Chapter 182 - 178: Wimp x Innocent Little Tyrant 17

Chapter 182: Chapter 178: Wimp x Innocent Little Tyrant 17

Ji Yao stayed in the hotel for three days. When she emerged, she was on the verge of a complete breakdown.

In the end, Li Liping had to sell some of her jewelry and property for compensation. Ji Fu couldn’t find out, or he would use even more terrifying methods against the mother and daughter.

But some secrets are impossible to keep. Ji Fu never heard from Xu Ji. Instead, he saw that Xu Ji and Jiang Manyun were still appearing together as a couple.

President Wang was also pressing him urgently. Ji Xiaosong, however, hadn’t contacted Ji Fu at all since their last phone call.

Left with no other choice, Ji Fu contacted Ji Xiaosong again.

She didn’t answer, which was to be expected. Ji Xiaosong was so busy these days that her phone was rarely with her.

After more than a dozen calls, he finally got through.

"What is it?"

Ji Xiaosong’s cold, clear voice came through the receiver.

"Hmph. So this is what someone engaged to the Jiang Family sounds like. Your tone isn’t nearly as respectful as it used to be."

Ji Fu had considered many approaches, but decided to try and control Ji Xiaosong just like he used to.

A person’s nature and their deep-seated fears don’t just change overnight.

Ji Xiaosong had been oppressed for so many years. A simple engagement contract shouldn’t be enough to make her so arrogant so quickly.

Ji Fu’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist. Through the receiver, he could hear the dull hum of an outdoor air conditioning unit.

Spring snow fell softly outside the floor-to-ceiling window. He stared at a scorch mark on the coffee table left by a cigarette butt, and suddenly laughed.

"Xiaosong, when you had a high fever at five years old, it was me who carried you on my back, running three blocks to find a clinic. You hugged my neck and said Daddy’s back was the warmest. Do you remember?"

"You remember it wrong."

Ji Xiaosong was in the middle of signing an equity transfer agreement for the Jiang Group, the nib of her fountain pen hovering over the final page.

"On that day, Mother only dropped the thermos and burned me because you shoved her. You stood in the entryway, smashed her medicine bottle, and said it was a waste of money and you might as well have a son instead."

The crisp sound of a page turning came from the other end of the line. Ji Fu violently ground out his cigar on the sandalwood desk.

"You think you’re so tough now that you’ve latched onto the Jiang Family? Don’t forget, you need your own foundation to stand firm in a family like that."

"I am my own foundation."

"Yourself? Hah! On the strength of singing a few songs? There are tons of people who can sing and dance. Do you think you’d have your current success without someone backing you? Let me tell you something: your husband’s family will always be someone else’s family. Only your own family is your true safe harbor."

"No, thank you. You can save those words for Ji Yao. If the Jiang family treats me well, I’ll naturally repay them in kind. If they ever grow tired of me, I have the skills to stand on my own two feet. You failed to complete the task I gave you, but frankly, I don’t mind. After all, my initial goal was just to see how far you would actually go."

Before Ji Fu could say another word, Ji Xiaosong hung up.

She knew, of course, that Xu Ji would never marry Ji Yao. But she also knew Li Liping would definitely go and make a scene.

And as long as they made a scene, once Jiang Manyun found out, life would become very difficult for Ji Yao and the others.

Jiang Manyun had long wanted to get rid of Xu Ji, that disloyal moocher. But he had always been very careful, and no one had ever dared to cause trouble in front of Jiang Manyun.

Now that she had been handed this opportunity, she would definitely seize it.

Sure enough, less than half a month later, Ji Xiaosong saw a headline dominating the news.

Jiang Manyun had kicked Xu Ji out with nothing to his name.

That very day, Ji Fu called again.

"Xu Ji is clinging to us now and won’t let go. He says he wants to marry your sister."

Ji Xiaosong scoffed. When Xu Ji was Jiang Manyun’s husband, he was part of a powerful, wealthy family.

Now, he had nothing. He had spent most of his life enjoying wealth and luxury thanks to Jiang Manyun. The fall to being a common man who had to worry about his next meal was a shock he couldn’t accept so quickly.

Based on everything he knew about Jiang Manyun, there was no way she would ever take him back.

So he would latch onto anyone he could.

"Ji Xiaosong, you were the one who told your Aunt Li to go negotiate with them. Now that Xu Ji has agreed, are you going to stand by your word?"

"What word?"

Ji Xiaosong feigned ignorance.

"Don’t play dumb with me. You said that if your sister married Xu Ji, you would arrange a partnership between the Ji family and the Jiang Family, and that you wanted me to be there to witness your engagement."

"Fine. When I see the marriage certificate, you’ll see the invitation."

Ji Fu hung up, his expression as dark as a sky before a storm.

He turned to look at Ji Yao, who was sitting on the sofa with a vacant expression, and the fury in his heart blazed even hotter.

"Ji Yao, look at this mess you’ve made!"

Ji Fu’s voice cut like a bitter wind. "Now Xu Ji wants to marry you. What’s there to be unhappy about?"

Ji Yao snapped her head up, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

Her voice trembled as she spoke. "Dad, I don’t want to marry him! He’s... he’s fifty-three! He’s almost as old as you!"

"What nonsense is this!"

Ji Fu roared. "Even though Xu Ji has lost the Jiang Family’s support, he was still their prestigious son-in-law for twenty years! A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. As long as you marry him, the Ji family can rise again!"

"I don’t want to!"

Ji Yao cried out, "I only ever wanted to use him for some resources! I never thought I’d actually have to marry him!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Ji Fu trembled with rage. "You think I don’t know about your petty little schemes? You think you can hide anything from me? Let me tell you, this isn’t up for discussion! You will marry Xu Ji!"

Ji Yao collapsed onto the sofa in despair, tears rolling down her cheeks like broken pearls.

She knew that in this family, she had no say. Her fate was entirely in Ji Fu’s hands.

When Ji Xiaosong was still around, she had always thought of herself as a little princess, doted on by the whole family.

Now, it seemed she was nothing more than a stepping stone for her father’s ambitions.

Li Liping stood to one side, her heart twisting as if from a knife as she watched her daughter’s suffering.

She wanted to say something, but didn’t dare to speak.

She knew Ji Fu’s temper. If she provoked him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Honey, what if... we talk it over with Yaoyao again?" Li Liping said cautiously.

"Discuss what?"

Ji Fu shot her a glare. "This matter is settled! Have Xu Ji and Ji Yao get married tomorrow!"

Li Liping started to say something more, but was silenced by Ji Fu’s sharp glare.

She could only let out a silent sigh and turn to leave the room.

Ji Yao watched Li Liping’s retreating figure, her heart filling with desolate sorrow.

She knew that in this house, even her mother, the only person she could rely on, couldn’t protect her.

’At this moment, I feel like a bird trapped in a cage, with no hope in sight.’

Early the next morning, Xu Ji arrived at the gates of the Ji family estate by bus.

There were no bus stops near the Ji family’s villa district, so he had to walk for nearly half an hour.

He muttered curses the entire way. After years of living in luxury, he truly couldn’t adapt to his current life.

Thankfully, a sucker like the Ji family was willing to take the bait. Otherwise, he didn’t know how long his old bones would have lasted.

After he waited at the Ji family’s gate for a while, Ji Yao was escorted out to him by several bodyguards.

Xu Ji stood before the ornate, wrought-iron gate, wrapped in a pilled, old wool coat. As a snowflake slipped into his grimy collar, he was suddenly reminded of the first time he’d accompanied Jiang Manyun as a guest, decades ago.

Back then, a little girl had dirtied Jiang Manyun’s brand-new custom suit—worth over three hundred thousand—and the girl’s family had groveled for forgiveness.

Now, all he could do was stare at his reflection in the guardhouse window and flip his collar up to hide the stain.