Chapter 38: Obstacles at Every Turn

"What?" Shang Wende asked in surprise. "Qi-Qi never mentioned this to me!"

Not wanting to put Shang Qi in a difficult position, Luo Yichen covered for her, saying, "We only officially established our relationship recently."

"Mr. Luo, Qi-Qi has been spoiled by me since she was a child. She doesn't know how to do anything and can be quite willful. Being with her will surely bring you a lot of trouble."

Luo Yichen replied earnestly, "I am not afraid of trouble. Sir, if you spoiled her this much at home, I will only spoil her twice as much."

"This..." Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Shang Wende found it hard to say anything more harsh. He changed the subject. "Do you only intend to date her?"

"No. I will introduce her to my family very soon. I hope to stay with her for the long haul."

"Mr. Luo, you must be prudent about this matter!" Shang Wende frowned.

"Please don't be so formal; just call me Yichen. I considered this for a long time before making up my mind."

Shang Wende realized that Luo Yichen was not speaking lightly. He said, "I cannot decide this on my own. I will discuss it with Qi-Qi and her mother."

"I only said these things today to express my sincerity; please don't feel pressured."

Shang Wende nodded. He had a decent impression of Luo Yichen. If he were just a boy from an ordinary family, he would truly be a fine choice for a son-in-law. Luo Yichen had spent many years navigating the business world and was highly experienced in reading the room. Although he could not guess what Shang Wende was thinking, he knew it was necessary to give the other party some breathing room. There would be plenty of time in the future; he would have his chances.

He said, "Sir, if there is nothing else, I will head back now."

"Very well."

As Luo Yichen stood up to leave, his eyes flickered toward the bedroom door. Shang Wende called out, "Qi-Qi, Mr. Luo is leaving. Come out and see him off."

When Shang Qi emerged, nothing could be read from either of their faces. She looked at Luo Yichen with trepidation as she walked him out.

While waiting for the elevator, Shang Qi asked, "What did you say to my father?"

"I said everything."

"Ah?" Shang Qi exclaimed. "Did you sell me out?"

Luo Yichen chuckled and said, "I didn't mention the last three years. I only brought up that we just started dating and said I wanted to be with you forever."

Shang Qi rolled her eyes and said, "You didn't say anything because you were afraid of leaving a bad impression on my father, right?"

Luo Yichen pinched her nose and said, "You little rascal, you’re like a worm inside my stomach."

"What was my father's attitude?"

"He said he wants to discuss it with you and your mother."

"Oh! Thank you so much for today. If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have known what to do!"

Luo Yichen pulled her into an embrace and said, "With me here from now on, I won't let you feel so helpless again."

Feeling Luo Yichen’s care, Shang Qi felt as if she were in a dream. Just as she was dazed, Luo Yichen gave her delicate lips a light kiss. At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Luo Yichen released her, smiled at her, and stepped inside.

Shang Qi stood frozen for a long time before she came to her senses. She was still savoring the kiss, and her face felt burning hot. The feeling of being so immersed in it made her heart flutter. She covered her face with her hands, trying to clear her head and calm her emotions before walking back inside.

Upon returning home, the elderly couple called her over. Shang Wende said, "He told me everything about you and Mr. Luo. Are you truly dating him?"

"Yes," Shang Qi answered candidly.

Yu Xiufen said, "Your father and I have discussed it, and we still feel that the Luo family is out of our league."

These words made Shang Qi’s heart feel heavy. She said, "Luo Yichen is very good to me, and I want to see how this relationship goes."

Shang Wende said, "You should make your own decisions. However, you should also carefully consider our opinion."

"I understand."

Shang Qi returned to her room, weighed down by worry. It was another sleepless night.

The next day, Luo Yichen asked about her parents' opinion again. Shang Qi said, "They still don't approve, but they told me to make my own decision."

"Then that settles it. Find a time, and you will come home with me to meet my family."

"I'm a little scared. Let me think about it some more."

Shang Qi’s attitude was hard for Luo Yichen to fathom. Right now, Xi Jingpeng was eyeing her covetously, and Mu Lichen had also meddled. Luo Yichen did not want to wait a single moment longer; he wanted everyone to know as soon as possible that Shang Qi was his woman. As for Mu Lichen, Luo Yichen decided to speak with him personally.

Luo Yichen met Mu Lichen outside.

"You had better keep your distance from Shang Qi!" Luo Yichen said, getting straight to the point. Previously, Mu Lichen had been in love with Yin Guizhen, which had put him in a difficult position. It was precisely because of that that his grandfather had insisted they divorce. If that happened again, he and Shang Qi would never be able to get married. He had to inoculate Mu Lichen against this while there was still time.

Mu Lichen was equally direct: "I have already fallen in love with her. This time, I won't let go."

Luo Yichen was consumed with rage. But hindered by the public setting, he could only suppress it and ask, "Do you know what you are saying?"

Mu Lichen stared at the dining table and said, "It was because I truly couldn't control my own heart that I reached this point. This time, let's see who is more capable."

Beyond shocked and furious, Luo Yichen forced himself to stay calm. His brain analyzed the situation rapidly: Lichen had loved Guizhen for five years without wavering. How could he suddenly fall for Shang Qi? It was impossible! There could only be one reason for him to do this: to force him and Shang Qi apart for Guizhen's sake.

Thinking of this, he asked, "Do you love Yin Guizhen that much? Enough to do something like this for her?"

Mu Lichen did not intend to keep hiding it from Luo Yichen. He felt that doing so would make him even more of a disgrace to their friendship. Thus, he said bluntly, "Yes. You and Guizhen are the most compatible pair. Shang Qi is just a momentary infatuation for you. The elders are already worrying about my marriage. It makes no difference who I marry; Shang Qi is a suitable candidate."

"Mu Lichen!" Luo Yichen could not suppress the rising anger and shouted.

The surrounding guests looked over one after another. Only then did Luo Yichen remember that this was not the place to talk. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't you dare have designs on Shang Qi again! Otherwise, don't blame me for no longer treating you like a brother."

"Fine. As long as you give her up and remarry Yin Guizhen, I will never bother her again."

Luo Yichen gritted his teeth in anger and swept away. He knew Mu Lichen’s temper; he was not one to compromise easily. Luo Yichen thought: *Is it possible that Lichen doing this so suddenly was Yin Guizhen’s idea? That woman is too cunning. She knows he is as close to me as a brother, yet she dares to instigate him to pursue Shang Qi! It seems I need to teach her a lesson.*

After leaving the restaurant, Luo Yichen called Yin Guizhen directly and asked to meet. Yin Guizhen was overjoyed and dressed up to go out. Seeing this, Yin Guinong asked, "Where are you going?"

"To see a friend." Yin Guizhen dared not tell the truth, fearing her brother would stop her.

"What friend?"

"I'm going to be late, I have to go!" Yin Guizhen hurried off.

Yin Guinong looked at her suspiciously and said, "You haven't been this happy since you left Luo Yichen. Are you going to see him?"

Yin Guizhen stopped in her tracks, effectively conceding.

"Don't see him again!" Yin Guinong commanded. "The reason the Yin family is in this state today is entirely thanks to him. Before you were married, he told you that a piece of land had potential value. Later, Father found a way to buy it from the Luo family. Less than six months later, it was discovered that the land was all soft soil. To build a building there, one would have to dig a very deep foundation, which would increase costs by an astronomical amount. To acquire that land, Father used a large amount of the Yin family's capital, leaving the company with insufficient liquidity. To this day, we are still struggling."

Yin Guizhen said angrily, "Are you treating me like a spy? I told you what Yichen told me because I hoped to increase our understanding of each other. Brother, when did you become like this?"

"Guizhen, I don't like dealing with company matters, and I don't want to live a life full of deceit. But Father is currently overwhelmed; how can I stand by and do nothing? From the day Luo Yichen married you, he only wanted to use it to annex the Yin family. Stop being so deluded!"

Thinking of the grievances she had suffered in the Luo family over the years, Yin Guizhen felt terrible. She had to get an explanation from Luo Yichen. With that thought, she left without looking back.

Because they were both public figures, they met in a hotel room to avoid being photographed. Luo Yichen had arrived early and was sitting on the sofa checking emails. Work had been too busy lately, and he didn't want to waste a single moment. Yin Guizhen looked at him, a thousand words on her tongue, but she couldn't say a thing.

Luo Yichen asked directly, "Why did you send Lichen to pursue Shang Qi and use that to force me to remarry you?"

Yin Guizhen knew nothing of this, but she was shocked that he would pin all of this on her.

Luo Yichen continued, "Don't put on such an innocent expression! You know best what you have done."

Yin Guizhen regained her composure, feeling a surge of anger. Her lips trembled as she said, "Luo Yichen, do you think of me as that despicable? Perhaps, from the day you married me, you were the one who intended to annex the Yin family?"

These words infuriated Luo Yichen. There was a deep wound in his heart that was torn open again by Yin Guizhen. He shouted, "Don't blame me for things you have done! Over these years, haven't you always prioritized the interests of the Yin family?"

Yin Guizhen smiled bitterly, the bitterness in her heart indescribable. It had been five years; Luo Yichen had always been cold to her, and the Yin family had been going downhill year after year. One might ask, if the Yin family collapsed, would there still be a place for her in the Luo family? In order to stay by Luo Yichen's side, she had to defend the interests of the Yin family.

Tears fell from Yin Guizhen's eyes as her heart bled in a place that could not be seen. She said, "Everything I did was to be able to stay by your side. Yichen, why can't you put the interests of the two families aside and treat me just as your woman? I have no extravagant hopes; I only wish to receive the love of my husband."

Luo Yichen was stunned by Yin Guizhen's words, thinking: *How difficult must her life have been these past five years? If I feel so much pain that I can barely breathe, how much more must she, a woman, be suffering?* Seeing the pity in Luo Yichen's eyes, Yin Guizhen knew he was not truly heartless toward her.