Zhang Renshu glanced toward the door with a frosty gaze, displeased at the sudden interruption.
Seeing who the culprit was, he turned his full attention to her at that moment.
"Shi Wenqian, I know you don't have manners, but can you at least act like it?"
The woman in question snorted and walked in proper.
"I wanted Xiaoling to accompany me to my health foundation and learned she was here. May I know what this little meeting is all about?"
Zhang Renshu's gaze followed her till she settled in the other seat in front of his desk.
"If I didn't know better, I would have thought you had the servants reporting to you of my every move. I will wipe you away with them if that time comes."
Shi Wenqian was not moved by his threat. She only came there to find out what he was up to.
Did he want to wipe her away? Not if she doesn't get rid of him first.
There were some reasons she has been tolerating his excesses for a long time.
One, he was very cautious and any move she made against him if not properly planned, would backfire.
Two, she wanted him to hand the company over to her son properly, and for his power to be stabilized.
Three, she would reap some benefits from his political career. After all, she needed the rotten people in power to do business with her.
"Why did you call Xiaoling over, or are you trying to hide something from me?" She asked.
"Hide something from you?" Zhang Renshu asked with furrowed brows while taking off his reading glasses.
"What's there to hide from you? If you are interested in why I called Xiaoling over, sit tight and listen, and don't interrupt me."
Snorting, he moved his gaze over to Zhang Xiaoling who has been quiet. At the moment, her facial expression had relaxed a bit, making Zhang Renshu to have an idea.
"As I was saying, you don't need to get married immediately, but you have to start dating first and start getting to know him to establish a foundation for your relationship."
"Excuse me…" Shi Wenqian said with her palms raised. Her gaze looked confused.
Zhang Renshu squinted his eyes at her as black lines appeared on his forehead. He clearly looked unhappy to have been interrupted by her.
Not letting him utter a word in that anger, she continued, "Are you arranging a marriage for Xiaoling?"
"Is anything wrong with that? Do I need your permission to arrange a marriage for her?" He asked a bit offended by her facial expression that challenged him.
Shi Wenqian intertwined her ten fingers together and said after glancing at Xiaoling and moving her gaze to him.
"You indeed need my permission before you arrange a marriage for her because he is my daughter, but this is not my main point."
Zhang Renshu just sat there and watched her finish her speech. No matter what she says today, in the end, she would have no choice but to listen to him.
'Looks like getting her here will work.' Zhang Xiaoling concluded to herself as she watched the couple bicker back and forth, while she sat there waiting for the outcome.
Shi Wenqian continued since the man didn't look like he wanted to say anything to her.
"You can't arrange a marriage for my daughter because she already has someone she loves."
Zhang Xiaoling who was smiling to herself a few seconds ago turned her head to the side with a shocked gaze.
'What is she doing?'
She almost felt like dragging her mother away to go and tell her off by the side. What was she doing by saying that?
Zhang Xiaoling knew what her mother had in mind, but this was not what she wanted because the man would end up getting infuriated.
There was a lack of interest on Zhang Renshu's face after Shi Wenqian made that statement. He didn't seem to care if his stepdaughter was already dating someone or not.
He was almost tempted to go straight to the point to ask her to break up with whoever her current boyfriend was and date the person he would introduce her to, but he stopped for a second.
Propping himself up with his elbows placed on his desk, he stared right into her eyes to ask. "Who is the person you love?"
Zhang Xiaoling met his gaze. She knew he could not be possibly that interested in it, but she couldn't give him an answer.
She admired Fang Bingwen, but he was from the Fang family so she couldn't mention his name.
She would just leave her mother who started all this to respond to that question and face the more severe consequences.
With that, she turned her gaze to her who was staring at her and waiting for her response. Instinctively, Zhang Renshu followed her gaze to Shi Wenqian while expecting an answer from any of them.
Shi Wenqian on the other hand looked surprised with their gazes on her. Raising her brows at her daughter, she asked silently, 'Why are you looking at me?'
But Xiaoling didn't return any signs, leaving her no choice but to face her husband's menacing gaze.
"Have you forgotten or are you pretending not to remember? The person Xiaoling likes is Fang Bingwen from the family."
"Nonsense!" Zhang Renshu struck the table with his palms while giving both of them a death glare.
His reaction was so strong that both women flinched in fear, scared that he would throw something at them.
"I said that we can never be connected to the Fang family through marriage! Why do you have to make me repeat my words, or are they not strong enough to sink into your thick skulls?!"
Zhang Xaioling felt her heart almost leap out of her chest and didn't dare to meet his angry gaze.
Her mother on the other hand was no better, but after patting her chest repeatedly, she got the courage to look him in the eye after she had calmed down.
"Zhang Renshu, are you going to deny will you deny my daughter the partner of her choice because of some feud you have with the Fang family?"
"As a member of the Zhang family, there is no option of marriage by choice unless it aligns with my goal."
Zhang Renshu's gaze was piercing as his stained white teeth were clenched together as he said word for word without mincing anyone.
"Also, Shi Wenqian, be warned that you should never mention the Fang family and some feud if you don't know our history."
Shi Wenqian was not satisfied with his response and wanted to retort, but Xiaoling held her hand without gazing at her.
It was a reminder to not provoke him more than this.
Fortunately, she understood and swallowed the bile rising in her stomach. She could still remember his reckless behavior every time he was pushed to the wall.
He wouldn't hesitate to hit her in his current state.
Seeing that both women seemed to have understood their stand, he continued, "I will arrange the marriages of any child bearing my surname, and I hope that is well understood?"
His tone was imposing which didn't leave any room to challenge.
Suddenly, Shi Wenqian got an idea and couldn't help retorting. "Renshu, you said you would arrange the marriages of all your children, so what about Zhang Liling?"
Zhang Renshu's brows knitted together. "Why are you mentioning Liling in this matter? Are you trying to change the topic?"
He couldn't think of any other reason she had to mention his biological daughter in the marriage talks.
Shi Wenqian regained her confidence slowly while asking, "Don't tell me that you are blind in her matter. Your daughter applied to go and work for the Fang family. In addition, she has a special relationship with Fang Bingwen."
"What nonsense are you talking about? What has her going to work in Fang Group got to do with having a special relationship with her professor?" He asked while narrowing his gaze at her.
'Oh… this is how he sees the picture?' Zhang Xiaoling thought with gritted teeth
She would only conclude that he was intentionally being blind because this had something to do with his biological daughter.
Shi Wenqian used this opportunity to poison his mind.
"Is it not obvious that Liling likes Fang Bingwen and has thought about being with him? Why then would she abandon to help your company with her knowledge and run to someone else's company?"
Zhang Xiaoling understood what her mother was trying to do and applauded her in her head.
She was trying to sow a seed of doubt in him and at the same time, ruin the chances Zhang Liling had to be with Mr. Fang.
Zhang Renshu shook his head and said, "She wouldn't dare. I have indeed not mentioned this to her, and I will make sure to tell her about it. She can't get ideas about any man from the family. I will not tolerate it."
"What if she refuses to listen?" Shi Wenqian asked, which challenged his pride while staring straight into his eyes.
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