Cao Yang used too much force gripping Xia Rou"s hand that night, causing her such pain she complained about it to him.
He didn"t say anything.
After that, he forgot what he dreamt of that night. But the next morning as he woke, he threw his dirty underwear into the laundry basket and took a cold shower for a long while.
w.a.n.g Man dialed his number two times to invite him to meet, but he turned her down. Translated by The Novelst
She was such an arrogant person that though she didn"t know why Cao Yang"s att.i.tude had changed, when she realized he was no longer testing the waters with her, she never called him again.
Their relationship vanished in the wind, as though it had never been.
And soon the capital was awash with rumors that Huo Yaogang was wooing w.a.n.g Man. There were still several people interested in her; some from the political sphere and some from the business sphere.
As long as Cao Yang"s att.i.tude indicated that he was clearly not interested, then Huo Yaogang was the top-tier contender. And so that news was very popular, spreading like wildfire.
There were even people who were waiting to see Cao Yang and Huo Yaogang fall out.
But in the end, no such thing happened. Those people who were waiting for the drama gave up.
When Cao Xiong heard the news, he personally called Cao Yang to his study for a talk.
Cao Yang"s att.i.tude was very clear. "She annoys me a little."
Although Cao Xiong felt that w.a.n.g Man was an excellent candidate, he would not force his own son to continue having a relationship with a woman he didn"t like.
He himself had loved before. Whether it was his departed wife or the late Cheng Wan, he had affection in those relationships.
When the younger brothers of the family heard the news, Cao Bin nodded, Cao Xing didn"t pay much attention, but Cao An was breathless: "Father doesn"t care about this?"
Though he didn"t like w.a.n.g Man, he felt that she was very suited to his big brother in all aspects. Especially in terms of family background – he didn"t know of any other family that suited them more than the w.a.n.g Family.
The Cao and w.a.n.g families had very strong presences at the very top. And thinking of Cao Xiong"s tendencies, he would definitely pressure Cao Yang to get together with w.a.n.g Man.
Look at him: hadn"t Cao An himself been strong-armed by his father into giving up his fashion company?
His most amiable second brother told him, smilingly, "Not sure what father is thinking. Why don"t you go and ask him?"
Though Cao An already knew that a smile from his second brother definitely had traps hidden in it, he still couldn"t suppress his curiosity and went to ask his father.
Cao Xiong looked at this insensible, good-for-nothing youngest son. Up to now, Cao An"s mind was still not entirely stable. If it wasn"t for the pressure Cao Xiong had exerted on him, Cao An might still be unable to share any responsibility at all.
Cao Xiong sneered. "Just because I"m from the lower cla.s.s and your grandfather has a strong family background, you think I"m looking for my sons to find a reliable father-in-law?"
"N-No, that"s not…" Cao An"s forehead beaded with cold sweat.
"If my sons have to look for a wife and rely on his father-in-law…" Cao Xiong had already gripped his leather belt, "All of my hard work in these past ten years – you think it"s only for show?"
Luckily, Cao An had practiced his running skills since he was young. He was only hit once by the very tip of the belt before he managed to escape safely.
But he still received a bruise on his back.
Cao Xing, his lovely brother, wanted to show his brotherly spirit and began to roll his sleeves up to outstretch a huge palm and volunteer to help Cao An rub some ointment on that bruise, but he was firmly rejected.
Cao An took the ointment and went up to the second floor to look for Xia Rou.
Things like putting on ointment should always be accompanied by a girl"s help. She had gentle hands – who would rather have Cao Xing"s huge bear palms!
He took off his t-shirt and lay down on the sofa to let Xia Rou put the ointment on his back for him. But Xia Rou had just purchased her new favorite light beige sofa, she was afraid that the ointment might get on it. So she told him to get on the bed instead.
"What did you do now?" she asked, facepalming.
What son in the world was still being hit by their father"s leather belt at twenty six or seven!
"Second brother tricked me! He tricked me!" Cao An wailed, feeling very wronged. "He"s so evil! He obviously knew what father was thinking, but he didn"t want to tell me. Instead he told me to go ask directly!"
"What was it about?" Xia Rou asked.
"It"s about the rumors between big brother and w.a.n.g Man… Ouch! Softer, softer!" Cao An yelped.
Xia Rou had accidentally used too much strength and quickly apologized. Waiting until he was in less pain, she continued to rub the ointment in.
"Big brother and w.a.n.g Man… are they really over?" she asked carefully.
"Actually, they can"t even be said to have been dating. I"m telling you…" Cao An showed his true busybody self, "I asked big brother and he only had a few dinners with her, didn"t even hold her hand…"
Xia Rou let out a soft sigh, a little anxious. "Why? Didn"t he… say it was going quite well in the beginning?"
"Who knows. But w.a.n.g Man isn"t that likeable. Since it didn"t work out, just let it be," Cao An said, uncaring.
"But…" she said softly, "Her father is the governor of the province. If big brother and w.a.n.g Man get together, what a perfect match it"d be."
"I know right, even you think so. I was tricked by second brother just because of this…" Cao An heaved a sigh. "Haiz, my father huh, I"m telling you, my father…"
He repeated word-for-word what Cao Xiong had said to Xia Rou, and sighed, "My father… though his temper is bad and sometimes he"s too bossy, now that I look at it, he"s a really good father… Ouch!!"
"Y-Y-Y-You, softer!!" Cao An"s voice quavered.
"Serves you right," Xia Rou snorted.
Having such a father and such a family – he was really a fool and didn"t know how good he had it. How she wished she could push his bruise a few more times!
But… Translated by The Novelst
"So actually Uncle also feels that w.a.n.g Man is not a must, then, right?" she asked carefully.
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Proofread by: Hannah