"Mr. Xie, don't you think your daughter is a bit too tall?"
Gong Beiyao didn't glance at Xie Weiyi even once, but instead, finished speaking calmly and then left with Sheng Qianxia in his arms.
What did that mean? Sheng Qianxia was completely baffled.
Behind her, Xie Weiyi let out a piercing scream.
Sheng Qianxia didn't look back, nor did she want to know what had happened.
But the Xie Weiyi behind her was like someone who had just experienced a terrifying nightmare—
"Dad, my legs, my legs!!"
Her voice was shrill with despair, unable to utter anything more.
Her own father had actually broken her legs!
"I acknowledged you back into the family to marry you into nobility, yet you have brought disaster upon the entire Xie Family! Now I am the one to punish you, and only your legs are the price to pay. If the young master would handle this personally, our whole Xie Family would suffer as fish when the pond is drained!"
Although Xie Xian's punishment of Xie Weiyi temporarily preserved the Xie Family,
everyone present knew that from this day forward, the Xie Family would never regain its former glory.
And Ling Muye immediately called off the engagement right there and then!
"Muye, no, don't leave me…" Xie Weiyi desperately grasped at him, trying to hold onto him.
She had already lost her legs; she couldn't lose him too.
But his eyes were cold and indifferent as he pried off her fingers, which clung to his trouser legs, one by one.
"Even the Xie Family doesn't want you, what reason would I have to keep you?"
Xie Weiyi's eyes widened in shock—
She knew she was just a tool to be used, but hearing him coldly acknowledge it made her feel as though she was plunged into an ice cellar.
Xie Xian, having offended Gong Beiyao, dared not offend Ling Muye any further and even turned around to console him, "I have many other daughters."
Ling Muye did not agree immediately but procedurally had someone carry Xie Weiyi out of 'Flourishing Beauty'.
The engagement banquet held in the name of revenge thus came to an end, and the guests dispersed.
The garden, which had just been bustling with noise and excitement, now lay silent with only Ling Muye left standing alone.
He smashed the cake, threw the champagne wildly, and overturned all the delicacies.
It felt as if his heart had also been crushed!
Ling Muye thought of Sheng Qianxia's figure leaving with Gong Beiyao, and an inexplicable pain overwhelmed him.
He had thought she would never leave him!
He had believed that even if she left him, it wouldn't matter to him at all.
But in this moment, he suddenly realized.
He had overestimated her affection, and underestimated his own feelings!
In the name of youth, he had cloaked his marriage vows with funeral rites, coming only for revenge.
He had finally gotten his wish, but he felt not a trace of joy!
All that remained was an endless grey, sweeping over him like a storm.
*
On the other side.
Sheng Qianxia followed Gong Beiyao for quite a distance.
Until the Sheng Family was out of sight, she finally relaxed a little.
Remembering that Gong Beiyao was still holding her, her face flushed red, and she hurriedly struggled out of his embrace.
Gong Beiyao looked at her with a cold eye.
The atmosphere froze for an instant.
Discarding her after use, true to her style!
The rain had not stopped.
Her clothes, which hadn't dried yet, were again soaked by the rain.
Whether it was due to the rain or because she left his warm embrace, she shivered from the bone-chilling cold wind.
She awkwardly held up her dress as she crossed the street, not even noticing the traffic lights changing from green to red.
His brows furrowed as he pulled her back to safety.
Then, he shook off her hand as if he was discarding something filthy.
It was as if saving her was an act of mercy, and letting go was the true reflection of his feelings towards her.
Sheng Qianxia noted his gesture, a trace of sourness crossing her heart.
By then, he had already taken off his coat and tossed it onto her, commanding in two words, "Put it on."
"No, I don't need it—" she said, trying to give the coat back to him.
He didn't reach out to take it but merely said coldly, "Clothes you've touched are so filthy, if you don't want them, just throw them away."
"..." She really didn't know whether to say thank you or to help him throw it away.