Chapter 46

Qi Lang had been sent away, but before long, a chat window lit up again, and Shen Siyan started to feel a little troubled.

[Shen Gaolang: Your Uncle Qi wants to see you. Make time today and go to his house.]

When their attempt to work through Qi Lang failed, they’d moved on to enlisting her father. They really would stop at nothing until they got what they wanted.

The Qi family had longstanding ties with the Shen family. When she was little, Shen Gaolang had even joked about arranging a childhood engagement between the two children. Now that they were both of marriageable age, this was clearly groundwork for a political marriage alliance.

Everyone understood that, including Shen Gaolang. Right now, Shen Siyan was only a corporate executive; she had no backing of her own, and aside from being Shen Gaolang’s daughter, she had no standing that would justify a personal thank-you from Qi’s father.

Shen Siyan stared at the message for a long time.

She definitely wasn’t going to go, but for a moment she couldn’t think of what to say. It had been far too long since she’d last spoken to her father.

Their last exchange had been before the National Day holiday, before she went home. Shen Gaolang had been tied up for a while, and by the time he replied, she had already returned to work at the company.

[Shen Siyan: Dad, I’m not going.]

This time, Shen Gaolang replied fairly quickly.

[Shen Gaolang: Come home at noon. I’ll go with you.]

[Shen Siyan: I don’t have time today. Work is busy.]

[Shen Gaolang: Learning to delegate properly is also an important skill. You don’t have to handle everything yourself.]

Shen Siyan was just about to argue when another message came in.

[Shen Gaolang: I’ve already sent the driver to pick you up. Go home first; once I’m done with my work, I’ll go with you.]

That same kind of unquestionable arrangement again.

Shen Gaolang had always been like that—my way or nothing—and less than half an hour later, the front desk called to say that Driver Yang had arrived to take her home.

A dull ache pulsed at her temple, and Shen Siyan pressed her fingers there.

Having Driver Yang bring a Rolls-Royce to the company entrance was too ostentatious. She couldn’t let the car stay parked there for long; she might as well go home first and refuse Shen Gaolang there.

She shut down her computer, picked up her bag, and when Wei Xiaolu saw that she was leaving, she immediately looked up.

“I’m going out for a bit,” Shen Siyan said quickly.

Usually, when she went out for work, she didn’t bother explaining what she was doing in detail. But this time, with Qi Lang’s call still fresh, she really wanted to explain something. Unfortunately, Shen Gaolang’s summons had come right on its heels, leaving her with nothing to explain.

It was as if she hadn’t lived up to her promise after sending him away. That sense of falling short lingered in her chest, and perhaps it showed on her face, because even after she got into the car, Driver Yang asked carefully, “Miss Shen, I only came because of Mr. Shen’s request. I didn’t interrupt your work, did I?”

Shen Siyan shook her head. “It’s fine. Thanks for the trouble.”

When she returned to the Shen family estate, Shen Siyan kept working online from the living room. She attended two meetings and revised several notices.

At eleven o’clock, Shen Gaolang came back.

Shen Siyan was looking at industry news. When she saw him come in, she only lifted her eyelids slightly.

“Get ready,” Shen Gaolang said, loosening his cuffs, his tone flat, as if he were heading to an ordinary business meeting. “We leave in ten minutes.”

Shen Siyan didn’t move. She was still sitting in the center of the living room, looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar silhouette.

“Dad, I’m not going to the Qi family.”

Her voice was clear and steady.

Shen Gaolang finally turned around and looked at his daughter, but his expression was impatient. “Why? I should have taught you that when it comes to maintaining connections, avoidance and pretense are both foolish.”

“Yes, you did teach me.” Shen Siyan met his gaze. “But can you tell me what kind of networking this is? The Qi family works in urban investment and development. What does that have to do with my tech industry?”

Shen Gaolang frowned. Before he could tell her to stop, the people around them quietly withdrew from the villa.

After everyone unnecessary had left, his voice lowered, carrying a hint of threat. “The relationship between our two families is the biggest connection there is. If it isn’t useful today, that doesn’t mean it won’t be useful tomorrow. Having one more path won’t hurt you.”

“It won’t hurt you,” Shen Siyan repeated. Her lips curved into a cool, cutting smile. “You’re selling me off, of course it won’t hurt you.”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Gaolang seemed to flare at a certain phrase, his volume rising sharply. “I’m doing this for your own good, laying the groundwork for you! Didn’t you get along fairly well with Qi Lang a while ago? What are you throwing a tantrum about now?”

At last, he put the implication directly on the table.

Shen Siyan gave a soft laugh and slowly stood up, facing her father across the room. “Got along fairly well? Dad, did you hear that from Uncle Qi, or from me?”

Without waiting for Shen Gaolang to answer, she pressed on, her gaze burning. “Did you ever ask what I thought? Did you ever care whether I was willing?”

Shen Gaolang was so angry he drew in breath after breath. “Shen Siyan! So many people are trying to get in with the Qi family and can’t find a way. Don’t lose sight of what matters. What do you think that job of yours amounts to? It’s all small-time stuff; you can play around with it for a few years, and then you’ll still have to come back and focus on the development of our family. I’m doing this for your own good, and you still don’t appreciate it!”

Listening to those words, Shen Siyan felt a faint sting in her heart. The resistance she had been suppressing for so long seemed to have finally found its outlet, like lava meeting a crater.

Looking at Shen Gaolang’s ashen face on the other side, she suddenly felt completely unrestrained.

After all, she had already promised Wei Xiaolu today that she didn’t want these things to become unresolved old history anymore.

“So it’s for my own good, is it? To put it bluntly,” Shen Siyan’s voice turned cold, as if dipped in ice, “Qi Lang and I aren’t just pieces you and Uncle Qi are using to strengthen your alliance and make future exchanges of interest easier?”

“Shen Siyan!” Shen Gaolang snapped in fury. “Don’t be so insolent! Your marriage is a win-win choice for both families. Qi Lang is an outstanding young man too, so what exactly are you dissatisfied with?!”

“I’m dissatisfied that it’s being arranged for me,” Shen Siyan said with a laugh. “My value in life doesn’t have to be tied to marriage, and don’t assume I’ll naturally go down the path of marrying and having children.”

She looked at Shen Gaolang, and the decision that had been circling deep in her heart for a long time finally began to spill out like water in this fierce confrontation.

“Because I’m never going to get married.”

She spoke calmly, but in the empty living room it rang out like thunder.

“I won’t get married.” Shen Siyan repeated it once more, clear and unmistakable.

The rage on Shen Gaolang’s face gave way to astonishment, then indifference. He waved a hand. “You’re young, so your thinking is extreme. In two years, you’ll naturally be different. People have to get married sooner or later. When that time comes, you’ll realize marriage can bring you greater benefits.”

Those words seemed like the final key, unlocking the box in Shen Siyan’s heart all at once.

Looking at her father, she felt a strange mix of sarcasm, revenge, relief, and the sense that she was putting everything on the line.

“Oh... right, I could get married too.”

She tilted her head, considered it seriously, and then said with almost cruel calm,

“Maybe in a few more years, once same-sex marriage is legal. Then I’ll definitely get married.”

Shen Gaolang’s expression froze.

The air went dead silent.

The fierce argument from moments ago seemed to vanish in an instant. In that heavy silence, Shen Siyan saw, for the first time, the look in her father’s eyes as he regarded her with utter unfamiliarity.

Time passed.

The phone rang.

Pressing his temple, Shen Gaolang paced back and forth twice. At last, he sighed, answered the call, and it was Uncle Qi on the line. Shen Gaolang said something had come up and that he would be there soon, then hung up and let out another long sigh.

“I already promised your Uncle Qi. I’ll go first,” he said, striding toward the door. His steps were stiff. After walking more than ten meters, he turned back. “You... think it over carefully.”

With that, Shen Gaolang left in a hurry.

Shen Siyan was left alone, sinking weakly into her seat amid the silent aftermath of that thunderclap.

She didn’t feel especially relieved.

Only numb.

She had imagined many scenes of coming out to her family, but she had never thought it would happen in such a sudden, decisive way.

It felt as if, in an instant, she had crossed a clear boundary. She no longer needed to be passive; she had already taken back all authority over her own life.

And yet that weightless, hollow feeling seemed to be mourning something for her.

Was she really going to sever ties completely with her parents? Was she going to become even lonelier?

Had she come out on impulse simply because she didn’t want to break her promise to Wei Xiaolu?

That was too unlike Shen Siyan.

She lifted a hand to sweep her hair back and again thought of the look Shen Gaolang had given her at the end.

Perhaps even then, he had felt despair at realizing that he didn’t know his own daughter as well as he had thought.

What would happen next was still unknown, but based on Shen Gaolang’s style, he would most likely really let her “think it over carefully.” After all, her stubbornness hadn’t appeared overnight. When she was fourteen, Shen Gaolang had wanted to send her abroad to polish her résumé; if she refused, he would cut off her living expenses. Shen Siyan had simply cut ties then and there, turned around, earned scholarship money through a math olympiad, and gotten herself directly admitted to T University. And after graduate school, when she said she wouldn’t join Hongjian and insisted on going out to make her own way, Shen Gaolang hadn’t agreed at first either. They had argued once, and when he realized he couldn’t change her mind, he had reluctantly let it go.

Her mother would definitely find out soon enough too, but she probably wouldn’t make too much of a fuss. She was even busier than her father, and she was at a key point in her promotion. Maybe she’d call to remind her to handle her personal life properly, mind her public image, and not stir up trouble at this stage or interfere with her prospects in politics.

So—Shen Siyan slowly closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the sofa, letting the silence swallow her.

So it really was settled. The trouble had been sent away completely.

Even if the method was a little out of line.

She was buried under a mountain of miscellaneous matters and didn’t have much time to think carefully. The legal department came by again to discuss the final decision on suing Zhaolan, and like most office workers in the world, she gathered up her scattered emotions, braced herself, and threw herself back into the concrete work at hand.

The product management team still had other things to handle. Shen Siyan didn’t let Driver Yang take her back; she hailed a taxi and returned to the company.

When she walked into the office, she habitually glanced toward Wei Xiaolu. At just that moment, Wei Xiaolu also looked up, and their eyes met briefly.

“You’re back, CEO Shen,” Wei Xiaolu said.

Shen Siyan felt a little dazed all of a sudden. After a pause, she replied, “It’s still lunch break. Why didn’t you take a nap?”

Wei Xiaolu smiled like a little apple. “I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t.”

Then she pinched her fingers together and asked in a low voice, “CEO Shen, you didn’t sleep at noon either... Were you going to handle Mr. Qi’s side?”

Shen Siyan paused in front of the desk.

She looked at Wei Xiaolu again, but by then Wei Xiaolu no longer dared to meet her eyes. Her lashes fluttered rapidly, and she looked very guilty.

Shen Siyan hummed in acknowledgment and was just about to explain when Ai Jin knocked and came in. “CEO Shen, do you have a moment? Could you help me look over our product proposal and see what else needs revising?”

“...” Shen Siyan glanced at Wei Xiaolu, whose face immediately fell; the little one already looked wilted.

“Xiaolu,” Shen Siyan said as she walked out with Ai Jin, soothing her, “don’t overthink it. I’ll explain everything to you tonight.”