“Guangxian, why are you up?” Fang Yaru walked over to support Gu Guangxian. “Go back to your room and sleep. Why do you care about him?”

“Let him say,” said Gu Guangxian. Unlike Fang Yaru, who was impatient, he was calm and unhurried when facing things, and he had a sense of aging dignity that made other revere.

“Mom and Dad,” Gu Nianbin pulled Du Xiaoxian to his side. He had a firm attitude, and said clearly in a serious tone. “I’m going to marry Du Xiaoxian. We’re going to get the certificate tomorrow. At present, the company is in trouble. We won’t hold the wedding for the time being. After the crisis in the company is over, we will hold the wedding. If you feel that having such a daughter-in-law is very embarrassing and don’t want to bless us, you can refuse to attend the wedding.”

“You! You’re simply disobedient!” Fang Yaru was so angry that her blood pressure went up again, and she staggered, “What is this? Giving us the ultimatum? You really piss me off! I…” She wanted to hit him, but Gu Guangxian stopped her.

Gu Guangxian’s face was pale, and his eyes were wide open. His voice was calm, though, “Are you here to beg us or to inform us?”

Gu Nianbin hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m here to beg you.”

“In this case, you must beg properly,” Gu Guangxian raised his foot and walked out. “Come to the study.”

Gu Nianbin followed behind him while holding Du Xiaoxian. Fang Yaru and Xiao Bonian looked at each other in confusion and also followed.

Du Xiaoxian had been lowering her head and trembling. This scene was too frightening for her. Gu Nianbin had a direct battle with his family for her, which had greatly exceeded the pressure she could withstand. She wanted to run, but Gu Nianbin grabbed her tightly since he noticed that she was trembling. He whispered in her ear, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here for everything.”

So what could she do even if he was here? Gu Nianbin and his family had completely fallen out over her. Master and Madam must hate her to death. She had become a sinner. Moreover, how could he break up with his parents for her? Didn’t he know that it was a happy thing to have parents! Unlike him, Du Xiaoxian had lost her parents, and she was lonely and helpless. She felt that Gu Nianbin must have gone mad. He had a dark face, and his eyes flashed with a crazy light, as if he was another person. She felt extremely unfamiliar.

Standing in the study, Gu Guangxian shouted in a low voice, “Kneel down!”

Gu Nianbin let go of Du Xiaoxian and knelt down in front of the ancestral teachings. However, he raised his head and straightened himself up. His gaze was sharp, as if he wanted to make a hole in the ancestral teachings on the wall.

“Will you admit your mistake?” Gu Guangxian asked him from the side.

“I don’t know what mistake I’ve made.” Gu Nianbin shouted, “Is it a mistake for me to pursue my own happiness?” The corner of his mouth was slightly pursed, showing a trace of stubbornness.

“Don’t you know what your mistake is?” Gu Guangxian had endured for a long time, and his anger finally burst out, “Then you should kneel here until you realize your mistake and admit it!” He angrily turned around and walked out. Fang Yaru hurriedly went up to support him and whispered, “Ignore him. The child is obsessed for a moment. Leave him alone. He will figure it out…”

As they walked farther and farther away, their voices became softer and softer. Finally, their voice could no longer be heard. Gu Nianbin knelt straight and looked at the long brown banner on the wall, his eyes shining. It was written in the clerical script, and each stroke was strong and powerful, like metallic hooks. He was extremely familiar with every word here. From childhood to adulthood, he had recited them countless times, and he was already proficient in it.

Perhaps because he felt that it was too quiet, he turned around and saw that even Du Xiaoxian had disappeared. He frowned slightly and instinctively wanted to look for her. However, the sound of coughing suddenly came from outside the door. It was very, very low, like a hallucination that he had after being alone for a long time. But his heart calmed down instantly. It was his little girl. She was outside the door. She did not leave, but stayed outside all the time.

Gu Nianbin guessed correctly. Du Xiaoxian was standing outside the door. The door was ajar, having a gap of less than half an inch. She stood there silently, watching the man from the gap, who was kneeling with his back to her.

With a sour nose, tears finally rolled down her face uncontrollably. She never thought that Gu Nianbin would do this. If she knew it would be like this, she wouldn’t have come here with him, even if she had to jump off the car on the road. The business of the company was still in a mess, and now he had such a bad relationship with his family. All was because of her. She was really a jinx, always bringing different disasters to Gu Nianbin.

With tears in her eyes, the tall figure of the man became blurry and distorted, and his back looked even more lonely and bleak. Her chest seemed to be pressed against a boulder, and she could not breathe, but she did not dare to take a deep breath, fearing that he would be disturbed.

She was just an ordinary girl, lowly as dust on the ground, and only he valued her and regarded her as a treasure. She could not bear such deep love. Compared with Gu Nianbin’s future, her reluctance and sorrow of leaving him didn’t count for much.

He was quietly kneeling in the room, while she was silently crying outside the door, motionless, like two sculptures. The surroundings were so quiet that even a fallen needle could be heard. There was not a single sound. Time seemed to have stopped. Just like that, it froze…

After an unknown amount of time, Du Xiaoxian finally turned around and slowly walked towards the end of the corridor…

Gu Nianbin knelt there and suddenly tilted his face slightly. He seemed to have heard something. But when he listened to it carefully, there was nothing. There was only Du Xiaoxian outside the door. Was she still there? He had a trace of suspicion. He listened carefully to the movements outside. After a while, there was really a sound, but it was the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. He could tell that this was not Du Xiaoxian. The footsteps were noisy and deep. It should be his parents coming over.

The door was pushed open, and sure enough, Fang Yaru helped Gu Guangxian in. Gu Nianbin did not look at them, but looked straight at the ancestral teachings on the wall.

“Have you thought it through?” Gu Guangxian asked him.

“I’ve thought it through.”

“What did you learn?” Gu Guangxian asked again.

“I will get married. Tomorrow.” Gu Nianbin answered straightforwardly.

“You disobedient son!” Gu Guangxian was so angry that he shouted, “Bring me the ancestral whip! I have to punish him!”

This time, even Fang Yaru’s expression changed. She rushed forward and slapped Gu Nianbin on the face. She said sternly, “Quickly admit your mistake to your father. Tell him that you’re not getting married. Tell him that you’re wrong!”

“I’m not wrong,” Gu Nianbin was slapped, but his gaze became even more determined, “I will get married, and I will do it tomorrow!”

“Old Xiao, Old Xiao, bring me the ancestral whip, quickly,” Gu Guangxian was so angry that he gasped heavily, “Tonight, I will beat this disobedient son to death. He is selfish, disobedient to his parents, ignoring his ancestral business, and disloyal to tens of thousands of employees. Why are we keeping such a disobedient and disloyal son?”

Xiao Bonian stood there in a dilemma and tried to persuade him, but Gu Guangxian glared back at him, “Are you not following my words, either?”

Xiao Bonian could not help but sigh heavily and went to get the ancestral whip.

The Gu Clan was a hundred-year-old clan. It had not only ancestral teachings, but also a device for punishing descendants if they disobeyed these rules. It was a thumb-thick leather whip that had been passed down from generation to generation. It could be considered as an antique. Gu Guangxian hadn’t used it once after it was passed to him, only treating it as a family heirloom. It was placed in the Buddhist temple of Fang Yaru.

Seeing that Xiao Bonian really went to take the whip, Fang Yaru was both angry and anxious. No matter how disobedient Gu Nianbin was, he couldn’t be hit like that. The hit by the whip would break his skin and flesh and ruin his body. She was anxious, but she cursed fiercely, “You disobedient son, if you don’t want to repent, you will deserve to be beaten to death by your father. I’ll have nothing to worry about if you are dead!”

Seeing a slap on Gu Nianbin, Du Xiaoxian felt extreme heartache, but she didn’t dare to go forward to dissuade them. She just tightly grabbed the door frame and her tears fell down. She had bitten her lips, dyeing them in bright red.

Seeing Xiao Bonian walk in with a thick leather whip in his hands, she was dumbfounded. Was that the ancestral whip? Would Gu Guangxian really want to beat Gu Nianbin? No, no, she shouted silently. Gu Guangxian had already taken the whip and raised it high. Fang Yaru exclaimed, “Guangxian, don’t do that!” She pounced on the whip and tried to snatch it.

However, Gu Guangxian did not have the slightest appearance of illness. He stood there stiffly and even straightened his back a lot. His face was flushed red, filled with anger, and even his eyes were red. He looked at Fang Yaru and shouted sternly, “Who dares to plead for mercy will be hit together!”

Fang Yaru stopped. She knew her husband’s temper. Normally, he was always laughing, like a kind person, but when he was furious, no one was not afraid.

He finally lashed the raised whip. It rang out in mid-air, causing the hearts of the people to tremble. Du Xiaoxian screamed and rushed over to protect Gu Nianbin’s back. However, Gu Nianbin’s reaction wasn’t slow either. He turned around and held her in front of him. In the blink of an eye, the whip had already landed on Gu Nianbin’s back.

Gu Nianbin snorted, and felt a burning pain. Gu Guangxian must be furious. He seemed to have used all his strength and even took a step back with this strike. Fang Yaru’s face was pale as she wanted to protect her son. She glanced at Gu Guangxian staggering and was worried about her husband’s health again. She was so anxious that she kept shouting, “Stop it, Guangxian, stop it, you’re going to hurt him!”

Gu Guangxian was still furious and shouted to Gu Nianbin, “Do you know your mistake?”

Gu Nianbin hugged Du Xiaoxian tightly, not afraid of his father’s angry gaze, but still insisted, “I’m not wrong. I want to get married!”

Gu Guangxian was outrageous. He raised his hand and the whip again. Fang Yaru’s tears fell. She turned her back and couldn’t bear to look at it again.

At this critical moment, Du Xiaoxian suddenly pushed Gu Nianbin aside and jumped up. She opened her big tearful eyes and looked at Gu Nianbin angrily, “I’m not getting married. I don’t want to get married. What the hell are you doing? Why are you putting me in this position? Have you ever thought for me? You’re too selfish!”

The little girl suddenly exploded, causing everyone to be stunned. Gu Guangxian’s whip stopped in midair. Fang Yaru opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Even Xiao Bonian, who had always been calm, was stunned. Gu Nianbin’s expression was even more complicated. Before they could regain their senses, Du Xiaoxian had already run away.

Gu Nianbin watched as the little figure ran away like a whirlwind. He stood up and chased after her. However, his mother exclaimed, “Guangxian, how are you? Nianbin, look at your father…”

Gu Nianbin turned around and saw his father lying in Xiao Bonian’s arms. He had to stop chasing and ran back quickly. He picked up his father and walked towards the room. “Mom, get the medicine. Uncle Xiao, call Doctor Liang.”

For the first time in a long time, Gu Nianbin felt fear in his heart. He suddenly realized that he had made a mistake. If something really happened to his father, he and Du Xiaoxian would really not be together.