The Xie family and the Pei family had already agreed to hurry and hold a wedding banquet for Pei Shuchen and Xie Silin.
The two had already reached the point of refusing to marry, so this was at least a face-saving measure.
The Pei family didn’t want this. Pei Jianmin had originally planned to push Xie Qingsong to sell Xie Li, clearing the way for Pei Shuchen and Xie Silin’s reputations.
But unexpectedly, Xie Qingsong, who had always been indifferent toward Xie Li, refused to budge.
Fuming, Pei Jianmin stormed out of the Xie family’s gate, shouting curses:
“Xie Qingsong, that old rascal, is pretending to be some moral saint! For the past three years, he ignored Xie Li completely, and now he’s showing off this mountain-deep fatherly love who’s he trying to impress? The child was starving and now he suddenly wants to nurse her! She doesn’t even need it, and he’s being all attentive, just waiting to see if Xie Li will appreciate it!”
Pei Shuchen, following silently, said nothing, though he was equally fuming inside.
Pei Jianmin looked at his quiet son and, frustrated, scolded:
“You little brat! You caused all this trouble yourself, and now you want me to clean it up for you?!”
“Ahhh!!”
Pei Shuchen suddenly lost control. He swung a fist the size of a sandbag and smashed it into Pei Jianmin’s nose.
He could no longer hear the word “little”!
Every time he heard it, he remembered the cruel whispers about him:
“Small man… tiny little thing…”
He was a man!
And now, whenever people saw him, their first instinct was to stare at his… private parts! Some shameless girls even shouted loudly:
“They say women with big hips are easier to bear children, but you can’t blame the women entirely. The man… is too small… that won’t work either!”
“Men like that can’t be chosen they’re bad for procreation!”
He was about to lose his mind!
At this rate, he would end up in a mental hospital!
That damn woman he would never forgive Xie Li!
Pei Jianmin’s nose was broken by Pei Shuchen’s punch, and Pei Shuchen blamed Xie Li for this as well.
“Achoo!!”
Xie Li sneezed. Her forehead itched, and she had a bad feeling. Soon after, she received news that the Xie patriarch was near death.
Having read the whole story, she naturally knew his time was short. She had spent nearly every day by the side of the elderly man who had loved her or rather, loved the original version of her since returning.
By the time Xie Li rushed over, the patriarch had but a single breath left. He sent everyone else out, leaving only her.
The old man half-lay on the bed, his cloudy eyes fixed on Xie Li for a long moment. Finally, with concern, he said:
“Child, the one I worry about most is you. The Xie family has wronged you, your parents don’t care for you but I don’t have much time left…”
Xie Li held the patriarch’s hand.
Dry. Hard.
Like a branch from a dead tree.
“Grandpa…”
Her throat burned, and she burst into uncontrollable tears.
She thought of her real grandfather, who had felt the same concern when she left.
In this world, this old man was the only one who had ever truly cared for her.
“Child, you must be wary of others, but also have the will to harm when needed! Otherwise, how will you survive in the future?”
The patriarch gripped her hand tightly.
He didn’t need his granddaughter to be kind kindness would only make her a target.
In this era, countless women were trapped by a lifetime of being “kind and virtuous.”
Xie Li cried and nodded:
“Grandpa, I have the wariness, and I also have plenty of will to strike back!”
The patriarch’s eyes softened:
“Then I can rest assured.”
He pulled her closer and whispered into her ear:
“Li, don’t take anything from the Xie family. Whatever you take, your parents wouldn’t have given you anyway. But there is one thing you must have. Only one. Your parents will definitely let you have it. That thing is…”
After giving his final instructions, the patriarch passed away.
Peacefully, calmly.
Without fear of death, as if he had simply fallen asleep.
His funeral was grand, with half of Shanghai attending.
The Pei family also came.
Pei Shuchen, as the grandson-in-law, busied himself with the preparations. He and Xie Silin were set to marry in seven days.
After the funeral, Xie Qingshan began checking the belongings left by the patriarch.
Five years ago, the patriarch had handed the Xie family over to Xie Qingsong and helped him ascend to the top position in the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
But Xie Qingsong still felt something was off.
Very off.
The Xie family had been a prestigious, wealthy family for generations, with ancestral wealth beyond imagining.
Yet the patriarch had left Xie Qingsong only the obvious, surface-level items.
Looking at the two large carved rosewood chests in the patriarch’s room, filled with antique paintings, jade, ceramics, and even three layers of large dried fish at the bottom, Xie Qingsong frowned.
To ordinary people, this could last a family ten generations. But it was far from the true wealth the Xie ancestors had accumulated.
He glanced at Xie Li, her eyes red from crying.
Could it be… the old man secretly left the true wealth to her?!
Thinking this, Xie Qingsong felt even more resentful toward Xie Li.
“Dad, I want to take a memento from Grandpa,” Xie Li said, red-eyed, stepping forward to face the two full chests of treasures.
Xie Silin hurried forward as well:
“Dad, I also want to take a memento from Grandpa!”
Her moment had come! She had waited for this day!
In the book “Gentle and Tender in the 60s”, the patriarch left Xie Li a treasure not ordinary gold or jade, but a space!
Inside that space was the Xie family’s wealth accumulated over generations.
The book’s author had only mentioned that the treasure was a bracelet without specifying what kind.
In these two chests were two bracelets.
One gold, one jade.
The gold bracelet was intricately carved, dazzling and beautiful.
The jade bracelet was plain, ordinary, and even had cracks.
Xie Silin stared at Xie Li, waiting to see which she would choose.
In the book, Xie Li used this treasure to live a smooth, successful life with Pei Shuchen.
Xie Li didn’t hesitate and reached for the worn jade bracelet.
“Sister!”
Just as she touched it, Xie Silin’s hand pressed down, snatching the jade bracelet away.
“This bracelet is old, an antique that accompanied Grandpa for years. I want it!”
Xie Silin’s eyes lingered on the dazzling gold bracelet. She grabbed it and slid it onto Xie Li’s wrist:
“Sister, you don’t have any decent jewelry. Why not take this one?”
Xie Li panicked and tried to pull the gold bracelet off, protesting:
“I don’t want this!”
Unable to remove it, she tried to grab the jade bracelet again.
Xie Silin, quick and resolute, bit her own finger, letting a drop of blood touch the jade bracelet:
“Oops! I accidentally cut my hand, now the bracelet is marked!”
She was ecstatic! The bracelet was now “blood-bonded” to her.
Seeing the panic in Xie Li’s eyes, she clenched her teeth, holding the gold bracelet silently.
It was too late to switch now. Better to leave the gold one behind.
Xie Silin thought she had seen through Xie Li’s mind.
Xie Qingsong had no time to care about them. He was desperate: the family fortune, the wealth accumulated over generations where was it? Where was it?!
Xie Li returned to her room, still dazed.
The moment she closed the door, a smile appeared on her face. She raised her hand and looked at the gold bracelet on her wrist.
Sparkling. Exquisite craftsmanship.
This was the true treasure left to her by the patriarch.
She had anticipated Xie Silin’s prediction.
Xie Li crooked a smile.
Heh heh! I am the one with the god’s perspective!