Madam Xia was quiet now, her face unreadable.
Then she turned to the General.
"I want Xia Wei back," she said sharply.
"Yes, she made a mistake. But we raised her for 22 years! She's still our daughter in some way. She got tempted, but this time… this time, she'll listen to us. She'll change."
But Gu Jin stepped forward, her voice clear.
"If she returns to this mansion," she said slowly, "then I won't stay."
For a moment, no one said anything. The room was quiet and heavy with tension.
Then, Xia Lan leaned closer to Gu Jin and whispered gently, "You're being too serious… We've been with Xia Wei for a long time. We… we can't just let her go like that."
Xia Fei nodded. "If she really harmed you, we promise to stop her. We won't let her hurt you again."
Gu Jin gave a small chuckle. It wasn't a happy one.
"It's not about being hurt," she said calmly. "It's about something else."
