Chapter 117: Chapter 111: Xun Xiangxiang’s Plea for Help (Third Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)
Xiao Lin was taken aback. Xia Xue’s voice, typically gentle, had suddenly turned sharp for the first time, and Xiao Lin now understood what it meant for a voice to be grating. It wasn’t that Xia Xue’s voice was unpleasant, but the change from her usual softness was like night and day, so much so that Xiao Lin’s mouth dropped open, nearly letting his food fall out.
"You... Dad, how could you do this? I absolutely disagree!" Xia Xue’s voice remained high-pitched, her small face flushed with anger, clearly infuriated by her father’s words, as she resisted desperately.
"You have to agree even if you don’t want to; your grandpa has already nodded!" The voice from the phone grew louder, enough that Xiao Lin, sitting opposite, could faintly hear it. Previously, Xiao Lin had refrained from eavesdropping on Xia Xue’s call, but now the voice was unmistakable.
"So what if Grandpa has agreed? At worst, I’ll never return to the Xia Family, but I won’t starve to death!" Xia Xue was enraged, even going so far as to talk about running away from home.
"Xia Xue..." On the other end, they were momentarily at a loss for words, clearly taken aback by Xia Xue’s threat. Her father, Xia Yusheng, seemed to know his daughter’s personality well; if pushed too hard, she wouldn’t just say she’d never return to the Xia Family—she would indeed follow through.
Xia Xue listened quietly to the voice on the phone, and suddenly her tears began to fall, her expression deeply sorrowful.
"Dad, no matter what you say, I will never agree!" Though deeply saddened, Xia Xue’s words were resolute, unaltered from before.
"Alright, let’s leave it at this for now. I’ll return for Grandpa’s birthday, but as for what you mentioned, I definitely won’t agree!" Having said that, Xia Xue hung up and immediately turned off her phone.
Xiao Lin had already come over and gently asked Xia Xue, "Xue Er, what’s wrong?"
Xia Xue took a deep breath, shaking her head, the tears still welling in her eyes, and said, "It’s nothing, Xiao Lin. Let’s elope!"
Hearing Xia Xue’s words and her mention of her grandpa’s birthday, Xiao Lin deduced that the matter she refused to agree to must be related to Fatty Wang. He had been contemplating how to deal with Fatty Wang, and now seemed the perfect opportunity. Comforting her, he said, "Why elope? It’s not ancient times; we aren’t servant girls and errand boys!"
Xia Xue, however, shook her head with a bitter smile, saying, "You don’t understand. No matter how capable you are, what can you do? Fatty Wang is right; you might be able to handle ten or eight people, but what about a hundred? A thousand? People like that are beyond our reach!"
"Your father is forcing you to get engaged to Fatty Wang?" Xiao Lin didn’t dwell on the previous topic and instead asked.
"Yes, in a couple of days, it’s my grandpa’s birthday, and it’s also the day of my engagement to Fatty Wang. Grandpa has already agreed!" Xia Xue replied, feeling frustrated.
"Want to see a good show?" Xiao Lin asked with a smile, showing no worry about Xia Xue’s engagement to Fatty Wang.
Xia Xue didn’t respond to Xiao Lin’s question, instead complaining, "Xiao Lin, I’m already panicking about eloping, and you’re still rambling! The Wang Family’s influence isn’t something a small-time doctor like you can contend with. Even if you did come out of the military, with your skills and medical expertise you’d surely be an officer, but against the Wang Family, even senior officials don’t stand a chance. We should find an opportunity to elope!"
Xiao Lin gently held Xia Xue, softly saying, "Xue Er, trust me, I won’t let you marry Fatty Wang!"
Feeling the firmness and strength in Xiao Lin’s embrace, Xia Xue felt slightly reassured, but still found it hard to believe his words. She sighed, "You haven’t interacted much with Elder Chen. If you had spent a little more time and developed a better relationship with him, things would be much easier!" Elder Chen held significant sway in both Huaxia’s education sector and within the Yanjing Chen Family. If he spoke on Xiao Lin’s behalf, it would carry weight.
"If I were to bring someone whose influence outweighs Elder Chen’s, would your Xia Family then reconsider marrying you off to Fatty Wang?" Xiao Lin asked.
"Someone with more weight than Elder Chen, the principal? There must be someone like that in Yanjing, but can you invite that kind of person to speak for you?" Xia Xue was skeptical. If he really knew such a person who would speak up for these children’s affairs, and the one to offend is the Wang Family of Yanjing, Xiao Lin must have a good relationship with that person. If that person carries such weight, then their status must be very high. However, judging by Xiao Lin’s attire and demeanor, he doesn’t seem like a young master from high society; he seems more like someone from the military."
Xiao Lin smiled slightly and said, "Let me give you a hint. Do you remember the brother who came with me last time?"
"The man who looks more beautiful than a woman?" Xia Xue immediately recalled Hua Qingyi’s feminine beauty, and couldn’t imagine there could be such a beautiful man in this world. Naturally, she had a very deep impression of him. However beautiful Hua Qingyi was, he seemed to lack the manliness a man should have.
"It seems you’re not very familiar with the circle of young masters in Yanjing. You might not have heard the name Hua Qingyi, but you must have heard of the Yanjing Hua Family?" Xiao Lin said with a smile. Seeing Xia Xue so puzzled, Xiao Lin decided to give her a little reassurance, just to prevent her from feeling uneasy, which would make him uncomfortable.
"The Yanjing Hua Family?" Xia Xue was startled. Let alone the Xia Family, even the Wang Family would only look up to the Yanjing Hua Family. Although the Wang Family and the Hua Family are both part of the four great families of Yanjing, the Wang Family has only achieved decent success in business, with little connections in politics and the military.
The Hua Family is different, with a century-old foundation that is no joke. Members of the Hua Family have enormous influence in both politics and the military in Huaxia. Nowadays, the leading figure of the Hua Family is even among the national leadership. In the eyes of the Hua Family, the Wang Family is no more than a nouveau riche. How could they compare with the century-old heritage of the Hua Family in just twenty years? It’s simply incomparable.
"Xiao Lin, are you saying Hua Qingyi is from the Yanjing Hua Family? Hua Qingyi is a branch member of the Yanjing Hua Family, right?" Xia Xue was dizzy with amazement. Even if Hua Qingyi is just a branch member, that’s already enough to help. In Yanjing, the Hua Family is akin to royalty. If someone from the Hua Family speaks for them, it holds far more weight than Elder Chen, the principal.
"If Hua Qingyi heard you, he would be so upset. How could you call him a branch member? He is the leading figure of the third generation of the Yanjing Hua Family, a direct heir. Listening to this would make him vomit blood!" Xiao Lin teased.
"Alright, so you’ve been hiding things so deeply? Tell me, what else haven’t you told me!" Xia Xue playfully complained. Initially, Xia Xue was a bit worried, but if Hua Qingyi’s status in the Hua Family is really that significant, then there would be absolutely no problem.
"Did you and Hua Qingyi attend my grandpa’s birthday banquet the other day? Although I don’t know Hua Qingyi, my grandpa and his peers shouldn’t be unaware of a third-generation descendant of the Hua Family. If Hua Qingyi speaks, it indeed holds much more weight than Elder Chen, the principal!" Xia Xue affirmed. After all, although Elder Chen might be a titan in the education sector and very influential in the Chen Family, the Chen Family does not revolve solely around him. Moreover, offending the immense Wang Family for someone he has only known for a few days, a small doctor, is not worth it.
"Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough!" Xiao Lin did not plan to reveal his entire plan to Xia Xue. He thought that the day would be thrilling and couldn’t wait for it to come.
With Xiao Lin giving her some assurances, Xia Xue felt much more at ease. After some intimate moments, the two cleaned up the dishes, and Xiao Lin returned to his room to check if there were any emails.
There was one email, sent by the Dragon Soul Headquarters. It was about Hua Qingyi. Hua Qingyi had arrived at the Capital Dragon Soul Headquarters at five in the afternoon, along with a Middle Eastern gentleman under escort. The Dragon Soul Headquarters awarded both Hua Qingyi and Xiao Lin a second-class merit. Xiao Lin didn’t think much of the credit, feeling the risk was nowhere near his usual missions, and securing an easy second-class merit was quite nice.
Afterwards, Xiao Lin opened a webpage to search for news about the HTC mutated virus. The news was still from a few days ago, with not much attention paid to this mutated virus. Xiao Lin didn’t know why, but he felt uneasy about the virus. Yet he mocked himself: when dozens of experts and scholars aren’t anxious, why should he be? The lack of news was the best news.
After watching the news for a while, Xiao Lin opened QQ and checked his messages. Messages had been sent from Chopin, Xiang Fei, Loneliness, Moon, and Xun Xiangxiang. After replying to each of them, Chopin, Xiang Fei, Loneliness, and Moon didn’t immediately reply, but Xun Xiangxiang seemed to be online and quickly sent a message: "Uncle Military Doctor, save me, I’m dying!"
Xiao Lin chuckled. If she’s dying, how could she be online? Plus, it seemed from the message that Xun Xiangxiang wasn’t using a mobile QQ app but the computer one, so she must be in front of her computer, pretending to be desperate. He responded: "Really dying? Don’t forget to take a photo and post it when you get to Hell!"
Xiao Lin checked the group, seeing no news, and was about to log off QQ and play some games when Xun Xiangxiang sent another message: "Uncle Military Doctor, seriously, I’m not lying. Come quickly and save me! I’m under house arrest in Jiangdong Garden. If you don’t come, I might never see you again!"
Seeing that Xun Xiangxiang was speaking amusingly, Xiao Lin couldn’t resist replying: "House arrest is great, no worries about food or drink, comfortably surfing the internet all day, that life is like being a god, how wonderful!"