"The moment you step out of the doors of the Qin Household, I, Qin Zheng, will disown you as my daughter, and you will no longer be permitted to set foot in this house again," Qin Zheng roared with anger towards Qin Qing.
"Dad, my husband!" Qin Lang and Madame Qin looked at Qin Zheng in shock, hoping he was not being so unfeeling.
Qin Qing, kneeling on the ground, was in tears. She knew her father all too well; once he spoke, he would never change his mind.
"Qing girl, I beg you, please apologize to your father, Qing girl, I implore you," Madame Qin pleaded, crying a river of tears. She knew how stubborn her husband was, and her hope now rested solely on their daughter.
Her father's angry expression, the tears on her mother's face, the disagreement in her brother's eyes, each and every one of them made Qin Qing feel guilty. However, the image of a man suddenly flashed in her mind, leading the young woman to make an undeniable choice.
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry." Qin Qing bowed heavily on the ground, suddenly got up, and ran out into the heavy rain outdoors. She ran wildly in the rain, not hearing her father's anger or her mother's cries behind her.
Sitting by the window, Qin Qing watched the heavy rain drumming against the glass, just like the rain she had left home in seven years prior. Her mood was heavy, always involuntarily recalling what happened seven years ago, everything was vivid in her memory.
Seven years had passed, Qin Qing sighed in her heart, not clearly remembering what she had been through these past years. Instead, the events that unfolded seven years ago at home were becoming ever so clear. Seven years ago, she had come to this strange city, forsaking everything for the sake of love. She never went back, never had contact with her family, but now, Qin Qing missed her family more than ever.
The sound of the door opening was particularly clear in the pitch-dark night, and the sudden bright light was somewhat of a dazzle, causing Qin Qing's discomfort. However, the person who had just come in seemed equally surprised to find Qin Qing still awake.
"Why are you still up?" Tang Yu asked, removing his coat and casually tossing it onto the sofa, only glancing at Qin Qing before heading into the kitchen.
Qin Qing observed the droplets rolling down Tang Yu's coat, one of them slowly sliding down and about to hit the sofa. Suddenly, she jumped from the window sill, picked up the coat, and tossed it into the washing machine inside the bathroom.
"I have said many times to put dirty clothes in the clothes hamper, do not dirty the house," Qin Qing shouted at Tang Yu, who had just come out of the kitchen.
Tang Yu just calmly looked at her, the atmosphere somehow became silent that it was almost suffocating. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Have you had dinner?"
Qin Qing was taken aback at first, but her surprised eyes soon turned into resentment. She had expected Tang Yu to be angry or reprimand her for her unruly behavior, but instead, he acted as if nothing had happened, which enraged Qin Qing. In their seven years together, she had barely ever seen him get angry.
"Do you even care if I've eaten?" Qin Qing roared at Tang Yu, "After all, you never cared about how I feel."
"Qing, stop it," Tang Yu's expression became somewhat gloomy as he voiced out in a displeased and low tone. "It's getting late. Go rest."
Tang Yu's expression and tone were as if he was dealing with a tantrum-throwing child. This expression and tone instantly shattered Qin Qing's temper, causing her to arbitrarily grab a pillow nearby and threw it at Tang Yu.
Tang Yu just stood there motionlessly, his icy stare seemingly capable of freezing someone solid. Qin Qing, on the other hand, glared back defiantly as though she was determined to hold out against Tang Yu.
"We'll talk when you've calmed down," Tang Yu said coldly, as if Qin Qing didn't exist, and walked past her.
Looking at the indifferent back of Tang Yu, years of grievances welled up inside Qin Qing, resulting in tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. Turning her sorrow into defiance, she charged into the study, smashing everything on Tang Yu's desk like a madwoman.
Despite Tang Yu’s cold gaze and his sealed lips, Qin Qing could tell he was trying hard to restrain his rage. She could decipher every single expression or movement of his after spending seven years with him to please him.
"We need to settle this today. You promised to marry me before you turn 30. It's just a few months away to your 30th birthday, when do you plan to marry me?" Perhaps Qin Qing was influenced by the weather, or years of endurance was on the brink of explosion, she purposefully disregarded Tang Yu's displeasure, wanting to let loose.
"I will marry you," Tang Yu assured, in a calm tone.
"When?" Qin Qing hounded him relentlessly. "I've waited for seven years, how much longer do I have to wait?'"
"I promised to marry you and I will," Tang Yu said, his face expressionless.
"Really?" Mocked Qin Qing, "Who's the wealthy, blue-blooded lady you had dinner with tonight? As long as your grandmother is alive, she'll never permit me to become part of your Tang family."
With tears streaming down her face, Qin Qing gave a sarcastic smile. In order to be with Tang Yu, she had cut ties with her parents, making a return to the Qin family impossible. Yet, Tang's family couldn't accept her either. She felt as aimless and adrift as a duckweed, without a place to call home.
"Qin Qing, my grandmother is a person I hold in high regard, I hope you could respect her as I do," Tang Yu, usually composed, showed a faint sign of anger upon hearing Qin Qing's disrespect towards his grandmother. He said sternly, "I informed you about tonight's dinner a week ago, you did not raise any objections then. So why are you clinging on to it now?"
"Raise any objections?” questioned Qin Qing, “Would you listen? If I asked you not to go, would you have listened? In your eyes, your grandmother always comes first, how do I compare with her?", Suddenly Qin Qing squatted down and sobbed inconsolably.
Tang Yu calmly watched as Qin Qing squatted on the floor crying her heart out. After a long while, when Qin Qing's intense crying had subsided into soft sobs, Tang Yu again voiced out indifferently, "You knew from the beginning how important my grandmother was to me when we got together. Comparing yourself to her will only make you unhappy. I'm going to stay at a hotel tonight. I hope you can take some time to reflect on your actions tonight." Without any signs of reluctance, Tang Yu left the study without paying any heed to Qin Qing's incessant crying.
