Chapter Ten: The Engagement

"Mother, I'll go get Xiao Yi." Ling Xueqin walked into the hall with Maeda Mai.

"No need. Carry on. Once the banquet is over, I will take Xiao Yi away myself." Maeda Yui spotted the two children sitting in front of the cake, eating. Most of the guests’ gazes were fixed on them; no one dared to approach or share their cake. The looks in their eyes were fawning, treating them like stars surrounding the moon. In this place, such treatment was reserved only for Sun Siyi, the grandson of the Ling family.

It had to be said that the Ling family protected Sun Siyi well. The guards at the Ling manor were strict, and she had failed in her previous attempts to send people to secretly investigate her grandson's situation.

To Xiao Yi, she was still a stranger. Although she was his maternal grandmother, she had never visited him since he was born. If she suddenly told him she was taking him away, he would surely resist. With so many guests present and today being his birthday, she would let him finish his day happily before addressing it.

"Old Ling, what's wrong? Isn't that...?" Xiao Yunting looked at Maeda Mai, feeling a bit puzzled and uncertain. Just then, Ling Feilong and Sun Wenchong walked in from outside, and he asked, "Is that her?"

"Yes, she is here to attend Xiao Yi’s birthday party," Ling Feilong nodded, offering no further explanation and keeping quiet about the fact that Xiao Yi would soon be taken to Sakura Country.

"Say, Old Xiao, about the matter we discussed... what do you think?" Sun Wenchong felt anxious at the thought of his grandson being taken away soon, yet he felt powerless. As Yui had said, they owed her this. Moreover, she was not an outsider; she was Sun Siyi’s grandmother, and taking him to Sakura Country to inherit the Maeda Corporation was a good thing. But he loved his clever grandson dearly and couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him for so long. Since the departure was a foregone conclusion, he had to secure the other arrangements quickly before Old Xiao backed out.

"That's right, Old Xiao. Look at how happily the two little ones are playing and how well they get along. Why don't we..." Hearing Sun Wenchong’s prompt, Ling Feilong immediately realized he needed to seal the future marriage arrangement for his grandson. If he waited until the boy went to Sakura Country for ten years, it would be a disaster if the Xiao family changed their minds upon his return. Even a verbal promise would suffice; with so many dignitaries present today, if Xiao Yunting announced it in front of them, the combined influence of the Ling, Sun, and Xiao families would ensure no one dared to bother the little girl of the Xiao family, effectively cementing the union.

"Hmm." Xiao Yunting nodded with a bitter smile. These two old men were truly impatient. But since he was the one who proposed it, and he couldn't predict the future of the children, he decided to take it one step at a time.

"Everyone, we would like to announce a decision today." Ling Feilong gave his daughter a look and walked to the center of the hall, raising his voice.

As soon as Ling Feilong spoke, the guests fell silent, turning their attention to him.

Ling Xueqin, receiving her father’s signal, hurried over to Sun Siyi, who was still eating cake, took it from his hands, and wiped his mouth with a tissue. On the other side, Xiao Jie, seeing Xiao Yunting’s signal, walked over to Xiao Yuxuan and took her small hand.

"Today, we elders have reached a decision regarding our grandchildren. We are hereby establishing a betrothal. In twelve years, when Sun Siyi and Xiao Yuxuan reach the legal marriage age, we will hold their wedding."

As soon as Ling Feilong finished speaking, the hall erupted in murmurs. Although they had guessed this would be announced, hearing it officially was another matter.

The marriage of Sun Siyi and Xiao Yuxuan was like a union of a prince and princess. Once settled, the tight alliance between the Xiao, Sun, and Ling families would elevate their power to new heights.

Maeda Yui frowned upon hearing this. Such aristocratic marriages were common in Sakura Country, but she had once believed that a family like the Ling clan wouldn't sacrifice their descendants' happiness for profit. She hadn't expected the Ling family to do such a thing; old man Ling Feilong really hadn't changed at all.

"Social status match?" She chuckled. She was the one whose happiness had been destroyed by that very term.

Logically, the Ling family and the Maeda Corporation were a match in status, but due to the relations between the two countries, she had been branded a spy. If her father hadn't sent people to rescue her in time, she didn't know what might have become of her.

Maeda Yui bore no hatred toward anyone. She knew Ling Feilong had been forced into his actions; loyalty and filial piety were hard to balance, let alone a cross-border "hostile" romance. Yet, as a woman, she could not forgive the pain Ling Feilong had caused her.

"Mom, what is an engagement?" Sun Siyi asked curiously.

"An engagement means finding you a wife," Ling Xueqin explained with a smile, crouching beside him.

"Is it that little girl?" Sun Siyi pointed at Xiao Yuxuan.

"Yes. Do you like her?" Ling Xueqin and Xue Yiyi exchanged a smile.

"Like, don't like, like..." Sun Siyi pursed his lips, pondering whether he actually liked Xiao Yuxuan. In truth, he didn't even understand the meaning of "like."

"Mom, I don't want to be with that little fatty..." Xiao Yuxuan protested loudly.

Her voice was loud enough to attract attention, and Xue Yiyi quickly reached out to cover her mouth. Fortunately, the surrounding crowd was busy whispering about the engagement and didn't notice. Even if they had, such political marriages in their noble circle were nothing new.

Once the marriage was settled, Ling Xueqin took Sun Siyi upstairs. Fearing Xiao Yuxuan would cause a scene, Xue Yiyi also took her to a room to coax her.

For Xue Yiyi, who did not come from an aristocratic background, marrying into the Xiao family showed that they weren't strictly obsessed with social standing. But when one is at the top, one loses control of their own life. Perhaps as a nobody, no one notices you, but at the very peak, many eyes are fixed on that position, and one wrong step could lead to falling off a "cliff."

Falling from the first floor wouldn't cause injury, but falling from a rooftop...

Xiao Yunting had been in his position for a long time, which had stirred some resentment. To consolidate his status, he had to make this decision. Xiao Jie and Xiao Yunting hadn't told her this, but that didn't mean she was unaware.

Of course, she didn't tell Xiao Yuxuan the truth; she used some well-intentioned "trickery." A limited-edition Hello Kitty doll successfully bribed Xiao Yuxuan.

Thirty minutes later, Sun Siyi, wearing a miniature black tuxedo, and Xiao Yuxuan, in a white princess dress and tiara, appeared in the center of the hall, which had been quickly transformed into an engagement venue.

The two children, having no idea what an engagement or marriage meant, underwent a simple ceremony. Afterward, Ling Feilong invited the guests to the dining room, where the ten-meter-long banquet table finally served its purpose.

As the guests of honor, Sun Siyi and Xiao Yuxuan sat at the head of the table, with Xiao Yunting, Sun Wenchong, and the others seated in order beside them.

By evening, after seeing off the last guest, Xiao Yunting, Sun Wenchong, and Ling Feilong looked at the two children, who had fallen asleep leaning against each other on the sofa, and burst into laughter.

"Brother Xiao, why don't you stay here tonight?" Ling Feilong suggested.

"No, I have to go abroad tomorrow. I've already lost a day today," Xiao Yunting shook his head.

"Very well." Ling Feilong understood that someone in his position had many matters to handle.

As the head of the Longteng Kingdom, Xiao Yunting had a dedicated motorcade for his travels. Their cars were waiting in the Ling family’s private parking lot, protected by the state security team, so Ling Feilong had no worries about their safety.

After Xiao Jie and Xue Yiyi bid farewell to the others, Xiao Jie gently picked up Xiao Yuxuan and walked to a car arranged by the security captain, while Xiao Yunting was escorted to another. Nearly ten black sedans turned on their lights and slowly drove out in sequence, constantly changing formation on the spacious private driveway to conceal the vehicle carrying the Xiao family.

"Yui, look, Xiao Yi is already asleep. How about..." Ling Feilong stood before Maeda Yui, smiling ingratiatingly.

"We leave tomorrow." Maeda Yui was, after all, a woman; seeing the pleading, pitiful look in her daughter's eyes, her heart softened. Sun Siyi was her own grandson, and she decided to give them a buffer period before the mother-son separation.

"Mother..." Ling Xueqin started to say something.

"This is my limit. I am only taking him to live in Sakura Country for a while. What, is living with me, his grandmother, that much of a grievance? Do you think the living conditions I provide will be worse than this old man's?" Maeda Yui was firm, her words dripping with sarcasm toward Ling Feilong.

"It's not that." Ling Xueqin slumped, knowing her mother's mind was made up. Besides, as she said, she was his grandmother, and the conditions in Sakura Country would certainly be no worse than here. She simply couldn't bear to part with her son.

"You should say your goodbyes to Xiao Yi. I will take him away tomorrow morning. Butler Qin, could you please arrange a room for me?" Maeda Yui turned to the butler standing nearby, fearing that if she kept looking at her daughter’s sorrowful face, she would waver.

"Of course, Madam. This way, please." Butler Qin, who had lived with the Ling family since he was young, knew of Ling Feilong’s hidden difficulties. Though the two had long since lived apart and referred to each other as former spouses, they had never actually finalized a divorce. Perhaps it was because of their hurried separation back then, or perhaps... neither of them truly wanted to. Thus, for many years, even when they met, they tacitly avoided the subject.

Maeda Yui did not argue and followed Butler Qin upstairs.