This man was simply inexplicable! Not content with his own harassment, he could also convey his intentions through other channels? First, Xiao Xie relayed “three minus one is good”, and now another addendum of praise? However, what made her most angry and unbelievable was herself!
At this moment when things were concluding, she could have dismissed his every word as nonsense, but… she actually felt elated by the word “cute”!
“Shit!” Zhiwei blurted out, though she wasn’t sure who deserved to be cursed the most.
“You… he said you’re cute, and you’re angry?”
“Angry! I am angry! Is that not allowed?
You are a professional translator who is proficient in both Chinese and English.
Your task is to translate the following Chinese text into English.
Requirements:
- Translate accurately and fluently, maintaining the original style and tone
- For Chinese names, use pinyin romanization
- Preserve all original content without omissions
- Ensure natural and idiomatic English expression
- Keep the original paragraph structure
- If there are any specialized terms, translate them accurately
- IMPORTANT: Only give me the output and nothing else.
“Okay, I’m just a bit puzzled. He has already agreed to call off the engagement, and you’ve achieved your goal, so you should be happy, right?”
“So tell me, how exactly should I show my happiness? Set off some firecrackers now and rush out shouting ‘Long live the broken engagement’ and ‘Long live freedom’?”
Bai Zhixiu couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh, let’s skip that. It’s the middle of the night, and I don’t want to end up at the police station.” Or the psychiatric hospital? “I’ll take care of the flight tickets, but I still have to say I admire you. Shang is not an easy person to negotiate with. I didn’t expect you to settle things so quickly. You’re really something.”
Is this considered her being impressive? Zhi Wei, after hanging up the phone, was stunned for a long time.
She hadn’t expected things to progress so quickly. In just a few short days… everything was purely accidental. If he hadn’t brought Xiao Jie back, she wouldn’t have knocked him out, and there wouldn’t have been any tying up or confrontation. They would have continued their usual game of mutual deception.
Perhaps everything could only be attributed to fate. The heavens had made arrangements in the dark, allowing them to resolve things quickly. So, it didn’t create a typhoon or cause an earthquake, sparing them those touching, supportive moments.
Or should she be thankful to her parents for giving birth to healthy babies, not letting either of them fall ill, thus eliminating the need for medical care?
Fine, then thanks to heaven, parents, and herself! Isn’t this enough to be happy about?
Zhi Wei frowned, muttered a few words, then wrapped herself in the blanket, covering her face that clearly didn’t look happy. In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
On this day, it was the 60th birthday of Tang Shicheng, the chief merchant of the Los Angeles Chinese market. His villa in the Beverly Hills area was bustling with activity.
Expensive cars shuttled through the grand pillared entrance, and distinguished gentlemen and ladies walked gracefully across the Persian carpet.
In the banquet hall, beneath the high-hanging crystal chandelier, cocktail glasses swirled with vibrant ripples. The long tables covered with linen tablecloths were filled with exquisite appetizers and dishes, tempting and appealing to the senses.
But Tang Zhi Wei was an exception. She felt nauseated. The mixed fragrances of over a dozen different perfumes and colognes made her uncomfortable. She decided to go out and breathe some fresh air.
She slipped out of the main hall and took a winding path, but stopped at the corner. On the cobblestone path leading to…, she heard a woman’s soft sobs and a man’s low growl that were all too familiar, sending a chill down her spine.
She shouldn’t be surprised. After confirming who it was, Zhi Wei curved her lips into a cold smile and was about to walk away.
But at that moment, she heard the man say, “You’re asking for a beating!”
Zhi Wei turned and rushed towards the source of the sound, glaring at the middle-aged man in a tailcoat, his hands gripping the woman’s shoulders. “Let her go!”
The man was momentarily stunned, then became angry. “What attitude is this! I am your father—”
“I know. Some facts don’t need to be said, just like how she is your wife, isn’t she?” Zhi Wei approached her mother, staring at her face washed with tears.
Beneath the fading makeup, a bruise that hadn’t quite faded was visible.
“Wei Wei, don’t get involved…” Tang’s wife, Ge Cuihua, tried to pull her daughter aside.
“I can choose not to get involved, and I don’t want to! But… why did you make me see and hear this?” Zhi Wei broke free from her mother’s hand, hissing.
“Ask her!” Tang Shicheng’s voice was tight. “What nonsense! Today is a special day. Can’t I invite guests without her approval? This is ridiculous!”
Ge Cuihua, stepped on her old wounds, could no longer control her emotions.
“The ridiculous one is not me! I don’t care who you want to invite, but Jennifer is not allowed! Don’t think I don’t know about your ambiguous relationship with her—”
“Enough! Shut up!” Tang Shicheng angrily rebuked his wife.
“You all shut up!” The truly fed-up person was Zhi Wei. She was tired of this repeatedly replayed drama, hating that she couldn’t truly become numb, especially when seeing her mother’s old and new wounds.
She walked towards her furious father, her eyes burning. “Why? You promised you would never hit her again. Why aren’t you keeping your word?”
“You—” Tang Shicheng’s face instantly turned red. “Nonsense! Outrageous! Are you questioning me?”
“I just want an answer, an answer I might be able to accept!”
“Then I’ll tell you now, the answer is—I am the head of this family. In this house, I make the decisions. There’s nothing to accept!”
“Dad, you—”
“Enough, Wei Wei, don’t say anything more.” Ge Cuihua, suddenly realizing the situation was escalating, rushed to mediate: “Let’s not say anything. Guests are still in the hall, let’s go in.”
Tang Shicheng then breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily suppressing his anger, glaring at his daughter. “First, I’m going to introduce you to the third young master of Yanglong Group—”
“I don’t want to.” Zhi Wei responded with one sentence.
“Don’t want to? What do you want? Don’t you think about your own status, always hanging out with those good-for-nothing mutts! Isn’t the Shang family’s broken engagement embarrassing enough? You’d better cooperate today, otherwise—”
“Otherwise what?”
“Otherwise… you’re no longer my daughter!”
“Thank you.” That settles it! Tang Zhi Wei thought to herself and turned to leave.
“Wei Wei, don’t go, don’t act impulsively…” her mother’s call.
“Let her go! I’ll place an announcement in the papers tomorrow to cut ties! Without the family’s protection, let’s see how she can survive! If she has the guts, she can’t take anything from this family!” her father’s roar.
Tang Zhi Wei just quickened her pace, moving beyond the sight of those behind her, completely leaving behind all the noise. And just like that, Tang Zhi Wei left home again.
Although Tang Shicheng did not actually “publicly disown” his daughter, news of the discord between the Tang father and daughter spread quickly.
Various rumors circulated, mostly blaming the Shang family’s withdrawal from the engagement. Some said that because the Shang family called off the marriage at the last moment, the humiliated Tang Shicheng began urgently helping his daughter find a new partner, thus sowing the seeds of their falling out.
