Chapter 56 - Madam, We Need to Talk About Money

Tang Huaijin left the classroom and had just stepped out of the school gates when a female bodyguard approached him directly. She looked somewhat familiar-probably one of the Xia Family’s bodyguards. Tang Huaijin paused for a moment and asked, “Is there something you need?”

The bodyguard nodded and said, “Mr. Tang, Mrs. Xia would like to see you.”

“Hmm…” Tang Huaijin had a favorable impression of Mrs. Xia. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

Led by the bodyguard, Tang Huaijin got into the car and sent a message to his sister, letting her know he might be home late. They arrived at a café, and Tang Huaijin got out, pushing the door open and walking inside.

The female café owner, tidying up at the counter, glanced at him and smiled warmly, saying, “The madam is over there.”

Tang Huaijin turned his head and saw Xia Yunzhu sitting on a sofa not far away, looking at him with a faint smile. When she noticed his gaze, she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Sitting across from Mrs. Xia, Tang Huaijin smiled and greeted, “Hello, Auntie.”

Today, Xia Yunzhu wore a gray coat over a high-necked white sweater. Her fingers were slender and delicate, adorned with light purple nail polish. Her flawless face showed no signs of makeup, her skin as smooth as porcelain, and her eyebrows perfectly shaped. Among the women Tang Huaijin had met, only his sister could rival Mrs. Xia’s beauty.

Meeting Tang Huaijin’s slightly appraising gaze, Xia Yunzhu smiled gently, nodding as she stirred her coffee with a small spoon. She asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

Realizing his gaze had been noticed, Tang Huaijin simply smiled naturally and said, “Anything is fine. I’m not really familiar with this.”

“Alright.” Xia Yunzhu gestured to the café owner and said, “Bring him the same as mine.”

The café was empty except for the owner and Xia Yunzhu, with classical music playing softly from a record player by the counter. The café’s decor was charmingly vintage and elegant. After admiring it for a while, Tang Huaijin turned to Xia Yunzhu and smiled, “Auntie, you must have something important to discuss if you called me over.”

“Hmm…” Xia Yunzhu took a sip of her coffee and smiled, “You probably know that Xinya has some unusual feelings for Bai Yuerou, right?”

Tang Huaijin’s eyelid twitched, but he maintained his composure and smiled, “Of course, they’re best friends.”

“Hehe, you don’t need to cover for her. I know everything,” Xia Yunzhu said with a knowing smile. “You don’t need to worry about how I found out. I just want to ask you, what do you think about Xinya liking girls?”

…Well, this isn’t me not helping you, you troublesome girl.

Tang Huaijin was silent for a moment, then looked at Xia Yunzhu and hesitated, “Honestly, I don’t think Xinya really likes girls, madam. Aren’t you overthinking this a bit?”

That was his genuine opinion. After spending so much time with her, he hadn’t noticed any signs that Xia Xinya was interested in girls. Although she liked to stick close to Bai Yuerou, it seemed to fall within the normal range of best friends.

“My daughter is someone I know better than anyone,” Xia Yunzhu sighed, her eyes reflecting a mix of emotions as she recalled the contents of the diary she had seen. “I have indeed spent too little time with her and failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a mother.”

After speaking, she looked at Tang Huaijin, her expression carrying a hint of authority. “That’s precisely why I can’t just watch Xinya go astray. Do you understand what I mean?”

“…No, I don’t,” Tang Huaijin shook his head, taking a sip of the coffee the shop owner had just brought over.

Xia Yunzhu hadn’t expected this reaction. She glanced at the composed young man in front of her with slight surprise. It wasn’t often she met someone who could remain so calm under her presence, whether it was genuine or not, it showed he had some mettle.

With a soft laugh, she said, “I know you’re her friend, so naturally, you would side with her. But do you really think a relationship between two women is the right path? They can’t have children, and what happens when they grow old?”

“And have you considered Yuerou? Does she like girls? If Xinya gets rejected, can their relationship ever return to what it was?”

“As their friend, wouldn’t you want both of them to be happy?”

Though her words seemed a bit alarmist, there was some truth to them. Tang Huaijin, being a straight guy and Xinya’s friend, couldn’t outright support the idea, though he wouldn’t oppose it either.

Besides, Xinya’s situation seemed odd. Despite claiming to like Bai Yuerou and wanting to be with her, her actions only showed the affection of best friends, with no hint of romance.

Tang Huaijin nodded and asked, “So, what do you want me to do, Auntie?”

“I want you to help correct her,” Xia Yunzhu looked at Tang Huaijin earnestly, taking out a card from her small purse. “If you can help, this two hundred thousand will be my token of gratitude.”

Two hundred thousand was a fortune to Tang Huaijin, but he still shook his head decisively and refused, “I’m sorry, Auntie, but I don’t want to get involved in this.”

A gentleman values wealth but acquires it through proper means. He wasn’t the type to make decisions for others under the guise of it being for their own good. Even if Xinya truly liked Bai Yuerou, he had no right to intervene, especially when his own relationship with Tang Yaoyao was ambiguous.

Seeing his firm stance, Xia Yunzhu’s eyes dimmed, and she sighed.

Ding~

Today, the system unusually issued two tasks in quick succession.

Main Task: Save Xia Xinya, help her realize her sexual orientation.

Task Reward: Five hundred thousand, design ability group amplification (master level)

Failure Penalty: The tragedy of Xia Xinya

Note: This is an extremely important task. Please handle it with care, host.

Xia Xinya’s… tragedy?

Tang Huaijin was contemplating the system’s message when a vivid scene suddenly appeared before his eyes:

Xia Xinya, dressed in a flowing white dress, stood on a bridge. The wind tousled her hair as she stared blankly at her phone. On the screen was a photo of Bai Yuerou and Tang Huaijin embracing each other.

After a moment of detached observation, Xinya, her face pale, turned off the phone and tossed it into the ocean below. She glanced back, and for a fleeting second, her gaze seemed to meet Tang Huaijin’s. Then, with a sorrowful smile and no hint of hesitation, she turned and jumped.

“No!” Tang Huaijin’s eyes widened in shock as he leapt to his feet, gasping for air, clutching his chest as waves of panic washed over him.

The vision shattered as he stood, but the terror lingered in his eyes.

The scene had been so real-every movement, every expression-as if it had truly happened.

Xia Yunzhu had been watching him, assuming he was deep in thought, hoping there might still be a chance for change. His sudden reaction startled her, and she furrowed her brow in confusion. “What… what’s wrong with you?”

He sank back into his chair, still trying to steady his breath. After a moment, he looked at Xia Yunzhu with a complex expression and asked, “Why me?”

Xia Yunzhu thought he was questioning why he should help guide Xia Xinya. Her furrowed brow relaxed as she smiled, “Because aside from Rou, you’re Xinya’s only friend, and the only male friend at that. You know how she feels about boys…” She sighed softly at the end.

Only friend, only male friend…

Something clicked in Tang Huaijin’s mind, especially with that photo of him and Bai Yuerou together…

A glimmer of understanding crossed his eyes as he asked, “If I may ask, Auntie, how is Xinya’s relationship with you?”

Xia Yunzhu’s expression turned awkward, and she hesitated, “It’s not very good…”

Tang Huaijin narrowed his eyes, asking softly, “Just not very good?”

After a moment of silence, Xia Yunzhu admitted sadly, “For certain reasons, it’s very bad, much worse than you might imagine. Can you picture a mother and daughter speaking less than ten words to each other in a year?”

This isn’t a mother-daughter relationship… Even enemies living together would exchange more than ten words a day.

Tang Huaijin began to understand. To Xia Xinya, friends were far more important than family.

If things were truly as the system had shown him, and he ended up with Bai Yuerou, Xia Xinya might indeed have a mental breakdown…

But how could he end up with Bai Yuerou?

Tang Huaijin couldn’t fathom this, but he couldn’t dismiss it either, given the system’s seemingly fate-like abilities.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Tang Huaijin decided to accept the task in his mind. If events were to unfold as the system had shown, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Tang Huaijin sighed, looking at Xia Yunzhu, and said, “Madam, I’m willing to help you with this, but how will you know if Xinya has really been corrected by me? You know her personality; I doubt she’ll answer you honestly if you ask her anything.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have my ways of judging,” Xia Yunzhu replied, a rather self-satisfied smile appearing on her face, bearing a resemblance to Xia Xinya that made Tang Huaijin secretly think, like mother, like daughter.

Seeing him nod, Xia Yunzhu relaxed and said with a smile, “So you agree? Then you can take this two hundred thousand first.”

Two hundred thousand?

The system clearly said five hundred thousand, so why did the price drop here?

Tang Huaijin chuckled, “Madam, you’ll need to add more.”

Xia Yunzhu was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered, still smiling as she asked, “How much do you want?”

“Five hundred thousand,” Tang Huaijin replied with a grin. With five hundred thousand, he could buy his sister a car.

Xia Yunzhu squinted at Tang Huaijin for a moment, then took out a card from her bag and placed it on the table, as if she had been prepared all along. She smiled and said, “Alright, no problem. Once Xinya is back to normal, I’ll transfer the money to your account.”

She didn’t mind Tang Huaijin being money-minded; in fact, she was relieved that he was. It made her feel less guilty.

As Tang Huaijin reached for the card, Xia Yunzhu pressed it down with her hand, smiling softly, “Since you’re taking this money, we’re making a deal here.”

“In business, I have a few conditions. Is that alright?”

“Of course, go ahead,” Tang Huaijin withdrew his hand, calmly looking at Xia Yunzhu.

“First, you absolutely cannot let Xinya know that I’m the one orchestrating all of this,” Xia Yunzhu said, her smile carrying a hint of warning.

Tang Huaijin wasn’t bothered by Xia Yunzhu’s change in demeanor; in fact, he appreciated her business-like approach. Talking to her like this was a bit awkward since she was a friend’s mother and considered an elder.

This straightforwardness made him more at ease. Tang Huaijin smiled, his tone more relaxed, “Sure, I have no interest in turning you two against each other.”

“Also, while you’re helping to correct Xinya’s orientation, don’t overthink it,” Xia Yunzhu took a sip of her coffee, speaking lightly, “Just make her understand that she likes boys, that’s enough. Don’t get any funny ideas or do anything to hurt her.”

Hearing this, Tang Huaijin sighed inwardly. Indeed, Xia Xinya’s proud, willful, and self-centered nature was learned from her.

Apart from being more adept in dealing with people and having a sharper mind than Xia Xinya, Xia Yunzhu’s subtle arrogance in her speech was just like a magnified version of that stubborn girl, which was quite annoying.

Tang Huaijin rolled his eyes helplessly, nodded, took the card, and said, “Alright, I accept. Is there anything else? I need to get home for dinner.”

Seeing Xia Yunzhu nod, Tang Huaijin exchanged contact information with her, put the card in his bag, and left the café, getting into the car parked outside.

Watching Tang Huaijin drive away, Xia Yunzhu withdrew her gaze calmly.

She glanced at the untouched coffee Tang Huaijin left behind and sighed.

It’s rare to see a young man who can remain calm and composed in front of her, even negotiating the price. His keen intuition, accurately guessing the price she had in mind, made her quite appreciative of Tang Huaijin.

But appreciation aside, as a potential son-in-law, he was clearly unsuitable.

For one, his strong personality didn’t seem like one to be easily controlled, and Xia Yunzhu feared that Xinya would suffer if they were together, unable to manage him.

Moreover, his past at Chengnan High School, where he was known for juggling two relationships until it all fell apart, was no secret. Xia Yunzhu easily found out about it, and she didn’t consider someone like him to be a good match for her daughter.