Kai balked at her in stunned silence. How easily she tied it all up with an emotional disconnect. Like Yuelin was nothing more than a possession that had no worth to them, it broke his soul to have her reduced to that kind of worthlessness. She had only wanted to see her in the flesh to figure out how much she looked like a Xuchen. Her appraisal was that shallow. She must have seen more of Meilei than her own son, and just like that, Yuelin was dismissed.
Kai was speechless. His anger and internal rage had reached such a combustible level of needing an outlet he couldn’t formulate words.
She had the same cheeky but sweet warmth and social skills. His beautiful eyes, witty innocence, and adventurous energy at that age. Minhui had adored her brother from the first time she saw him at ten years old, and she felt that same tug for Yue.
Kai choked on air and saliva, still bubbling over and trying to hold it.
“My fucking what?” he exploded. Finally, setting it loose in an explosive yell.
“Kai!” His father’s sharp reprimand at his raised voice and swearing was to pull him back in line, but he was not doing this. His father’s rare reprimand would not hold this back in him.
“Is that why Anna is here? You think I should come to heel and have you arrange my marriage?…. First, you dismiss my own blood, and now you expect me to agree to this! I am losing my fucking mind here.” He had never been one to shout at his parents openly. Conflict was strange to them, given their absolute power over their children from years of conditioning. A cultural expectation that children obey. Even with Kai’s stubborn temperament and strong personality, he had yielded over many things in his youth because his mother would resort to emotional blackmail.
His mother swooping in to do what she had done to Minhui early in life, saw no issue with choosing a bride. He was no longer a child, and his career was no longer something they needed to prioritize. He was solid in his position and could now focus on personal matters.
“No.” Kai stood up, shoving his chair back with force. Minhui immediately tried to tug him down because she knew this would escalate.
“Your mother knows best. Sit down.” His father would back her up no matter the decision, which always made Kai feel resentment toward him. He didn’t care about the emotional happiness of his children, only that they gave him the results he wanted and their mother was satisfied.
“Maybe Kai and I should talk alone about this matter, Mother.” Anna finally found a voice, her nerves tangled up as she squirmed at this uncomfortable scene. She had come here knowing they intended to coax him about an engagement, not that he would be forced in this way.
She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her, for she didn’t know what else to do. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might pass out and knew this was one way to get Kai to resent her. She didn’t want it this way.
Screw them. He knew the company needed him and could manage just fine without his parents’ constant dark cloud presence.
“Sit down.. we are not done, and you are behaving like a child.” His mother scolded. She had no patience for disobedience and slapped a hand on the table in a show of fierce. Losing her cool temper and casting an icy stare his way.
His sister had always looked out for him, and only her obvious upset kept him rooted. Guilt chewing him up that if he stormed out, she would take the brunt of their mother’s anger. He sat down with obvious aggression, and instead of pulling his chair back in, slumped like a moody teen boy, his long legs under the table at a distance he had pushed his seat way. An outright act of rebellion because his mother insisted they always sit properly.
Kai snorted in wry amusement and shook his head, staring at his lap. Internalizing all his despisal of this hold they thought they had. Hating a culture where kids like him had no choices in their future, where parents like his thought their wealth and silver spoon upbringing made them better than normal people. It had grated on him back then, and now that his child was being dismissed as inferior, it was much worse. All because she looked and acted like a regular four-year-old kid and her mother had been born without money.
It was ridiculous.
Kai had heard this speech whenever he had caused issues as a child and could almost recite it word for word. They were meaningless words that no longer held the same weight over him, all but that one statement that pricked at him.
His mother was delusional. Thinking another kid could replace the one he already had. He knew nothing he said would matter or sway her. This had been his parents’ attitude his whole life.
Meilei had been the first time he had defied them outright. Choosing for himself, and although he hadn’t admitted it to her back then, he went through hell against his mother. She used every weapon she could to make him break up with Meilei. It had been one of the hardest periods of his youth. He had still been young and dependent on them for everything.
Cut off his finances, had his cards frozen, had family cut contact, and even messed with furthering his education, all to bring him to heel. She tried to break his willpower, thinking he would back down. Only back then, the bigger loss was the thought of hurting Meilei and never seeing her again. He could have handled everything else if she didn’t leave him.
He wasn’t young anymore.. he didn’t have the same financial dependence on them even if they removed him from Yanhue Corp. All these years, he had built his own worth and skillset and invested in stocks and shares unrelated to his family. Invested in some smaller companies as a silent partner. He owned his own apartments. He had built his security because, deep down, he never wanted to be in that position again where his mother could rip his entire world away for disobeying her.