The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Chapter 456: "Open your eyes and look at the truth"

With a soft, amused smile, the girl agreed, "Got it, Boss.", she winked at him, a hint of thrill in her sparkling eyes. 

"But let's have this ridiculously expensive dinner first, chrie?", Xi Yuan laughed, helping the girl sit up, placing a soft kiss against her forehead. 

"Okie Dokie!"

_______________

Meanwhile, Xi Family Mansion, 00:30;

"Speak to your father with respect, Fang!", Luo Youyou said through gritted teeth, her eyes open wide. "He simply enquired to you about work. How could you insult him like that?!"

Xi Ying stood behind her twin, anxious. Why did it have to be them? Why their family?! It was literally the fifth argument between Xi Fang and Xi Chonglin this month, despite Xi Yuan's efforts. And now that their elder brother was no more there for them, who'd shield the relationships destined for damnation inside this family? 

Xi Fang had visited the Old Xi Mansion to get some signatures from Xi Chongkun upon the projects that required Xi Yuan's final approval. Little did he know, he'd run into his father. What less, instead of letting him leave, Xi Chonglin started questioning him about the files in his hands. 

"Because Mrs. Xi...", Xi Fang glared at the woman in front of him, "Your husband seems to be interested in Xi Corporations' confidential documents. And dare I remind you, he is not the acting CEO of this company. My brother is. How else did you expect me to react?"

Xi Fang's words were sharp, pointed, prickly; his tone merciless. It was almost as if he was speaking to some strangers. In a way, he was. Provided the kind of childhood the Xi siblings had had, they'd always found it difficult to connect to their parents emotionally. Xi Yuan had started to conversate with his mother just recently, thanks to the Six tiger's lady luck. But Xi Fang's situation was worse.

Unlike Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah, Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou expected their kids to respect and love them irrespective of how irrationally they would act. They did not put in the efforts or gave them the necessary space. Instead, they had a tendency of forcing the weight of relationships on their children, which was much too brutal than one could even begin to imagine. 

Troubled by the chaos outside, Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah soon joined the family of four in the living room. As Li Jungah looked at Xi Fang's dark expression and Xi Ying's tearful eyes, she inhaled sharply. "Dismissed!", she commanded the staff who'd been enjoying the 'supposed' drama so far. 

"Come here, Ying.", she opened her arms then, pulling Xi Ying in for a warm affectionate hug, "It's alright. Calm down."

Xi Chongkun, on the other hand, focussed on Xi Fang's dull guise, "What happened, son?", he questioned, "Are you okay?"

"I am, Uncle.", the young man nodded, smiling bitterly at him, "Thank you for your time. Rest well. I should get going too. I'll be waiting outside, Ying."

At this time, Luo Youyou grabbed the man's left hand, squeezing it with all her might, "You speak to them with so much respect, but treat your own parents like pieces of trash. What's wrong with you, Fang?! I was the one who'd carried you in my womb for nine months, and this is how you repay me? How could you be so unfilial, so ungrateful to us? How?!

"Is this what your elder brother has thought you all these years? Impudence? Insensitivity? Ruthlessness? Or was it Rong Xi-"

"Not a word more, Mrs. Xi!", Xi Fang yelled, his eyes blazing with rage, akin to a wounded lion. The pitch of his voice was so high that one of the maids walking across the room next door jumped up frightfully as the plates in her hands slipped down her fingers and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. No one had ever seen the Second Young Master of the Xi family react so furiously ever before. Why was the second lady pushing him to this extent, they thought.

But Luo Youyou had lost it at this point. So much so that she wanted to reclaim her territory, her son, even if it meant that she'd have to hurt him in order to achieve that.

"Open your eyes and look at the truth, Fang!", she shouted back, her nails digging into the flesh of his palm as each second passed, "While you were given the position of Xi Corporations' Vice President as a handout, he ruled as the heir to the throne. While you gave up the woman you loved for him, he got engaged to the Military Chief of this country, strengthening his stature far above you! While you ruined your relationships with your parents, he is gradually mending fences with his. 

"You are losing everything, Fang. One by one. But he? He hasn't undergone one setback ever since that girl came into his life. Her so-called 'meaningful' gift to your Uncle was nothing but an attempt to ease the air between them. She is one calculative woman, you know? She knows that these little things would make your Uncle and Aunt like her. That Yuan would be drawn to her further. That she'd gain control over you, and Ying, and Wei's minds ultimately too. 

"And why not? She'd want Xi Yuan to remain the CEO of the Xi empire so that she would get hold of his wealth one day. After all, who wouldn't want to seduce the men from the Xi family? She is nothing but a goddamned golddigger!"

"Oh, really?", it was now that an unfamiliar yet somewhat known voice, resonated across the room, sending a chill down Luo Youyou's spine. She hadn't expected anyone from the Superfamily to show up tonight. Let alone, one of the Six men. 

Reactions of the Xi twins and the other family elders were no different. No matter how tough an exterior they put on, deep down, they were all intimidated of this lot, for it hadn't been long since they'd witnessed the preview of their brutality. 

"I wonder what else Mrs. Xi thinks of my sister?", Lu Wei chuckled coldly, loosening the tie around his neck, Ningtao following behind him, her face giving away no expression. The man escorted his wife to the couch and helped her sit comfortably before he crossed his arms and looked at his prey, "It's going to be a long night. Shouldn't we get some coffee?", he smiled at the woman then.