Beg Me to Remarry
Chapter 585 - 586: The Loud Slap

Chapter 585: Chapter 586: The Loud Slap

Father and son both fell silent, not uttering a word, and Xia Ning knew they were giving each other a way out.

She tugged at Xia Cheng’s sleeve, "Brother, go check on the kitchen and see how the preparations for the New Year’s Eve dinner are coming along. I need to talk to dad."

The Xia Cheng of the past would never set foot in the kitchen, thinking the smell of cooking fumes would clash with the sharp scent of his cologne, but today, after glancing at Xia Guoxiong, he obediently went.

Xia Ning looked at Xia Guoxiong. Her father’s complexion was still grim. She cleared her throat uneasily and said, "Dad, well, I... I have something I want to discuss with you."

Less than two minutes later, Xia Cheng, who was playing with his phone in the dining room, heard Xia Guoxiong’s roar: "Are you an idiot? You did something like this without discussing it first?"

Then came Xia Ning’s earth-shattering cries, which in the empty villa sounded like the ominous toll of a midnight bell, sending shivers down one’s spine.

It wasn’t an exaggeration on Xia Cheng’s part—the deliberate crying that Xia Ning put on was indeed intolerable, like a fake baby doll’s whimpers, small and sobbing, giving one the creeps.

Xia Guoxiong’s yelling continued: "Even if you wanted to deal with Fu Han, you should have found someone reliable. You turned to Qin Nuan and Yi Lixing—do you think our family doesn’t have enough leverage in his hands?"

"But..." Xia Ning swallowed hard, mustering courage to say, "But at that time, Fu Han was abroad, and I thought it was the best opportunity to deal with her. I asked you, but you ignored me, so I just... I just..."

Seeing Xia Guoxiong’s face growing darker, Xia Ning quickly spoke up again: "Dad, it was Qin Nuan who contacted me first. She said she had connections abroad, so I gave her the money; I’ve asked her for the money back, but she refused to return it, saying she would take care of Fu Han for me."

Xia Guoxiong’s face grew even darker, his rage swirling within him like a tornado, clearing away everything in its path.

He just looked at Xia Ning without speaking. How to describe the way he looked at her? It was definitely not the gaze of a father looking at his daughter but more like one looking at an enemy.

Slap!

The loud sound of a slap rang out, piercingly sharp in the not-so-quiet villa, causing Xia Cheng to shudder almost instinctively.

But the slap wasn’t without effect—at least Xia Ning’s crying stopped immediately.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to cry but that she had been intimidated by Xia Guoxiong and didn’t dare to. Her large, tear-filled eyes looked at Xia Guoxiong: "Dad, I know I was wrong."

"What use is knowing you were wrong?" Xia Guoxiong was still furious: "Qin Nuan and Yi Lixing colluded to swindle a lot of money from me, and here you are, foolishly giving them more. You’re indeed a good daughter of mine. If it weren’t for Yi Lixing being caught, you wouldn’t have planned to tell me about this, right?"

After dropping those words, Xia Guoxiong didn’t give Xia Ning another glance and headed straight for the exit.

Just then, Xia Cheng came out from the dining hall and hurriedly called out to Xia Guoxiong, "Dad, we’re about to have the reunion dinner, where are you going?"

"I’m off to clean up your sister’s mess," Xia Guoxiong said furiously, glaring at Xia Cheng: "Keep an eye on your sister and make sure she doesn’t go out and cause more trouble."

One minute, Xia Cheng was the unreliable son about to be thrown out, and the next, he was the guardian tasked with watching over his sister. This shift in status pleased him greatly.

He crossed his arms and walked up to Xia Ning with a certain schadenfreude, "Xia Ning, I really couldn’t tell. You always act so obedient, who’d have thought you’d do something so shocking? Tell me, what have you done to make the old man this angry? I should learn from you."

"What’s it to you?" Xia Ning glared fiercely at Xia Cheng, and the tears in her eyes disappeared just like that.

Although her mind was in turmoil, she knew that the fewer people who knew about her hiring someone to commit murder, the better. Therefore, when she had spoken to Xia Guoxiong about it, she had been very quiet, and Xia Cheng was not aware; of course, she didn’t plan to tell him now either.

"If you want to know so badly, go ask Qin Nuan yourself," Xia Ning retorted before turning and storming towards the stairs; her back radiated intense anger.

"Hmph, it’s not a big deal; if I have to ask, I’ll ask on my own," Xia Cheng spat out in disgust, his phlegm landing on the gold-embellished tile, looking particularly revolting.

The cook approached cautiously and asked with utmost respect, "Young master, the New Year’s Eve dinner is ready. When shall we begin?"

"Are you blind, didn’t you see the old man left?" Xia Cheng snapped, whirling around to glare venomously at the cook as if he was about to kill her.

"I... I understand," the cook turned pale, so frightened she almost sat down on the ground.

Watching her terror pleased Xia Cheng immensely, and he burst into sinister laughter, sounding particularly eerie in the empty villa, like coming upon a ghost in broad daylight.

He stroked his chin, as if he had an idea, grabbed his car keys, and walked away.

...

Around the corner from the hospital, Xia Guoxiong’s luxury car slowly came to a stop. He lit a cigar, its glow shining intermittently. In the dim light, his face looked somewhat terrifying—rigid like a block of ice, though his eyes were bright, their whites marbled with bloodshot veins, like the most frightening scene in a horror movie.

Usually, this place had a constant stream of traffic, even at the early hours of the morning; but today the road was deserted. The cars parked on both sides resembled soldiers standing at attention, exuding an eerie and foreboding aura.

This area can be considered the starting point for the city’s development, with only two lanes; the roadside trees showed their age, each as thick as a water barrel, their leaves forming a dense canopy, and their branches extending everywhere like innumerable octopus tentacles.

A gentle breeze blew by. Although it was still winter, it no longer felt very cool; instead, it calmed Xia Guoxiong’s restless heart.

He looked grimly towards the right side of the road, where the Inpatient Department was and where he would be heading shortly.

If there were any other choice, he would never set foot in that place, not even one step. Alas, there were no if’s.