Rebirth: General, Don't Mess Around!

If you chose to leave with such flair back then, why bother coming back to play the victim now?

Xia Jinyuan, who very much disliked being threatened, nodded slightly; that was all he could do now. He could grant her this one wish, but only this one time. There would be no precedent.

A shadow flickered in the depths of Xia Jinyuan’s eyes as he pressed his lips together firmly.

His nod brought Madam Xiao to an unexpected joy, her eyes even welling up with tears as she choked out, ”Very good, very good, let’s go to a private room and talk there.”

Casting another imperceptible glance at Ye Jian, Madam Xiao’s tearful eyes held a hint of inquiry.

She never expected to be at the mercy of this ’pretty face’, nor had she imagined that this ’pretty face’ could wield such great influence over her son. Her son would listen to whatever she said and heed her advice.

Chenglan had not exaggerated; it seemed she needed to inquire more thoroughly.

Asking Ah Yuan would yield nothing; she needed to question Old Xia instead.

”Ah Yuan, please take a seat. Or maybe eat something else, or we could have some tea and talk.” Once inside the private room, Madam Xiao was all hospitality. After so long without seeing Xia Jinyuan, she no longer felt the mother-son separation of her younger years was of no consequence. As she grew older and lonelier, she regretted her choices all the more.

Back then, even if she had chosen to leave, she should have taken Ah Yuan with her.

That way, she wouldn’t have ended up in today’s lonely and dire straits.

”There’s no need for such trouble; I’m only here for a short while before leaving,” Xia Jinyuan felt there was nothing left to discuss with Madam Xiao. Since she had left with someone else all those years ago, there was no need for her to return, and certainly no discussion of repairing their mother-son relationship.

He did not even wish to sit down, his gaze cold as if looking at a stranger, and he said to Madam Xiao, ”Madam Xiao, since we are now in the private room, I’d prefer you speak directly.”

”Ah Yuan, can’t we, mother and son, sit down and have a proper talk?” Facing Xia Jinyuan’s indifference, Madam Xiao felt her heart shatter anew as she began to cry again, ”Why can’t you talk to your mother?”

”Madam Xiao, we really have nothing to discuss, and I believed I made that clear last time,” Xia Jinyuan had no desire to waste time with Madam Xiao. He had already made his decision, and a few words from her weren’t going to change that.

”Ah Yuan, are you still blaming your mother? I regret it now too,” Madam Xiao, her voice hoarse, clutched at her chest. No longer did she possess the fearless resolve to never regret leaving, as she had once believed. Now older, she had returned to her homeland, longing for kinship and the bond between mother and child. Therefore, she sought to make amends.

She believed that if she truly made amends, everything would pass, everything would move in a positive direction.

”Madam Xiao, what has passed has already passed; discussing it now won’t remedy anything.” To Xia Jinyuan, her regret seemed like a joke, and he felt no desire to continue discussing the matter with her, ”You made your choice, and even if you regret it, even if you must walk the path alone, you must continue on.”

”Please, do not ask others to accommodate you because of your regrets, alright?”

”Ah Yuan!” Madam Xiao trembled all over; this was her son! Why, why was her son so... so heartless!

”Madam Xiao, you’ve seen the person I’ve brought with me, and we’ve had our talk. We have other matters to attend to, so we’ll be leaving now,” Xia Jinyuan concluded before pulling Ye Jian with him as he walked out.