Chapter 56.1

Indeed, this nook was well-hidden and quiet. Even the sunlight was mostly blocked by the walls of the corner.

Xia Shutong made her way into the corner step by step, slowly squatting down and curling up with her head bowed.

A few minutes later, she slowly lifted her head, tilting it, and her lips curved into a bitter smile.

No wonder she had felt a sense of familiarity with this corner when she and Xia Hongye had walked here earlier.

When she had first arrived at the Xia Mansion, she had hidden in this spot and cried many times.

At nineteen years old, Xia Shutong is fragile, sensitive, and timid. She has come to an unfamiliar city by herself for the first time, living in a large and strange house where everything seems terrifying.

She misses someone from Yuncheng, while loathing her helpless and incompetent self deeply.

She hides in her room at night, crying on her bed, and retreats to this corner by day. No one approaches her, no one notices her.

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…

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She was eager to see Yun Feiwu and wanted to embrace her tightly in her arms.

As she reached the door to her room, Xia Shutong was about to knock when she felt a sharp gaze fixed on her from not far away.

Turning her head, she saw Old Master Xia standing outside the third-floor study, looking down at her from across the grand hall. After their eyes met, Old Master Xia tilted his chin upwards and turned to enter the study.

Xia Shutong paused momentarily in her actions. In the end, she did not immediately open the door, but instead walked upstairs to the third floor, heading straight for the study.

Old Master Xia sat in the study chair, his eyes not hiding the anger within.

“Grandfather?” Xia Shutong’s eyes slightly widened with concern.

This morning, when dealing with the affairs of Xia Yuansi, Xia Shutong had a feeling that his final emotional state seemed a bit off. But at that time, she hadn’t thought much of it. It wasn’t until now that she realized what was troubling him.

At first, Old Master Xia’s anger was indeed aimed at Xia Yuansi, but in the end, it inexplicably shifted onto her. Moreover, this anger was clearly different from what it had been at the outset.

It was somewhat less intense, yet more enigmatic.

Old Master Xia ignored her, caressing his cane, and let out an indignant “hmmph.”

Xia Shutong blinked in confusion, now certain that he was indeed angry with her, but… why?

Could it be because he believed Xia Yuansi’s accusations that she was using company resources to support Yun Feiwu? But considering Old Master Xia’s personality, as long as she managed the company well, he should not care about such a matter.

And if that were the reason, why didn’t Old Master Xia confront her this morning? Why wait until now?

Xia Shutong moved closer and sat down, tentatively asking, “Grandfather, are you feeling unwell?”

She softened her voice appropriately as she spoke.

Old Master Xia turned his head away, and after a while, he spoke again, angrily, “My ill health is all because of you!”

“Me?” Xia Shutong said in a gentle voice. “Xia Yuansi is going to prison already. There’s no need for you to continue being angry with him. And I’m fine, aren’t I?”

“Am I mad at him?” Old Master Xia finally couldn’t stand it any longer and angrily threw his walking stick to the side. “I am mad at you!”

At this moment, he didn’t look like the sly fox that had been lurking in the business world for many years. Instead, he seemed like an old man who was infuriated and helpless because of his granddaughter.

That’s why Xia Shutong was even more confused. “What did I do?”

Old Master Xia glared at her for a long time before finally saying, “Xia Shutong, tell your grandfather, is what Xia Yuansi said true?”

“He said I’m using the company’s resources to support Yun Feiwu?” Xia Shutong smiled and shook her head. “Grandfather, Yun Feiwu and I are truly in love. It’s not some improper relationship between a sponsor and a gold-digger. You really don’t need to worry about that.”

Xia Shutong didn’t remember much about the past, but Yun Feiwu had said that they weren’t in a sugar-daddy relationship.

“Is that the point?” Old Master Xia raised his hand, pointing at her fiercely. “The point is, Xia Shutong, did you hide from your grandfather and everyone else, and secretly get together with Yun Feiwu? You were together before your car accident!”

Seeing Old Master Xia’s great anger, Xia Shutong was slightly stunned.

So, the reason why Old Master Xia was so angry seemed to be that she hid her relationship with Yun Feiwu from him. But given his character, he shouldn’t care about this as long as it doesn’t affect the company’s interests, right?

However, at this moment, although Old Master Xia was full of anger, he had no real intimidation, so Xia Shutong thought for a moment and then honestly said, “Yes, grandfather, Yun Feiwu and I got married a long time ago. But I still haven’t regained my memory and can’t quite recall the situation at that time.”

Old Master Xia was choked by Xia Shutong’s words, but looking at her matter-of-fact expression with no hint of guilt, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

“You, you, you…” Old Master Xia pointed at Xia Shutong for a long time, but couldn’t say a word.

In the end, it was Xia Shutong who said with concern, “Grandpa, you can’t completely blame me for hiding this from you before, can you? You know our family situation. If you had discovered my relationship with Yun Feiwu at that time, you would certainly have tried to break us up, wouldn’t you? So, telling you now isn’t too late, right?”

If it were the past, Old Master Xia might still look at her with admiration, sighing about his own old age, and playing out a scene of hypocritical and standard grandfather-granddaughter affection. However, now, Old Master Xia was truly speechless because of Xia Shutong’s attitude.

What does this nonchalant attitude mean after she hid from him for so many years?

“You, you get out!” That’s all Old Master Xia could manage to say in the end.

Like an old fox with bristling fur, he had no intimidating power whatsoever.

Puzzled, Xia Shutong stood up. But when she reached the door of the study, she turned back around and sat down in front of Old Master Xia again.

She was still a bit uncertain about the specific reason why the old man was so angry.

So, Xia Shutong earnestly looked at Old Master Xia and slowly said, “Grandfather, perhaps we can have a discussion.”

After a while, Old Master Xia finally let out a sigh, his voice low, “Tong Tong, did you secretly contact Yun Feiwu not long after you returned to the Xia family, hiding it from me, and then marry her without my consent? You’ve kept me in the dark for seven whole years.”

“I don’t remember. But it seems that’s what happened.” Xia Shutong admitted honestly.

“Tong Tong, why did you have to do this?” Old Master Xia sighed.

“I can’t remember why I did it at that time, but I think it was probably because I love her.” Xia Shutong licked her lips, her voice soft, “I secretly contacted her because I missed her. I tried hard to hide it from everyone because I was afraid that I might bring her unnecessary trouble.”

“Grandfather, I know you might not understand my feelings for her, so let me give you an example. I love Yun Feiwu just as you love your industry and company. You never slip up when it comes to company matters, so I treated her in the same way. Do you understand?”

Xia Shutong attempted to explain.

However, Old Master Xia’s face kept changing, and in the end, he swelled up with anger again, “Get out!”

Was he here to listen to Xia Shutong show off her love? No, he wasn’t!

This time, Xia Shutong didn’t linger. She stood up and left in bewilderment.

…

Although she was inexplicably scolded by Old Master Xia, her mood wasn’t affected in the slightest.

Upon returning to the room, Xia Shutong’s smile softened once again.

Yun Feiwu had already woken up. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she sat up in a daze, “Ruan Ruan?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Xia Shutong softened her voice, took off her shoes, and squeezed into the bed.

Yun Feiwu immediately wrapped her arms around her waist, “Ruan Ruan, where have you been?”

Xia Shutong stroked her hair and answered truthfully, “I just went to thank Xia Hongye. Then we chatted on the balcony for a while.”

“Oh…” Yun Feiwu mumbled, rubbed against Xia Shutong’s waist, and tried to lift her clothes in a daze, “You smell like smoke.”

Xia Shutong blocked Yun Feiwu’s hand, but her body relaxed, “Yes, Xia Hongye was smoking, um, Maomao, could you stop moving? We need to have dinner soon.”

Sure enough, Yun Feiwu obediently stopped moving, “So Ruan Ruan, what did you and your sister talk about?”

Xia Shutong had hardly ever called Xia Hongye ‘sister’, but Yun Feiwu started calling her that first.

“Nothing much, mostly she was talking. She just shared some of her opinions about me,” Xia Shutong recalled, “Xia Hongye is actually quite nice, and she hasn’t treated me too badly over the years.”

Yun Feiwu nodded seriously.

As for the fact that she had cried here before, Xia Shutong decided not to mention it.

It was too embarrassing.

However, after a few seconds of silence, Yun Feiwu nuzzled against her again, murmuring, “There’s also a scent of sandalwood.”

Xia Shutong was silent, “…”

“Little puppy’s nose,” she poked Yun Feiwu’s nose with her finger and continued, “Then, after chatting with my sister, I visited Grandfather’s study.”

“Oh…?”

Xia Shutong didn’t hide it from Yun Feiwu. “It seems like my grandfather is angry with me.”