His Addiction - Chapter 6

In fact, Fu Wanwen had tried her best to leave Xu Zhi some face, otherwise, she wouldn’t have only said those few words.

Even so, Xu Zhi still felt wronged.

When Liang Muzhi asked her, it only made her feel worse. She had always been obedient since childhood, and she had never been scolded much by teachers or her parents. As a result, she had little tolerance for being reprimanded. Her eyes reddened, and her throat tightened with emotion.

Seeing this, Liang Muzhi quickly said, “I’m sorry, Xiaozhi. Don’t worry, if anything happens in the future, I’ll have your back, no matter what…”

Xu Zhi turned her face away and muttered, “This is the last time.”

“What?” Liang Muzhi asked.

“Don’t use me as a shield anymore,” she said, her neck stiff as she avoided looking at him. “It’s inappropriate.”

Liang Muzhi was stunned.

Taking the opportunity, Xu Zhi pulled her hand out of his grip and was about to leave. But Liang Muzhi spoke again, “Aren’t we best friends?”

Xu Zhi paused mid-step.

Best friends?

So that’s what it was.

To her, those two words felt like a slap in the face. She only felt a sharp pain on her face. She didn’t answer Liang Muzhi’s question, and quickly turned to leave the Liang family home.

When she returned home, the house was empty.

The Xu family had once employed two or three housekeepers, but about half a year ago, due to business troubles, Xu He Ping had dismissed them. Now, only part-time workers came to clean occasionally.

Xu Zhi went upstairs to her room to read. Her phone vibrated frequently—Liang Muzhi calling. She didn’t want to answer, so she set it to silent mode.

By noon, someone had returned home.

Xu Zhi hadn’t gone downstairs to greet them when the argument downstairs had already begun.

Her father, Xu He Ping, was reeking of alcohol, yelling at Zhao Nianqiao, “All you do is worry about your beauty treatments! There’s so much going on at the company, and you don’t help with anything!”

Zhao Nianqiao stood by the sofa, sneering. “Am I not helping? I told you the project wouldn’t work, but you wouldn’t listen. Now that we’re losing money, you’re taking it out on me?”

Xu Zhi stood frozen at the top of the stairs.

Every family has its own troubles—while the Liang family has scandals, her family, the Xu family, is in constant turmoil. Zhao Nianqiao and Xu He Ping argue at least once a month, often threatening divorce.

She walked downstairs and called out, “Dad, Mom.”

The two downstairs paused and turned.

“Xiaozhi, you’re home?” Zhao Nianqiao said, not at all embarrassed. “Why didn’t you let us know beforehand?”

“I just came to get something. I was reading for a bit. I’ll leave in the afternoon,” Xu Zhi replied.

Xu He Ping tugged at his tie without saying a word, and went to the bathroom.

Xu Zhi turned to Zhao Nianqiao and asked, “Why is Dad drinking during the day?”

Zhao Nianqiao replied, “It’s not from today. It’s from last night. He didn’t finish drinking until early this morning. The people he met were from the bank. Now, several projects at the company are short of funds, so he’s trying to get a loan.”

Xu Zhi hesitated before asking, “Is the company… in trouble?”

Zhao Nianqiao paused for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Don’t ask. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

Zhao Nianqiao went upstairs, leaving Xu Zhi alone in the living room, still feeling oppressed.

In fact, a long time ago, Zhao Nianqiao and Xu He Ping didn’t have such a strained relationship. Unlike the deeply entrenched Liang family, the Xu family had started from scratch. Both Xu He Ping and Zhao Nianqiao had once been business partners.

But Xu He Ping was biased toward sons over daughters.

When Zhao Nianqiao gave birth to Xu Zhi, Xu He Ping was unhappy, and tensions began to arise. Later, when Zhao Nianqiao was pregnant with their second child, Xu He Ping had someone check, and it turned out to be a boy—something he had been eagerly expecting.

However, Zhao Nianqiao, a career-driven woman, continued to work at the company throughout her pregnancy. When she was seven months pregnant, she went out to meet a client, and during a confrontation, she miscarried. The seven-month-old fetus was stillborn and purple, and the damage to her body was so severe that she could never get pregnant again.

This event became a shadow over the Xu family. Later, Xu He Ping blamed Zhao Nianqiao for being too focused on work and not taking care of the child, while Zhao Nianqiao retorted that if he had done his job and secured clients, she wouldn’t have had to work so hard while pregnant.

The two argued endlessly, and Zhao Nianqiao never returned to the company after that.

Xu Zhi sometimes wondered: if she had been a boy, would her parents’ relationship have turned out differently?

With the family in such chaos, Xu Zhi went upstairs to pack her things, planning to return to school. When she came downstairs again, she ran into Xu He Ping.

Father and daughter rarely spoke, but this time Xu He Ping called out to her, “Are you going back to school?”

Xu Zhi nodded.

Xu He Ping said, “You’ve only got about half a year before you graduate, right?”

Xu Zhi nodded again, confused as to why her father was asking this. He had never cared much about her academic life.

Xu He Ping looked at her, as though contemplating something, then asked, “How’s it going with Muzhi lately?”

Xu Zhi frowned. “I’m not… with him. We’re just ordinary friends.”

Xu He Ping was taken aback. “What ordinary friends? You two are already engaged, your grandfather and the old man from the Liang family arranged it long ago.”

Xu Zhi was speechless. Why were all these people trying to make things difficult for her? It was clear that Liang Muzhi had been the one resisting this arranged marriage.

She was about to explain further when Xu He Ping cut her off sternly, “You must marry Muzhi. The company is in trouble right now, and we need Liang family’s help with funding. Do you understand what this marriage means?”

Xu Zhi froze for a moment.

She had rarely asked about the company’s affairs since Xu He Ping never discussed them with her. But now, it was clear he was hoping to use her marriage to Liang Muzhi to secure funding.

“But I don’t… want to marry him,” Xu Zhi began to protest.

Xu He Ping interrupted her, “No ‘buts’. You’re an adult now, and part of this family. I’ve provided for you, paid for your schooling—you can’t just take from this family and contribute nothing in return. I don’t care what your relationship with Muzhi is like, you must marry him. Once our two families become in-laws, the bank will approve the loan for us just out of respect for the Liang family.”

Xu Zhi’s heart sank. Suddenly, she had no desire to argue anymore.

Xu He Ping had never listened to her, and he never would. He was a typical father with a heavy bias toward sons, and now that he needed to use her, he was doing so without hesitation.

“Anyway, you’ll graduate soon. The company really needs this money and doesn’t know how much longer it can hold out. It would be best if you and Muzhi could get engaged before the new year and let the news out…”

Xu He Ping paused, then looked at her intently. “What’s that look on your face? It’s not like I’m asking you to suffer. Who wouldn’t want to climb the ladder through the Liang family? And besides, you and Muzhi have always been close. Haven’t you two already been together?”

Xu Zhi pressed her lips together, then calmly retorted, “What if Liang Muzhi doesn’t want to?”

Xu He Ping: “His parents and the old man from the Liang family all like you. How could he not want to?”

“What if…” Xu Zhi’s words faltered, and it felt like her chest was being squeezed. “What if he doesn’t like me? What if he’s dating someone else?”

Xu He Ping’s response was cruel and resolute: “Then you go and take him back. Don’t act like a useless person. I’ve raised you all these years—you have to be of some use.”