Jiang Xiao Nuan did not notice Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong, who was sitting on the sofa, and got a shock. She looked towards it and saw that his face was black and sunken and he was giving off a terrifying vibe. Jiang Xiao Nuan was guilty.

She carefully noticed that the ashtray on the coffee table was already half-filled. She became nervous and felt like her heart was going to jump out.

Her father did not smoke usually. Once he does, either something terrible happened, or he was very angry. It was apparent that his furious level was off the meter! The cigarette buds lying silently in the ashtray was telling her that her father had been waiting for a long time and she was in big trouble.

Unknowingly, she looked up to glance at the clock on the wall. Nine o'clock was not too late. If it was about her coming home late, he would not be so angry!

Jiang Xiao Nuan looked at his furious expression once more and clearly felt his dangerous vibe. The fear in her heart dissolved quickly. She hesitated before calling in a sweet voice, "Daddy, why aren't you sleeping yet? Are you waiting for me? I had a gathering with my colleagues and came home later, I'll take note of the time next time!"

Although she did not know what he was angry about, she started to 'reflect' and admit her 'mistake'.

Not only did Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong's anger not drop, it even went higher. He shot an angry glare at her. She almost thought that his stare could shot a hole through her body. Her heart quivered in fear.

He casually picked up a teacup and threw it at her. The china teacup broke into tiny pieces by her foot. That scared the h.e.l.l out of her and her body trembled in fear uncontrollably.

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong's voice was as sonorous as a bell. "Hmph! You unfilial daughter! Not only did you go out with a feral kid and keep it from us, you even learned how to lie!"

After finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, he took big strides towards her and stopped in front of her. He then gave her a big tight slap across the face.

Hearing the commotion downstairs, Mrs. Jiang rushed downstairs and her voice was heard before she even reached the bottom of the stairs. "s.h.i.+ Xiong, what's happening? Why are you so worked up?"

Jiang Xiao Nuan's face had already started to swell. There was a clear imprint of his five fingers on her cheek. It was so painful and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She felt wronged and immediately acknowledged her mistake. "Daddy, I'm in the wrong, I shouldn't lie to you. But it's really not what you think, he's not some feral kid!"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong heard her defending that kid and was even more worked up. He roared, "Not a feral kid? If he's not, would he have brought you to the movies? Would he have brought you to that place and eat trash? Would he have let you drink? And why did he only bring you home at this time? He obviously has bad motives!"

Jiang Xiao Nuan was shocked; her father was investigating her. Her father had plainly pointed out all her activities in the day. They simply went to watch a movie, listen to a concert and had dinner together, which could not get simpler. They did not even hold hands, nor did they do or say anything suggestive; their relations.h.i.+p could not get any clearer. However, she was still standing very much naked about the situation in front of her father.

Her eyes were filled with tears as she lifted her head and asked, "Dad, you stalked me?"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong did not even fl.u.s.ter. "Stalk! If you did nothing to be ashamed of, why would you be afraid!"

Jiang Xiao Nuan could no longer if he was furious or not. All of her cowardliness and fear had turned into anger. She shouted at him, "What guilt? Don't use your secular and dirty perspective to define what others do, we've done nothing!" "What is there to be guilty of? Ever since young, you've controlled my life, what kind of friends I have, what I did, what I learned, what I ate, what I wore... There's nothing that you're not involved in. I listened to you obediently and never dared to go against you. I just want to make a friend that belonged to myself, how is that something to be guilty of?"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong heard her use the words "secular" and "dirty" to describe him and his anger became harder to contain. His thick eyebrows were raised up high and he was panting heavily. His finger was shaking as he pointed at her.

Mrs. Jiang saw what was happening and quickly pulled his hand back, saying, "Old Jiang, don't get so worked up!"

Then, she quickly turned to discipline her daughter. "Xiao Nuan, how could you talk to your father like that? You make random friends outside and daddy is worried you'll be fooled. How could you talk to him like that? Apologize quickly."

Jiang Xiao Nuan was now stubborn and would not lower her head. She let out her unhappiness from her past twenty-something years at once. "What's wrong with me? Why do I have to apologize? I don't think I've done anything wrong! I only wish to do something after my heart for once, why can't I do that? I've been your puppet for 23 years, today's the only day I'm doing something after my heart..."

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong did not wait for her to finish. He shouted, "From tomorrow onwards, you no longer have to go to work. You can't go anywhere, just stay at home. I'm especially forbidding you to meet that feral kid. I will quickly arrange a blind date for you, the Chen family's son returned recently from his studies overseas. If both families are satisfied, we'll settle the marriage as soon as possible. You just wait at home to be married off!"

Jiang Xiao Nuan was shocked. She tugged at his arm, "Daddy, you promised me that I can do something I like before I turn 24, how can you go against your words?"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong shrugged her hand off. He snorted, "Hmph! I've been too kind to you, I will no longer give you the chance to hang with that kid!"

Not only did he call Gong Yu a "feral kid" several times, but he had also grounded her, causing her to lose her job as a nurse. She was terrified. "Daddy, you can't go against your words! I want to continue working at the hospital!"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong ignored her and turned towards Mrs. Jiang impatiently. "This is your daughter, you discipline her yourself. The matter has been set. If she crosses the line, you'll be held accountable!"

Jiang Xiao Nuan and Gong Yu had nothing in between them, but it had evolved into a situation like this. As her last attempt, Jiang Xiao Nuan lowered her tone and pleaded, "Daddy, no! I want to work!"

Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong cast a side glance at her. He said firmly, "Xiao Nuan, don't test my patience! Also, don't make me do something about this. Isn't he just a D-list celebrity? I haven't done anything because I don't find it necessary. Don't force me to do something! I can easily destroy him completely."

She was terrified and tugged at his arm again, pleading, "Dad, there's really nothing in between us, I promise we'll never contact each other again. You can't do anything to him. Dad, please, I'm begging you, I will really cut off all ties with him."

It had always been just a promise for a date and she had no intention to continue in the future. But Jiang Xiao Nuan was really scared by her father's warning. Her life was already so screwed up, she could not mess up his too!

Disheartened, she looked at him. Her eyes were filled with plea and tears. She had no more energy in her as she said, "I will do whatever you arrange for me. I will go on a blind date with the Chen family's son, I will stop working at the hospital. I will listen to you for everything and stay at home obediently, but only if you do not hurt innocent people! There's really nothing between us and we have no plans to take it further, really!"

When she was done, she dragged her tired body upstairs. She felt like her whole body was drained instantly and her back view looked horribly sad. Mrs. Jiang was heartened and turned to comfort Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong. "s.h.i.+ Xiong, Xiao Nuan has already agreed to go on the blind date and also promised not to contact that celebrity. Why not let her go work at the hospital? As long as she does not cross the line, working at the hospital is no big deal!"

He cast a cold eye at her and said, "Just let her stay at home. If today it's a celebrity, who knows who it'll be tomorrow."

Mrs. Jiang dared not speak further. She always had no voice at home. Although she pitied her daughter, she dared not protect her too much and always kept it in her heart. Jiang s.h.i.+ Xiong was the voice of the family, the females were not ent.i.tled to their opinions. She was already used to this.

Helplessly, she walked up the stairs to comfort her daughter.

She gently pushed open the door to Jiang Xiao Nuan's bedroom. It was pitch-dark. Her French window was fully opened and the white curtain swayed gently. The moonlight accentuated the sorrow and sadness that filled the room.

Mrs. Jiang walked in gently and pa.s.sed through the windows. She saw Jiang Xiao Nuan curled up in her balcony swing.

Jiang Xiao Nuan had both her knees up to her chest and her arms around them. She was lying her head gently against her knees. Tilting her head, she looked up at the starry sky. Her soft hair was let down naturally and she gave off a strong sorrowful vibe. She was like an alcoholic spirit, so fragrant yet causing others to become drunk thinking about her.

Mrs. Jiang sighed softly and walked up to Jiang Xiao Nuan, pulling her into her embrace. "Xiao Nuan, you know your father's temper, don't trigger him anymore. Mummy knows your pain, but you're born into this family. From your birth, you've a.s.sumed a different role. Your fate is such that you can't be like an ordinary girl and live an ordinary life. Although you've missed out a lot, at the same time, you've gained many things that others could never have."

Jiang Xiao Nuan remained silent. Mrs. Jiang sighed again. "Xiao Nuan, wash up quickly! Don't think about it anymore, listen to your father and don't make him angry."

After that, Mrs. Jiang gently caressed the top of her head. She then turned to leave.

Just when she reached the door of the balcony, Jiang Xiao Nuan said in a plain voice, "Mom, what's the point of living a life like this?"