QTMWSFC Chapter 13

Just as he had promised Grandma Xia, Xu Xinghe accompanied Xia Qingmeng through the entire process of handling the funeral arrangements.

Xia Qingmeng suddenly realized that she had never truly seen this boy clearly before her. Many times when she was on the verge of breaking down, he stepped up in front of her and solved every problem.

He wasn’t at all what others thought—arrogant, overbearing, a willful playboy. In reality, he was mature and responsible.

Watching him communicate effortlessly with professionals, Xia Qingmeng became aware of her own shortcomings, and her determination to work even harder grew stronger.

About a month after Grandma Xia passed away, a group of uninvited guests suddenly showed up at her door.

Xu Xinghe originally planned to help Xia Qingmeng move today and let her stay temporarily at his apartment because he didn’t feel comfortable with a girl like her living alone in the old neighborhood with weak security.

The moving process was interrupted, and Xia Qingmeng finally got a good look at the visitors.

They were her parents, whom she hadn’t seen in years, along with uncles and aunts she had never met before, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

A large crowd stood packed tightly at the doorway, blocking it completely.

“Xia Qingmeng, open the damn door! I’m your father! I know you’re in there!” A rough grating voice shouted. Anyone listening would have thought it was a debt collector or a bitter enemy.

The old building had two doors, one wooden and one iron fence. The violent banging on the iron door made a harsh sound of clanging. It disturbed the neighbors, who came out to see what was happening.

“Who are you people? There’s just a young girl living across the way. Don’t go too far.”

“Exactly. This is trespassing. You can call the police on them.”

Some neighbors couldn’t stand by and started speaking up for Xia Qingmeng.

Xia Qingmeng and her grandmother had relied on each other. She had also received help from neighbors and the community over the years. Since Xia Qingmeng had good grades, made them proud, and was sensible and well-behaved, she had good relationships with the neighbors. Now, quite a few of them came to help.

“Go, go. I’m her father. This is a family matter. What’s it got to do with you?” The rough male voice was laced with the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

“Exactly. I’m her second aunt. We’re not just some random people!” Another shrill, venomous voice chimed in.

Then she waved a red leather bag around, gesturing with it three times for every sentence, as if afraid that people wouldn’t notice the large luxury logo on it.

Hiding in her bedroom, Xia Qingmeng listened to the commotion outside. Her face turned pale, but her eyes were as strong as ever.

Grandma was absolutely right. These heartless and awful people really did come to fight over Grandma’s property. She had to act very fierce. She couldn’t let them get their hands on Grandma’s things!

Xu Xinghe hugged her gently and patted her back reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’ve got this. Trust me.”

Xia Qingmeng wasn’t reassured and grabbed his arm. “No, I’m coming with you. After all, this is my family matter.”

Xu Xinghe gave a defiant, cocky smile. “Xia Qingmeng, I’ve already sworn I’m going to marry you. We’ll be family in the future. Your problems are my problems.”

His interruption actually eased Xia Qingmeng’s nervousness. “Xu Xinghe! In your dreams!”

Xu Xinghe walked to the kitchen and pulled a large kitchen knife out of the knife block without the slightest hesitation. He raised an eyebrow at Xia Qingmeng. “As the saying goes, no matter how skilled your kung fu is, a kitchen knife still scares you. Today, let me show you how I became the school bully back in the day!”

Xia Qingmeng’s eyelids twitched in shock. “You… you have to be careful not to beat them to death.”

Xu Xinghe smiled confidently. “Don’t worry. I’m a law-abiding citizen.”

Seeing that the door remained shut for so long, the people outside not only kept banging but started kicking it. “You good-for-nothing inside, come out and face your father right now!”

“Who are you calling a good-for-nothing!” Suddenly, the door slammed open with a loud bang. A clear male voice tinged with a low, threatening pressure roared out.

Everyone outside the door was stunned. The next moment, they all fell silent.

The young man before them looked to be only high school age and was exceptionally handsome. But the intense, roguish aura radiating from him and the large kitchen knife in his hand was terrifyingly intimidating.

Xu Xinghe closed the inner wooden door, opened the iron gate, and leaned lazily against the doorframe. He ran his slender fingers along the blade of the kitchen knife and said indifferently, “Who are you and what do you want with me?”

Xia Qingmeng’s father, Xia Jisheng, rubbed his hands together. His attitude immediately became more restrained. He gave an ingratiating smile and said, “Little brother, let’s talk things over nicely. There’s no need to hold a knife. What if you hurt yourself?”

Xu Xinghe chuckled. “Uncle, maybe you should go around here first and ask about my reputation in this area?”

Xia Jisheng was a classic bully who cowered before the strong. He quickly dropped the subject and got straight to the point. “Little brother, I’m guessing you’re a tenant here, right? To be honest with you, this house belongs to me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to rent it to you anymore.”

Xu Xinghe sneered. “Xia Jisheng, I’m not a tenant.”

Xia Jisheng’s face shifted through a series of expressions upon hearing his full name spoken aloud.

Just then, a woman suddenly broke down in dramatic sobs. “Xiao Meng! It’s Mom! How could you associate with such a shady character?”

A shady character?

Xu Xinghe felt like laughing after hearing this.

“What did you say?” A clear but angry female voice sounded from behind Xu Xinghe.

“Why did you open the door?” Xu Xinghe lowered his head and wanted to push Xia Qingmeng back inside.

“He’s not a person with shady character! I don’t have shady parents like you!”

As the saying goes, even a rabbit bites when cornered. Right now, Xia Qingmeng was as angry as a puffed-up hedgehog, gripping a small fruit knife tightly, bristling with spikes.

Insult her if you want, but no one insults Xu Xinghe! Whoever said anything bad about Xu Xinghe, she would fight them with everything she had!

“You good-for-nothing, who are you calling shady?!” Xia Jisheng’s eyes lit up when he saw his daughter behind Xu Xinghe. But the words coming out of her mouth made his chest heave with anger, and he instinctively wanted to hit her.

Damn, the little good-for-nothing was quite a looker. Perfect for selling off to get some drinking money.

“Xia Jisheng!” A terrifying low roar sounded in Xia Jisheng’s ear like a soul-reaping demon. “Calling you scum is an insult to scum.”

The next second, a kitchen knife was pressed against Xia Jisheng’s neck.

“Ah!” A miserable shriek rang out.

Xia Jisheng’s back was pinned under Xu Xinghe’s foot, one arm was forcibly twisted behind his back, and the knife at his neck gleamed with a cold light.

Xia Jisheng was used to kneeling outside and throwing his weight around only at home. He had never been frightened like this before. The intense, unbearable pain only made it worse. In that moment, a wet yellow stain spread under his pants.

Xu Xinghe sneered and kicked the person aside in disgust.

The neighbors who had gathered to watch couldn’t help but applaud and cheer.

“Anyone else want a turn?” Xu Xinghe swept his cold gaze over the crowd.

He never imagined that the house Grandma Xia left behind would attract so many greedy people. It was really shameless to bully a young girl.

Intimidated by Xu Xinghe’s ferocity, no one dared to step forward. After all, no one wanted to be at knifepoint. There was no telling what a madman like this might do.

“Hold on, little brother. You probably don’t know the full situation with your girlfriend. We’ve brought a lawyer along to explain things to you.” A man dressed in decent, respectable-looking clothes stepped forward, followed by a lawyer dressed just as meticulously.

Xu Xinghe raised an eyebrow, paused, and said, “Fine. Please wait a moment. We’ll have a lawyer too.”

With that, with a loud “bang,” he unceremoniously slammed the door shut.

“Pah! I don’t believe they can get any lawyer!”

“Heh, what can a poor boy and a penniless girl make?”

“Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show!”

…

A large group of so-called relatives could not get inside, so they chattered endlessly at the door, their words nothing but crude and vulgar.