She answered without hesitation.
Ye Fengxing looked at the young girl in front of him, barely nineteen and with a youthful face, and felt an inexplicable sense of mystery.
He had investigated Tang Xiaomin again. After she was adopted by the Li Changchun couple in her childhood, she moved into the old district.
The neighbors all knew her.
She went to school, came home from school, and stayed at home during holidays, often not leaving the house for days. She had few friends and always kept to herself, with nothing particularly noteworthy about her.
If anything stood out, it was her excellent academic performance and broad interests.
He couldn't figure out how Tang Xiaomin had met that man named Yan Jue.
Ye Fengxing stood up and pushed back the items Tang Xiaomin had returned.
...
Although Tang Xiaomin had been mentally prepared when she arrived, she still frowned slightly at Ye Fengxing's actions.
"You disagree?"
In other words, was she insisting on not letting go?
A cold glint flashed in Ye Fengxing's eyes, which were filled with a confusion he couldn't comprehend.
If Tang Xiaomin had refused at the beginning, Ye Fengxing might have agreed.
After all, at that time, Tang Xiaomin had been subservient and downtrodden in the Tang family, and he truly didn't think much of her.
The reason he had proposed and sent betrothal gifts wasn't his own doing.
He had been forced by his grandfather.
But after he had truly met Tang Xiaomin, he gradually discovered that she wasn't like the rumors said.
He found her very interesting.
As she brought him more and more surprises, his interest in her became uncontrollable.
She was already his fiancée; how could he possibly agree to a broken engagement like this?
Lack of feelings didn't matter; they could be cultivated. Ye Fengxing was firmly convinced of this at the moment.
He said in a deep voice, "I disagree."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaomin's frown deepened.
"Young Master Ye, if you feel that my breaking off the engagement would cause you to lose face, you can unilaterally announce the cancellation. You don't need to consider my or the Tang family's reputation."
Tang Xiaomin's attitude towards breaking off the engagement was resolute.
She disregarded her own reputation, and even the Tang family's reputation.
This made Ye Fengxing feel even more stifled.
Why couldn't she just like him?
Why couldn't she just be his fiancée and marry him properly?
It was all because of that man named Yan Jue!
Before even meeting the man, Ye Fengxing already felt a strong sense of hostility.
Damn it.
Ye Fengxing's lips suddenly curved into a smile, and the expression on his handsome face relaxed.
"I understand your intentions, but I still cannot agree to break off the engagement."
"Actually, I'm also quite annoyed by my grandfather's arranged marriage by prenatal pact."
"But even if I break off the engagement with you, he will find ways to arrange other women for me. So, you should see this through and help me deal with them for a few years. After all, you're still young, and helping me stall for a few years should be no problem."
Tang Xiaomin thought about it, but still felt it was inappropriate.
"I can help you conceal it from Grandpa Ye, and I can conceal it from the outside world. Let's still break it off."
Suddenly, Ye Fengxing's expression turned serious.
"Stop talking. Either you listen to me and help me stall for a few years, or... you have no capital to negotiate with me."
Ye Fengxing's tone carried a hint of threat.
At this moment, Assistant Qiu pushed the door open.
"Mr. Ye, the executive meeting is about to begin."
Ye Fengxing stood up and, as he passed Tang Xiaomin, he leaned down slightly and whispered into her hair.
"You are still young and may not think things through thoroughly, inevitably acting impulsively. I won't hold today's incident against you. However, I do not wish for a repeat of this."
After issuing his threat, Ye Fengxing left.
He said she didn't think things through.
Did that mean her family?
She didn't care about the Tang family.
But her adoptive parents, she couldn't implicate them because of herself.
In her past life, she had already caused them considerable harm.
Assistant Qiu returned and quietly gathered the proposal, betrothal gifts, and her sentiments, placing them into Tang Xiaomin's bag.
"Miss Tang, please leave."
At this moment, Tang Xiaomin felt the immense pressure emanating from Ye Fengxing.
She left Ye Corporation without a word and returned to her adoptive parents' current home.
The door was tightly shut; they were not home.
Tang Xiaomin called her adoptive parents, and the call went through.
"Mom, where are you?"
It was noisy on the other end of the phone.
"Xiaomin, your father and I just got travel vouchers. We're traveling abroad. We didn't tell you because you're still studying. What's wrong?"
"Oh, I came back and couldn't find you, so I called to ask. Mom, when are you and Dad coming back?"
"We just left yesterday and arrived today. The tour group said it would be half a month. Don't worry, the travel vouchers were free. I won't talk to you anymore. We're going to board the bus. I'll call you tonight. Goodbye."
...
Her adoptive parents' end was filled with laughter and joy, sounding quite good.
However, Tang Xiaomin felt that things were not that simple.
After returning to the Tang family, Tang Xiaomin called the bank and received astonishing news.
That bank had a partnership with Ye Corporation, and those travel vouchers and various other coupons were all provided by Ye Corporation.
This meant that from the time of the old district's demolition and relocation, Ye Fengxing had been quietly controlling her adoptive parents.
And she only found out now.
Tang Xiaomin felt a chill of fear.
If she insisted on falling out with Ye Fengxing, would he use her adoptive parents to blackmail her?
Thinking of this, she had to carefully consider breaking off the engagement. She had to handle it cautiously to ensure her adoptive parents would not be harmed.
Returning to the Tang family.
The more she thought about it, the more agitated she became, furiously pummeling a skull-shaped pillow to vent her emotions.
Tang Yiyi had been discharged from the hospital and returned.
Tang Zhongcheng personally picked her up from the hospital. She sat cautiously on the living room sofa, afraid of aggravating the wound on her back.
Tang Zhongchen instructed the cook, "Make some nourishing soup for Yiyi. Use less seasoning. Her back injury hasn't fully healed yet. Remember."
"Yes, sir."
Tang Xiaomin came downstairs and happened to overhear this.
In the entire household, only Tang Zhongcheng was still showing consideration to Tang Yiyi, which made Tang Xiaomin very puzzled.
Tang Xiaomin also said to the cook, "Make a few more spicy dishes. I suddenly want to eat something spicy."
"Yes, Miss Xiaomin."
Tang Zhongcheng: ...
Now, Tang Xiaomin was openly bullying Tang Yiyi without any pretense.
Tang Yiyi lowered her head and remained silent, feeling wronged.
But Tang Zhongcheng couldn't stand it any longer.
"Xiaomin, Yiyi also made mistakes and was punished. Be merciful when you can. You're targeting her like this, it's going too far. Know when to stop."
Tang Xiaomin truly didn't like hearing this.
"Tang Zhongcheng! When Tang Yiyi targeted me openly and covertly, you played deaf and dumb. Why didn't you come out and discipline her then?"