Xia Qingyu’s words left Xia Honglang momentarily speechless.
“Qingyu, you…” Aunt Liu felt Xia Qingyu’s words were a bit too much.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’m just staying with my biological father for a few days. I won’t forget you just because I’m living a better life. I will still be filial to you.” Xia Qingyu interrupted Aunt Liu, looking at her. “Don’t worry, I will always be your daughter. It’s just that now… I want to be someone who has a father… a biological father by my side, a complete person.”
Aunt Liu was stunned, feeling as if her heart had been stabbed sharply, making it ache with a sour softness.
After all these years of raising her daughter alone, she had only raised an “incomplete” daughter.
“Qingyu, what did he say to you?” Xia Qingtian couldn’t believe Xia Qingyu would say something so hurtful.
Although Xia Qingyu was proud and sharp-tongued, she had never truly intended to hurt anyone, let alone her cherished family.
“He said a lot to me,” Xia Qingyu told Xia Qingtian. “He told me about his abilities, his assets, the businesses under his name… He said I’m his only biological daughter and if it were me, he could rest assured handing everything over to me. He…”
“Enough.” Xia Qingtian interrupted Xia Qingyu, gave her a deep look, then shifted her gaze to Xiang Xueyuan, who was slowly approaching from behind Xia Qingyu. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Xia Qingyu and said, “I wish you a bright future.”
This sentence pierced Xia Qingyu’s heart like a poisoned blade, burning her insides.
“Qingyu, are you entertaining my guests?” Xiang Xueyuan walked over, wearing his signature gentle smile. “You must be tired today. Go back to your room to rest early. Your bedroom was specially designed by people I hired. You will surely like it.”
“Thank you… Father…” Xia Qingyu’s voice was somewhat heavy, and her expression was stiff.
“Hehe, Sif, show her the way. The largest room on the third floor is hers.” Xiang Xueyuan beckoned. Sif walked over with a smile, affectionately linking her arm with Xia Qingyu’s. “Sister Qingyu, Sister Sif will take you to your room now. It’s so good, I finally have a sister, and such a cute one too.”
As Sif spoke, she cast a rather provocative glance at Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingyu simply said thank you and turned to follow Sif toward the room.
Xia Qingtian watched Xia Qingyu’s retreating back, her brow furrowed, her hand clenching into a fist at her side.
“Thank you all for gracing my humble abode today. Tarik, see them out.” Xiang Xueyuan spoke, issuing the guests a polite dismissal. His gaze remained fixed on Aunt Liu, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“Please.” Tarik also wore a faint smile and politely escorted the Xia family out of the manor.
The return journey also involved splitting into two cars. Xia Qingtian had Miao Tong and Bai Yuqi accompany Xia Honglang and Aunt Liu in the first car. Xia Qingtian, Gu Yaoyang, Shi Xingwu, and Li Xiaozhong were in the second car.
Shi Xingwu didn’t understand why Xia Qingyu had said those words. He only knew that suddenly many things had changed, everyone’s expressions were heavy, and the atmosphere was somber. He didn’t know what to do.
“Sister Qingtian, those words shouldn’t be Qingyu’s true feelings,” Li Xiaozhong said with a furrowed brow, recalling how out of it Xia Qingyu had seemed when he and Shi Xingwu saw her.
“I know,” Xia Qingtian replied expressionlessly, her voice low.
Her sister, how could she not understand her?
She surmised that Xiang Xueyuan must have threatened Xia Qingyu with a carrot and stick approach, forcing her to perform this act to make the Xia family disappointed and ensure everyone’s safety.
Xia Qingtian knew that her own words were also meant to help Xia Qingyu’s act go smoothly.
Due to the sudden passivity, even she couldn’t control the situation.
“Yaoyang, the plan we were researching can be moved up,” Xia Qingtian said, looking at Gu Yaoyang. She had been working on this matter with Gu Yaoyang for the past few days.
This was Finland, Xiang Xueyuan’s territory. If they wanted to leave unscathed, they needed an extremely meticulous plan. Today, they had conducted observations and gathered clues at the banquet.
The rough outline of a plan had also been finalized.
“Mm,” Gu Yaoyang nodded. He had also been busy with this matter.
“What is the soonest we can implement it?” Xia Qingtian asked.
“The soonest is three days,” Gu Yaoyang replied. “For these three days, we cannot let Xiang Xueyuan’s people discover anything unusual.”
“Okay,” Xia Qingtian’s gaze sharpened, and she nodded solemnly. “After three days, we snatch her and leave the island.”
All she could do now was hope Xia Qingyu could protect herself for these three days. After three days, she would personally take her sister back!
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyu sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in her room, gazing at the moon in the sky. She felt the night here was truly cold. Through the glass, she could feel the chill from outside piercing her heart.
Three knocks on the door snapped Xia Qingyu back to attention. “Come in,” she said.
The door opened, and Tarik entered. A flicker of sympathy passed through his eyes as he looked at Xia Qingyu. “I live directly below your room. If you need anything, you can come find me directly.”
Seeing that Xia Qingyu didn’t intend to respond, Tarik paused and added, “If you’re too lazy to come down, you can just stomp your foot, like… this.”
After saying that, Tarik lifted his foot and tapped a simple rhythm on the floor. “Or any other rhythm you like. Or you could even do a tap dance, it’s fine.”
“Pfft.” Xia Qingyu finally laughed at Tarik’s words.
Seeing Xia Qingyu laugh, Tarik also smiled. He walked toward her and extended his hand. “It’s cold on the floor. Come sit on the sofa for a while?”
Xia Qingyu hesitated for a moment before taking Tarik’s hand and being pulled up from the floor.
Tarik dragged a single sofa and a chair to the floor-to-ceiling window. He sat on the chair and then patted the sofa next to him. “Here, I’ll give you the best spot for enjoying the night view.”
“Thank you?” Xia Qingyu raised an eyebrow and sat on the sofa, lifting her feet onto the armrest. She lay back on the sofa in a rather unladylike manner, her eyes gazing out at the night sky through the window.
“You really don’t treat me like an outsider…” Tarik said with a wry smile. “Sif doesn’t act like this in front of me…”
“She likes you, I don’t like you,” Xia Qingyu retorted, giving Tarik a sidelong glance. “A woman adorns herself for the one who fancies her. You don’t deserve it.”
“Hiss…” Tarik cupped his hand over his chest, feigning pain. “You’re being a bit too much, saying I don’t deserve it. Then who does? Li Xiaozhong or Shi Xingwu?”
“My sister… only she deserves it…” Xia Qingyu lowered her gaze, and Xia Qingtian’s words seemed to echo in her ears: I wish you a bright future.
A future that seemed bright was nothing but a joke in a world without her sister.