WMSR — QT Chapter 75

Chapter 75

As for the matter of Bai Ziqian being forcefully abducted by their son, though the couple had initially experienced a wave of panic and fury, they soon realized that while their son had taken the boy away, he kept him under absolute, airtight confinement, ensuring not a single whisper leaked to the outside world. Once they thought it through, their anxiety evaporated; after all, knowing their son's disposition inside and out, he would likely guard the boy even more fiercely than they ever did. As long as Bai Ziqian remained securely locked down, whether he resided in their own hands or their son's hands ceased to be a matter of critical importance.

Weighing all these factors, in their eyes, Xu Jiangzhe's preference for men was no longer a catastrophe, nor was his abduction of Bai Ziqian a massive problem. According to their grand blueprint, executing a strategic political marriage with the Qiao family and mending their fractured, hostile family dynamic stood as the truly monumental priorities.

As for whether Xu Jiangzhe would object, they hadn't even factored that possibility into their calculations. After all, this meticulously crafted strategy born from their compromise was a genuine win-win scenario carrying zero drawbacks and all benefits for their family unit. They had already conceded to his preference for men—what possible grounds did he have left to throw a tantrum?

Reviewing the internal logic of the Xu couple, Xu Jiangzhe parsed through their thought process within a mere couple of rotations, a sarcastic, mocking smirk instantly curling the corners of his lips. His parents were truly, thoroughly blood-and-bone merchants.

That sneer blooming across Xu Jiangzhe's face grew progressively starker, until even the Xu couple sensed something deeply amiss.

Standing tall—now towering over both of them with an even more oppressive, commanding presence—Xu Jiangzhe adjusted his glasses, cast a chilling, high-elevation glance down upon his parents, and scoffed: "Do whatever you please. Forgive me, but I won't humor you any longer."

The Xu couple froze in absolute shock. What... exactly was that supposed to mean?

Ultimately, as they watched Xu Jiangzhe's retreating back, it was Xu Weihai—honed through countless brutal corporate negotiations—who unleashed a desperate, thunderous roar: "Stop right there! If you dare take a single step out of this door right now, mark my words, I will blow the entire scandal regarding Bai Ziqian wide open to the public!"

That singular declaration functioned like an absolute binding curse, freezing Xu Jiangzhe's stride dead in its tracks right at the edge of the entryway.

Xu Weihai's roar had been a panicked, desperate gamble fired off in the heat of panic, but to his utter astonishment, that single threat genuinely nailed Xu Jiangzhe to the spot.

Though that rigid silhouette still refused to swivel around, the fire blazing in Xu Weihai's eyes burned with terrifying intensity. Like a shark in the deep sea that had caught the scent of fresh blood, he lunged forward to press his tactical advantage: "Bai Ziqian may be important, and the inheritance he holds may be tempting, but none of that—not a single fraction of it—outweighs the honor and prestige of the Xu family or the future trajectory of our dynasty. If you stubbornly insist on walking out today, I will formally relinquish Bai Ziqian's guardianship. More than that, I will actively assist him in reclaiming everything rightfully owed to him. When that day arrives, do you seriously believe you'll retain the comfortable life you currently enjoy?"

Confronted with such raw, unvarnished blackmail, Xu Jiangzhe's complexion turned iron-gray. Simultaneously, his mind raced at lightning speed to weigh whether his father's ultimatum carried any real teeth. While he refused to believe his parents would casually sacrifice wealth sitting within arm's reach, what if... what if they actually did?

Xu Weihai was acutely aware that his bluff wouldn't be swallowed without resistance, so he narrowed his eyes and steadily piled on heavier chips: "I admit it—I am ruthlessly profit-driven. But Jiangzhe, you are my flesh and blood. Even if I have to burn this entire estate and write off every penny of our fortune, I will never allow my own son to be branded as a universally ridiculed homosexual, nor will I permit the Xu dynasty to wither away and die in your generation. Furthermore, you know as well as I do that losing Bai Ziqian wouldn't deal a fatal, bone-breaking blow to our enterprise."

Xu Weihai's words sent a sharp chill straight through Xu Jiangzhe's chest. Having operated within the corporate machinery for so long, he knew the reality all too well: while Ziqian's inherited assets hadn't been completely swallowed whole over the years, they had been systematically nibbled away and cannibalized to a massive degree. Whatever remained no longer approached a valuation that could drive his parents to throw caution to the wind. Coupled with the staggering, multi-fold expansion of the Baixu Group across recent years...

Xu Jiangzhe remained frozen for an agonizingly long stretch, standing a mere single step away from crossing the threshold, yet utterly incapable of taking that final stride.

As the seconds ticked away, not only did Xu Weihai's posture relax into visible triumph, but even Liu Ling's eyes blossomed with unrestrained delight. No one understands a son quite like his mother. What else could this hesitation possibly signify?

In the end, that entire night passed without Xu Jiangzhe ever stepping across the threshold. When he finally pivoted back around to face them, both Xu Weihai and Liu Ling wore the radiant, triumphant grins of absolute conquerors.

As for Xu Jiangzhe, he squeezed his eyes shut in a wave of bitter agony. He knew with absolute certainty that he had once again been successfully cornered and blackmailed.

He surrendered to the threat not out of weakness, but because he dared not gamble—he could not bear the catastrophic, million-to-one risk of losing Ziqian.

He capitulated because he knew with chilling clarity that his father possessed the cold-blooded capacity to execute that threat, even if the actual probability of him doing so hovered below one in a thousand.

That evening, Xu Jiangzhe returned to the secluded safehouse shielding Bai Yichen at a drastically late hour, draped in a dark, volatile aura of emotional strain—the kind of brooding silence where he spoke very little, yet every movement radiated a palpable, unsettling wrongness.

Bai Yichen rarely witnessed Xu Jiangzhe in such a state. Though he preferred to maintain absolute distance, the younger man's volatile atmosphere threatened to fray his nerves. Over recent days, he had managed to establish clandestine, fragmented lines of communication with the operative sent to rescue him, nurturing a budding flame of desperate hope. He desperately wanted to avoid any unpredictable disruptions, so, watching Xu Jiangzhe's visibly disturbed demeanor, he closed his book and probed quietly: "What happened to you?"

Hearing Bai Yichen's sudden, unprompted inquiry, Xu Jiangzhe froze in absolute astonishment. A split second later, the dark, oppressive pressure suffocating his entire frame dissolved and inverted at a visible, miraculous speed, instantly transforming into an overwhelming surge of radiant euphoria. Even those sharp, fathomless eyes normally concealed behind his glasses flared with a brilliant, luminous spark. Lunging forward to hover over Bai Yichen, he breathed: "Ziqian, are you worrying about me?"

Bai Yichen: "..."

Clearly, it's nothing catastrophic. No need for me to waste brain cells worrying.

Though Bai Yichen dropped the subject immediately, that single sentence acted like a magical incantation, sweeping away all of Xu Jiangzhe's heavy low pressure and replacing it with an intoxicating spring of buoyant joy that made him practically float as he walked.

Re-energized by that fleeting moment of expression of care, Xu Jiangzhe swore a silent, fierce oath to himself: This is the last time—the very last time anyone will ever threaten me.