Chapter 857 — Guan Xin Has a Marriage Engagement?!

Once they were inside the study, Guan Xiaoxiang took a seat on the sofa. Kang Zhaoming was already sitting in his wheelchair, so Guan Xiaoxiang saw no reason for further formalities and turned to Wang Shubin. "And who is this?"

"Uncle Guan, don't mind him. He's a friend of mine. Just let him stand there," Kang Zhaoming said with a dismissive wave.

"All right. So, what brings you here?" Guan Xiaoxiang genuinely could not understand why Kang Zhaoming had come to see him. How had he known that Guan Xiaoxiang would be visiting his father that evening? Though puzzled, Guan Xiaoxiang showed none of it on his face. Instead, he waited to hear what Kang Zhaoming had to say.

"Uncle Guan, the truth is, I came to pay you a visit because... well, it's rather embarrassing to say..." Kang Zhaoming scratched his scalp with a deliberately guileless air. "I didn't come here on behalf of my grandfather, nor on behalf of Divine Physician Kang Pharmaceutical Company. I came here for my own sake..."

"Oh?" Guan Xiaoxiang furrowed his brow slightly, but merely voiced his confusion and did not press him further.

"Heh heh... Uncle Guan, I'm terribly sorry to intrude, but I really had no choice!" Kang Zhaoming said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "You see, my leg was injured a while back, and while I was in the hospital, Miss Guan Xin took such meticulous care of me that I was able to recover and leave so soon! Her gentleness, beauty, and gracious manner moved me deeply. As the saying goes, a fine woman is the proper object of a gentleman's desire. I truly admire Miss Guan Xin, and I would like the chance to become friends with her. I hope you won't object, Uncle Guan..."

"A fine woman is the proper object of a gentleman's desire? You mean you want to date Guan Xin?" Guan Xiaoxiang's brows drew together even more tightly.

"Heh heh, that's more or less what I mean, Uncle Guan. But I'm not saying Guan Xin and I should start dating right away. I'm only hoping you'll give me a chance. If we turn out to be unsuitable, I'll quietly walk away!" Kang Zhaoming did his best to make himself sound pitiful, as though all he wanted was a single opportunity. With the business ties between their two families as well, he had assumed Guan Xiaoxiang would not refuse him this small favor. After he finished speaking, he waited for Guan Xiaoxiang to agree. Instead, the answer he received was an outright refusal!

"I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that." After hearing him out, Guan Xiaoxiang rejected the proposal without hesitation, showing him not the slightest consideration.

Kang Zhaoming's words had been direct, yet neither rude nor lacking in an air of honest simplicity. He had made himself seem like a man without a malicious bone in his body. That was precisely what he and Wang Shubin had discussed beforehand. With a man like Guan Xiaoxiang, the more slippery and calculating one appeared, the less likely he was to win his favor. So Kang Zhaoming had deliberately put on a guileless act. He had never expected Guan Xiaoxiang to turn him down so directly, and the response left him completely dumbfounded.

"Ah... this..." Kang Zhaoming was suddenly unable to accept it. Why? Hadn't he put it well? He was only asking for a chance. He had not even said he wanted to be with Guan Xin. And that was still unacceptable? The thought irritated him, but unwilling to anger Guan Xiaoxiang, he could only suppress his temper and ask, "Why is that, Uncle Guan? Guan Xin isn't young anymore, is she? She's reached the age when people begin discussing marriage. Is there something about me you dislike? Please, tell me what it is. If it's something I can change, I'll change it."

"This has nothing to do with you!" Guan Xiaoxiang waved a hand. "Strictly speaking, you're Old Master Kang's grandson and my junior, so I ought to give you a chance. But I can't. Why? Because Xin-xin has been engaged to someone else since childhood. It was the sort of betrothal arranged before either of them was even born. So whether or not I approve of you has nothing to do with it. Guan Xin already has a fiance. How could I let her date you as well? That simply isn't realistic!"

"She already has a fiance?" Kang Zhaoming's face instantly turned green. He had assumed Guan Xiaoxiang had heard about his bad reputation and that this was why he had refused him. He had never imagined it was for this reason. If the problem had been with him, Kang Zhaoming was confident he could have solved it. But now the problem lay with Guan Xin. How was he supposed to solve that? Guan Xiaoxiang had made it perfectly clear: Guan Xin already had a fiance. No matter how hard Kang Zhaoming tried, would any of it still matter?

Guan Xin and Guan Xiaoxiang had already shut him out. No matter what else he said, there was no way he could make Guan Xiaoxiang change his mind.

Kang Zhaoming did not think Guan Xiaoxiang was deliberately deceiving him. There was no need to lie about something like this. Given Guan Xiaoxiang's status, if he wanted to refuse, he could simply refuse; he had no need to invent an excuse to fob him off. The Kang family had yet to become a true aristocratic clan, so it was only natural that Guan Xiaoxiang would feel no obligation to spare his feelings.

Thus, Kang Zhaoming believed him, and his hopes died completely. Guan Xin already had a fiance, so there was no chance whatsoever that she would ever be with him. He sighed and said helplessly, "In that case, I'll take my leave, Uncle Guan. Sorry to have disturbed you..."

"Kang Zhaoming, you're Old Master Kang's grandson, born into a family of physicians, and you're an outstanding young man yourself. You don't need to hang yourself from a single tree, do you? Xin-xin is already engaged, and that can't be changed. I hope you'll be able to see things clearly," Guan Xiaoxiang advised him. After all, Kang Zhaoming was Divine Physician Kang's grandson, and Guan Xiaoxiang was willing to show him some consideration.

Hearing Guan Xiaoxiang offer him consolation made Kang Zhaoming even more certain that he was telling the truth. Then the malicious scheme in his heart suddenly surfaced, and his eyes lit up. Putting on a puzzled expression, he said, "I've heard that Guan Xin is very close to someone named Wei Zhao. Could he be her fiance?"

Kang Zhaoming knew perfectly well that Wei Zhao could not possibly be Guan Xin's fiance. He had said it deliberately in an attempt to drive a wedge between them.

"Oh? Wei Zhao?" Guan Xiaoxiang's expression turned displeased. Wei Zhao again? Was there really something going on between Guan Xin and Wei Zhao? Still, he naturally had no intention of discussing his daughter in front of Kang Zhaoming. He merely said淡淡地? Need no Chinese. "That isn't something you need to concern yourself with."

Kang Zhaoming sneered inwardly. Wei Zhao, Wei Zhao... So you dared to cross me. If I can't have the woman I want, you can forget about having her either! Heh heh! Outwardly, however, he remained perfectly composed. "All right, then, Uncle Guan. In that case, I'll be going."

"Then I won't see you out. Take care." Now that Guan Xiaoxiang knew the purpose of Kang Zhaoming's visit, he had no desire to cultivate any further relationship with him.

When Guan Xin saw her father and Kang Zhaoming enter the study, she grew somewhat anxious. She had no idea what Kang Zhaoming intended to say to him. So, once they were inside, she crept over to the study door on tiptoe and carefully listened to the conversation within.