"She what?" Xiao Rufeng's father exclaimed loudly, while their guests looked at Xiao Yunyao with widened eyes.
"Mr. Xiao should have known that I have asked my people to pull out your products from the establishments I own." Yan Xiuchen continued. "Xiao Yunyao has insistently requested a meeting with me over the past few weeks, but the moment I met her the first time, she insulted me right off the bat. How laughable."
It was only then it dawned to Xiao Yunyao why her father seemed careful while talking to this man. She felt like someone had just poured ice-cold water over her entirety, leaving her rooted in place. She had never thought that the business tycoon she had been trying to seek these past weeks was none other than the scar faced man Xiao Rufeng was currently dating.
The strength in her body seemed to leave her upon realizing the mistake she just committed. Xiao Yunyao had no idea how she would be able to fix it. If it wasn't for Jin Qiu appearing next to her, catching her fall, she would have found herself on the floor.
Her father stared at her in shock. He opened his mouth to ask her if Yan Xiuchen was telling the truth, but her reaction alone was enough to answer his unspoken question. To think that his youngest daughter would commit such a crime toward his eldest, he was ashamed and alarmed at the same time. He couldn't believe that he had just raised a monster in his own household.
"How could you?" He asked in disbelief as he looked down at Xiao Yunyao.
"Dad, let me explain… I…" Xiao Yunyao tried to find the right words to defend herself but couldn't. Being exposed to everyone like this, she had no words to refute Yan Xiuchen's claim, not when she had also explicitly offended him tonight.
Mr. Xiao thought that no matter how his daughters didn't get along with each other, none of them would willingly send the other in harm's way. For Xiao Yunyao to betray her elder sister, sending Xiao Rufeng to a man's bed, what did this mean?
Just the thought of what could have happened to Xiao Rufeng was enough to drive him crazy. He looked at Yan Xiuchen and met his gaze.
"I did not touch your daughter, Mr. Xiao. I might be hideous to look at, but I'm no monster compared to your youngest daughter." Yan Xiuchen said with a straight face. His words somewhat give Xiao Rufeng's father a relief.
"President Su and I wanted to press legal charges against Xiao Yunyao, but Rufeng begged us not to." He said, clenching his jaws in annoyance. "We have incriminating evidence that could prove that Xiao Yunyao is one of the persons behind Rufeng's kidnapping weeks ago. However, as much as I want to see her behind the bars, I cannot ignore Rufeng's wishes."
Xiao Rufeng's father looked at her, as if asking her silently if she was indeed alright and was unharmed. She nodded at him, but averted her gaze, knowing that this was a heavy blow on her father. As she looked at her father, she wondered if his view and opinion towards Xiao Yunyao would change after this.
She lowered her eyes, not daring to hope anymore. How many times had he disappointed her by taking Xiao Yunyao's side unconditionally? Xiao Rufeng couldn't remember.
He staggered back, and his breathing became uneven, alarming Xiao Rufeng at once. Her father clutched his chest painfully and fell on his knees as the truth slowly sunk in.
"Dad!" Xiao Rufeng released Yan Xiuchen's hand and rushed to her father. She hurriedly opened the top buttons of his shirt, removing any obstruction to his breathing. She then shot her stepmother a look, who was starting to panic upon seeing what had just happened.
"His pills! Go get his pills!" She yelled at her. "Call for help. Goddammit!"
Meanwhile, Xiao Yunyao remained still in Jin Qiu's arms and looked at her father blankly, meeting his accusing gaze.
He was breathing harshly, but the look he was giving her was filled with pain and disappointment. It pained him to think that Xiao Rufeng almost lost her dignity and reputation because of his other daughter.
He knew that he hadn't been a good father to Xiao Rufeng. They were always at odds, especially with Xiao Rufeng's decisions about her future. She wanted to pursue acting, but he wanted her to succeed their family business together with Xiao Yunyao.
He knew how dirty the showbiz industry was and feared that it might hurt his eldest daughter, but never did he imagine that it would be Xiao Yunyao who would cause harm to his firstborn.
The more he thought about it, the tighter fear gripped his heart. He knew his eldest daughter well enough to know that if she were tainted that night, she would rather cease her life.
Yan Xiuchen came to them and helped him to get back on his feet. He supported Xiao Rufeng's father by wounding his arm around the older man to pull his torso up.
Xiao Yunyao's mother returned with a white bottle of pills in her hand. Her hands were shaking as she passed the bottle to Xiao Rufeng.
Yan Xiuchen helped Xiao Rufeng's father to the seat he just vacated and allowed her to feed her father the medicine he needed and passed him a glass of water to drink.
"How could you do this, Xiao Yao? She's your sister. How could you…" Mr. Xiao repeated his question like a mantra, while Xiao Yunyao could only weep, not daring to look at him anymore.
"Did you know about this?" He asked his wife and when he saw the guilt on her face, he knew then that he almost lost his eldest daughter for good.
"Of course, you knew. I wonder if it was the first time you schemed against my Feng'er behind my back and harmed her."
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