The matriarch of the family, Sun Yan, stood up to greet him, countering her husband’s criticism. “You know how busy Lisheng is with work. The kid finally comes home for a visit, and this is how you treat him?”
Sun Yan approached with a smile that turned her eyes into crescents, utterly devoid of any intimidation. “Are you tired? Your little brother and sister couldn’t wait any longer, so we ate first. What do you want? I’ll have the chef make it right now.”
“For one person, you call the chef back to cook? Even if he does, it’ll just get picked apart.” Xie Sheng slammed his teacup down hard. “No one’s indulging that bad habit of his. Miss the meal time, and he can starve for all I care.”
At that moment, Xie Xiangrong, who was lounging on the single-seater sofa scrolling through his phone, chuckled. “Guess who spoiled him like that, Dad.”
“You have no idea. Mom sent all the new Immortal Lake crabs straight to big bro. Sis and I didn’t even get a bite.”
Xie Sheng furrowed his brows and asked his wife, “Is that true?”
Sun Yan gave an awkward laugh. She glanced at Xie Lisheng, then at her two younger children. “Well… I was just thinking Lisheng works so hard…”
“Right, and in the end, it all went to him and his boozy buddies,” Xie Xiangrong teased lightly.
Xie Sheng pointed at Xie Lisheng, who was leaning lazily against the wall with his arms crossed, then turned to his wife. “Can’t you rein in these two kids of yours?”
Xie Jiamei climbed onto the sofa armrest, getting all excited. “Bro! You ate my share of those Immortal Lake crabs, so you owe me compensation! Buy me a car. Get me a Ferrari, and I won’t bring up that rival of mine who’s stealing the show anymore. No more embarrassing me!”
“And for my birthday this year, I want to charter a yacht in Hong Kong Island. Chip in for that, and I won’t ask for any other gifts!”
Xie Lisheng leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his expression unchanging as he turned her down. “I ate two of your crabs, and now you want to skin me alive?”
He laughed. “What’s the difference between that and some street thug shaking me down?”
“Is that how you and your mom taught you to talk to your siblings?” Though Xie Sheng’s eyebrows had a few white hairs, when he frowned, the veins on his forehead bulged, as intimidating as ever in his youth. “You run off doing all sorts of shady business, make a bit of money, and suddenly think you’re hot stuff? Want to feel my fist again, huh?”
When he got angry, his presence was overwhelming, and the other two children immediately toned it down.
But Xie Lisheng only lifted the corners of his eyes higher, his tone as casual as if he were joking—strangely gentle, even. “Don’t push your luck, Big Boss Xie. The last time you made your son taste your fist was ten years ago.”
“My mouth’s this tough—whether you can even land a hit is debatable. Don’t go breaking your old bones trying.”
“Your dad’s just no good with words, you know that,” Sun Yan said, smoothing things over as she patted his arm reassuringly. “Your sister’s at that age where money burns a hole in her pocket. Your company’s doing so well now; the whole family’s proud of you.”
“Anyway, you’re not married with kids to support yet. Just subsidize your little brother and sister a bit more.”
“Once you tie the knot and hand over the purse strings to your wife, it’ll be even easier to spoil them.”
She turned to her daughter and prompted, “Jiamei, come on. Thank your brother.”
Xie Jiamei shamelessly snuggled up to her dad and waved at him. “Thanks, bro! Send me your card number later~”
Xie Sheng sipped his tea and chimed in, “Do more decent things. Earn yourself some good karma.”
And just like that, buying his sister a car and funding a yacht charter was settled.
Last time he’d come home, he’d “gifted” his brother an apartment as a college graduation present.
Xie Lisheng’s throat itched with suppressed laughter. He was used to coming home and leaving with something fished out of his pockets every time.
The villa gleamed with opulence, the atmosphere one of harmonious warmth under the soft golden lights that made the marble floors sparkle spotlessly clean.
This picture-perfect image of family bliss, however, could never quite capture one person’s silhouette.
There was no room for him here—not even a seat. A place like this was called home?
The black silhouettes of the four family members standing there stretched endlessly, converging and merging into a gray prison cell that locked him in airtight.
Once Xie Sheng headed upstairs, Sun Yan still had the chef prepare a meal and bring it up. Watching her eldest son eat, she smiled and said, “That auntie you have working at your place? She’s no good. Last time I went with someone to deliver those crabs, oh man, she was all thumbs—splashed water all over me just washing fruit.”
“You’re exhausted from work every day. It’d be awful if she came back to cause you more trouble.”
“I’ve already sent her home, and she won’t need to go there anymore. I’ll arrange for a more reliable housekeeper to come work at your place later.”
Xie Lisheng listened quietly, chopsticks in hand, utterly uninterested in the feast spread out before him.
~~~
“You’ve only just started a company—you’re hardly a billionaire.” Little Aunt Xie Zi set a plate of freshly washed fruit beside him, fuming as she swore under her breath. “No matter how much money the company makes, it’s the company’s, not yours personally. Have they lost their minds from being broke?!”
Grandpa Xie Qiumeng’s hand jerked while pinching a Go stone. It clattered onto the board, and he let out a sigh.
Xie Lisheng sat at the opposite end of the Go board. He glanced up at his little aunt and smiled. “You’ll shout Grandpa deaf at this rate.”
“Is your money enough to live on? If not, just ask Aunt for some.” Xie Zi dragged over a stool and sat down beside the grandfather and grandson duo, her voice full of concern. “What happens when they swipe every last penny of your wife’s funds? You don’t exactly have girls lining up as it is. Without money…”
“Stop, stop, stop.” Xie Lisheng pointed at the two outstanding educators sitting across from him, not holding back. “Ask you two for money? Your combined yearly salaries wouldn’t even cover one of their outrageous demands.”
He lowered his gaze and made his move. “Don’t worry. I have plenty to spend, and I’m no fool. I’m not about to let them bleed me dry.”
Xie Zi gazed at her nephew and sighed softly. “You’re a company boss now, yet you still put up with this kind of aggravation.”
“Every time you come home, you use us as an excuse to hole up here and vent. How long are you going to keep tolerating them?”
“Until my dad kicks the bucket.”
Xie Lisheng’s lips curved faintly. With a subtle gesture, he signaled to Grandpa that the man’s last move had been a disaster. “Once the inheritance gets divvied up.”
“Your dad’s business gets worse every year. How’s that stack up against your booming new industry? Why put up with them for scraps like that?” Xie Zi realized as an elder she shouldn’t have said it that way and waved it off. “Never mind. There’s no such thing as too much money.”
“I’m not just fighting for myself. I have to hold the line for my sister and Little Maple too.” He paused. “She’d rather walk away with nothing than stay trapped in this family. If I followed her lead and forfeited my share, it’d be letting the others off way too easy.”
Xie Zi thought of Xie Lisheng’s biological sister and nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. It’s not easy for her, raising a kid all on her own.”
But just like that, she pivoted the conversation. “Your sister’s daughter is already running around, and you can’t even bring a girl home. Don’t you have any drive?”
“Your stepmom had a point, you know. Find a wife, hand her the purse strings. Next time they come sniffing around, let her shut them down. They won’t dare chew out an outsider the way they do you.”
“That’s how you handle homebody bullies!”
Grandpa Xie Qiumeng, who’d stayed silent until then, actually looked up in approval. “Smart tactic.”
Xie Lisheng shot the father-daughter pair a look of disdain and let out a surprised half-laugh. “Dean Xie? Professor Xie? Teacher Xie—is this the kind of advice a revered educator dishes out?”
Xie Qiumeng chuckled deeply twice and rapped the board. “A skilled general knows no shame in retreat. Water shapes itself to the land; troops adapt to the foe.”
After quoting the classic line, he added something rare for him. “Your aunt was just talking off the cuff. She doesn’t actually want you to use some girl as a human shield.”
“You’ll be thirty in a couple of years.”
“We just want you to have a family of your own.”
No matter how much Aunt and Grandpa doted on him, they were still outsiders. Their home could never truly be Xie Lisheng’s.
Xie Zi pressed eagerly. “So? Any prospects? Met any nice girls yet?”
Grandpa’s clever retreating gambit had Xie Lisheng pinned. He frowned at the board, weighing his limited options, and mumbled evasively, “Nah, same old story.”
Xie Zi shook her head and headed to the kitchen to boil some noodles for him. “You… I know a few decent girls. You’re meeting them, one by one. Hear me?”
The game was as good as over.
Xie Lisheng straightened up, conceding defeat to Grandpa with good grace. As he gathered the stones, his mind wandered, lost in thought over something.
Only those who are utterly content or utterly miserable with their families ever opt for marriage, right?
He huffed a quiet, derisive laugh through his nose, barely noticeable.
Who the hell came up with that gem?
~~~
The next afternoon, he finally carved out time to head to the Research and Development Department for the new product testing.
Afternoon sunlight held a special allure, spilling in broad, orange sheets.
As if the sun had grabbed a bucket of clear yellow paint and dumped it across the city.
Xie Lisheng passed the Product Display Floor and spotted a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
A woman in a T-shirt and badge, handheld camera in hand, filming all around as if she were trying out the products.
Even just standing there like a post, her utter cluelessness with technology was on full display. It was as though the gimbal’s balance had gone off-kilter because she hadn’t set it up properly—yet instead of fiddling with the equipment, she twisted her wrist this way and that, trying to eyeball the level.
Xie Lisheng stood rooted to the spot, his gaze tracking her slow movements. Her sheer silliness drew a slight furrow to his brow.
His schedule was jammed solid, not a single minute of the next hour to spare, and yet he still lifted a foot and veered off in the completely wrong direction.
A dozen meters later—
Xie Lisheng appeared in Jiang Zao’s camera frame.