Tang Zhelan knew that the day would come when she needed to leave Lijiang and face the problems she left at home. Perhaps she should have agreed with her cousin's proposal to purchase her shares and stop her parents from setting her up to meet prospective husbands that she didn't need or want at all.

  "Zhelan, dear, don't you think you wasted enough time already being here?" her mother asked. "Why don't you return with me to Shenzhen? I'm pretty sure you already miss a lot of things while you are here."

  "You don't need to trouble yourself, Mother. I'm old enough to decide where I will go and when I will leave this place. Even if I go back to Shenzhen, who says I would follow the arrangements you prepared for me?" she asked in return. "Mother, in case you and Father are forgetting, I am your child. Not a retirement plan that secures your future."

  These were the things she wanted to tell her parents for a long time, but never had the chance to say it to their face. It wasn't like they were going to listen to her anyway, so what was the point of doing so.

  Her mother gasped in disbelief from what she heard, then glanced at Zhao Feng who'd been silent since his arrival.

  "What have you done to my child?!" she demanded.

  "Zhao Feng has nothing to do with this, Mother. Please don't make a scene. This is unbecoming of you, Mother." Tang Zhelan stepped forward, her tone usually calm for a confrontation like this.

  "You poor little thing. What has gotten to you? You weren't like this before."

  Tang Zhelan might have complained and done a lot of outrageous things in the past, but in the end, she would always try her best to appease her parents' wishes and demands to the best of her capabilities.

  "Mother, if you can't be civil while being here, please return to Shenzhen. You don't need to worry about me being here. I can manage on my own without your guidance anymore."

  Her whole life, Tang Zhelan chased after her parents' affection in futile fashion. She had done a lot of horrible things in the past because of it, but she knew better now that she certainly could not push the blame for her actions on them as she was the one who chose to do it.

  Tang Zhelan hated what kind of person she had become because of them and wanted to change for the better. She wanted to experience the kind of love people talked about; she wanted to feel the warmth and happiness of having a family that truly cared about her.

  She was willing to change her ways for the better, and if denouncing her Tang name was the start, then she would do it without batting an eyelid.

  "Zhao Feng, you are the man here. Try to speak some sense back to your Miss!" Lady Tang demanded, giving him a head-to-toe look.

  "Lady Tang, in case you are forgetting, we aren't in your Tang manor anymore. This is my place. If Miss Zhelan wants to stay here, I'll respect her decision. If there's someone here who needs to talk sense into, it should be you, Lady Tang." Zhao Feng's tone was certainly not polite at all.

  "Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous! Do you think you can challenge the Tang family arrogantly, Zhao Feng? Let me tell you, crushing your life is like stepping on ants right now. Watch your words, boy!"

  "Enough, Mother. You should go." Tang Zhelan scowled. "If you have nothing else to say, please leave. Our guests will return soon, and we would rather prepare than waste time here with you any longer."

  Lady Tang scoffed arrogantly, her face filled with disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e towards her only daughter. Tang Zhelan was nearing the age when people would start to call her a spinster. Even with her beautiful face, it would be hard for her to marry a wealthy man if this kind of attitude persisted.

  "You think I want to stay another minute in this shabby place and get insulted by your boy toy? Zhelan, are you really wasting your chance to wed a wealthy man that could take care of you? Stop being ridiculous already and get back to your senses!" she demanded.

  Tang Zhelan gave her mother a pointed look and strode towards the front door, opening it. She gestured to her mother to leave, not giving her face any longer.

  "Leave, Mother and don't dare to pull strings against the Zhao family because I would make sure you would regret it." She knew how her mother's gear worked, and she certainly could not allow harm to befall her benefactors.

  "I won't be seeing you off, so have a safe journey back to Shenzhen, Mother. Don't worry, I will be back even before you know it," she added.

  Lady Tang stood staring at her daughter in disbelief. Tang Zhelan never talked back like this to her and her husband before. She could see the determination and defiance in her daughter's eyes, giving her the impression that she had already made up her mind.

  She stared at her daughter for a long moment, and then spun around, leaving the place in a hurry.

  "Zhelan, you are going to regret doing this! You don't know what kind of life you are missing by staying here with them!" was her parting words to her daughter, but Tang Zhelan would hear none of it as she closed the doors as soon as her mother stepped out.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't expect she would show up like that. She shouldn't have insulted you. She knows nothing." Tang Zhelan sighed and gave Zhao Feng an apologetic look.

  "Don't apologize in her stead, Miss Lan, because I do understand." Zhao Feng felt bad for her for having such an awful person to be her mother.

  "You do know you don't have to call me Miss anymore, right? You can't speak informally to me. I don't mind," she reminded him of what he'd said towards her mother. He wasn't working under the Tang household anymore.

  "It's hard to break habits when you've gotten used to it." He shrugged in response.