Trending topic alert: The mysterious fan site administrator of a top celebrity has been exposed.

Despite being so bluntly refused lunch, Xie Huaiming showed no embarrassment or reluctance to back down.

He still wore that impeccable, gentle smile, and even casually pulled a chair over from the side and placed it naturally opposite Chu Yi.

"Since Professor Chu has arranged a meeting meal, I won't insist." He spoke casually, as if he hadn't been the one who had just been rejected. "However, would you mind if I sat here to rest for a while and chat for a bit? Standing for so long is quite tiring."

Chu Yi raised her hand and gestured "please go ahead," then turned her gaze back to the window, clearly not in high spirits, merely maintaining basic politeness.

Outside the window, the huge LED screen of the Yinmao Tower across the street is playing various GG images on a loop.

As the scene shifted, a striking face suddenly came into Chu Yi's view—it was Zhou Ai.

The photo appears to be a global promotional image for a high-end brand. Zhou Ai sports a neat head of short black hair, her eyes sharp and full of tension. She wears a well-tailored dark-patterned suit and stands tall amidst the interplay of light and shadow, exuding a powerful aura that combines wildness and luxury.

It was the same new look that he had seen in a video a few days ago and even complimented, saying it was "pretty handsome."

Chu Yi's gaze lingered on the screen for a few more seconds without her noticing.

Just then, the waiter brought Xie Huaiming a cup of hot tea, and the rising steam temporarily blocked Chu Yi's view out the window.

Xie Huaiming picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and casually started the conversation, his tone warm and familiar: "Speaking of which, the other day when my mother and Aunt Chu were playing mahjong, they mentioned that our two families should have a meal together sometime. The older generation always seems to care about these things."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yi turned her gaze away from the window, but didn't look at Xie Huaiming. Instead, she picked up her glass of water, which had long since gone cold, and asked in a flat tone, as if it were just a casual remark, "Mr. Xie must be quite busy with work, right?"

They cleverly steered the conversation from "two families having dinner" to unrelated work.

Xie Huaiming paused in his tea-drinking motion, then put down his teacup and looked at Chu Yi, but Chu Yi's gaze remained fixed on a certain spot outside the window, his profile calm and aloof.

He smiled and answered in agreement with Chu Yi's words, but deliberately steered the conversation back to the topic: "It is quite busy. The group has only been under our control for a short time, and there are many things that need to be sorted out from scratch. There are countless things to deal with."

Staring at Chu Yi's aloof profile, Xie Huaiming suddenly changed the subject, his gaze becoming somewhat profound, and added meaningfully, "However... in my opinion, no matter how busy work is, it shouldn't be an excuse to delay finding a partner or nurturing a relationship. After all, work is work, life is life, and love... is love. What do you think, Professor Chu?"

He finally brought the question back, with a gentle yet unavoidable probing.

Chu Yi's gaze finally turned back completely from the window. He raised his hand, slowly took a sip of the now-cold water in his glass, and the icy liquid slid down his throat, giving his voice a distinct chill.

Then he slowly raised his eyes, his gaze calm and unwavering as he looked directly at Xie Huaiming. His tone carried his usual aloofness, like a soft knife precisely drawing a line between them:

"Actually, I don't quite understand why Mr. Xie suddenly started telling me all this about your personal views on relationships?"

As she spoke, Chu Yi tilted her head slightly, her eyes showing no provocation, only pure confusion. "After all, I'm not your other half, so it seems... I don't need to know these things?"

These words were direct and frank, like a bucket of cold water, effectively extinguishing the ambiguous atmosphere that Xie Huaiming had deliberately created.

Xie Huaiming's smile froze for a moment. He subconsciously looked up, following the direction of Chu Yi's gaze to look out the window, trying to find some clue, but the GG screen on the Yinmao Building had switched to a dazzling display of jewelry, but there was no sign of anyone he had imagined.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Chu Yi again. His eyes behind his glasses deepened, but his smile became flawless again, even carrying a hint of desperate straightforwardness.

Xie Huaiming leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and spoke with a gentlemanly earnestness, yet with a relentless pressing tone:

"Then, Teacher Chu," he gazed into Chu Yi's clear yet cold eyes, "could you, considering the friendship between our families and my sincerity, grant me... a chance to pursue you?"

Chu Yi listened to Xie Huaiming's almost blunt "pursuit request" but did not answer immediately.

He first chuckled very softly, a faint laugh that was almost devoid of warmth, yet it brushed through the air like a feather, causing Xie Huaiming, who was preparing to press his advantage, to pause slightly.

Then she slowly raised her head, though she did have a smile on her face, but her clear eyes seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice.

"Mr. Xie," Chu Yi's tone was even quite gentle, "I think you seem to have been misled by my mother."

Xie Huaiming's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered slightly, as if he was trying to figure out the meaning behind Chu Yi's words.

Chu Yi didn't need his response and continued speaking calmly and objectively, leaving no room for ambiguity: "If you and the Xie family are truly considering seeking a powerful business alliance, or paving the way for your future career and accumulating a more solid network of connections..."

He leaned forward slightly, looking directly into Xie Huaiming's eyes behind his glasses, each word striking at the other's most pragmatic calculations: "Then, shouldn't you really be focusing your efforts on understanding and pursuing my brother, Cheng Yanqing?"

"He is the future leader of the Cheng family, wielding real power. The resources and assistance he can provide are far beyond what a mere doctor like me can offer."

Chu Yi shrugged, his posture relaxed, yet his words were like knives: "To you, or rather to the future the Xie family desires, I am utterly useless."

He watched as a crack finally appeared on Xie Huaiming's perfect mask before slowly leaning back in his chair and making his final summary, his tone even carrying a hint of regretful "goodwill": "Having said all this, I think... Mr. Xie, you should understand what I mean, right?"

"Being fixated on me is probably a major strategic mistake, wasting your precious time and failing to live up to the expectations of both families."

Chu Yi emphasized the word "expectation" at the end of her sentence with a particularly subtle emphasis, even carrying a clear hint of sarcasm.

These words were perfectly worded, completely rejecting Xie Huaiming and casually twisting the "pursuit" into a purely calculated weighing of interests and family strategy, as if Xie Huaiming's feelings were nothing more than a misjudgment based on calculation.

Not only did they absolve themselves of responsibility, they also skillfully passed the buck and pressure back to the other party and the elders who had pushed this matter forward.

Xie Huaiming's smile vanished completely. His hands, resting on his knees, tightened slightly, and his eyes behind his glasses became complex, showing surprise, embarrassment at having his intentions exposed, and perhaps even a hint of anger at being so thoroughly rejected.

He opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn't find the right words to refute this "reasonable" analysis.

He did have some special feelings for Chu Yi when they first met, but as a businessman, it was obvious which was more important, "love" or profit.

Chu Yi had said everything she needed to say, leaving it at that. She calmly stood up, straightened her non-existent suit jacket wrinkles, and nodded slightly. "The meeting is about to begin. Excuse me, Mr. Xie." With that, she turned and left briskly.

---

Chu Yi knew that his words were tantamount to slapping the Xie family in the face, but he didn't expect Chu Ruoyin's accusatory phone call to come so quickly, telling him to go to the old house immediately.

After the meeting ended, Chu Yi leisurely took a taxi to the old house.

He had barely stepped through the heavy black iron gate of the Cheng family's old house, and before he could even see who was sitting under the century-old locust tree in the courtyard, a glass containing half a cup of leftover tea shattered not far from him.

The crisp, ear-piercing sound of shattering glass broke the oppressive tranquility of the old house, and the flying shards of glass and cold tea almost soaked his trouser legs.

Chu Yi's steps didn't even pause for half a second. He only glanced down slightly at the mess at his feet, then raised his eyes and looked calmly at his mother, Chu Ruoyin, who was sitting in a rattan chair, her chest heaving violently with rage.

Chu Ruoyin's well-maintained face no longer held its usual elegance and composure, but instead displayed a livid and icy expression, a result of having offended authority.

She didn't even get up; she just stared intently at Chu Yi with her beautiful eyes, her voice even sharper and more shrill as she tried to suppress her anger:

"Chu Yi! Are you trying to turn the world upside down?!"

Chu Yi did not answer, but stood silently in place, as if the thrilling scene just now had nothing to do with him.

This silent resistance further enraged Chu Ruoyin.

She abruptly stood up from the wicker chair, her finger almost poking Chu Yi's nose, and years of pent-up dissatisfaction and disappointment poured out like a floodgate opening:

"When you were little, I told you to study hard, to study hard, and to try to inherit the Cheng family business. But you didn't even say a word and went abroad to study medicine! For so many years, I've kept quiet and never said a word to you openly. Now you've got what you wanted, going to the hospital to earn that meager salary. Are you satisfied now?"

Her voice grew louder and louder, filled with a heart-wrenching pain of being betrayed and let down: "I never imagined you would be so rebellious as to decide your own marriage! You don't contribute a single bit to the Cheng family, you only care about your own peace of mind."

Chu Ruoyin's words grew increasingly harsh, mercilessly tearing at Chu Yi's choices and dignity, "Right now, the only thing you have of value is this arranged marriage, and you still unilaterally rejected it!"

Chu Ruoyin took a deep breath, as if pouring all her resentment and anger into her next words, each syllable dripping with icy coldness: "Do you even know that the Xie family agreeing to a marriage alliance with you is already a huge honor for you! Xie Huaiming is the Xie family's undisputed successor, young and promising, with a bright future! And you? You didn't even manage to get the surname Cheng. Besides this passable face, what else do you have? What gives you the right to refuse? Huh?!"

She approached Chu Yi step by step, as if she would not stop until she had exhausted the last bit of affection between the mother and son.

"You didn't just refuse a meal, or a person! You slapped the Xie family in the face, and severed the relationship that our two families have worked so hard to maintain! How am I supposed to explain this to your Aunt Xie? How can your father hold his head up in front of Uncle Xie? Chu Yi, your willfulness will come at the cost of the entire Cheng family!"

Faced with Chu Ruoyin's rapid and barrage of rebukes and those cruel words that personified and valued him, Chu Yi didn't even lift his eyelids. Towards his hysterical mother, his eyes only became clearer and calmer, even revealing an almost indifferent calmness.

Chu Yi only spoke slowly after Chu Ruoyin, who was slightly out of breath from excitement, paused for a moment.

His voice didn't rise; in fact, it was even a few decibels lower than usual, yet it clearly pierced through the lingering anger and the slightly astringent smell of the tea in the air.

"Are you done talking?"

Chu Ruoyin was taken aback by his calm and indifferent attitude, then her anger flared even more: "What kind of attitude is this?!"

Chu Yi slightly turned his body and took a big step forward, avoiding the densest concentration of glass shards on the ground. He raised his eyes and looked directly into his mother's furious eyes, his tone still calm.

"First of all, my profession is a doctor, saving lives and healing the wounded. My income is legal and aboveboard, not meager, and I don't need anyone's approval. My own satisfaction is enough."

"Secondly," he paused, his gaze sweeping over the shards on the ground, "my marriage is a decision only I can make. This isn't rebellion; it's a fundamental right of an adult."

"Third," his voice turned cold, "your so-called value and social climbing are undoubtedly based on treating me as a commodity to be sold. I'm sorry, I have never accepted, and never will accept, that definition."

"As for the Cheng family's reputation and the Xie family's relationship," Chu Yi's lips curled into a very slight, mocking smile, "if the relationship and future of the Cheng and Xie families are so fragile that they need to be maintained by sacrificing the marriage of a 'worthless' son, then such a relationship and future are better off not existing."

After Chu Yi finished saying what she wanted to say, only her mother's rapid breathing and the sharp silence left by the shards of glass on the ground remained in the air.

He didn't leave immediately, but stood calmly in place, his neatly pressed suit jacket draped over his arm, his gaze slowly sweeping over the old house where he had grown up but had never felt warmth.

The courtyard is deep and secluded, with ancient trees and gnarled branches. Every carved beam and painted rafter exudes an air of solemnity and oppression that has been accumulated over many years. Every inch of this land seems to be imbued with the intricate web of interests and unspeakable old stories of the Cheng family.

But Chu Yi's impression of this place has never been good.

His mother, Chu Ruoyin, was married into the family by his father, Cheng Zhi, after Cheng Yanqing's biological mother passed away.

Even though, as outsiders say, she "brought a son" to her son Chuyi, the words "remarriage" and "concubine," as well as the inquiring, pitying, or slightly contemptuous gazes, never truly left her.

When Chu Yi was little, the words she heard most often were from visiting guests who would sometimes jokingly pat Cheng Yanqing's head and say, "Yanqing, look, your father has given you another handsome little brother. He'll be competing with you for the family fortune in the future!"

The speaker may not have meant anything by it, but the listener may have taken it to heart.

Those words were like tiny needles, pricking the young Chu Yi's heart time and time again, and undoubtedly hurting the strong-willed Chu Ruoyin even more deeply.

In many instances, Chu Yi could actually understand her mother's almost obsessive sense of urgency.

Marrying into such a family at a young age, and facing the eldest son left by the previous wife who was already considered the heir, she felt like she was walking on thin ice. No matter how well she did, she was bound to be criticized.

She desperately needed to prove herself, to earn a place for her son and for herself, and to gain some real dignity that wouldn't be looked down upon.

Therefore, Chu Ruoyin poured all her hopes and pressures into Chu Yi, forcing him to strive and compete.

But what about their father, Cheng Zhi? That man, who seemed to be the head of the family, didn't actually have much deep affection for his second son, Chu Yi.

Chu Yi clearly remembers that when he was eight years old, he was punished by Chu Ruoyin to stand under the old locust tree outside the courtyard because of a small matter.

As evening fell, he heard his father, Cheng Zhi, returning from outside with Cheng Yanqing. He stood on the porch not far away and spoke to Cheng Yanqing in a gentle tone he had never used on himself before: "Yanqing, don't worry about what others say. Everything in the Cheng family will be yours in the future."

On a summer evening, Chu Yi's sweat dripped down his temples and onto the ground, but he still remembered it clearly. At that moment, he felt a chill run through him from head to toe.

From that moment on, young Chu Yi was more determined than ever before: he did not want to become a tool for his mother to fight for power, nor did he want to be caught in the suffocating vortex of inheritance.

He wanted a completely different kind of life, one that he could control.

This is also why Chu Yi later realized that the reason she fell in love with Zhou Ai at first sight was because Zhou Ai possessed an "arrogant" and flamboyant youthful spirit that Chu Yi had never had in her youth. That was also the freedom that Chu Yi had always pursued and longed for.

Chu Yi withdrew his gaze and looked again at his mother, whose face was pale with anger but also pitiful. He felt no triumphant joy, only a deep weariness and understanding.

He said no more, only nodded slightly, gently draped his suit jacket over his arm, then turned without hesitation, stepped over the mess that symbolized rupture and anger, and walked towards the heavy gate of the old house.

His back remained straight as always, his steps steady, step by step completely separating him from the magnificent cage that had imprisoned his entire childhood, and from his mother's gaze, which was a mixture of disappointment, anger, and resentment.

From deep within the courtyard, the sound of porcelain shattering more violently seemed to drift from, but Chu Yi seemed not to hear it. He simply took a deep breath of the free and slightly cool air outside the door and left without looking back.