I Can't Let A Vicious Serpent Sit Coiled In My House, Can I?"

Tang Chen didn't say anything, instead drank the whole glass of water slowly.

The cold and indifferent attitude of Tang Chen in her childhood surfaced inexplicably within Tang Xi's mind.

Once, Han Shuang, her stepmother, splashed boiling hot coffee onto Tang Xi's body. She wasn't quick enough to side-step the attack, as a result large red splotches immediately flared up on the back of her left hand, extending down to the base of her fingers.

When Tang Chen returned home that night, Tang Xi went to him crying, and showed him her hand. However, let alone apply any medicine on the wound, or rebuke his wife, Tang Chen didn't even offer her a word of sympathy. He simply walked away giving Tang Xi a chilling view of his back.

That day, the very first brutal stabbing of reality was given to her by her father.

Tang Xi's left hand would get permanently scarred, if her grandfather didn't go to the North searching for a renowned Chinese medicine practitioner, and buy a dozen of special ointments from him. It was only two years ago that the hideous scar had been finally erased from her hand, after fourteen long years.

"If you are done, just scram. I can't let a vicious serpent sit coiled in my house, can I?"

Tang Chen sprung up with a fury brewing in his eyes. "Who taught you to behave like this with your father? Where did you pick up these ill manners from? From those peasants of your school?"

Tang Chen got up with a force and the chair he was sitting fell backward with a loud sound.

Tang Xi didn't go to the expensive private school like his other daughters. The school Tang Xi attended, The Academy Of Brilliance, operated very differently than the others; it had seventy percent quota for scholarship students, and the rest thirty percent was rich kids.

The Academy Of Brilliance was very famous for producing talents. The mysterious bigshot behind this school was very powerful, as no threats had worked against him till this date. The thirty percent rich kids policy worked as a first come first served system. People usually booked slots at least a year ago, not to mention the hefty amount of money they had to submit.

As the majority of the students came from poor backgrounds, it actually made sense when Tang Chen called them peasants. Nonetheless, his biological daughter was also a scholarship student, didn't that mean they were peasants as well?

"Usually parents inculcate mannerisms in children, no? My biological mother left me years back, and you?" Tang Xi paused for a while, her eyes swirling with sadness. "Despite having you, you were never there with me! I was never a part of your life." Tang Xi's voice sounded hoarse as she turned her face away from him.

Tang Chen didn't reply. His not so bright anymore eyes stared at her with mixtures of complicated feelings.

He became silent for a while, as he was blown away by the changes that he noticed had happened within Tang Xi.

It was as if this daughter of his was hiding in a shell until now and the one standing before him now had finally come out of the shell with full vigor and radiance.

Appearance wise, Tang Xi had taken after her mother. In fact, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Hyat Bint Ali; they were each other's carbon copy. And now with this strong personality, and sharp attitude, Tang Chen could distinctly see the shadow of his ex-wife in Tang Xi.

"I told the truth only. If you can't hear the truth, then better cover your ears."

Tang Xi turned around suddenly, just in time to see a lone tear sliding down Tang Chen's right cheek. It stunned her into silence, as she never thought her father was actually capable of shedding tears. Although Tang Xi was having difficulty believing it, there was a heavy cloud of somberness around her father.

After a few minutes of quiet, and oddly uncomfortable silence, Tang Chen lifted his gaze from the chair, he was sitting on earlier to stare at Tang Xi.

"Did father tell you anything about marriage?"

Sure, Tang Chen still kept his pride and head high, but he had lost whatever self-confidence he had while coming here.

Tang Xi didn't say anything, instead she stared at her father.

"If father hasn't already, then he may ask you to get married to Lu Yunsheng, the CEO of Lu Conglomerate. However, you don't need to feel pressured at all, you are only eighteen. This is the time, you should fly high, and enjoy your life to the fullest. Marriage into that ultra traditional family will cut down your freedom."

As if reading his mind, Tang Xi scoffed. Did this marriage alliance plant a single seed of unease in this person's heart? After all, he wouldn't settle for anything less than the best for his daughters. If Tang Xi was to get married to Lu Yunsheng, they could only get the second best at most. Additionally, if she was to win Lu Yunsheng's favour after the marriage, they wouldn't be able to handle an opponent as powerful as Lu.

So, this was the sole purpose behind this visit and all this melodrama. Her so-called father must have gotten mentally imbalanced knowing she would be marrying a good man for him to be able to do something as time-consuming as this.

Tang Chen wouldn't love her, even if his life depended on it. There was a moment of sharp pain in Tang Xi's heart.

In a moment of desperation, she clenched her hands so fiercely that her sharp nails pierced into the flesh. The sharp pain suppressed the pain in her heart, and the tears brimming in her watery eyes ebbed away slowly.

Tang Xi gathered the broken pieces of her heart, rearranged her face into a nonchalant one, and walked slowly towards Tang Chen; her every step spoke of immense confidence. "I have one thing I need to let you know. What my grandpa told me, how to enjoy my life, and whether I get married or not, has got absolutely nothing to do with you. Please don't waste your energy in nosing up into my business."