Yi Xuan returned home suddenly without any prior notice. Seeing him, the three were momentarily stunned before Yi Hong said, “You’re back.”
“Dad, Mom, I missed you, so I came back to see you,” Yi Xuan said with a smile.
After all, having raised him for over 20 years, Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong still couldn’t bring themselves to say anything too harsh. But Zhao Zhen was in a foul mood today, so she said, “I’m tired. I’ll go to my room and rest. Whatever you have to say, save it for tomorrow.”
Yi Xuan watched Zhao Zhen walk upstairs with an uneasy expression. He opened his mouth but didn’t dare call out to her. All he could do was look helplessly at Yi Hong and Yi Bo.
“You just got back today, so you must be tired. Go rest,” Yi Hong said before turning and heading to his room as well.
Only Yi Xuan and Yi Bo were left. Yi Xuan looked at Yi Bo and asked, “Brother, are Dad and Mom still angry with me?”
Yi Bo shook his head. “It’s not your fault. It’s the company that’s stressing them out.”
“The company… still hasn’t improved?” Yi Xuan asked.
“After you broke off the engagement with Gu Heng, many of the companies we used to cooperate with chose to go elsewhere,” Yi Bo said. “Mom and Dad are already stressed enough. Honestly, you probably shouldn’t have come back right now.”
“Is Yi Wei really not helping at all?” Yi Xuan asked.
“He’s not adding fuel to the fire, and that’s already rare. Expecting him to help is like hoping money will fall from the sky,” Yi Bo said sarcastically.
“Brother,” Yi Xuan hesitated before saying, “Qi Ran-ge has returned to the country. He said… he wants to help you.”
Yi Bo stayed silent, saying nothing.
In the past, whenever Yi Xuan mentioned Qi Ran, Yi Bo would be visibly displeased. But now, he didn’t say anything—just remained silent.
Yi Xuan felt this might be a good opportunity, so he suggested, “How about I arrange for us to have dinner with Qi Ran-ge?”
“I’ll think about it. You should go rest,” Yi Bo replied before getting up and heading to his room.
—
The next day, Yi Hong and Zhao Zhen went to see Yi Wei again, and this time, Yi Wei agreed to meet them.
After listening to their complaints, Yi Wei said, “I don’t have any say in the company’s decisions. Do you really think I can control all the companies under the Gu Group and make them sign deals with whoever I want? You’re giving me too much credit.”
“If it’s between signing with us or signing with the Mi family, there’s not much difference. It just takes one word from Gu Dong,” Zhao Zhen said, looking at Yi Wei. “Or if you could drop a few hints to Lin, it could have the same effect. Lin only chose to work with the Mi family because of you. Before you married Gu Dong, they always worked with us or other companies. They never cooperated with the Mi family. But after you got married, Gu Group’s subsidiaries all started choosing the Mi family whenever possible.”
“I did say I wouldn’t abandon the Yi family,” Yi Wei said, “but as far as I know, your company is still doing okay. It’s not great, but it’s not on the verge of collapse either. So, what are you so upset about?”
“Our company used to be stronger than the Mi family’s. But now, it’s falling behind, and the gap is only getting bigger. How can we not be worried?”
“Why do you have to compare yourselves to the Mi family?” Yi Wei asked, feigning confusion. “It’s not like you’re the only company that didn’t land the contract. Other companies didn’t either.”
“Everyone knows it’s because you married Gu Dong that the Mi family’s company is doing better. Since you’ve already said you wouldn’t ignore us, shouldn’t you at least show that to others?”
“Let me put it this way. If you keep comparing yourselves to the Mi family, you’ll just keep feeling worse. In my heart, you’ll never be more important than my mother, so I’ll never prioritize the Yi family over the Mi family.” Yi Wei looked at them and said, “You should understand my thinking by now. Remember when I was living with the Yi family, and you asked me why I kept comparing myself to Yi Xuan? You treated Yi Xuan better, but you weren’t bad to me either. Well, now I’m treating the Mi family better, but I haven’t been bad to you. So why is it that when it’s happening to you, you find it so hard to accept?”
Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong were speechless, cornered by Yi Wei’s words. In the past, they hadn’t understood why Yi Wei constantly compared himself to Yi Xuan. At the time, they didn’t think there was anything wrong with favoring Yi Xuan more. But now…
“Or,” Yi Wei continued, “you could visit the Mi family and formally apologize. If you mend the relationship, I’m sure the Mi family would forgive the past for my sake. Then, they might even help your company out.”
Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong’s expressions darkened further. There was no way they would apologize to the Mi family, let alone accept any handouts from them.
“That’s all I have to say. I need to get to class now. In short, when your company really needs help, I won’t abandon you. But don’t keep comparing yourselves to the Mi family. I’ll never prioritize you over them. If you’re really worried about falling further behind, go and make peace with them.” With that, Yi Wei got up and left.
Yi Wei had said he wouldn’t abandon them to make them truly feel what it was like to be treated differently. They had thought it was unreasonable for him to care about being treated worse than Yi Xuan. They had thought he was just being petty. So now, they shouldn’t mind that he was treating the Mi family better.
Some people will never understand someone else’s feelings until they experience the same situation themselves. They even think others are being overly sensitive or small-minded. Yi Wei wanted people who preach this kind of empathy to experience the very situations they tell others to overlook. Only then would they understand.
Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong realized Yi Wei was doing this on purpose—making them feel how he used to feel. But even though they understood this, there was nothing they could do about it.
Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong returned home, their faces as dark as thunderclouds. Yi Bo and Yi Xuan were sitting in the living room, drinking tea and talking. When they saw the two walk in, Yi Bo immediately asked, “So? Did he agree to help?”
Zhao Zhen and Yi Hong said nothing as they sat down. Seeing their expressions, Yi Bo quickly understood. “I told you it was pointless to go to him. We need to find another way.”
“Then tell me,” Zhao Zhen said, glaring at Yi Bo, “what other way do we have?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Yi Bo replied. “There’s always a way.”
Yi Xuan, feeling uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, decided to speak up. “Why don’t I go talk to Gu Heng? Maybe he can help.”
Yi Bo shook his head. “It’s useless. Even if Gu Heng could help, it would only be a temporary fix. Long-term, it wouldn’t make much difference.”
If Gu Heng could help, Zhao Zhen would have already asked Jiang Shu to speak to him. But neither Gu Heng nor Jiang Shu had any real influence.
Yi Xuan lowered his head again, silent. In truth, he didn’t want to ask Gu Heng for help anyway. His real reason for returning was because Qi Ran had asked him to. Qi Ran wanted Yi Bo to forgive him, so the less he had to deal with Gu Heng, the better.
Feeling stressed, Zhao Zhen began to feel unwell and went to her room to rest.
Once it was just Yi Bo and Yi Xuan, Yi Bo said, “Tell Qi Ran I’ll meet with him.”
“Really?!” Yi Xuan said excitedly. “I’ll call him right away!”
Yi Xuan quickly returned to his room and dialed Qi Ran’s number, informing him that Yi Bo was willing to meet. He also updated Qi Ran on the state of the Yi family, suggesting that this would be a good chance to win Yi Bo back—and even earn the approval of their parents.
After hanging up, Qi Ran felt a surge of excitement. He knew Yi Bo and Sun Qi had no chance of being together now that Sun Qi was married and expecting a child with Wei Nanfeng. He figured this meant he still had a shot. When he heard about the Yi family’s difficulties, he started planning his return to the country. Although he was hopeful and had a plan, he still feared Yi Wei might come to the Yi family’s aid. Now, after Yi Xuan’s call, he could finally relax.
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