A beautiful summer night

She jogged across the yard and into the villa's living room. The Zhou family's servants bowed respectfully and greeted Xia Wanzhi as "Miss Xia."

The cursing was so loud in the living room that it could be heard in the yard.

With a loud "smack," Ms. Ross slammed her hand on the table in anger, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Your Zhou family is simply outrageous and lawless!"

"Back then, we wanted to take Wanzi with us, but Wanzi couldn't bear to leave you and insisted on staying for you. And what about you? How did you treat my Wanzi, you snobbish ingrate?"

"I even thought you were a good kid..."

Ms. Ross was so angry that she clutched her heart, which was pounding so hard she couldn't breathe.

My heart aches whenever I think about the hardships my daughter has endured all alone.

"I shouldn't have agreed to stop Wanzi's card in the first place. I made our baby suffer..." Ms. Ross wiped her dry eyes and snuggled into Xia Yongqing's arms like a doting wife.

"You've suffered, you've suffered. Let's go back and make another pot of soup for our baby to nourish him." Xia Yongqing comforted Ross.

Ross is notoriously difficult to deal with. Zhou's mother was bombarded with criticism for saying, "It's not necessarily true that Xia Wanzhi loves Zhou Yu that much."

Xia Yongqing always unconditionally stands by his wife's side.

Zhou's mother looked very unpleasant. From the moment the couple came to their door, she was the only one talking.

Mr. Zhou couldn't lift his head and kept apologizing.

Zhou Yu also endured it without saying a word, letting them hurl insults at him.

If this gets out, where will the Zhou family put their face?

Unable to swallow her anger, Zhou's mother retorted, "Is your Xia Wanzhi without fault? Before she was engaged to my Zhou Yu, she was already getting close to that man from the Xie family. After the engagement was broken off, she even went to the Xie family for dinner with him. A few days ago, she was trending on social media with rumors about her affair. You should ask your daughter about what's going on here!"

"Mom! Stop talking!" Zhou Yu roared angrily, his face ashen.

Zhou's mother was immediately frightened.

"It's my fault." Zhou Yu looked at Xia Yongqing and Ross and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry for letting you down."

Finally, he emphasized, "But my love for Zhizhi has never changed; I love her to the core..."

"Then let's tear your bones apart and see if there's even a single hair of Xia Wanzhi in your bones." Xie Qiyan hooked his arms around Xia Wanzhi's collar and pulled her back, taking a step forward before her.

Xia Wanzhi was a half-second slow to react, falling a step behind him. Her entrance made it seem as if she was being protected.

The moment Zhou Yu saw Xie Qiyan, his face turned deathly pale, and alarm bells rang in his mind.

This is clearly a matter between the Zhou and Xia families. What right does Xie Qiyan, an outsider, have to interfere?

Zhou Yu stared intently at him and Xia Wanzhi, increasingly convinced that all the rumors about the two of them were true.

"Hey, Maruko's brother Xie is here!" Ms. Ross waved enthusiastically, as if welcoming him to join the battle.

Xie Qiyan responded with a smile and a slight nod to Ms. Ross.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Old Xia then asked abruptly, "President Xie, you're always so busy, what brings you here?"

"We bumped into each other at the entrance; he brought me here," Xia Wanzhi explained on my behalf.

She hadn't expected Xie Qiyan to follow her in.

Zhou's mother's face turned red and white in turns. The reason she argued with Ross earlier was because she knew that although the Xia family had paid off their debts, the Xia Corporation's bankruptcy was an undeniable fact.

She believed that the Zhou family was now of a higher status than the Xia family.

But now that Xie Qiyan has arrived, he is protecting Xia Wanzhi in every way.

Even if the Zhou family had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly in front of Xie Qiyan.

"What did Mrs. Zhou just say? Should I repeat it?" Ms. Ross shrugged, in a very good mood.

Xia Wanzhi stopped, saw that Zhou's mother had stopped and was swallowing her anger, then turned her gaze to meet Zhou Yu's across the distance.

"Young Master Zhou, be careful with your words in the future. Keep those deep-seated feelings to your partner. I can't bear the responsibility." Xia Wanzhi's eyes turned cold.

"We agreed before that if you don't bother me, I won't cause you any trouble. Today, my parents came without warning, which is indeed something I couldn't control. But what your Zhou family and you did to me, is it worth my parents coming over to scold them to vent their anger?"

Zhou's mother looked at her in disbelief: "You..."

What a sharp tongue!

How come I never noticed before how decisive she was in doing things?

Xia Wanzhi lowered her eyes and stopped looking at Zhou Yu.

She was willing to swallow her anger before because she still regarded Zhou Yu as her fiancé and them as her elders.

But not anymore.

Ms. Ross looked at her daughter with a look of satisfaction.

She finally inherited her exceptional eloquence.

This daughter was worth having.

With both families' elders present, and having said what needed to be said, Ms. Ross had vented her anger and would have nothing more to do with the Zhou family from now on.

After leaving the Zhou family home, Xia Wanzhi noticed that Ms. Ross was in such a good mood that she was humming a little tune, and thought that the Zhou family probably hadn't mentioned the studio to them.

There were rumors that she was able to stay at Xingyao Building because of a power-for-sex deal with Xie Qiyan. Although Xia Wanzhi is upright and has nothing to fear, it would probably not be a good thing if these rumors reached the ears of Old Xia and Ms. Ross.

She did have a deal with Xie Qiyan, but they were in a legitimate business relationship.

Old Xia seems to have a problem with Xie Qiyan.

Xia Wanzhi glanced at Xia Yongqing and, sure enough, his eyes were colder when Xie Qiyan was around.

If he knew about this connection between her and Xie Qiyan, his decision to have her settle in England with him would be even more difficult to shake.

As he stepped out of the villa, Xie Qiyan's car was parked at the door. He quickly stepped forward and opened the car door.

"No need to trouble you, our family will just take a taxi." Xia Yongqing said curtly.

Ms. Ross clicked her tongue: "Why take a taxi? There's a car available, why not take it? Besides, Xiao Xie is going right on our way."

Seeing his wife get into the car with a smile, Xia Yongqing put his hands behind his back, snorted coldly in his heart, and the next second he very proactively opened the passenger door and got in himself.

He deliberately prevented Xia Wanzhi from getting close to Xie Qiyan.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

This is quite obvious.

But Ms. Ross, being rather oblivious, probably didn't notice and chatted with Xie Qiyan all the way.

When they returned to Lanting Villa, Xie Qiyan and Xia Wanzhi walked behind after they got off the elevator. Xie Qiyan said in a slightly soft voice, "Xie Tan will be starting school in a few days."

Xia Wanzhi paused slightly: "Yes, I know that."

She knew there was a hidden meaning in Xie Qiyan's words.

"I'm bringing her here tonight to stay with me for a few days. You can come over and keep her company if you have time." Xie Qiyan stopped walking as she did.

Xia Wanzhi was stunned and looked up at him.

Xie Tan is about to start school, and she will soon be going to England with her parents.

Xie Tan couldn't bear to part with her.

Xia Wanzhi's lips moved, suppressing the loneliness in her eyes: "Okay."

"What are you two whispering about?" Ms. Ross called out as she turned around, noticing they were lagging behind.

"No." Xia Wanzhi quickly followed and opened the door.

As Xia Wanzhi entered the house and closed the door, her gaze met that of Xie Qiyan, who lived across the hall.

She swore she had never peeked at Xie Qiyan.

She didn't expect Xie Qiyan to suddenly turn around and look at her.

"If you need any help, just ask."

Xia Wanzhi couldn't help but stare blankly when she recalled those words.

That's quite thoughtful.

At least her soul was comforted. "There will be another chapter later."