As the stocks of Li Textile continued to fall, Xu Ming was sweating at the Xu Ancestral House. No matter what chess piece he put forward, Old Madam Xu was able to block it.
"Argh, grandma, I don't think there will come a time when I can beat you," Xu Ming whined.
Old Madam Xu flicked her second grandson's forehead.
"Ouch!" Xu Ming touched the reddened part of his forehead. "Why do that?"
Rolling her eyes, Xu Hina placed a white pawn in front of Xu Ming's black bishop. "Because you are not really playing," she chided him. "It reflects on me. How can you play so lousy? Am I not a good teacher?"
Xu Ming crossed his arms. "I don't like chess, you know that. In the first place, I'm not even supposed to be here," he shook his head.
"Blame it on your incapacity to convince your elder brother to visit me," Xu Hina continued to demolish her grandson's defense on the chessboard.
Xu curled his lips as he put a chess piece backward. If he was his elder brother, he also wouldn't visit their grandma. Whoever wanted to discuss marriage plans as if it was a sentence of reclusion perpetua with no chance of reprieve?
Xu Hina, who was watching Xu Ming's facial expression, playfully slapped his arm. "Stop being so flippant!" she hissed. What did she do in the past to be given two grandsons like them? One was a womanizer and the other was afraid of commitment? Isn't it practically the same thing?
She sighed helplessly before staring at her grandson. "If your brother will not pay me a visit within the day, I'll announce to the media that he will get married to the Young Miss of Qin Family."
Xu Ming leaned on the sofa. His right hand was on the arm rest, supporting his chin. "You know blackmail doesn't work with him," his tone was serious.
A laughter without life bounced at the four corners of the game room. "Dear grandson, I don't do blackmails. I just do whatever I want to."
Well, Xu Ming knew that very well. But he also knew his elder brother's temper. He shook his head. Family affairs were damn annoying, he whined in his mind.
"There's no need to resort to that kind of thing, Grandma," a voice from the door said. Both Xu Hina and Xu Ming turned their heads towards the owner of the voice. A man wearing a gray business suit was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. The prominent jaw which was a trademark gene of the Xu Family coupled with his charcoal eyes made him all the more imposing.
They did not even realize that the door opened. "Wei!" Xu Hina exclaimed as she blinked her eyes, afraid that the person in front of her was just an illusion. It can be counted in one hand the times that Xu Wei visited the ancestral house since he returned from overseas six years ago. More often than not, it was Xu Hina who would pay him a visit at the Xu Group.
Xu Wei took a step towards them. He gently placed a kiss on his grandma's cheek before nodding slightly to his brother.
For Xu Ming's part, he was still wide-eyed. Did a miracle just happen? Xu Wei was visiting the ancestral house? "Ahem, big bro. Why are you in good mood today?"
Xu Wei raised an eyebrow as he occupied the seat near their grandma. "I'm getting married," he told them, his tone was flat.
Xu Hina who was sipping her juice choked on it. Xu Wei took the glass from her trembling hands as he lightly patted her back. "Be careful, Grandma."
"Y-You're getting married?" She exhaled sharply.
"Who is the woman, bro?" Xu Ming butted in. Unlike Xu Hina, he seemed to be more open to the idea of his elder brother getting married.
"Quickly tell me who she is," Xu Hina pulled the hem of his blazer.
"If I tell you she's an ordinary woman, will you accept her, Grandma?" Xu Wei peered at his grandma; his eyes were staring at her intently.
Xu Hina waved her hand indifferently. "Nonsense. As long as she has what it takes to stand by your side, I will accept her with fireworks in the sky."
"Woah," Xu Ming's glass of juice stopped midair as he turned his head to the Old Madam of Xu Family. "You're gonna spoil her rotten, grandma. You haven't met her yet."
"So what?" Xu Hina shrugged her shoulders. "Your brother chose her. He cannot be wrong about her. Right, Wei?" she grasped her eldest grandson's hands, eyes were twinkling.
Xu Wei raised his glass of juice in the air, titling it slightly before taking a sip.
"So big bro, stop your delaying tactics. Who is the woman?" Xu Ming leaned forward. "Come on, I'm not gonna tell anyone," he whispered as he clasped his two hands in front of him. Xu Hina mirrored her younger grandson's action.
Xu Wei' eyes darted from Xu Hina to Xu Ming. He can't decide whether to laugh or cry with the childish antics of an old woman and a grown man. In the end, laughter won out.
He shoulders were still shaking as he wiped the unshed tears at the corner of his eyes. At the same time, he was shaking his head.
"Don't tell us, you're pulling pranks on us?" Xu Hina's lips formed a straight line. "I tell you, Xu Wei. If this is not true, I will arrange for you to marry Qin Xiurong," she warned him.
With that, Xu Wei's back straightened up as his jaw tightened. The easygoing demeanor vanished and was replaced by a bone-chilling aura. Xu Ming tactfully scampered away from his seat. Totally unnecessary to be involved. He still has to go to a party next weekend.
Xu Hina cannot help but shiver as she looked straight into his eldest grandson's charcoal eyes devoid of any emotion. On one hand, she was afraid but she was still the Old Madam Xu and Xu Wei's grandmother. On one part, she was proud. Her eldest grandson lived up to the expectations as the Xu Family heir apparent.
"Qin Xiurong and I have already parted ways two years ago. She knows that very well," Xu Wei informed her.
"But Xiurong is a good child and very beautiful at that," Xu Hina continued to convince him.
"The future Young Madam Xu is also beautiful and successful in her own field," he countered.
"And so is Xiurong."
"Well, I don't like her anymore," Xu Wei leaned back on the sofa. He closed his eyes as his lips were set in a hard line.
"You used to like her. You were in a relationship, Wei. I'm sure –"
Xu Wei opened his eyes and stared directly at his grandma's eyes, his gaze unwavering. Xu Hina flinched at the intensity of his grandson's gaze but she cannot back down. "She's not from the Triad so she just flunked the preliminaries, dear Grandma."
"T-Triad?" Xu Hina stuttered. The next head of the Xu Family will marry someone from the Li or Yang Family? She dropped her arms on her side as she tried to process the information.
Even Xu Ming dropped his jaw when he realized what his brother had just said. He touched his chin. The images of the young misses of Li and Yang Families entered his mind. Yang Shana was a certified spoiled brat. Yang Lina possessed a calm demeanor on the outside, but pretty petty on the inside. Plus, she was illegitimate.
On the other hand, Li Nuxie was a drifter which made her an outcast in the high society. However, she got the proud and regal bearing of the Li Family. Li Chanying was more famous than the Young Miss Li. Although adopted, she was successful in her field as the owner of Ying Design Limited.
Xu Ming looked at his brother. Was it Li Chanying? He exhaled. Well, it will still depend on his brother.
"Give me a name," Xu Hina demanded, her voice was laced with a stubborn streak.
Xu Wei stood up. "I'll announce it at the annual scion gathering, Grandma. There's no need to hurry," he winked at her before turning his gaze at his younger brother. "Follow me," he strode towards the door without waiting for Xu Ming's response.
Xu Ming looked at his grandma who was sweating profusely based on the darkened color of her collar. "Later, grandma," he walked towards the door.
The Old Madam Xu was left in the game room with a confused mind and conflicted heart. She needed to get moving. She cannot let his eldest grandson marry a woman who came from poisonous clans. All the more she cannot allow it if she will come from the Yang or Li Family.