Chapter – 27
It Can’t Get Any Worse…
Jiang Family Villa.
After seeing the Song couple off, Third Aunt Jiang also mentioned tomorrow’s dinner party. It was originally a specially prepared banquet to celebrate Xuxu’s return home, meant to be the occasion where she would be formally introduced to high society.
But the person in question had left, and it was now uncertain whether tomorrow’s banquet could even be held.
Everyone’s gaze naturally fell upon the old head of the Jiang family, awaiting his decision.
The old patriarch merely narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment before speaking.
“The banquet will proceed as scheduled.”
Then, he shifted his gaze to his grandchildren.
“Tomorrow, you lot will go personally to fetch Xuxu back. If you cannot bring Xuxu home, then there’s no need for you to return either.”
The moment they heard these words, Jiang Suo and the other two widened their eyes simultaneously, staring at their grandfather in disbelief.
Was a granddaughter they had only met a handful of times truly more important than the three of them, his grandsons?
Moreover, Jiang Suo was one thing, but Jiang Han was the same age as Xuxu, and Jiang Cheng was older than her. For them to have to go and bow their heads in apology was downright humiliating.
Besides, they didn’t feel they had done anything wrong. They thought that between family members, saying you’re “moving out” after a quarrel was just being overly dramatic.
Although they were inwardly dissatisfied, they couldn’t show it and could only remain silent.
At that moment, Jiang Yucheng spoke up.
“Tomorrow, I will go too. To bring Xuxu back.”
He couldn’t forget the look in Xuxu’s eyes when she said she was “leaving home.” Especially after he had specifically instructed Jiang Huai, “That room is reserved for her,” only to end up taking it away from her.
In that moment, she must have been deeply disappointed in him.
Having always been focused solely on work until now, he realized he knew nothing about raising a child.
That’s why this time, he had to make proper amends.
Fortunately, while he appeared stern, he wasn’t bound by outdated notions of male superiority, nor was he the type to think “as an elder, I don’t need to apologize.”
If you made a mistake, you apologized and made up for it as best you could. That was his principle. Especially when the other party was the daughter he had been absent for for eighteen years.
The Next Morning.
When Guan Xuxu woke up, there were four tall men standing outside her door, blocking the entrance like a mountain.
In that instant, she finally understood Jiang Huai’s actions from last night – why he had suddenly brought her back to this apartment.
He had already known. Known that they would come today.
“……Xuxu, you… live here?”
Jiang Yucheng, who had found it hard to believe even when he got the address, was shocked anew by the scene before him.
He had thought Jiang Huai had arranged for her to stay in a more proper place. But in reality, it was in a place like this—.
Xuxu glanced at him and the three others with complicated expressions, then pressed her lips together and quietly opened the door.
“……Come in.”
With four grown men entering the small living room, the space looked cramped. The expressions on Jiang Suo and the other three grew even more complex.
This apartment complex was a mid-range property popular with mid-level students and young office workers. The environment wasn’t bad, but it was far from good either.
But in the eyes of those raised in wealth, it registered as nothing but “the worst conditions.”
The living room wasn’t even as big as one of the bedrooms in the Jiang family home.
“……In a place like this? Even if you found it in a hurry, there must be better options. The family has money, yet you…”
Jiang Han frowned, convinced this was Xuxu putting on an act – to gain sympathy.
But she remained silent, merely returning his gaze without an answer.
Just then, a fluffy white fox darted out from the pet house in the corner and ran over to Xuxu’s feet.
Finally, they noticed the pet supplies placed in the corner of the room. Their well-used appearance made it clear that her living here wasn’t temporary.
Jiang Suo couldn’t hold back anymore.
“You lived with the Guan family before, right? Why are you living alone here? Don’t tell me they kicked you out!?”
His voice held clear anger. While he hadn’t been ready to accept Xuxu, he still felt this was an insult to the “Jiang family’s daughter.”
Jiang Han and Jiang Cheng also darkened their expressions. The Guan family’s treatment of her was essentially a slap in the face to the Jiang family.
Xuxu could only feel exasperated by how different their attitudes were from yesterday. Yesterday, they had been pushing her away relentlessly, and today they were indignant on her behalf – what were they trying to do?
“……I couldn’t keep pets at the Guan family’s place, so I keep the fox here.”
She deliberately emphasized the word “fox” slowly, looking directly at the three of them.
They instantly remembered yesterday’s events – the words they had thrown at her: “Don’t keep a fox at home.”
Jiang Yucheng, who was also aware of the situation, spoke up immediately.
“Jiang Huai has already prepared a pet house at home. From now on, you can keep it at home. No one will object, I guarantee it.”
But Xuxu replied indifferently.
“There’s no need. It’s fine here…. She’s already used to it.”
The word “she” seemed to refer to the fox, but it also sounded as if she was talking about herself.
Jiang Yucheng felt a tightness in his chest.
Thinking of Bai Shuqin’s attitude, he should have realized that Xuxu couldn’t have been happy living with the Guan family. They had assumed, “The Guan family is well-off, so she must have been treated well,” but in reality, she was just “someone else’s child.”
Deeply regretful, Jiang Yucheng said with a serious expression,
“Xuxu, what happened yesterday was my fault. I’m truly sorry. Can you forgive me?”
Xuxu looked at him in surprise.
She had guessed that Jiang Huai sent her back here to elicit sympathy. But she hadn’t even said anything yet, and the apology had come first.
This man, whom everyone in business circles feared, was bowing his head to her without hesitation – the sight struck a heavy chord within her.
However, she replied quietly,
“I was never angry with you, so there’s nothing to ‘forgive’. You don’t need to apologize.”
After a slight pause, she added,
“I’m already an adult, I can live independently. So don’t worry. I left home because I wanted to.”
Meaning – she had no intention of returning.
Jiang Yucheng frowned, still searching for words, when Jiang Han muttered under his breath beside him.
“……By that logic, I’m an adult too. The reason I haven’t moved out isn’t that I don’t want to, it’s because the family wouldn’t allow it, right?”
