After lingering together a while longer, the two finally headed out hand in hand.
Although their marriage had begun under complicated circumstances, their time together lately had gone surprisingly smoothly—in every sense of the word. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were growing closer by the day.
But while they were enjoying this quiet harmony, both the Xu and Shen families were in complete chaos.
After Qin Fu hung up, Xu Mingzhen stood there in a daze for a couple of seconds before finally accepting the busy tone ringing in his ear.
“What the hell was that?!”
Furious, he smashed his phone, his hand trembling as he pointed at the cracked screen.
“Has that girl really grown wings now? Does she think she’s untouchable?!”
In the past, even when Gu Nianqing brushed him off, she would at least give a few half-hearted responses—just enough to maintain the appearance of obedience. Xu Mingzhen had tolerated her attitude because of her capabilities.
But now she had actually found some arrogant nobody to talk back to him?!
He should never have given her shares in Qimeng.
It wasn’t like her desire to separate Qimeng from the Xu Group was anything new.
Back when she was underage, she had no choice but to register the company under the Xu Group’s name, tying her team to them. But in the years since, she had been constantly working to break free.
Just like how she had always wanted to leave the Xu family.
The thought only fueled Xu Mingzhen’s anger further.
Catching sight of Zhou Ya sitting nearby, scrolling through her phone and clearly enjoying the drama, he slammed his hand on the table.
“You still have the mood to watch this like it’s entertainment?!”
Zhou Ya had been browsing trending topics, amused by the Shen family mother and son making headlines together. Being snapped at out of nowhere instantly soured her mood.
She frowned. “What are you yelling for?”
Xu Mingzhen’s face was dark with anger. “What’s going on between Qingqing and that man?!”
Zhou Ya let out a sharp laugh. “Xu Mingzhen, have I been too easygoing these past few years, or are you just delusional?”
She tossed her phone aside, crossing her arms as her voice turned cold. “You’re asking me about your own daughter?”
Xu Mingzhen faltered—but instead of backing off like he usually would when this topic came up, he raised his voice even more.
“If you hadn’t agreed to let her move her household registration out, how would I not even know she secretly got married?!”
“Oh, how interesting,” Zhou Ya said, dripping with sarcasm. “Your daughter didn’t even bother telling you about something as big as moving her registration—she came to me instead. Shouldn’t you reflect on that?”
“You—!”
Xu Mingzhen started coughing from anger, quickly gulping down tea to steady himself.
“You’re the one who encouraged her to grow so ambitious!” he snapped. “Don’t think I don’t know—you were the one who pushed her to trick Shen Yu into going abroad back then! You wanted her reputation in this circle completely ruined!”
Zhou Ya practically rolled her eyes to the heavens.
“Xu Mingzhen, do you really not understand your own daughter at all?” she shook her head, a hint of pity in her expression. “Or are you just too afraid to admit that she genuinely despises being related to you?”
“That’s nonsense!” Xu Mingzhen shot to his feet, as if his tail had been stepped on. “I’m her father! I gave her such a good life—how could she dare to resent me?! If she hated it so much, why did she come home with me back then?!”
“Because she knew perfectly well that a girl with no support and no means couldn’t survive on her own!”
Watching his furious outburst, Zhou Ya found it almost laughable.
“This is ridiculous. Did you really think that bringing her into the Xu family—letting everyone know she was your illegitimate daughter—would make her grateful to you?”
Xu Mingzhen’s chest heaved violently. In the middle of his rage, a memory suddenly surfaced—
A small, lonely figure sitting at the edge of the staircase during his birthday banquet.
Even in that helpless moment, she had still addressed him as:
“Mr. Xu.”
If he hadn’t taken her into the Xu family, Gu Nianqing would have ended up in an orphanage.
And yet—even then—she had stubbornly refused to acknowledge him as her father.
She had always been like that.
It wasn’t that Xu Mingzhen hadn’t noticed. But Gu Nianqing was the only thing left from what he once believed was a beautiful love with Gu Sheng.
He wanted her to be proof—that he hadn’t been blind or foolish from the start. That Gu Sheng’s later cruelty and ugliness were the result of her own corruption, not his poor judgment.
In truth, he had been the one clinging to the relationship all along.
From the very beginning, he had been the passive one.
A sudden chill ran through Xu Mingzhen, leaving an emptiness in his chest.
His marriage with Zhou Ya had always been a typical business arrangement in their social circle—love wasn’t necessary, but neither side could act against the interests of their families.
But Gu Sheng’s madness back then had cast a lasting shadow over Xu Yingjia’s life.
Xu Mingzhen was never the kind of man to sacrifice everything for love. What Gu Sheng had done filled him with regret—and shattered any illusions he once had about “true love.”
Over the years, he had felt both guilt and pity toward Xu Yingjia. That was why he endured Zhou Ya’s constant sarcasm and barbs, determined to preserve their marriage.
He had already let one daughter lose her mother and brother.
He couldn’t let Jia Jia suffer the same fate again.
But the love Xu Mingzhen felt as a father was tangled with too many other emotions. Because of that, he had never truly experienced that instinctive, unconditional tenderness toward Xu Yingjia.
He had thought he could make up for that missing piece through Gu Nianqing.
Yet time and again, he ran into walls—and with each failure, a quiet panic grew inside him.
Now, he realized something even harder to accept: for something as important as marriage, Gu Nianqing had completely excluded him from her life.
He couldn’t accept it.
When he first heard the news, he didn’t even have the capacity to regret losing a potential alliance through marriage. Instead, he was swallowed by an overwhelming sense of loss.
What he couldn’t understand was—how could Gu Nianqing be so cold?
But when he looked back at the path she had taken, the answer had always been there.
After entering the Xu family, the people Gu Nianqing grew closer to—or rather, tried to get closer to—were clearly Zhou Ya and Xu Yingjia, not him, her biological father.
Xu Mingzhen wasn’t a dull man. At first, he interpreted her behavior as an attempt to curry favor. It left him somewhat uncomfortable—he thought the girl was calculating from a young age, and he also blamed Zhou Ya’s strong personality for undermining his authority as head of the household.
But gradually, he came to understand something else.
Gu Nianqing made those choices because she had no expectations of him at all.
A daughter who expected nothing from her father—no love, no protection, not even caring about his disappointment or loneliness.
Instead, she focused on proving her worth to Zhou Ya and Xu Yingjia, trying to secure her place in their lives.
When this realization first took shape, Xu Mingzhen felt both shocked and furious.
But what was he supposed to do—lose his temper because his illegitimate daughter got along well with his wife and legitimate child?
It was almost laughable. The kind of grievance you wouldn’t even dare complain about, even when drunk.
After Zhou Ya took Xu Yingjia to the south for treatment and returned two years later, Xu Mingzhen’s unease became impossible to ignore.
Following a severe fever, Xu Yingjia’s condition had deteriorated. The Xu family had consulted countless renowned doctors in Beijing, trying every possible treatment, but nothing worked. She was still so young—her body couldn’t withstand the strain. Within months, she had grown alarmingly thin, her once-round face hollowed out, leaving only a pair of dull, unfocused eyes.
Zhou Ya had nearly stormed into the detention center to kill Gu Sheng.
Even Gu Nianqing, who spent her days coaxing Xu Yingjia to take her medicine, received no kindness from her.
In the end, a doctor familiar with the Xu family suggested a different approach—change the environment and pursue conservative treatment.
It sounded almost like a polite way of saying there was no cure.
But it aligned with what Zhou Ya’s parents had been thinking.
The Zhou family held influence in the south, where traditional methods of healing were highly valued.
After Xu Yingjia was born, Zhou Ya’s health had suffered greatly. To show his care, Xu Mingzhen had personally accompanied her south for recovery.
It was there that Gu Sheng had appeared—an apprentice at a traditional medicine clinic—and later became entangled with him.
Although what followed was something he wished he could erase, the old doctor’s skill back then had been undeniable.
The Zhou family decided to place their hopes in traditional medicine. Though it lacked the structured system of Western medicine, stories of “miracles” achieved through such treatments were not uncommon in their circles—Zhou Ya herself was proof of that.
But Gu Sheng’s scandal had been massive, and it dragged the clinic down with it. The old doctor, her mentor, was harshly criticized for failing to discipline his apprentice and for producing someone like her.
In that profession, mentorship was everything—master and student were inseparable. Gu Sheng had been like a rotten apple, spoiling the entire barrel.
By the time the Zhou family made inquiries, they learned that the old doctor had fallen ill himself, crushed by rumors and criticism. He had shut down his clinic and now struggled just to stay alive, let alone treat others.
The Zhou family had originally chosen him because he was among the best. Now that he was unavailable, they couldn’t find a suitable replacement in time.
And Xu Yingjia didn’t have time to wait.
The thought of her daughter living in a dazed, broken state for the rest of her life finally pushed Zhou Ya over the edge.
She lashed out at Gu Nianqing.
But the young girl, caught in this misfortune for no fault of her own, showed no sign of grievance—even with the red mark of a slap on her cheek.
Her swollen face made her words slightly unclear. “Grandpa Liu is sick… but Uncle Liu is also very skilled.”
She was referring to the old doctor’s son, who had inherited his father’s craft.
But with his father dragged down by Gu Sheng—and Gu Sheng tied to Xu Mingzhen—how could he let go of that resentment?
The Zhou family had already approached him.
No reply had been his answer.
Gu Nianqing, however, didn’t seem concerned. “Uncle Liu is a good person. When my mom used to hit me, he was the one who treated my wounds. He likes me a lot.”
This finally made Zhou Ya and her parents take her seriously.
Dropping her pride, Zhou Ya immediately apologized. “I was too impulsive just now. Does your face still hurt, Qingqing?”
Gu Nianqing shook her head. “Mothers love their children. I understand.”
After a pause, she added softly, “Most of them do.”
She was so composed, so understanding, that Zhou Ya felt a sudden ache in her chest.
“Are you confident you can persuade Uncle Liu to treat Jia Jia?”
Gu Nianqing blinked her beautiful fox-like eyes, her smile curving gently.