so what

Xu Changqing never expected that the "wild man" in his eyes would be so fierce, fearing even the slightest harm to his son, so he dared not speak anymore.

Ye Chong poked Xu Jianfeng's forehead with his hand, "Look at your sister properly, think about how she treated you since childhood, and be honest with yourself."

"Okay..."

Before he could finish, Ye Chong gave him a slap, "Okay, my ass! How did you talk about her last time? You said she's always been stronger than you since childhood, right?"

Ye Chong slapped him again, "With your worthless attitude, anyone is stronger than you. You should thank God for giving you such a good sister. Without her taking care of you, you'd have been dead before you grew up. If it weren't for the fact that you and my wife have the same father, I would have crushed you into pieces. You scum!"

Xu Jianfeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, weakly smiled with frustration, "You're something else!"

"Hey handsome, we met a few days ago at Baoji Bay, right? I remember you were quite arrogant last time, now you can be as arrogant as you want, just dare to annoy me and I'll slap you to death!"

Xu Jianfeng frowned, "What do you want?"

"I don't care what kind of person your old man is, I just want to know what kind of creature you are. What right do you have to dictate to your sister how to live her life? Did I see wrong just now? It seemed like I saw a bastard wanting to hit his sister, so I stopped your beastly behavior in time. You should be grateful that I didn't kill you after talking to you for so long."

Xu Jianfeng gritted his teeth and raised his thumb weakly, "Okay, I admit defeat today, you win."

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Chong grabbed his thumb and forcefully bent it downwards.

Snap!

Xu Jianfeng's thumb was forcibly bent to the side, but this guy was quite resilient. Despite the pain, he only grunted but didn't scream.

"Ye Chong, let go of my brother!" Xu Menglin, with unknown strength, pushed him away and helped Xu Jianfeng up, her face full of concern, "Jianfeng, your hand... it's all because of your sister... it's all because your sister was wrong, I'll take you to the hospital right away..."

Ye Chong sighed, "In the end, they're still siblings, stronger than an outsider like me."

He approached and suddenly grabbed Xu Jianfeng's thumb again, forcefully bending it, and with another snap, Xu Jianfeng almost fainted from the pain.

"Ye Chong, you..." Xu Menglin was about to protest when she saw Xu Jianfeng's thumb bent back again, causing him to sweat profusely in pain.

He gritted his teeth and gave Xu Menglin a cold smile, "My good sister, I never expected you to resort to such tactics against me. Alright, today I admit defeat, I yield to you."

A wave of indescribable grievance surged up in Xu Menglin's heart, her throat feeling like it was blocked, "Jianfeng, it's all my fault, I'm sorry..."

"Go, find your man, anyway, in your eyes, your father and I are not as good as a wild man."

Xu Menglin wanted to say something else, but Xu Changqing angrily exclaimed, "Get out! Get out right now!"

Xu Menglin shivered, slowly stood up, tearfully looked at her father and brother, turned around silently, and walked out step by step, while Ye Chong had already disappeared.

She felt like she was completely empty, her mind blank, not even knowing how to enter the elevator and how to leave the building.

She just drifted out of the hotel gate, only to hear a voice beside her, "Do you want me to take you for a drive to clear your mind?"

Xu Menglin stopped and turned to look back, seeing Ye Chong leaning against the gate, one hand in his pocket, the other holding half a cigarette, exhaling smoke leisurely.

"Don't follow me." She walked straight to her car and slowly left the hotel parking lot.

Ye Chong threw away the cigarette in his hand and hailed a taxi on the roadside.

The driver grumbled, "Are you blind? Can't you see there's already a passenger in the car?"

Ye Chong didn't say a word, just grabbed the man in the passenger seat by the collar, waved his hand, and threw him out, "Now there's no one, can you drive?"

Seeing that this person was someone he couldn't afford to provoke, the driver didn't dare to say anything more.

The taxi followed Xu Menglin all the way to a deserted coastal cliff. Ye Chong got out of the car and saw the woman sitting on the edge of the cliff, hugging her knees, quietly gazing at the sea, the sea breeze lifting her hair, but she seemed to blend in with the rocks.

Ye Chong frowned. She had caused such a rift with her family because of him. She must be feeling extremely upset.

He went over and sat down, looking at the rolling waves below, couldn't help but smile wryly, "Luckily, I'm with you. If you came to a place like this alone, who knows what you might have thought, then who would I marry?"

"I'm not that fragile, just want some quiet time alone."

"I know that a person's greatest pain is not being understood by their family. I also know that you're a strong woman, but even the strongest person has moments of weakness. There's no one else here, if you want to cry, go ahead, I'll lend you my shoulder."

Xu Menglin looked up at him, "I'm doing what I need to do, what reason do I have to cry?"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that it was a forced marriage?"

"If I had told you earlier, would you have come with me?"

"Of course, with my personality, that's necessary."

"But even though I didn't tell you, you still came. That's what I wanted to see."

"So, now tell me, what did you see?"

"At least you're not as bad as I imagined."

Hearing this, Ye Chong's heart felt relieved, "Has your dad been trying to marry you off to that Tan surname?"

Xu Menglin nodded, "Everyone has their own motives for doing things, and parents are no exception. They often seize a moral high ground and force you to do things you don't want to do. I know who I am, I know what I should and shouldn't do, I know what I can compromise on and what I must stand firm on. But standing firm on something often hurts others, including my own family. But life is just a pile of complicated contradictions, isn't it?"

"Is it worth it to turn against your family for someone like me?"

"You still don't understand, I'm not just doing it for you, but more for myself, for my own principles."

"What is your persistence?" 

Xu Menglin glanced at him for a long time and said, "I'd rather choose the wrong one than someone who's never within my realm of choice." 

After saying this, she got up and walked towards the car. Ye Chong pondered the meaning behind her words, feeling that something was off. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, grabbed his neck, and shouted, "Hey, what do you mean? You're just trying to say that I'm the wrong one, so why beat around the bush?" 

Muttering complaints, he approached the car and knocked on the window. "Okay, even if I'm the wrong one, you can't just abandon your fiancé in the middle of nowhere, right?" 

Xu Menglin unlocked the car door. "Get in." 

They headed straight to Baoji Bay. Ye Chong didn't have any complaints about her words just now. Regardless, her performance today was commendable. A woman willing to offend her own family for him meant that she no longer wished him dead. 

From afar, they could already see the azure glass-like sea of Baoji Bay. Xu Menglin gripped the steering wheel, looking ahead, then suddenly asked, "Why didn't you come back last night?" 

Ye Chong was enjoying the scenery outside the window, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help feeling a sense of dread. He quickly pretended to be indifferent. "Oh, didn't I tell you in the morning? I went back to the company to get something and say goodbye to my coworkers, so I ended up sleeping in the workshop last night." 

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah." Ye Chong tried to remain calm, but deep down, he was feeling anxious. He had never considered the so-called Heart of the Peach Blossom Island his home; at most, it was just a place to spend the night. 

He thought he could brush it off with a casual remark, but he didn't expect Xu Menglin to suddenly turn her head and look at him. Ye Chong immediately felt uneasy. "Hey, you're driving, why are you looking at me instead of the road?" 

Xu Menglin didn't even glance at the road, continuing to stare at him intently. 

Though the car wasn't speeding, driving at fifty or sixty miles per hour could easily lead to a fatal accident. 

"Miss Xu, please focus on driving. We shouldn't joke about risking our lives." 

Xu Menglin said word by word, "You never intended to take this marriage seriously, because you never saw that place as your home. So, even if we get married in the future, what's the point?" 

"Can you focus on driving first? We can talk about this when we get home." 

"No!" Xu Menglin said seriously, "Ye Chong, do you know what it means for me to decide to marry you? It means I'll tie my future life to you, marry a man who has hurt me deeply against my will, and give up all other possible choices in life. But until now, the way you've made me feel has made me start to doubt myself. What do you think marriage is? Is it a physical union, a union of wealth, or a union of life?" 

At this point, Ye Chong stopped feeling rushed. He scratched his neck. "I'm not in a hurry. Let's talk about it at home." 

"No!" Xu Menglin raised her voice, "You answer me. I want an answer right now." 

"Fine, I'll give you an answer now. I'm just a lowly laborer from the bottom of the city. I've never known who my parents are since I was a child. Don't ask me how I grew up; even if I tell you, you won't understand. So, from childhood to adulthood, I've never had the concept of home. Every day, the only thing on my mind is how to fill my stomach. These are things you still won't understand." 

"You said I hurt you, fine, I admit it. You want me to compensate you, fine, I'm willing. You want me to be your in-name husband? No problem, I accept. So what do you still want from me?" 

"Xu Menglin, I've tolerated you for a long time. I don't understand what a home is because I've never had one. So what? So what?" Ye Chong's emotions escalated as he spoke, almost resembling a roar by the end.