Xu Xingguang carried her things upstairs by herself. Passing the second floor, she stopped and looked at the wall in the hallway where a photo of her with her parents and grandparents used to hang.
Now, the photo was still there, but the people in the photo had changed. It had become a photo of Xu Zeqing and You Jingqiu with their daughter, and even the figure of her grandfather was nowhere to be seen.
Gazing at the gentlemanly smiling man in the photo, Xu Xingguang felt he was a heartless and unjust devil.
Her mother's library had been emptied, her mother's carefully tended Daffodil Garden had been bulldozed, the bedroom she had lived in for nearly twenty years had been overtaken, the family photo she had personally selected had been replaced by strangers, and even the housekeeper who had worked in their home for more than ten years had been dismissed.
In this house, apart from her own blood relation to Mo Yinshu, there wasn't a trace left related to her own existence.
At this moment, a towering rage suddenly welled up in Xu Xingguang's heart.
She wanted to bring Xu Zeqing to ruin and ensure the Xu Family could never recover!
Xu Xingguang returned to her room and didn't come downstairs anymore.
You Jingqiu and the others waited and waited, but Xu Xingguang never appeared, so she started to complain. "On her first day back, she gives us this attitude, who is she doing this for?"
She stretched out her hand with a band-aid over a cut in front of Xu Zeqing, complaining, "Look, I even cut my hand cooking to welcome her, yet she wasn't even willing to sit down and have a meal with us."
Xu Zeqing immediately stood up and said, "I'll go and call her."
Arriving at the attic, Xu Zeqing stood in front of the closed door of Xu Xingguang's room and earnestly tried to persuade her, "Xingguang, today is your first meal with Aunt You and them. She specially prepared a lavish dinner for you. If you don't come, you're deliberately embarrassing her. Xingguang, you're an adult now, you shouldn't be overly impulsive."
Xu Xingguang opened the door, and her first words were, "I'm preparing to resume my studies."
"Resuming studies?" This contradicted Xu Zeqing's plans, as he hoped Xu Xingguang would marry soon.
Xu Zeqing, of course, wouldn't be foolish enough to directly reveal his thoughts to Xu Xingguang, so he hinted instead, "Xingguang, you left school after just half a year before falling into a coma. At that time, the doctors said you might never wake up, so I contacted the school to cancel your enrollment."
Xu Zeqing furrowed his brows in some difficulty and said, "Now if you wish to resume studying, we'll need to reach out and pull some strings. But you also see our current family circumstances... Maybe it's better to forget about school."
From the bottom of his heart, Xu Zeqing disapproved of Xu Xingguang resuming her studies.
It's just a mediocre teacher's college, in the least useful early childhood education major; even if she continues, it's useless. Better to attend etiquette school for a while and participate in a few high-class matchmaking events. Maybe a noble family's young master might take interest, and she could marry into a wealthy family.
Xu Xingguang saw through Xu Zeqing's intentions and feigned ignorance. "Dad, I don't need to use family connections for resuming studies. Senior Sister Zhiyi already helped me handle it. I'm having dinner with her today, so I'll be off now."
The mention of Zhang Zhiyi's name brightened Xu Zeqing's expression significantly.
Zhang Zhiyi was the wife of Lord City Lord Xiahou Shang, and it was said that the Xiahou family still had several unmarried young men. If Xu Xingguang grew close to Zhang Zhiyi, maybe she could marry into the Xiahou family someday.
Thinking of this, Xu Zeqing finally put on a smile and said, "Alright, I won't keep you."
You Jingqiu watched in disbelief as Xu Xingguang left the house with a canvas bag without looking back. She turned to question Xu Zeqing, "She just left like that?"
"She's meeting a friend for dinner."
"What kind of friends are more important than us? This was supposed to be our first meal together!" You Jingqiu stared at the full table of dishes, feeling thoroughly annoyed.
Xu Zeqing gave You Jingqiu an unpleased glance and said, "What kind of friends? She's going to meet Zhang Zhiyi."
Of course, You Jingqiu knew about Zhang Zhiyi.
Zhang Zhiyi came from a commoner background but had married up to Xiahou Shang, and everyone in Yu Zhou City secretly called her Cinderella.
Thinking of Xu Xingguang's close relationship with Zhang Zhiyi made You Jingqiu feel a pang of jealousy.
She had a prestigious literary mother everywhere forging bonds for her; her life was destined to be good.
You Jingqiu instinctively glanced at her daughter sitting idly on the sofa, and guilt filled her heart. Her own daughter Ming Yue was both talented and beautiful, not much worse than Xu Xingguang, yet she couldn't avoid needing to navigate life without a rich background to support her every endeavor.
God is unfair.
"Mom, Uncle Xu, I have something to tell you." Suddenly, You Mingyue put down her phone, stood up from the sofa, and looked at Xu Zeqing and You Jingqiu with a slightly flushed face.
Suspicious, You Jingqiu looked at You Mingyue and asked curiously, "What is it?"
Xu Zeqing also looked at her with a face full of concern.
You Mingyue twirled her fingers together, slightly lowered her head, and softly said, "I'm in a relationship. My boyfriend wants to come over tomorrow to formally meet our family."
Her announcement came as a shock to everyone in the room, even prompting You Jiaoyang who was reading in his bedroom on the first floor to slide the door open and step out.
He crossed his arms, standing at the door, raised his eyebrows, and questioned You Mingyue, "When did you start dating? Who is he?"
You Jingqiu quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, when did you start dating? We had no idea! How long has it been? What's his family background?"
While Xu Zeqing didn't inquire in detail, his eyes were full of curiosity as he looked at You Mingyue.
You Mingyue told them, "We've known each other for more than three months; we've been together for over a month. His name is Chu Zimu."
Hearing this name, Xu Zeqing and You Jiaoyang blurted out in unison, "The eldest son of the Chu family?"
You Jingqiu wasn't aware of who the Chu family's eldest son was but had heard of the name 'Chu family' and knew their status in Yujiang City's commercial circle.
Her heart inadvertently beat a few extra times, and she hastily inquired, "Which Chu family? Is it the one behind Yuyi Jewelry?"
You Mingyue nodded affirmatively, "Yes, it's him."
You Jingqiu's eyes widened slightly, realizing her daughter was dating the eldest son of the Chu family!