He was utterly clueless about running away from home, lacking any real determination; it was all just talk.
Once truly away from home, he would have nothing. As a rich young master, if he left without any skills, he would be no better than trash.
Once out there, apart from begging, he likely wouldn’t be able to do anything else, not to mention he was used to being waited on hand and foot; asking him to work was just inviting hardship!
Ye Zhengxiong suddenly threw a tantrum, throwing things around, which frightened his mother and two sisters.
The two sisters, who had just been pretending to cry, stopped their tears and looked at their second brother with panic, fearing he might hit them next.
Their mother, too, was dazed by her son’s outburst, watching fixedly as he threw things and ran off.
"Mom, if second brother acts , can we still go on in the future?"
"Second brother is just putting on an act. Mom, you’ve spoiled him too much. If you stop giving him pocket money, won’t he eventually give in?"
After the second brother had stormed out, the two sisters who had dared not speak up earlier began to stir up their mother again.
The mother, initially stunned by her son’s actions, found consolation in her daughters’ words and began to think there was truth in what they said.
Ye Zhengxiong, fueled by anger, stormed out without slowing down to listen to what his family behind him was saying. Would he have actually hit his two sisters if he had heard them?
He ran for a while, not going out to find his friends as he usually would, but instead headed to his older brother’s place, where he found him in his room with a maid...
Ye Zhengxiong didn’t expect to run into his big brother playing around in the middle of the day, feeling incredibly unlucky to have stumbled upon the scene.
His big brother quickly dressed and invited him into the living room to talk.
Leaving behind a trembling maid, her clothes in disarray.
"Second brother, what has got you so agitated?"
behaving as if nothing had happened, settled in the living room, poured himself a cup of tea, and casually inquired with a relaxed expression.
"Big brother, don’t you know about the marriage proposal parents are arranging for me?"
Ye Zhengxiong looked at his big brother, who outsiders claimed was a frivolous playboy, not serious about his duties. Still, the public’s word regarded the big brother as more righteous than him.
But who knew that his big brother was truly cunning, more of a playboy than him!
"I’ve heard about it, what about it?"
He seemed completely uninterested, as if the matter didn’t concern him in the slightest.
Ye Zhengxiong... felt he shouldn’t have come to his big brother, utterly disheartened.
"Big brother, why don’t we switch, you ask mom and dad for the daughter of Hongji’s house for yourself and get me the lady from the Tang Family."
Ye Zhengxiong couldn’t help but voice his true thoughts; that was the reason he had visited his big brother.
"No way, our parents have already asked the matchmaker to set up the proposal. It’s for me—the eldest son. I’ve already reached the age when I can’t wait to marry. You’re younger, second brother, and besides, didn’t you say you wanted to wait a few more years before getting married? This will fulfill your wish."
As the eldest brother, how could he relinquish his own interests and concede all his advantages to his younger brother?
From birth, it was destined; the eldest son would inherit the family business; that’s what their father and everyone else intended, and how he had been raised.
As for his brother Ye Zhengxiong, he was the competitor for inheriting the family business; who would foolishly give away their woman to a brother?
Over the years, the family shared a common thought in finding a wife: to choose a woman with a strong background.
As for the second brother, being the junior he shouldn’t marry a woman with a more impressive background than his own wife—that would overshadow him completely, and he would never agree to it.
Thinking that the second brother was too proud, he found the maiden from Hongji’s house quite nice, albeit a bit young.
He should consider himself lucky to even have a chance with such a girl, yet he’s unwilling... he doesn’t even see his own worth!
Ye Zhengxiong... felt his big brother’s gaze burn with annoyance; unable to persuade him, he was overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness, feeling utterly superfluous as none in the family took him seriously!
But he absolutely refused to compromise. To give in so easily would be a laughing stock to his brothers!
Frustrated, he left in a huff, feeling as if his entire family was scheming against him, he stormed back to his quarters to drink alone, demanding wine be served.
Matchmaker Zhang came to the house to propose on behalf of her daughter, and upon Hongji’s return home for dinner, he learned of it through his mother’s sarcastic remarks and was very upset.
These people were too cruel. He had already turned down previous marriage proposals.
His daughter was still so young. Had it not been for the incident during the New Year, he might not have suspected others harbored a vindictive spirit.
Seeing the haggard face of his eldest daughter during dinner, Hongji, as a father, felt a surge of distress.