"Can't you see your brother's sacrifices at all?! He gave up his marriage for your current lavish life!" Ni Na cried, her heart aching and shocked. Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed uncontrollably. "And I'm breaking up with him at a time like this. How heartbroken must he be..."
Cen Ya felt flustered and a little wronged.
So what if Cen Xiucheng sacrificed his marriage? He did it willingly. Besides, just giving up his marriage saved the Cen family; wasn't that a good deal?
However, seeing how angry Ni Na was, she didn't dare to provoke her further.
"Mom, don't be angry, I didn't mean anything else," Cen Ya said guiltily. "I just thought, since Brother agreed, maybe he really likes the princess..."
"Impossible!" Cen Ya stated decisively. "That ugly princess has been chasing your brother for over ten years. If your brother were really interested in her, he would have agreed long ago!"
Cen Ya fell silent.
Ni Na's mood grew more agitated. She said hesitantly, "Xiao Ya, should we just listen to your brother and go back to Country K..."
"No! How can we do that!" Cen Ya exclaimed. "Mom, we've developed so well here. If we go back to Country K now, then Ming... won't all our previous efforts be in vain?!"
Ni Na looked at her in shock again. She suddenly realized she seemed to know nothing about her daughter.
Feeling guilty under Ni Na's gaze, Cen Ya explained, "Mom, I... I'm doing this for Brother's own good! You don't want Brother to marry the princess, but if we go back to Country K, he'll have no choice, right? I think it's better to let Brother stabilize the princess for now, and once we're stable here, we can bring Brother and Dad over together, and our family can live here!"
Ni Na looked at her slowly, directly exposing her thoughts, "You can't bear to part with Ou Minghan, can you?"
"Mom, it's not like that... I'm thinking about the Cen family," Cen Ya explained shyly.
Ni Na looked at her with great disappointment. "You should go back now. Don't tell Ou Minghan about the Cen family's troubles."
"Mom, don't worry." Cen Ya agreed. She hadn't planned to tell Ou Minghan anyway. She felt a vague unease in her heart; if Ou Minghan knew about the Cen family's troubles, would he still love her as he did now?
After Cen Ya left, Ni Na couldn't hold back any longer. She took out her phone, unblocked Cen Xiucheng's number, and called him.
As soon as the call connected, Ni Na couldn't help but ask, "Xiucheng, are you with the princess?"
Cen Xiucheng was taken aback. He smiled bitterly, "Mom, you know?"
Ni Na could no longer restrain herself, crying as she spoke, "How could you do this? If something happened to the family, you should have told us, and we could have thought of a solution together! How could you sacrifice your own happiness? Besides, she's so ugly! And she won't be of any help to you in the future. I feel wronged for you..."
Cen Xiucheng listened silently. This was why he had kept it from Ni Na – he didn't want to see this scene.
"Mom," Cen Xiucheng soothed gently, "You don't need to be sad. The princess has a very good personality..."
"What's the use of a good personality?! She's not worthy of you at all!" Ni Na interrupted him angrily. She couldn't help but ask, "Xiucheng, do you really have to be with her? Is there no other choice? Can we develop here and not go back?"
Cen Xiucheng said with some helplessness, "Mom, if it were six months ago, maybe. But now, bringing you and your sister back to the country is the best guarantee for you. Please believe me, Ou Minghan is not a good person!"
"Xiucheng, do you have some misunderstanding about Ou Minghan?" Ni Na tried to persuade him. "He might not be good to others, but he's truly good to your sister! When your sister was kidnapped, he was willing to risk his life to save her!
Furthermore, to prevent your sister from being overshadowed by Ye Zhi, he even gave your sister a satellite. Your sister wanted to be a designer, and he worked tirelessly to set up a studio for her, bought her fabrics, and helped her sign up for various design competitions...
If we forcibly take your sister away like this, she'll be sad for the rest of her life!"
Cen Xiucheng narrowed his eyes. So, this was the true reason for Ni Na and Cen Ya's trust in Ou Minghan?
However, even after hearing Ni Na say this, he still felt that there was something fishy about these matters.
"Mom, I will investigate these things you mentioned. I always feel that these things are not so simple," Cen Xiucheng said. "I will let you and my sister see his true colors."
Ni Na was stunned. She wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't.
She knew very well that if Cen Xiucheng wanted to forcibly take them away, he had the means. The fact that he hadn't done so was because he cared about Cen Ya as a sister. He had always protected them very well and couldn't bear to see them get hurt.
However, this made her feel exceptionally upset when she thought of Cen Ya's indifference towards Cen Xiucheng.
No, she must be overthinking it.
"Xiucheng, let me ask you, do you really like Ye Zhi?" Ni Na couldn't help but ask.
"Mom, I've only met her twice. What is there to like about her?" Cen Xiucheng said with great helplessness. "Besides, Taoxun is developing by leaps and bounds now, and our Cen family is not what it used to be. Even if I were to marry into her family, Ye Zhi wouldn't look my way!"
"How can you say that?" Ni Na was anxious.
"Mom, I know that in your heart, I'm perfect, and even a celestial being isn't good enough for me," Cen Xiucheng said with a bitter smile. "But you should open your eyes and see the world. Here, the Cen family can't even compare to a finger of Taoxun... no, not even a leg hair anymore."
Ni Na didn't like hearing Cen Xiucheng say this, but now, she no longer had the mood to refute him.
She thought of Ye Zhi's threats from earlier that day, and her heart began to panic.
"Xiucheng..." Ni Na said guiltily, "If Ye Zhi said that she would make the royal family of Country K force you to marry the princess as soon as possible, do you think that would be true?"
Cen Xiucheng: ...
He seemed to understand something. He really had a 'good mother'!
"Did you go find Ye Zhi?" Cen Xiucheng asked speechlessly.
"I, I..." Ni Na stammered for a long time, but finally, she told Cen Xiucheng the truth.
Now, she was filled with regret. Although she didn't agree with Cen Xiucheng that the Cen family couldn't even compare to Taoxun's leg hair, she was equally worried that Ye Zhi's threat would come true!
After hearing the whole story, Cen Xiucheng felt quite helpless.
Although he had only met Ye Zhi twice, he understood to some extent that Ye Zhi was not someone who would quibble over small things.
These threats were merely to scare Ni Na. Their Cen family was not important enough for Ye Zhi to use her connections to contact the royal family.
However, if he wanted to save the Cen family, he could only marry the princess as soon as possible. Denying it now would be meaningless.