TMLFDN 62

Xie Siqi hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath before asking, "Dad, have you been very dissatisfied with my behavior lately?"

Xie Li stared at Xie Siqi expressionlessly for a while, his gaze making Xie Siqi completely unaware of what his own father was thinking. Xie Li's eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion, as if he would rather look at a blade of grass. This kind of gaze made Xie Siqi feel uneasy, as he knew his father had been very dissatisfied with him lately, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.

Just when Xie Siqi was about to ask again, Xie Li finally spoke up.

"Last time in the study, you yourself admitted that you knew I was very dissatisfied with you. I don't think there's anything more to say about this issue."

Xie Siqi's heart tightened. Both he and Xie Li knew that they weren't talking about the previous issue, but rather about when Xie Li went to dissolve the engagement, Xie Siqi chose to run away. He was worried that this issue would displease Xie Li, but the latter chose to downplay it.

Feeling like he couldn't let Xie Li divert the topic, Xie Siqi couldn't help but raise his voice slightly. 

"Dad!" 

But as he looked into Xie Li's eyes, Xie Siqi felt like a duck being choked, unable to say a word.

(TN: typical male lead with huge daddy issue)

"Xie Siqi, this is a decision you made yourself, and you have to bear the consequences yourself." 

Xie Li's eyes were very cold, essentially treating him like a scumbag.

"The engagement with the Wen family was something I decided to dissolve. Since you didn't want to come with me and chose to run away instead, you'll have to bear the corresponding consequences." 

Xie Li clasped his fingers together in front of him, leaning back against the sofa. He squinted slightly as he looked at his nominal son, but with an air of superiority.

Xie Siqi tightly clenched his pants, bowing his head, too afraid to look at his father. He knew very well that the engagement with the Wen family was his responsibility and obligation, something that as the heir to the Xie family, he had to do. But Xie Li's actions had directly severed that obligation.

During the time his father was away, Xie Siqi's relationship with Shen Xiyue had progressed rapidly, feeling like a rare moment of freedom for a little beast just out of its cage. But the moment Xie Li returned, Xie Siqi felt the restraint from his father.

"Dad..." 

His voice no longer had the previous confidence and calmness, but was instead filled with a strong sense of pleading.

Xie Siqi looked very pitiful, but Xie Li was not about to let his guard down. With the timeline of the novel being long, Xie Li knew everything Xie Siqi had done. How he gradually undermined the Wen family and grew into the CEO in the later stages of the novel, Xie Li knew it all.

Being able to strike at him when the male lead was still immature was quite an experience.

Xie Li chuckled, but to Xie Siqi's ears, it sounded like a sneer. He immediately thought of his father's recent efforts to cultivate Xie Siyun and immediately had a bad feeling.

"Dad... are you planning to... give up on me?"

He suddenly raised his head, looking at Xie Li, his gaze cold and merciless. The slight curl of his lips seemed to mock Xie Siqi.

"Don't overthink it," Xie Li said.

He stood up, just like last time, patting Xie Siqi on the shoulder. But Xie Siqi felt like the pat was almost knocking him over.

"It's getting late. Go back to your room and rest."

Although Xie Li's words were the same as last time, the blow to Xie Siqi was even greater this time. He said Xie Siqi was overthinking it, but Xie Siqi felt like Xie Li was already prepared to give up on him.

In reality, that was indeed the case.

But Xie Li wasn't planning to give up on Xie Siqi; he had never intended to shelter him from the start.

Xie Li didn't like Xie Siqi at all, it was a prejudice he had from the beginning, and Xie Siqi's subsequent actions only deepened that impression.

Even during the conversation with the head of the Wen family, he was completely serious. 

"I'd rather find a son-in-law for Siyun in the future to inherit the family property than give it to this unfilial son." 

Xie Li genuinely felt this way. Wasn't it better to give the family fortune to the obedient and well-behaved Siyun? Why bother with a scumbag like Xie Siqi?

When Xie Li came out of the study and returned to the bedroom, Jiang Yuying was still showering, so he didn't waste much time. Xie Li adjusted the curtain and projector, found the episode they had just watched, and projected it onto the screen at the head of the bed.

He also planned to take a shower; after all, the hot pot they had for dinner had left him smelling like it. With Jiang Yuying showering here, he could go to the next room.

Xie Li grabbed some clean clothes and headed straight to the next room.

When he came out of the shower, Jiang Yuying had already finished getting ready and was sitting on the bed playing with her phone. She saw Xie Li and quickly put down her phone, patting the empty space next to her.