The seed of doubt Shi Wenqian succeeded in sowing in Zhang Renshu's heart began to germinate.
Without the effort of tendering to it herself to ensure the growth was flourishing, she let his mind do the job.
Zhang Renshu was restless while pondering over the possibility of the daughter he had with the woman he loved, getting together with someone from the Fang family.
He would never let that happen.
Something similar would have happened some years ago, but he made sure to put an end to it, so he couldn't let there be a repeat.
If Shi Wenqian was not greedy, he would not have minded if Xiaoling married into the Fang family just as long as it was not Liling.
But keeping in the back of his mind that he could not control things in the Fang family through Xiaoling for things to work in his favour and that his kindness might backfire, he put that thought off.
Zhang Xiaoling on the other hand has been uneasy.
On several occasions, she was tempted to inquire from her mother if there has been any progress, but she refrained from doing it as that will expose the fact that she used her.
For now, she only needed to relax since her mother succeeded in putting off the marriage plans he had for a day.
Shi Wenqian was very patient with her plans.
While waiting for Zhang Renshu to take up the matter concerning the Fang family, she continued with her plans to get rid of Liling.
At night, she sent a text to someone. After typing away on her phone for a minute, she sent the message out and deleted it immediately after it was delivered.
Smiling to herself, she put her phone away and turned off the bedside lamp.
"Zhang Renshu, you think you are smart." She mumbled to herself.
When she said that, she meant but in the separate rooms he made them have, plus the other plans he had for Liling.
She laughed at him for being dumb.
Allowing her to have a bedroom to herself gave her the liberty to make her plans without having to put herself in distress over him hearing her conversation with someone over the phone.
*******
Zhang Renshu threatens Zhang Liling the next day.
"Is it true that you have a liking for Fang Bingwen?" His tone sounded cold and very direct.
Zhang Liling didn't think much about his cold tone because she thought he was still embittered she refused to come and work for him.
But she was surprised at how he came up with that conclusion about her feelings for Mr. Fang.
In that brief moment, her thoughts wondered about as she tried to recall ever telling anyone her feelings or even showing it, but nothing could come to mind.
At last, she concluded that he must have just thought about it in passing in case that was the reason she went for Fang Group.
Not wanting to deny her feelings, she admitted to his speculation. "Yes."
Immediately, Zhang Renshu ordered her to end her feelings. "Liling, you must listen to me this time around. You can't have anything to do with anyone from the Fang family through romantic relationships..."
Black lines appeared on Liling's face as her nose scrunched up in irritation.
'What is he saying?' She muttered under her breath as she moved her phone away from her ear to check her phone screen before placing it back on her ear.
Then without waiting for him to continue, she asked immediately with slightly furrowed brows and a confused tone, "Dad, what are you talking about?"
She really wanted to know what her old man was getting at. Was he trying to tell her that she couldn't be with Mr. Fang?
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier?" Zhang Renshu said in a displeased tone. Nevertheless, he repeated his earlier words.
"End your relationship with Fang Bingwen. None of my children will be joined to the Fang family through marriage."
"And why is that?" Liling interjected immediately. Her tone sounded annoyed and was heading to the peak of anger.
Zhang Renshu was taken aback by her question.
If only he could see her facial expression to know that she was ready to challenge him, there is no doubt that he wouldn't have collapsed out of anger.
"You… You…" He stammered. He was truly speechless.
Without allowing him to continue with whatever he had to say, she carried on.
"Dad, I love Mr. Fang and I will not end my relationship with him because you asking me to. Unless our families are related by blood, then nothing can get me to end things with him."
Anger welled in Zhang Renshu's chest. He swore that he would have slapped her face to the side if she dared to speak to him that way if she was in front of him.
"Zhang Liling." For the first time in a long time, he was addressing her by her full name, and she was not surprised.
"… If you don't listen to me on this one, forget about the director position in Zhang Group you would have gotten because of your mother."
'Oh. There was a plan like this?'
"Dad, in case I failed to pass my message to you clearly, pardon my negligence, hence, I would be making my stance known to you one more time."
Zhang Renshu could feel that things would not be going in his favour based on the formality she was using. Because she was his daughter, her tone felt like an insult to him.
She was treating him like an outsider now.
Without wasting time, Liling went straight to the point.
"Dad, I am not interested in working for Zhang Group at least for now. Also, I will not give up on my relationship with Mr. Fang because you asking me to. Even if Mr. Fang doesn't want me, he can't chase me as he doesn't have much choice."
Just as those words left her lips, Mr. Fang appeared from the corner, scaring her to the point that a screech escaped from her throat as she took a step back.
Zhang Liling was scared out of her wits.
'W-What… H-How did… W-When did he walk over?'
Zhang Liling swallowed a lump in her throat and called out in a soft panicky tone, "Mr. Fang."
On the other end, Zhang Renshu had thought something bad had happened to her and for a moment, he forgot he was angry with her.
Right when he was about to ask what was going on, he heard her call out 'Mr. Fang' and immediately, the anger in his heart shot out to his head.
Without prior notice, he terminated the call and slammed his phone on his desk.
His face was twisted in anger as his limbs trembled. His teeth were gritted as his chest rose and fell.
Here he was trying to be humane and there she was getting entangled with the man he warned her about.
Did she still consider me as her father?
*******
Mr. Fang stared at Liling for two seconds more before turning on his heel as his voice trailed behind. "It looks like I have to study you more."
His facial expression was normal and his tone was neutral, giving no course for alarm, but Zhang Liling knew that she was in trouble for she felt a chill run down her spine.
Not giving him any space, she quickly chased after him to his bedroom.
She had come upstairs to call him for breakfast when her father's call came in and now, she was in deep sh*t.
"Mr. Fang, you have misunderstood something. What you heard is not what I meant."
"What did you think I heard?" He asked without pausing in his steps.
She almost scared him. If she was obsessed with him, then he would do them both the favour of quenching whatever feelings he was trying to get.
Love obsession was very dangerous, and he wouldn't want to connect himself with someone that has attachment disorders. It could bring him troubles in the long run.
"Mr. Fang, I know you heard me. I want you to understand that I spoke out of anger. Of course, I wouldn't want you to break up with me, but I am mentally stable for the outcome of our relationship.
I am not obsessed with you, and my feelings for you have not grown deep into love because I haven't seen all of your shortcomings and accepted them. I just like you a lot, and want to be with you."
While speaking, she didn't notice when he had stopped walking and almost bumped into his back.
Fortunately, she stopped in time and wondered the reason he stopped walking, and what he was staring at.
This was when she followed his gaze to the foot of the stairs to see a woman dressed in a sky-blue gown. Her hair had a mixture of grey ones and was secured in a bun.
There was a pearl necklace around her neck. On her wrinkled face stood a small smile.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel