to take care of my mother and me? Now you only want me to listen to you, but have you taken care of my mother and me?
“Even when my sister got married, you barely did anything, leaving my mother to handle everything alone. She spent all her money, and when she got sick, she couldn’t even afford to go to the hospital. For you to come here now and criticize me for not listening to my father is unreasonable.”
Bei Shi’an was choked speechless.
His turbid old eyes filled with disbelief.
He never realized this wretched girl had become so incredibly sharp-tongued.
She was completely impervious!
How could he get a hold on her?
As if she knew what he was thinking, Bei Qinghuan even smiled.
“You can call me a beast, call me unfilial, I don’t care. I’m a child without a father, so I’m just poorly raised, right? Besides, I have no money and no job right now; things can’t get any worse.
“If you keep causing a scene in my home, you’ll be the one to lose face in the end. The ultimate result will be that I become even more unwanted, won’t it? So, Grandpa, let’s just discuss how to break off this engagement politely.”
Indeed! If you have no morals, you can’t be morally blackmailed.
Bei Shi’an glared at Bei Qinghuan.
To be honest, he was already at a loss.
If he backed down immediately, he would lose face. If he didn’t, he felt it was pointless to continue the ruckus.
The barefoot are not afraid of those with shoes. The wretched girl was right; she and her mother had nothing now, so they feared nothing. If this really blew up, the Bei family’s reputation would be in tatters.
Bei Shi’an considered himself a moral man who cared about his reputation.
So, he growled, “Close the door!”
Yan Guifang hurried to shut the door.
Bei Qinghuan sighed and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.
The water was from the previous night, and the tea leaves didn’t sink, floating on the surface of the glass cup. It looked shabby.
But Bei Qinghuan understood that what the old man wanted was the gesture.
She placed the cup in the old man’s hand. “Hold this carefully. It’s the only cup left in the house.”
Bei Shi’an took it, but unable to stand Bei Qinghuan’s brazen attitude, he slammed the cup down on the table.
“You are not allowed to break off the engagement! I just don’t get it, what has the Qin family done to you that you want to break off the engagement? Take a look at yourself! If I hadn’t acted first back when they were poor, do you think it would have been your turn? He’s a deputy factory director now!”
Bei Qinghuan said, “Grandpa, there are three deputy directors in the factory. Qin Dagang is ranked last.”
“So what? If you were to find someone on your own, you wouldn’t be able to find a deputy director!”
“Grandpa, are you mistaken? The deputy director is Qin Dagang, not my childhood fiancé, Qin Zhenghua. Are you telling me to kill Mei Suqin and marry Qin Dagang?”
“Shut your mouth! Don’t play word games with me. Do you know what Mei Suqin told me when she came over last night? If you break off the engagement, they won’t protect you and your mother at the factory. According to the rules, this house should have been turned in after your father died. You and your mother will only be able to live in the dormitory!”
Hearing this, Yan Guifang grew anxious first. “How… how can they do that? When this house was assigned, I was also entitled to a share!”
Bei Shi’an retorted, “What share do you have? You’re a temporary worker who’s always slacking off, what share do you have? You’re just the second wife, don’t interrupt!”
“Grandpa!” Bei Qinghuan raised her voice. “This is my mother, my father’s legally wedded wife. As her father-in-law, you shouldn’t speak to her like that!”
“You!” Bei Shi’an raised his cane again.
Yan Guifang quickly tried to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, let’s focus on the important matter.”
Bei Shi’an, still needing to have the last word, added, “Look at the fine daughter you’ve raised!”
Bei Qinghuan ignored his pestering and said directly:
“Don’t try to scare me. First, Qin Dagang is only in charge of two large workshops; he doesn’t have the authority to repossess houses. Second, don’t forget that our small house and the one you live in are linked.
“Back then, it was you and Big Brother who didn’t want to live with us, which is why the large house that should have been my father’s went to you and Big Brother, while we took the small house that was meant for Big Brother. If they dare to have the factory take back our house, I will raise hell at the factory headquarters and the union, and we will move into your big house to live with you!”
This move was truly vicious.
“You!”
The old man was speechless, clutching his chest and gasping for air.
Yan Guifang was extremely worried. She looked at Bei Qinghuan with pleading eyes, begging for help.
What could Bei Qinghuan do?
He was her grandfather, after all.
She reached out, took the old man’s wrist, and checked his pulse.
Bei Shi’an didn’t pull away.
After three minutes, Bei Qinghuan’s voice softened, becoming very serious.
“Grandpa, don’t force me. Forcing me is forcing yourself. I’m fine, I won’t die. But you really might.”
Hah! Wasn’t that infuriating?
But Bei Shi’an looked at her for a full minute before finally letting out a long, helpless sigh.
“Sigh, Qinghuan, just stop this. You’re already at that age. In the past, you’d have three or four children by now. Can’t you just get married properly, for my sake?”
Bei Qinghuan replied, “Grandpa, think about it carefully. Besides making you look good, what benefit is there for me in marrying into the Qin family? They look down on us completely; they won’t even find me a job.
“Let me be clear. If you force me to marry into the Qin family, I will never look at you again in the future. And if anyone asks, I won’t acknowledge you as my grandfather. You’ll lose both your reputation and your dignity.”
“You!” Bei Shi’an pounded his chest.
But he cherished his life and didn’t dare to shout again. He could only plead, “What on earth do you want?”
“Stay out of this matter from now on. If Mei Suqin comes to you, just pretend to be sick. Although Qin Dagang is a director, he was the last one to be promoted. It will be very difficult for him to climb any higher, so for the sake of his own reputation, he won’t dare to be too harsh on my mother and me. As long as I don’t agree to the marriage, they’ll lose interest and break it off themselves.”
Bei Shi’an closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, utterly drained.
“Back then, Qin Dagang’s father saved my life, so I promised them that our Bei family would definitely form a marriage alliance with their Qin family. With you acting like this, I’ll become a man who doesn’t keep his word, do you know that!”
How ridiculous!
She hadn’t known when she was little why they absolutely had to marry into the Qin family.
So, she was just a thank-you gift!
Bei Qinghuan curled a corner of her lip into a smile. “There is a way for you to preserve your integrity in your old age, Grandpa.”
Bei Shi’an opened his old eyes and looked at Bei Qinghuan expectantly.
Bei Qinghuan said, “It’s simple. Just disown me from the Bei family. Don’t let me have the surname Bei, and that’ll solve it, right?”
“You!” Bei Shi’an looked around, then swiftly grabbed the glass cup from the table and threw it at Bei Qinghuan, his movement surprisingly fast. “You think I don’t want to?”
Bei Qinghuan, distressed over their only glass cup, quickly reached out to catch it, and the water splashed all over her.
The old man was still fuming. “I’m telling you, if anyone finds out that you, you beast, were the one to break off the engagement, you can stop using the surname Bei!”
Bei Qinghuan wanted to say, “I’d be delighted,” but Yan Guifang was quick enough to cover her mouth first. “That’s enough, don’t say any more. I’m begging you, please don’t say any more.”
If this continued, the old man was really going to be angered to death.
Bei Qinghuan shot her mother a helpless glance, and what finally came out was, “Fine. I’ll wait for the Qin family to come and break it off.”