Veins popped out of Jing Zhongxiu’s forehead. He had been dominating the business field for dozens of years and had gone through all the ups and downs with his composure intact. Yet at this very moment, he was not calm. He was heart-broken and furious.
Jing Yichen was the son his wife Zhao Qing gave birth to. He was the hope of his life and the son he loved above all.
He never knew how he and his son had reached this kind of conflicting situation.
He wished desperately that Jing Yichen did to have not experienced what had happened in the past. He was sadder than anybody else about Zhao Qing’s death.
But Jing Yichen didn’t want to let go of it. He said coldly, “Want my right of inheritance? It is fine. Then you must make an announcement of cancelling the marital relationship between you and my mother immediately and announce the identity of this love-child to the entire world. I will be away from Family Jing directly and I want nothing other than the dowry mother brought with her. I can name myself Zhao rather than Jing.”
Not able to tolerate any more, Jing Zhongxiu slapped Jing Yichen hard on the face.
Jing Yichen stood there straight, unmoved. He stared at him with a cold look.
Right at that moment, a woman’s loud voice rose. “Yichen!”
The father-son duo who were standing facing each other in the living room, turned their heads towards the door instantly. Anger disappeared from both their faces when they saw the woman at the door.
The intense atmosphere at home disappeared immediately. The Butler standing at the door let out a sigh of relief. He wiped off the sweat on his forehead and felt relieved. “The savior is finally here.”
Only this Lady was able to silence the father and the son and drive away their anger at the same time. Even the old Lady and the Grand-Lord couldn’t have helped.
He greeted Shangguan Ning courteously. “Greetings, Lady!”
Not stopping to return his greeting, Shangguan Ning ran to the living room.
She stretched out her arms and stood in front of Jing Yichen. She said to Jing Zhongxiu unhappily, “Father, what did Yichen do so that you threw such a fit? You can slap me, but don’t slap him.”
The anger on Jing Zhongxiu’s face was gone completely. Although he wasn’t smiling at Shangguan Ning like usual, he became calm. That astonished the Butler standing beside them.
Jing Zhongxiu hadn’t touched Jing Yichen after he grew up. He just got too annoyed by what he said a moment ago because of which he slapped him.
Actually, he regretted the moment he did it.
He wasn’t an expressive person and he didn’t know how to get on well with his son. Therefore, their relationship kept getting stiffer during the past thirty years until Shangguan Ning married Jing Yichen.
The anger inside Jing Zhongxiu dispersed when he saw Shangguan Ning’s unhappy face. He said in a gentle voice, “It has nothing to do with you. He did something wrong and you don’t need to protect him, and you don’t need to be slapped for him. He is used to fights and it is fine to get punched a few times.”
“I don’t care. You mustn’t slap him ever. Also, you can’t solve the problem even if you slap him. If you are annoyed and want to vent your anger, do it at me. I won’t be angry with you.”
Everyone was afraid of Jing Zhongxiu except for Shangguan Ning. In her impression, he was always an easygoing and loving Uncle, just like her real uncle. So she had nothing to fear when she talked with him.
The more boldly she talked with Jing Zhongxiu, the closer Jing Zhongxiu felt that she was to him. Shangguan Ning was the only person who regarded him as an ordinary senior and a father.
Jing Zhongxiu didn’t have a daughter, but two annoying and troublesome sons. Therefore, he always regarded Shangguan Ning as his daughter. Hearing her unreasonable demand in a clear voice, his heart softened.
He said affably, “Okay, I won’t slap him. I got carried away just now. Don’t worry, I won’t slap him any more.”
Shangguan Ning remembered very little about Jing Zhongxiu, but Jing Zhongxiu had a very deep impression of her. He had met Shangguan Ning more than once, because he had a very good relationship with Huang Lihan and there was a long period when Huang Lihan would bring this helpless and motherless Shangguan Ning with him evrywhere. So he kept seeing Shangguan Ning during that time.
He had tied shoelaces for her, braided for her and peeled the candies for her. All of them were small moments, but for him, they had been a curious and unforgettable experience. He had never treated his own sons in this way, and always kept a serious face in front of his sons.
There was one time when Shangguan Ning took him as Huang Lihan when she was half asleep, and she would call him Uncle as she held his neck in bed drowsily.
Shangguan Ning was only ten years old, an age so tender. She had just lost her mother and she looked so forlorn and loveable.
It was a rare experience in Jing Zhongxiu’s life. At that time, he regarded Shangguan Ning as his daughter and had patted her to sleep clumsily just like how Huang Lihand usually did.
She had been too young to recall any of the above and only remembered being scooped out of the water by Jing Zhongxiu, because that was the longest time when they were together.
But Jing Zhongxiu remembered everything. He even wished that he could have such a loving and cute daughter.
So when he met Shangguan Ning once again and saw her growing into a beautiful girl, he had instantly proposed to Huang Lihan that she should marry his son and become his daughter-in-law.
It turned out that he had made a correct decision. Not only did he like Shangguan Ning very much, even his distant, and ruthless elder son liked her too. He had taken such a hasty step to marry her before his father could offer his helping hand.
The elder son had been smart and intelligent. He understood clearly what he wanted and he would not hesitate to get what he wanted to himself. He was stronger than him as a son, and had he fought against his mother Mo Lan about removing the child in Zhang Rong’s stomach, then all might have been different.
But it was useless to think about all of these. He only hoped that his son could have a happy life henceforth and he felt pleased to see Shangguan Ning defending him in this way.
“Then father, you should keep your words not to slap him any more. You must promise.” Shangguan Ning was still quite worried, so she asked Jing Zhongxiu for a promise. Her heart was almost broken when she saw Jing Yichen slapped just now. Jing Zhongxiu was his father but he shouldn’t slap him. He was a grown-man and the president of such a huge enterprise and a man whom everyone admired. He shouldn’t be treated like this!
Jing Zhongxiu took a look at Jing Yichen who wore a gentle expression because of Shangguan Ning’s arrival. Then he said calmly, “Okay, no more slapping. I promise.”