Chapter 49: Return 

Facing the silent Xia Lingying, Xiao Moyan had a stomach full of anger with no way to vent. She stretched out her right hand, pinched Xia Lingying's chin, and forced her to look into her eyes. 

“What? Did I hit the nail on the head? You got nothing to say?!” 

Xia Lingying was forced to lift her head, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at Xiao Moyan and shook her head vigorously. 

“No, Xiao, Gu Yuan and I aren’t what you think...” 

Xiao Moyan sneered, increasing the pressure in her grip. 

“What do I think? And what are you two?!” 

“We were just childhood friends...” 

“Childhood friends? Just that?!”

Xiao Moyan's face tightened as she coldly stared at Xia Lingying. 

“Xia Lingying, do you think I, Xiao Moyan, am a fool?! If you were just friends, why didn’t you say anything when I asked you this morning if you knew Gu Yuan? Also, what were you two just acting out? Strangers meeting for the first time?!” 

“I was just afraid you’d misunderstand!” 

Xia Lingying hurriedly explained. 

“Now you’re not afraid I’ll misunderstand?! Xia Lingying, how long are you going to lie to me?! If it weren’t for Mrs. Xu calling to say something slipped, you’d still be hiding it from me, right? Right?!” 

Xia Lingying’s chin was pinched painfully by Xiao Moyan. She furrowed her brow, enduring the waves of pain. Looking at Xiao Moyan's fierce face, Xia Lingying tightly closed her eyes. Tears slowly flowed down as they brimmed in the corners of her eyes, dripping onto Xiao Moyan's hand. 

“You...”

Xiao Moyan looked at the tear-streaked Xia Lingying, momentarily stunned, and withdrew her hand. 

Xia Lingying still shook her head. The tears flowed into her mouth, and the bitter taste could not compete with the pain in her heart. She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and looked at Xiao Moyan. 

“Xiao, you have to believe me.” 

Xiao Moyan looked at Xia Lingying, her lips trembling slightly but not saying anything. 

Xia Lingying wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Her eyes fixed on Xiao Moyan as she slowly explained, 

“Gu Yuan and I were childhood partners. Due to business dealings, our parents were quite familiar, and our families lived in the South Garden villa area. I’ve always been aloof and didn’t have many friends. Gu Yuan was the same...” 

Xiao Moyan’s expression darkened upon hearing this. She leaned back slightly, crossed her arms over her chest, but did not interrupt her.

“My father was afraid I would be lonely, so he often took my mother and me to Uncle Gu’s house to play. As time went on, we became familiar with each other. Gu Yuan treated me very well, taking care of me like an older brother. As for the engagement...” 

Xia Lingying leaned forward, grabbing Xiao Moyan’s arms crossed over her chest, pulling them down to hold her hands, their fingers intertwined as she looked steadily at her. 

“Xiao, you know that back then, my father only held forty percent of the shares in Tianhuang. Although he had great prestige in the board, he was not the absolute power holder. The only way—” 

Xiao Moyan’s sharp eyes met Xia Lingying’s as she said, 

“So, Xia Ran wants to use you to tie down Gu Shan (Gu Yuan’s father), marrying you off to obtain his fifteen percent of the shares, thus securing his position as Chairman of Tianhuang?”

Xia Lingying looked into Xiao Moyan’s eyes, bit her lip, and nodded vigorously. 

“Do you feel guilty? Do you think you owe Gu Yuan something?” 

Xia Lingying lowered her head and did not look at Xiao Moyan. 

“Yes, I feel guilty. Xiao, Gu Yuan has taken care of me for a long time and helped me a lot. He has always stayed by my side, but I still fell in love with you. I hurt him. Doesn’t that mean—” 

Xia Lingying raised her head and looked at Xiao Moyan. 

“Can’t I feel a little guilt?” 

Upon hearing Xia Lingying’s words, Xiao Moyan scoffed, abruptly pulling her hands away, leaning back, and staring at her with a blank expression. 

The delicate touch suddenly disappeared. Xia Lingying lowered her head and looked at her empty hands, her eyes stinging with pain. 

“Do you dare say you don’t have any feelings for Gu Yuan? Why didn’t you dare to look him in the eye while eating just now? Why do you always look so guilty? Are you heartbroken? Do you regret it? Do you regret that your body was tarnished by me? That you can never go back to being pure and innocent? That you can never have your sweet and happy love?” 

Xiao Moyan’s words, which had been pent up in her for the whole night, burst out without a moment's pause, striking Xia Lingying’s heart.

Xia Lingying looked at Xiao Moyan in disbelief, trembling lips with tears streaming down her face. 

“Xiao Moyan, is this what you think of me? Why can’t you trust me?” 

“Trust you? How can I believe you? What can I trust? Xia Lingying, how many true words have you said to me since we met? Don’t think I don’t know about your little dealings with Lan Chen!” 

Xiao Moyan’s chest heaved with anger as she glared at Xia Lingying. She had had enough! Enough of this enduring and retreating life! What did Xia Lingying take her for? Xiao Moyan loved and cared for her wholeheartedly. She even foolishly wanted to personally introduce Xia Lingying to Gu Yuan, hoping to seize the opportunity to land the female lead in the new play and achieve complete fame. But what about Xia Lingying? She had never considered her at all! Did Xia Lingying think she didn’t know about her little tricks with Lan Chen? She could see all the manipulations in the company. She just didn’t want to harm their relationship over trivial matters. She understood Xia Lingying’s desire to meet her father, but this time with Gu Yuan...

Xiao Moyan stared at Xia Lingying and slowly spoke. 

“Xia Lingying, do you know how powerless you make me feel?!” 

Xia Lingying felt a pain in her heart upon hearing this. She reached out to embrace Xiao Moyan, but was quickly dodged. 

“Why do you always have to lie to me…” 

Xiao Moyan murmured, already in tears. Had she been wrong? She just wanted a love that completely belonged to her, Xiao Moyan. Why was it so difficult? Why did Xia Lingying always respond to her with one deception after another? 

Xia Lingying had never seen such a Xiao Moyan. Unlike her usual anger, the look in her eyes was filled with pure pain and sorrow. Xia Lingying cried softly and rushed forward to hug Xiao Moyan. 

“Xiao… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Xiao Moyan took a deep breath, wiped away the tears on her face, and forcefully pushed Xia Lingying away. 

“Xia Lingying, since this is the case, since my feelings for you will never be reciprocated, why should I continue to love you and care for you, allowing you to hurt me again and again?” 

Her mind raced as she recalled how the board had repeatedly rejected her decisions in recent days. A dark thought rose from the depths of her heart. Xiao Moyan's heart tightened as she fixed her sharp gaze on Xia Lingying, her eyes scanning her face back and forth. 

“You knew Gu Yuan was coming back all along, didn’t you?” 

“What?”

Xia Lingying looked at Xiao Moyan with tearful eyes, her voice hoarse and weak. 

Seeing Xia Lingying's confused eyes, Xiao Moyan's heart had already gone through countless twists and turns. If Gu Yuan and Xia Ran teamed up, plus Jiang Feng and Director Lin's status in the entertainment industry, with the prestige and shares of these few people, then Tianhuang... She could not, could not follow in Xia Ran's footsteps. Back then, Xiao Nian had used the same method to force Xia Ran down, and the key tool used in between was Qiu Muying. Now, years later, the same method and the same means were just replaced with different people…

Xia Lingying, you—

“You have been in private contact with Lan Chen, Gu Yuan, Director Lin, and perhaps even Jiang Feng, right?!” 

Before Xia Lingying could react, the next question followed. Xiao Moyan's voice gradually rose, her gaze became even sharper. She grabbed Xia Lingying's wrist tightly, staring deeply into her eyes. Her voice carried a sternness that came with an inherent authority, a force cultivated from long-held power. Xiao Moyan had not shown this side of herself in front of Xia Lingying for a long time. In the past, even when she was angry, what Xiao Moyan expressed was merely pure anger. Thinking of this made Xia Lingying shiver in fear as she looked at Xiao Moyan, momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing that Xia Lingying didn’t immediately deny it, Xiao Moyan's heart sank. She wished Xia Lingying would tell her no, even if it were a lie; as long as she said it, she’d be willing to believe. However, Xia Lingying's silence was interpreted by Xiao Moyan as another meaning. Yet, until this moment, she still didn’t want to believe that Xia Lingying would get involved in this murky water and participate in actions to frame her. Xiao Moyan just hoped that everything was her own sensitivity and suspicion, just like before...

While the two of them were in a stalemate, the sound of an engine starting came from nearby, followed by dazzling lights. Their conversation was forced to break off. Xiao Moyan frowned unhappily and instinctively covered her eyes with her hand, looking up. She saw two cars approaching from the opposite direction. The first was a shiny black Mercedes-Benz, which Xiao Moyan recognized as Gu Yuan's, and right behind it was a shiny Chevrolet. The two cars seemed to have a prearranged agreement, quickly drifting one in front of the other, blocking Xiao Moyan's car.

Xiao Moyan was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up her phone to call A'Sen. Just as she dialed, the door of the Chevrolet opened, and a person slowly stepped out. When Xiao Moyan recognized who it was, she froze in her seat. Beside her, Xia Lingying had tears in her eyes and was too excited to speak. She turned and quickly opened the car door, running down without even noticing the pleading pain in the eyes of the person next to her.

From the driver's seat, Xiao Moyan quietly watched the figure that left her without hesitation, losing all sense of discernment...

On the phone, A'Sen's anxious voice came through. Xiao Moyan looked at the two people tightly embracing each other and picked up her phone, quietly saying, 

“A'Sen, Xia Ran is back.”

“What?!”

A'Sen was clearly surprised. After a brief moment of shock, he quickly responded, 

“Miss, where are you? Where's Miss Xia? I’ll go find you right now. I—”

Before A'Sen finished speaking, Xiao Moyan quietly hung up the phone. She silently watched the touching scene of the father and daughter reuniting from the car seat. After a moment, she slowly opened the car door and stepped out with firm steps, showing no signs of panic.

Xia Ran tightly embraced Xia Lingying. The fragile body of her daughter hurt her heart, and she couldn't help but shed old tears. After a moment, Xia Ran supported Xia Lingying's shoulders and looked at her, saying, 

“Xiaxia, Dad is back. I won’t let you suffer any more.”

Author's Note:

I apologize, everyone. I was not satisfied with yesterday's version at all. I made Xiao Moyan look like a coward, and some comrades said she's like a grandson*, so I rewrote everything.

*孙子 (sūnzi) - colloquial for fool/good for nothing/bastard