Chapter 152

Hearing this, Xuanyuan Xuanjing remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Ah, so be it. The children are grown now; as for matters of the heart, it is best to let them work things out on their own."

"Grandfather?" Shilei asked, finding it hard to believe. Why had her grandfather suddenly changed his tune? Moreover, it almost seemed as though he was somewhat in favor of Xiaoxiao and Arthur being together. But this reversal was simply too drastic!

While Shilei was still dazed, Xuanyuan Xuanjing suddenly spoke up. "Leilei, get ready. It is time we went to see that person." As he spoke, his expression grew somewhat gloomy.

That person had actually still been plotting to ruin someone else's relationship after all this time, and this time she had even dared to provoke his own granddaughter? It seemed it was finally time to go pay her a visit!

Private Villa in England

Arthur, Xiahou Yu, and Feng Qingquan sat in the living room in silence, none of them speaking for a while as they lost themselves in their own thoughts. After a moment, Feng Qingquan, who was always the least able to keep quiet, broke the silence. He looked at Arthur, who had remained silent the entire time, and asked, "Arthur, what is wrong with you? You called us here, yet you just sit there without saying a word."

Hearing this, Xiahou Yu also looked over at Arthur, who was lost in his own thoughts, and asked with a hint of concern, "Arthur, what is the matter?"

Arthur glanced at the two of them, let out a helpless sigh, and said, "I have received news." He paused for a fraction of a second before continuing, "Yingyue has fully recovered."

Xiahou Yu was startled at first, but joy immediately flooded his face. He beamed and said, "That's wonderful! That's wonderful, simply wonderful! I knew it, I just knew that Yingyue would get better."

Feng Qingquan, on the other hand, did not react like Xiahou Yu. After all, his relationship with Yingyue was not as close as Xiahou Yu's. Therefore, he kept his gaze fixed intently on Arthur. Noticing that Arthur's face showed not the slightest trace of joy, but was instead exceptionally gloomy, Feng Qingquan sighed inwardly, realizing that the situation was far from as simple or reassuring as it appeared on the surface. He then spoke up, "Arthur, go on. What else is there?"

Xiahou Yu finally snapped out of his excitement as well. He looked at Arthur's calm yet grim expression, felt his heart sink, and asked with serious solemnity, "Arthur, is there something more?"

Arthur looked at the two men and the genuine concern they showed him, feeling a warm sensation in his chest. But this was quickly overwhelmed by a profound helplessness and a faint sorrow as he said, "Yingyue is well, and she remembers everything that has happened over all these years, but—" Arthur suddenly stopped, burying his face in his hands. After a long moment, he continued with a hint of a choke in his voice, "But she is unwilling. She is unwilling to see me. She said that she still loves me, but too many fractures have formed between us, and we have hurt each other too deeply. Even though we love one another, we cannot remain together."

When Arthur finished speaking, the expressions of both Xiahou Yu and Feng Qingquan darkened instantly, their gazes growing deep and profound. After a quiet moment, Xiahou Yu asked, "Arthur, did Yingyue... did she tell you this in her own words?"

Arthur raised his head, looked at Xiahou Yu, and replied with a bitter smile, "Yes. This morning, I received a call from a mysterious person who claimed to be Yingyue's brother. He relayed Yingyue's message to me, saying that Yingyue wanted me to forget her, to forget everything between us! I didn't believe it. I said I wanted to hear it from Yingyue's own lips. Then, that person chuckled, and I heard Yingyue's voice. She told me coldly that too many things stand between us, that it is impossible for us to return to the way we were, and therefore she hopes I will let her go, let myself go, and start anew! And then, she hung up on me."

After listening, Xiahou Yu felt a wave of bitterness wash over him as well. He sighed inwardly: How could this be? How could it end up like this? After finally enduring all those hardships together, could they truly not withstand the wounds they had inflicted upon each other? If they loved each other so deeply, how could they bear to give up?

"So Arthur, do you plan to just give it up like this?" Xiahou Yu asked after carefully deliberating for a moment, his tone carrying a gravity he had never displayed before.

Meanwhile, Feng Qingquan was also watching Arthur intently, though in a place others might not notice, his eyes carried a hint of amusement.

Hearing this, Arthur suddenly jerked his head up, sweeping away his previous dejection, and said with firm determination, "How is that possible? I will never give it up! Since she provoked me in this lifetime, she had better steel herself to be hopelessly entangled with me for the rest of our days!"

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Yu's tension instantly vanished. His eyes curved into a smile as he said, "Now this sounds like the Arthur I know! I'm backing you all the way!" With that, he excitedly punched Arthur on the shoulder.

Feng Qingquan's lips split into a wide grin, rich with amusement as he remarked, "Now that's more like it. At least this trip out was worth it; there's finally a good show to watch."

The moment Feng Qingquan finished speaking, he felt a gust of cold wind rushing straight toward his face. He instinctively looked toward the source and, sure enough, saw Arthur glaring at him with a sinister expression. "Darling, why are you looking at me like that?" Feng Qingquan asked, putting on a flirtatious act with complete nonchalance. Beside them, Xiahou Yu shuddered violently, overcome by a sudden chill.

A wicked, charming smile crept onto Arthur's face as he looked at Feng Qingquan and said, "Feng, I think it's time we had a proper chat to catch up on our friendship. I've been so caught up in other matters lately that I've been neglecting you, and that was my fault." As Arthur spoke in a bewitching tone, he swiftly lunged toward Feng Qingquan.

Realizing the situation was turning ominous, Feng Qingquan immediately began crying out for mercy. "Darling, I was wrong! I was wrong, I take it back, alright?" As he shouted, he leaped to his feet and bolted toward the door.

"Hmph, too late!" Ignoring Feng Qingquan's pleas for mercy, Arthur pursued him with lightning speed. Seeing this, Feng Qingquan let out a lamentable sigh and quickly yelled, "Arthur, I have a way! I have a way to make Yingyue accept you again!"

Arthur came to an abrupt halt, one eyebrow arching upward as he eyed Feng Qingquan suspiciously. "You have a way?"

Realizing Arthur had stopped chasing him, Feng Qingquan let out a sigh of relief and said with an air of elegance, "Of course. Who do you think I am? I am the modern-day master strategist, second only to Zhuge Liang!"

At this, the corners of Arthur's mouth twitched, while Xiahou Yu felt yet another chill run down his spine, secretly resolving that the next time he spent time with Feng Qingquan, he should seriously consider wearing an extra layer of clothing.

"And what if your method doesn't work?" Arthur asked, lifting an eyebrow, still highly skeptical.

Feeling that his intelligence had been directly challenged, Feng Qingquan immediately puffed out his chest with grandiose bravado and declared, "If the method doesn't work, I'll cut off my head and hand it to you!"

Xiahou Yu felt he had reached his absolute limit; he simply could not handle Feng Qingquan anymore. He couldn't fathom how Arthur had managed to put up with this man for all these years, and he truly admired him for it. Thinking this, he cast a sideways glance at Arthur.

Watching Feng Qingquan look like a tragic hero marching off to his doom, Arthur calmly picked up the cup of black tea on the table, took a small sip, and then said nonchalantly, "What would I want with your head? If I just left it out, it would easily start to rot. Or what, do you expect me to pickle it in formaldehyde and keep it safe for you?" Arthur slanted a sidelong glance at Feng Qingquan, whose expression had frozen, and sighed helplessly, "Ah, you know how I am—I despise trouble the most."

"Ar—thur—" Feng Qingquan gritted his teeth, utterly incredulous that this man—this black-hearted man—could utter such cold and heartless words. He was so furious he was momentarily rendered speechless.

Watching Feng Qingquan struggle to find a retort, Arthur felt a wave of pleasant satisfaction wash over him, finally clearing away the lingering gloom of the past few days. He then tossed out another remark with an air of condescending charity, "Oh well, considering we've been friends for many years, let's substitute it for something else. Hmm..." Arthur tapped his chin with his finger, pretending to deliberate, before saying cheerfully, "How about this? Let's use the Lakeside Pavilion as collateral. I think the scenery there is passable enough."

Feng Qingquan stared at Arthur with utter disbelief, unable to fathom how his beloved residence had just been given away to someone else in the blink of an eye. He couldn't help but blurt out, "Um, Arthur, can we pick something else? You know as well as I do that the Lakeside Pavilion has been my absolute favorite place all these years."

"Is that so?" Arthur nodded. Feng Qingquan instantly felt a surge of elation—there was still hope! But after thinking it over, Arthur beamed brightly and said, "Alright, since you like it too, let's do this: from now on, you can come visit the Lakeside Pavilion whenever you like. I won't stop you!"

Feng Qingquan was utterly slain. What on earth was this logic? Meanwhile, Xiahou Yu had a sudden flash of enlightenment from the sidelines: the person he should truly admire was Arthur. Just how had Feng Qingquan managed to endure Arthur all these years?

Seeing that Feng Qingquan still wanted to argue, Arthur cut him off without hesitation. "Alright, that's settled then. Now, tell me about your plan!"

Gazing at Arthur's impatient expression, Feng Qingquan mentally wished he could slap himself across the face a few times. *Why did you have to run your mouth? Why did you have to run your mouth?!*

"Alright, hurry up and tell me. If you can't come up with a good scheme, the Lakeside Pavilion belongs to me right now!" Arthur said, growing even more impatient as he looked at Feng Qingquan's wretched expression.

Realizing he had no choice, Feng Qingquan quickly said, "Fine, fine, I'll tell you! The plan is—the bitter flesh trick!"

"The bitter flesh trick?" Arthur and Xiahou Yu said in unison, both looking at Feng Qingquan, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing this, Feng Qingquan couldn't help lifting his chin with a hint of haughty pride as he explained, "The so-called bitter flesh trick is the strategy of inflicting heavy injury upon oneself in order to arouse the opponent's sympathy."

"Cut the crap and get to the point," Arthur interrupted impatiently.

Feeling deeply aggrieved, Feng Qingquan remembered his Lakeside Pavilion, gritted his teeth, and continued, "You'll have to figure out the specific details yourself. After all, you're the one who knows Yingyue best. You must come up with a realistic bitter flesh trick. Remember, the core of this strategy is authenticity, so whatever method you devise must look completely genuine and leave no room for suspicion!"

Hearing this, Arthur lowered his head. He brought his right index finger and thumb up to his chin, his index finger continuously rubbing against it. Seeing this, Feng Qingquan let out a relieved breath. *The Lakeside Pavilion is finally—*

A flash of blue light suddenly crossed Arthur's eyes. The corners of his mouth curved upward, though he deliberately feigned indifference as he said, "Hmm, since the method you suggested is only a general direction, from now on, the Lakeside Pavilion will belong half to me and half to you for the next year."

"What? Arthur, what did you just say? You can't be this scheming!" Feng Qingquan exploded, instantly leaping up from the sofa in a panic.