Chapter 18 - 1.15

"Father, please calm down first." Xu Jiaqi tried appeasing the man, but he just kept bawling louder. It made Xu Jiaqi's head ache after a while of listening to the endless cries. "Father..." she called out in vain. The man didn't even turn to look up to her face, he was buried too deep with his crying event.

The servants who came to greet Xu Jiaqi stood there without a shred of expression. After working with the Xu family for years, they naturally learned how different this particular rich family was from the others. Loving parents, a great daughter, a massive accumulation of wealth, no huge scandals, clean lifestyle. Where could you point out a fault from them? To the others who worked in the same industry, it was rather well known that the Xu family was one of the best people to work for.

Father Xu's display didn't phase the servants as they were already used to it. They didn't lend a hand to Xu Jiaqi, because they knew that nothing would work. A matter of this scale, to Xu Zheng, was far more important than any business deal he makes.

Xu Jiaqi: Help me! Staring there and doing nothing, you'll lose your young miss to this strange old man at this rate!

Unfortunately for Xu Jiaqi's unheard pleas, this kind of matter can't be solved except for a direct confrontation done by one particular person.

This person was lounging on the second floor with the family's pet Royal Pomeranian, who suddenly began to bark and growl loudly upon hearing Xu Zheng's shrill voice. The person sighed, getting up from her seat as she carried the pet in her arms and tried to soothe the agitated creature.

"Xu Zheng, you really can't give me any break, can you?!" The woman gritted her teeth as she began to march her way out of the room.

Downstairs, Xu Jiaqi was still being held by the crying Xu Zheng. Minutes had already passed, but the man didn't seem to show any signs of stopping. Did he really have no shame? Even though the Xu family's servants were secretive, which normal person would even dare to act this way in the first place?

Luckily, there was someone who came to save her from this peril. It was her own mother, Li Jiayun. The woman in her forties kept her youthful appearance and walked down the spiral staircase with the utmost grace one could have, as if she was a prized member of the royalty. In her arms was their pet dog, who they named Rain.

She approached the pair of father and daughter once she reached the floor and shook her head lightly with disappointment. With a grim face and voice, Li Jiayun raised her hand and pinched Xu Zheng's left ear, twisting it until it became red. Xu Zheng squealed in pain, releasing his grip on Xu Jiaqi and looking at the person who dared to do this to him.

Once he realized who it was, he immediately erased all negative thoughts. "J-Jiayun.. My beloved wife, why are you here?" Xu Zheng began to stutter.

"Do you think that with your voice, that produces a sound so loud that people would think that you have an in-built volume amplifier inside your throat, I wouldn't be able to hear you from upstairs?! For heavens' sake, you even scared our dog. You're even causing trouble for Qiqi right after she came back from the party! She's clearly tired. You cursed daughter-con father, do you not want your life anymore?!" Li Jiayun was relentless as she let go of the dog and started choking her husband with great force.

Rain ran over to Xu Jiaqi, attentively looking at the human. Xu Jiaqi smiled, crouching down and giving the little dog pets as she watched her father be strangled by her own mother with interest. She covered the dog's eyes to save him from the need to witness this atrocious display.

Yes. Li Jiayun, this seemingly sophisticated woman was someone who had mastered several fields of martial arts in the past. Even though she wasn't actively training herself right now, the woman had much more fighting capabilities than what a regular person would.

Of course, she wouldn't kill Xu Zheng, she would just let the man suffer a bit. Their marriage wasn't a loveless one, and Li Jiayun did love Xu Zheng as much as the man did to her. Her personality was just a bit off from normal, and her power off the charts by quite a far gap.

After watching the scene unfold for some moments, Xu Jiaqi finally decided that it was the right time to intervene and save her father before his soul departed for the afterlife.

"Mother, it's all fine. Please let father go?" Xu Jiaqi asked.

Li Jiayun looked at her daughter with her signature piercing eyes, staring down at the shorter female. This type of sinister gaze could be interpreted as negative feelings by a random person, although it was nothing like that in reality.

The original Xu Jiaqi actually didn't like Li Jiayun that much. The contrast between Xu Zheng, who treated her like a fragile princess and Li Jiayun, who aligned more towards strict teaching methods led the original to feel somewhat discomforted.

In truth, Li Jiayun loved Xu Jiaqi just as much as Xu Zheng, if not more. She never harmed her child, and never got angry at her, but her ways of parenting was certainly quite difficult.

Li Jiayun wanted the best for her daughter, to the point where she would be able to live on her own if one day, their entire family collapsed. Of course, this was nothing but a mere hypothetical saying, but there was no telling what will happen in the future.

Thus, out of worry, Li Jiayun imposed education, some intermediate training, and provided her with extensive resources to deepen her knowledge. To Xu Jiaqi, this was not the most desirable thing to go through, but there was a trait that Li Jiayun possessed that struck the child in the heart.

Li Jiayun never gave up on her, no matter how much she failed at first. She was patient in trying to keep her daughter going, and didn't get angry at her. She would only reteach and practice along with her daughter. To Li Jiayun, this was the ideal parental love.

Due to her efforts, Xu Jiaqi grew up to be a very respectable lady. She would've probably not gotten that title if her father was the only taking care of her since he was way too lenient and forgiving towards the child. The pair of odd parents created a balance that ended up benefiting Xu Jiaqi completely.

"I was just.. worried about our little princess getting stolen away.. Jiayun, don't you feel the same way???" Xu Zheng tried to reason with his wife.

"Xu Zheng, until when are you going to spout nonsense? If that time, when you had to ask for my parents' permission in our marriage, they said that I'm not allowed to go, what will you do?"

"I will fight for you! Jiayun, you are the one I love the most in the world!" Even though they were starting to grow older, the love they had maintained since they were in their twenties lasted just the same. As if time hadn't passed and they were still stuck in the past. Those cheesy words were uttered like it was nothing.

Looking at the sight, Xu Jiaqi giggled slightly. There were many types of love, one of them being familial love. If Xu Jiaqi was force to pick one type, then it would be this.. Familial love was one of the strongest, most powerful feeling.