"Well, HanHan, it seems it's just the two of us left..." Wang Xia said, slightly embarrassed by her daughter's ironic gaze.
It wasn't just that her attempt to maintain the appearance of a united family had failed, but rather the reason behind it; nearly all her efforts were focused on ensuring a bright future for her son, so his indifference toward her feelings put her in a ridiculous position.
"But it's not a bad thing; after all, we haven't had the chance to spend some mother-daughter time together in a long while..." she continued enthusiastically, trying not to seem disappointed by the situation. Ultimately, it was better to enjoy what was left than to cry over spilled milk.
Liu Zihan did not comment on her mother's words; she simply looked away, directing her attention to the plate of food in front of her.
"...", Wang Xia threw a tantrum-like look toward her daughter. Even if she wasn't in the mood for talk, couldn't she at least pretend to be somewhat excited to protect her mother's heart, already wounded by her son?
However, Wang Xia was the type of person who knew how to bend and stretch with the wind, so she wasn't discouraged by her daughter's attitude. Wanting to capture her attention, she began gossiping about recent events she considered interesting for a girl nearly eighteen.
Bombarded with requests for her opinion, Liu Zihan had no choice but to respond occasionally with short sentences like "Yes," "No," or "I don't know." Otherwise, under her mother's expectant gaze, she would have found it difficult even to swallow her food. Thus, one could say the dinner became somewhat harmonious—at least, from fifty meters away, that's how it would have seemed.
Encouraged by how things were going, Wang Xia thought it was the right moment to bring up Liu Fengying's recovery. She knew her daughter was very easily annoyed when it came to her half-sister, so she hadn't dared to start with that, even though it was the biggest event in the city's high society, and even more so for them.
It wasn't as if her previous attempts to bond with her daughter were solely with this goal in mind; she truly wanted a good relationship with her. But regarding interactions with those she considered close, she had a mentality similar to people who see nothing wrong with mixing business with pleasure.
"Do you remember Mrs. Wu? She's the wife of the real estate tycoon developing the neighborhood near the forest, where I said I'd buy you a villa. Yes, yes, I know you said it's not necessary, but all the girls I know your age have a property in their name. Anyway, she's that nice woman who gave you the red diamond necklace for your last birthday—the one that looks so good on you..." Wang Xia began, seemingly intending to talk about a completely different subject.
It wasn't just this time that she approached her point through a roundabout route; she did this every time. Of course, Liu Zihan was well aware of her mother's habit, so from the moment she started eating, she was prepared to hear her half-sister mentioned at any second, regardless of the direction the conversation seemed to take.
Now that she had almost finished eating, Liu Zihan felt that the chances of this happening were even higher; after all, it wasn't possible for the dinner to end without her mother settling her interests, was it? Well, her mother did not disappoint; after talking for another two minutes about Mrs. Wu and other related topics, she began to tighten the noose she had laid out to capture her daughter's attention.
"Yesterday, when I was at the jeweler's, I ran into her and her daughters. From what I understood, she ordered a set of two bracelets for them—one for each, you know, the kind where the main ornaments can be joined together. Seeing how happy they were together, honestly, a tear came to my eye, because it reminded me of how we used to be, when you, your sister, and I would spend the weekend together, going out on the town..."
It seemed that the encounter had truly stirred some strong feelings in Wang Xia. Overwhelmed by the memory of the moment, she paused for a few seconds to dab the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
"Today, when I heard about your sister's recovery, you can't imagine how happy I was..." she continued, her voice still trembling. "Isn't this a chance for us to leave all the bad things that happened behind and be a happy family again? Tell me, please, Zihan... how could we convince your sister to come back home?"
Witnessing her mother's performance, Liu Zihan couldn't help but roll her eyes; was she really in a position where she had the right to play the victim?
'What a pity she never dabbled in acting; the country missed the chance to have another Grand Slam actress...', she thought to herself, not believing for a second that the emotions her mother displayed were real. Even if she hadn't been overtly hostile toward Liu Fengying, it was clear "how much" she cared for her by the way she had completely sided with her son in his conflict with her, even though it was obvious to everyone that he was the one in the wrong.
As for the fact that her mother seemed much better informed than her brother about Liu Fengying's situation, it came as no surprise. Liu Zihan was aware that her mother was very attentive to the gossip circulating in the city's high society and possessed a vast network of reliable sources; it wouldn't be strange if her mother had already seen a photo of Fengying since the early hours of the morning.
Why had she waited until evening to talk to her about it? Liu Zihan believed her mother likely didn't want to appear anxious about Liu Fengying's unexpected recovery; she planned to play the "good stepmother" to rekindle her hope for a complete family, making it easier to use her as bait to bring Liu Fengying back under the family's control.
In a bizarre way, although her mother's and brother's goals seemed opposite, their strategy was identical: to send her to the front lines to regain Liu Fengying's goodwill.
Of course, Liu Zihan had mentally prepared for such a turn of events; it wasn't the first time her mother had come forward with such demands. Unfortunately—whether due to her foul mood or because Wang Xia had managed to irritate her more than usual with her hypocrisy and total lack of scruples in exploiting her feelings—she could no longer remain as indifferent as she had planned.
"Well, I have no way of knowing how possible that is, but I think it would be a good start if you gave up on the idea of making Zihao the heir to the business developed almost entirely by her mother..." Liu Zihan said, her tone suggesting she was pointing out the obvious. It wasn't just their family; everyone knew that the inheritance issue was the source of the conflict that had led to Liu Fengying leaving home.
".......", Wang Xia stood frozen for more than ten seconds. Lately, Liu Zihan had been acting as if everything she said went in one ear and out the other, leaving no impact at all. Thus, she was caught completely off guard by the fact that her daughter had suddenly swung to the other extreme, bluntly voicing her dissatisfaction without any sugar-coating.
However, she figured this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; specifically, the fact that Zihan was finally willing to verbalize something represented progress. After all, one has a better chance of reaching an understanding with a wolf than with a tree. Now, she simply had to shift her daughter's perspective on how she saw things.
"That's not it, Zihan. It's not as if I'm plotting against your sister; I truly believe that the best option is for the responsibility of leading our family company to fall on Zihao's shoulders—for her sake as well. At the end of the day, Fengying is a girl, so sooner or later, she'll have to get married. Between taking care of a husband and children, how much time will she have left for anything else? Not to mention that running a company as large as YI is extremely demanding; just look at your father, isn't he almost always on the road?
Furthermore, I believe Fengying's shares in YI would be much safer if they stayed within the family. I'm not saying Fengying's future husband will try to seize them, but you see for yourself, these days, when the number of divorces in a year is almost as high as the number of marriages, it's good to be cautious. And even if her future husband is an honest man, I fear some of his relatives will try to pressure Fengying into surrendering a significant number of shares; after all, her future husband will almost certainly come from a prominent family with a lot of interests at stake.
So, the best thing for Fengying would be to have a strong family behind her, ready to protect her interests. Sure, I'm not saying our relationships will ever be perfect, but in the end, blood is thicker than water; no matter how stubborn Zihao might be, he won't let others bully his sisters..."
Wang Xia didn't stop there; her monologue lasted for about ten minutes. However, it couldn't be said that she brought any new arguments to the table; rather, she obsessively repackaged the same ideas in different forms: she insisted on how beneficial the lack of corporate worries would be for Fengying's health and how stable her financial situation would remain if she left her shares in Zihao's hands—the brother in whom, supposedly, she could place her total trust.
Due to the repetitive and suffocating nature of the speech, Liu Zihan couldn't help but compare the conversation with her mother, once again, to an attempted brainwashing.