Pampered By All In Different Planes

"I'm doing this for your own good!" Mr. Xie Sr. stiffened his neck, feeling indignant, believing that everything he did was right. "I arranged your marriages with young ladies, ladies of good breeding from noble families. I pointed out where you were not careful in your work, just to help you do better. After all the kindness I've given you, to end up blaming me—truly, you are ungrateful creatures!"

Mr. Xie took a deep breath, "No point in talking when we're not on the same page, so let's end it here."

In the end, no matter how Mr. Xie Sr. tried to retain him, Mr. Xie never looked back.

To anyone, Mr. Xie Sr.'s words might sound like those of a father with only the best intentions, just that his descendants were unimpressive.

But only those who lived in the Xie Family could really understand the suffocation involved.

Mr. Xie strode out, employees throwing curious glances, the secretary almost speaking up but in the end, no one stopped him.

By then, he had already drowned in his own memories.

Mr. Xie Sr. was a man who prioritized interests above all; having grown up in the Xie Family under a facade of glamour which was in reality filled with suffering. His education method was one of hardship; he never showed a smile but instead, forced him to learn all sorts of things he utterly despised, controlling every aspect of his life including arranging a marriage partner early-on and meticulously crafting every detail under his control.

No longer wanting to recall the specifics, Mr. Xie got into the car and drove toward home.

So this time, he would not push his son into the fire; whatever Xie Yanshang liked, he would absolutely not interfere.

*

A month later.

Su Zhiruan and Xie Yanshang stood at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Many people around them threw glances and whispered to those next to them.

"Look, look, isn't that Xie Yanshang? He looks so similar!"

"Who is Xie Yanshang?"

"You don't know who Xie Yanshang is? He's the Xie Family's eldest son who made headlines recently with constant internal strife at the Xie Group," a man holding his girlfriend's hand explained, "But then Xie Yanshang announced his resignation, stepping down as the CEO, which caused a huge stir and was trending online for days."

"He's actually standing in line for his marriage? I thought tycoons just made a phone call and had their marriage certificate delivered to their door."

"Of course he is—wait!! No," the man realized something, suddenly looking toward Xie Yanshang, "The Xie Family's young master is getting married?! This is big news!"

Instantly, the couple, too engrossed in their wedding, quickly started snapping secret photos with their phones.

Su Zhiruan felt rather helpless.

She shook Xie Yanshang's hand, "We've been spotted."

"It looks like we're even being secretly photographed," Xie Yanshang, far from minding, even angled his face towards them, seemingly wanting others to know, attracting more stealthy photos, "Maybe we'll see it on the news when we go back."

"You're like a third-grader," Su Zhiruan concluded about his behavior, "Immature."

Xie Yanshang responded nonchalantly, "What a great publicity opportunity. Without spending a dime, the whole world will know we're married."

Su Zhiruan, touching her chin, thought that was indeed a viable suggestion.

"That's true. When the time comes, I'll pull in some sponsors, put out a few ads, increase company exposure, all with free publicity," she said while counting on her fingers and laughing joyfully.

Xie Yanshang pinched her nose, "Workaholic, can't even forget to advertise for the company during our wedding. If this were ancient times, our Director Su would be considered a wise ruler."

"Stop kidding around," Su Zhiruan played along, having only meant to tease Xie Yanshang as she had cleared her schedule just for the wedding, "Let's go home for a meal later."

"Okay."

Seeing it was almost their turn, Xie Yanshang pulled out a few bags of candy to give to people around them and also to the marriage registration staff. After all, it was wedding candy and everyone cheerfully congratulated them, happily accepting the sweets.

After the process of pressing fingerprints, the award ceremony, vows, and signing the paperwork was complete, two fresh red marriage booklets were in hand. Su Zhiruan held them, feeling somewhat surreal.

"We're married," she sighed.

"The first day with an official status," Xie Yanshang looked at her, their location still the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, with a slant of sunlight falling from above right onto her hair tips and tinting his eyes as well.