"Let’s go downstairs first! Your parents are probably waiting for you below." Looking at Li Jie, whom he hadn’t seen in nearly a month, Li Yan felt a complex mix of emotions, especially recalling Li Chengfeng’s phone call earlier.

...

Arriving at the large living room on the first floor, Li Jie didn’t follow them over. Li Yan held Yu Xiaodi’s hand without hesitation and approached Yu Hong and Chen Mingying.

Everyone else had been asked to leave; it was just the four of them now. This would be a layer of disclosure and negotiation!

Yu Hong leisurely sipped tea, as if it had nothing to do with him—the man managing external affairs while the woman managed internal ones, he did not interfere with Chen Mingying’s decisions. Meanwhile, Chen Mingying looked sullen, giving a cold glare without uttering a word.

Li Yan held Xiaodi’s hand and sat down on the sofa.

The four of them didn’t speak a word; the atmosphere was extremely eerie.

"Haha... this seems like the calm before the storm." What’s meant to come will come; perhaps Yu Hong brought him here today to make a final settlement? Li Yan smiled, breaking the silence. "Ms. Chen, Mayor Yu, if there’s anything you need to say, just say it directly! I’ve heard it all before and can accept whatever it is. Should Xiaodi step aside first?"

"I don’t want to!" Yu Xiaodi held his hand tightly. Although she really didn’t want to see her parents and Li Yan laying cards on the table and tearing each other’s faces, at this moment, Li Yan was likely to face a skewed kind of criticism, and if she wasn’t by his side, who else would be? It’s all because of her! "Say whatever you need to!"

Truth be told, Yu Xiaodi was also a girl who had just experienced a rebellious phase. Originally, it was because her parents cared for her only materially, paying little attention to her emotionally and having no time to accompany her, that she felt resentful, in awe of her father, and cold towards her mother. It was only after she met Li Yan half a year ago and he guided her that her mother-daughter relationship began to improve.

But the experiences of these past two months made her feel disheartened again. In her view, her parents just wanted to press her happiness under political or commercial interests, ultimately disdaining Li Yan for not having money or power. Since her parents didn’t care about her, could she endure for a month or two, or even a year or two? Could she endure for a lifetime?

"Kid, you’ve got quite the nerve!" Chen Mingying suddenly snapped the table, the force resembling an angry boss scolding a subordinate.

Li Yan, however, laughed. "Auntie, don’t harm your health. If you keep snapping the table so hard, either it will hurt your hand or the table will collapse. It doesn’t affect me, so let’s speak properly!"

"Alright then, how much do you want? How much would make you leave Xiaodi?" Chen Mingying uttered the most common phrase of opposing parents.

"Mom—!" Yu Xiaodi stood up, completely insulted! "You’re being too much!"

"None of your business! I’m negotiating with him! Unless he needs you to protect him!" Chen Mingying said coldly.

Li Yan nodded, pulling Xiaodi to sit down, then leisurely took out a cigarette and lit it. "Perhaps I should say, what’s so great about money? Don’t think money can buy everything, that would fit an eight-o’clock drama rhythm. However... maybe Ms. Chen has already anticipated this tactic, so I’ll try a different approach! Originally, love is priceless, and Xiaodi is a priceless treasure in my heart. But you’re a businessperson, so maybe only when it’s turned into money can you understand. So let me name a price! At least one trillion!"

Hearing Li Yan say she was a priceless treasure, at least worth a trillion, made Xiaodi lean happily against him.

Chen Mingying snorted coldly, a trillion! The kid must be crazy! But in her eyes, her daughter was equally a priceless treasure, not unworthy of such a sum, right?

"I’ll give you ten million!" Chen Mingying quoted a price again.

This time, Yu Xiaodi said nothing, merely looked at her mother with some pity. Her mother measured everything with money, leaving her speechless.

Li Yan couldn’t help but think of a month ago when Liu Yuyang threw money at him – Liu Yuyang offered five million, and Chen Mingying offered ten million. Seems like I’ve appreciated quite fast!

"Ms. Chen, let’s stop the probing. Just lay out the highest amount you’re willing to offer." Li Yan smoked while negotiating, an attitude somewhat displeasing.

Xiaodi should have been nervous, but she was very confident in Li Yan, not believing he would abandon her for millions. Even if her parents severed ties with her, he should support abandoning!

"Twenty million!" Chen Mingying said coldly, "You need to understand one thing, if you agree, you get twenty million directly. If you don’t agree, you won’t get a cent. Don’t expect, having Xiaodi, to also get everything from the Yu family. In the end, you won’t get a penny, and will drag Xiaodi into getting nothing either!"

Li Yan clapped his hands, "OK, no need to say more, I understand. I just want to ask one thing: are you sure you’d only pay twenty million to ensure I can’t see Xiaodi again?"

"That’s right!" Chen Mingying said proudly. Twenty million is no small amount; even in a big city, one could live comfortably for a lifetime with it.

"Beihai Yuan? Li Yuan? Yunwa Shield?"

Chen Mingying looked astonished; this kid was cunning indeed, still making sure of the currency to avoid being cheated.

"Cloud Coin!" she said curtly.

Li Yan nodded and then carelessly said, "What if I give you twenty million in International Coin, would you then leave me and Xiaodi alone?"

This statement left all three of them astonished. Chen Mingying soon burst into ridicule, "Twenty million? International Coin? You can produce that? You probably can only come up with twenty million sperm!"

"...!"

Li Yan and Yu Xiaodi broke out in cold sweat, and Yu Hong was choked; though it was true, as elders, they shouldn’t say it that way!

Amid Yu Hong’s coughing, Li Yan continued, "Twenty million International Coin, or fifty million International Coin would work too. If I can give you this sum, are you saying you won’t interfere with us later? Of course, we can agree that we won’t demand a penny from you." The subtext being, considering it as the money for raising Xiaodi.

Such audacious words made both Chen Mingying and Yu Hong somewhat displeased. "Li Yan, are you saying you want twenty million to purchase my daughter?"

"Of course not, it’s merely twenty million for Xiaodi to gain freedom in love." Li Yan smiled at Yu Hong.

Unexpectedly, Yu Hong began to laugh.

Li Yan and Yu Xiaodi looked at each other, puzzled.

After a while, Yu Hong said, "Haha... alright, stop bluffing them. Li Yan’s feelings for Xiaodi are undoubtedly genuine, and Xiaodi’s affection for Li Yan is not a fleeting whim either. Since the children feel this way, we should stay out of it!"

These words left Li Yan and Yu Xiaodi even more stunned.

Bluffing? Intervening?

"Mom, have you been doing this on purpose for the past two months?" Yu Xiaodi found it hard to believe but deeply hoped this was the case.

Earlier cold-faced, Chen Mingying was now smiling kindly. "Of course it was on purpose. Child, seeing you suffer, Mom is more heartbroken than you! The white hair I’ve grown in these two months exceeds what I’ve gained in years!"

"Mom!" Yu Xiaodi burst into tears and threw herself into Chen Mingying’s arms.

Chen Mingying patted her daughter’s back consolingly while saying to Li Yan, "Li, don’t resent us too much. This test might hurt your self-esteem, but as a mother, I must act as the villain for once. You may not understand it now, but when you have children and they grow up, you’ll understand."

Li Yan had considered this result before but deemed it unlikely, given that Chen Mingying was dissatisfied with him from the start. After such a fierce confrontation, Chen Mingying suddenly made such a big turnaround, shifting from a cold face to a warm one, leaving him a bit surprised and shocked.

(Fourth update! Fifteen thousand words! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, just in time for the holidays, a good day for dates. Haha, don’t forget those of you subscribed to read books or vote, old Reed loves you to death!) (To be continued, for the rest, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters are available — support authors, support legitimate reading!)