Chapter 859 — The Overbearing Guan Xuewen

Guan Xuewen heard the quarrel downstairs and came down from the upper floor. Seeing Guan Xin weeping on the sofa, he was taken aback for a moment, then hurried over. "Xinxin, what's the matter? Why are you crying here? Where's your father?"

"Grandpa..." The moment Guan Xin saw him, she cried even harder. She had never felt so wronged in her life. She could not fathom how her father could dictate her marriage, forcing her to wed a man she had never met.

"There, there, don't cry yet. Tell me what happened first. Is there any problem that can't be solved? Why are you crying so bitterly?" Guan Xuewen had no idea what had come over her. He walked over, sat down on the sofa, patted his granddaughter on the shoulder, and tried to comfort her.

"Grandpa, Dad says he arranged a marriage for me when I was little, and he wants me to marry a man I've never met..." Still sobbing, Guan Xin told her grandfather everything that had happened.

"Preposterous!" Guan Xuewen slammed the table in fury. "That Guan Xiaopeng, the older he gets the less sense he has! How can a thing like this be decided at random? Don't you worry, Xinxin, your grandfather will settle this for you! Without my say-so, no one has any right to decide anything! I'm calling your father right now!"

Guan Xuewen was beside himself with rage. Upright and unyielding as he was, he was no hidebound old pedant, and the moment he heard that Guan Xiaopeng had arranged a marriage for Guan Xin, his anger flared at once. What was more, the grandson-in-law he had in mind for her was Wei Zhao, so there was all the less chance he would let Guan Xiaopeng marry her off to just anyone.

"You little wretch, what did you say to Xinxin? You've got my precious granddaughter crying her eyes out! You've grown bold, haven't you? An arranged marriage, no less! I'm telling you now, you cancel this match this instant and put the thought out of your head!" The moment the call connected, Guan Xuewen tore into him without mercy.

Guan Xiaopeng was struck dumb by the tirade. Not since the quarrel over his starting the company had his father ever scolded him like this! It gave him, all at once, the old familiar feeling of being a boy again, berated by his father for some wrongdoing, and it left him rather afraid to defy his father's wishes...

And yet, in this particular matter, he truly had no say! The engagement had been settled years ago between himself, his wife, and that benefactor. How could he unilaterally go back on it? When he thought of how great a kindness that man had shown him, how much he owed him! Without that man's investment and his connections, could he ever have achieved what he had today? Could he ever have won the approval of his wife's family?

He was not an ungrateful man, and so for a moment Guan Xiaopeng found himself truly at a loss. After years of cold war with his father, he knew that his father's outburst on Guan Xin's behalf was a chance to mend their relationship. If he yielded now, the bond between father and son would surely warm again.

But could he yield? The promise he had made to that man could never be broken! Unless that man himself broke it, Guan Xiaopeng could not bring himself to do such a faithless, ungrateful thing.

At that thought, Guan Xiaopeng could only smile bitterly. Loyalty and righteousness could not both be satisfied—what was he to do? He did not want to squander this chance to make peace with his father by provoking him all over again, and yet he absolutely could not be the one to break off the engagement.

"Father, in any other matter I would obey you, but this one I truly cannot change. It was settled back then with that benefactor—you know him too..." Guan Xiaopeng sighed. "How can I go back on my word?"

"But have you ever thought about Xinxin's happiness? Since that's how it is, when that man comes looking, let him come to me! Tell him I'm the one who broke the engagement!" Guan Xuewen's anger turned to wry laughter. "He did you a favor—well, I treated his wife's leg! If he's unhappy about it, he can take it up with me! And if you still try to marry Xinxin off, I'll have her renounce you as her father, and give you the cold shoulder, just the way you did to me back then!"

With that, Guan Xuewen slammed down the phone with a sharp clatter, paying no heed whatsoever to whatever else Guan Xiaopeng might have to say.

Guan Xiaopeng stood there holding the receiver, caught between laughter and tears, not knowing what to say. His father had actually turned his own tactics from years ago against him! Still, at least his father had taken the matter off his hands and promised that if trouble arose, the benefactor should come to him. That eased the pressure on Guan Xiaopeng somewhat—though he still had no intention of going back on his word.

This matter, it seemed, could only be resolved by slowly bringing his father round. His father was in a temper now; calling again to argue the point would only strain their already tense relationship further, and that was the last thing Guan Xiaopeng wanted.

When Guan Xuewen hung up, Guan Xin's tears turned to smiles. Seeing her grandfather stand up for her so firmly, she was sure her father would have to give in! And if not—well, then she would side with her grandfather, give her father the cold shoulder just as he had done in his youth, and see what he could possibly do to her.

If she refused to marry, he could beat her to death and it would make no difference.

"Xinxin, happy now? Your grandfather is on your side. Rest assured, as long as I don't give my consent, no one will marry you off!" This much, at least, Guan Xuewen could decide.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Guan Xin broke into a delighted smile.

"What's there to thank me for? Go on now, wash your face. Mother Liu is nearly done with dinner—let's all go and eat something!" Guan Xuewen nodded with a smile.

Guan Xin ran off happily to wash her face. Little did she know that her father had still not given up on the matter...

Kang Jingming emerged from Guan Xin's house in a thoroughly dejected mood, climbed into the car with a face like a bitter melon. Zhu Xiaozhang, who had been waiting in the car, saw him come out looking so woebegone and was rather puzzled. "Young Master Ming, what's wrong? Did Guan Xin's father refuse to let you court her?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it! It's a long story!" Kang Jingming felt that all his time and money had been wasted, and the worst of it was that he had broken his leg for nothing, and handed Xiaofen a few hundred thousand to boot—a spectacular loss all round!

"Let me explain," Wang Shubin said, looking at Zhu Xiaozhang. "Guan Xin is already promised in marriage—it was arranged when she was a child, and there's no changing it. So Guan Xiaopeng will certainly never allow Young Master Ming to have any dealings with Guan Xin. With an engagement in place, it's impossible for Guan Xin to be romantically involved with Young Master Ming either; and for the sake of her future reputation, she could never do anything that might damage her good name. So where Guan Xin is concerned, it's a dead end."

Wang Shubin had entered the villa together with Kang Jingming, so everything he said was based on what he had witnessed with his own eyes. Hearing this, Zhu Xiaozhang had no need to go and question Kang Jingming himself, and merely said in deep frustration, "So you're saying all our efforts so far have been wasted?"