Xie Shen felt that his patience was nearly exhausted. There was a trace of irritation in his voice as he said, “I don’t have time to waste on nonsense with you. I’ll give you three minutes to think it over.”
“After three minutes, you can choose whether you want to go to prison with your worthless company, or stay out here and enjoy your retirement in peace. The choice is yours.”
Xie Zhenxing stared at the two agreements before him, fearful yet unwilling to accept the situation.
If he signed them, he would have nothing left.
But if he refused, he would face prison.
Seeing that Xie Zhenxing seemed ready to sign, Li Boyan immediately grew anxious.
If Xie Zhenxing transferred away all his remaining shares and assets, wouldn’t that leave him with nothing?
Why should it?
Xie Shen was a child of the Xie family, but he too carried the Xie family bloodline!
He deserved a share of the family fortune as well!
“Dad, you can’t sign this! This is the empire you spent most of your life building. Even if it’s meant to be handed over to A-Shen in the end—”
“—it should only happen after you willingly step down, not like this!”
Watching the father-and-son duo put on their little performance, Guo Wenli and Xie Shen calmly passed the three-minute wait by playing on their phones.
The mother and son knew Xie Zhenxing far too well.
He was timid, cowardly, brainless, vain, and selfish to the extreme. There was no way he would choose prison just to hold on to that bit of wealth.
After all, Xie Shen was still a member of the Xie family. Handing over the shares to him would not be quite so unbearable for Xie Zhenxing.
Simple-minded people thought simply. In his mind, if the shares went to Xie Shen, then the company would still belong to the Xie family.
And he would avoid going to prison. Besides, Xie Shen was his son; surely he would not truly abandon him in the future.
Sure enough, before the three minutes were even up, Xie Zhenxing had made his decision. Li Boyan could not stop him.
Once both agreements had been signed, Guo Wenli and Xie Shen were very satisfied.
Xie Shen handed the signed documents to his assistant, the smile in his eyes deepening slightly.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Father. After you get your certificate at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow, remember to go to the company and complete the procedures.”
*(This is a fictional setting; there is no mandatory cooling-off period.)*
Guo Wenli also put away her copy of the agreement and sent a message to Xie Wanwan upstairs, telling her she could come down now.
Li Boyan looked at Xie Shen’s smug expression, consumed by rage yet powerless to do anything.
“You forced your own father and brother into this. Feeling proud of yourself now? But don’t get too pleased with yourself. Do you really think Leno Capital is the one that truly has its eye on Leyuan?”
“The backer behind Leno Capital isn’t someone a tiny company like Leyuan can stand against!”
“Don’t be surprised when the entire Xie family goes down with it—including the Xie family’s main branch!”
He curled his lips into a disdainful smile, hoping to see Xie Shen panic.
Yet Xie Shen did not even spare him a glance. He merely said flatly, “What an unlucky day. Why else would there be a rabid dog barking in the middle of the night?”
Xie Wanwan, who had just come downstairs, happened to hear that. Covering her mouth, she chuckled.
“Can’t be helped. Our dear father was blind enough to bring a rabid dog into the house.”
“Hang in there, Brother. We’re human—we can’t lower ourselves to argue with an animal!”
With the protagonist’s halo completely gone, Li Boyan’s true nature was exposed at once. And with no one like Su Yue'er by his side to restrain him, he could no longer hold himself back.
He rushed forward, intending to fight Xie Shen. But before his fist could so much as touch the hem of Xie Shen’s clothes, he was kicked away.
After kicking him aside, Xie Shen acted as though nothing had happened and beckoned to Xie Wanwan.
“Come on. Let’s go home with Mom.”
As long as Mom was there, anywhere could be home.
As Xie Wanwan passed Li Boyan, who was clutching his stomach as he struggled to get back to his feet, she spat at him fiercely, then gave him another hard kick.
The little girl was wearing leather shoes with small heels. Though she did not put much strength into it, it still hurt when her foot struck him.
Afterward, she quickly ran to her brother’s side, afraid that Li Boyan—who seemed to have undergone a drastic change in temperament—might try to hit her too.
“Mom, Brother, let’s go home!”
“We’ll go to the apartment Brother bought outside. If Mom moves in with us, then that’ll be home!”
Guo Wenli stroked her head and smiled. “All right. Let’s go.”
The mother and her two children walked out of Xie Zhenxing’s villa. Xie Zhenxing and Li Boyan sat on the sofa, both looking utterly defeated.
Li Boyan in particular. At that moment, the Xie family fortune he had once regarded as his fallback had ultimately slipped through his fingers.
He was like a deflated balloon now. He could no longer deceive himself.
He truly no longer possessed the glory he had enjoyed in his previous life.
The superstar idol adored by millions, the rising investment genius, the business emperor later revered by all—
All of it had vanished into nothing. Everything he had once gained had disappeared, and nothing of what was yet to come would ever materialize.
All the glory of the past had become a dream, bursting like a bubble.
But dreams had to end eventually, and reality, having strayed from its course, would return to the right path.
No one cared about the father and son’s despair.
…
By the time Xie Wanwan and Xie Shen brought Guo Wenli back to their new home, it was already late.
It was Guo Wenli’s first time setting foot in the apartment where the siblings had been staying temporarily.
Ever since Xie Zhenxing had acknowledged his illegitimate son and brought him home, she had returned to the Guo family to deal with other matters. She had not had the spare time to keep track of how her two children were doing.
As a result, she did not know that they had already moved out of the Xie family villa.
Pulling her mother over to sit on the sofa, Xie Wanwan asked, “Mom, are you hungry?”
“I’ve learned how to cook now. Would you like to try my cooking?”
There was a trace of anticipation in her eyes as she spoke.
Deep down, she wanted her mother to see how much she had grown.
Xie Shen glanced at the two of them and said that he would go make something simple—perhaps some noodles—so that the mother and daughter could have a proper talk.
He could tell that his little sister had missed their mother very much.
Watching her brother’s retreating figure as he entered the kitchen, Xie Wanwan felt a small pang of disappointment.
Mom didn’t seem all that eager to see how much she had changed.
Seeing the fleeting disappointment in her daughter’s eyes, Guo Wenli felt terrible.
“Wanwan, let your brother cook. Mom has something to tell you.”
When Xie Wanwan turned back around, she had already regained her carefree, cheerful expression, as though that fleeting moment of disappointment had never existed.
Guo Wenli gently pinched her cheek, her nose stinging with emotion. Then she turned, took several documents from her bag, and placed them in Xie Wanwan’s hands.
Xie Wanwan did not look at what she was holding right away. Instead, she stared at her mother with a puzzled expression.
With a soft smile, Guo Wenli brushed Xie Wanwan’s wrist and looked into her eyes. Then, slowly and earnestly, she said, “I’m sorry, Wanwan.”
“I haven’t been a qualified mother. I neglected you for so long, leaving your inner world so desolate.”
“It was Mom’s fault. I’m sorry for making you suffer so many grievances.”
Xie Wanwan froze for a moment. She had thought she would not cry when she heard those words.
She had thought she was prepared—that even if her mother did not love her that much, she would still love her deeply.
But why was it that, when she heard her mother apologize to her, tears began to stream down her face beyond her control?
“Mom...”
