Chapter 51: Thoughts Take Flight

The car came to a stop, the engine's final, low groan fading into the silent night.

Watching Li Yaqin get out of the car and head towards that familiar door,

Zhao Chengyu leaned over from the passenger seat and picked up the several packed enamel lunchboxes.

He steadily handed the still-warm, heavy lunchboxes to Li Yaqin, who stood outside the car.

The food inside was naturally for Li Yaqin's brother, who was eager to marry into a wealthy family, and her sister-in-law, who had gotten a job at the post office.

This was both a favor to Li Yaqin, giving her face in front of her family and showing his thoughtfulness.

It was also a silent reminder, a weighty warning, directly aimed at the Li family inside.

He wanted them to clearly realize Li Yaqin's current value and who stood behind her.

More importantly, he wanted them to understand that they must treat Li Yaqin with the proper courtesy and respect.

A lone streetlamp on the street corner cast a weak, yellowish light, barely outlining the car's indistinct silhouette.

The faint light struggled to penetrate the windshield, casting a gloomy shadow over the interior.

Zhao Chengyu's long, slender fingers, with their distinct knuckles, unconsciously tapped lightly on the cold steering wheel with a suppressed rhythm.

The dull tapping echoed monotonously in the narrow, enclosed space, amplifying the stillness of the night and the turmoil within him.

His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, was fixed on the stairwell entrance that had swallowed Li Yaqin's figure.

A deep darkness, like a silent mockery.

She really didn't turn back, decisively.

As if the man in the car just moments before was merely a driver taking her home, his world no longer intersecting with hers.

An unprecedented sense of unease, like a fine electric current, numbed his fingertips.

This young girl, having taken his house and eaten his meals, didn't even bother to give him a perfunctory glance.

Ha, how interesting. This is the first time anyone has dared to treat Zhao Chengyu like this.

His tapping abruptly stopped, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.

But, it doesn't matter, a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

She can't escape. The house is hers now, bearing her name, Li Yaqin.

That leisurely job at the slaughterhouse was also arranged by him personally.

Her life, her food, her shelter, is being irreversibly branded with his, Zhao Chengyu's, mark.

She couldn't have missed the envious yet fearful glances from others at that dinner at the state-run restaurant tonight.

She values practicality so much; she must have weighed the weight behind this "special" treatment.

What he wants is this "practicality" that she cares about most.

He wove a golden cage, trapping her willingly inside, never to escape.

His gaze remained fixed on the dark entrance, as if he could pierce the walls and see her now.

Zhao Chengyu slowly withdrew his gaze, started the car, and the roar of the engine broke the silence once more.

The black sedan silently glided into the night, like a stalking cheetah, its claws sheathed, leaving only an unwavering determination.

Inside the car, only he remained, along with the lingering scent of faint, fresh grass.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Marrying her wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted to the current situation.

The political climate was like a taut string, tense and fraught with tension.

A purge of the old guard and powerful families was brewing.

The Zhao family had deep and intricate roots, but this very fact made them the most conspicuous presence at the eye of the storm.

Countless eyes lurked in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to deliver the fatal blow.

The telegram from his grandfather in Beijing was sharp and stern, not without reason.

"A brave man must cut off his own arm to survive."

Behind these eight words lay the immense pressure of the family's survival.

Those assets not deeply connected to core interests, yet easily exploited, had to be immediately divested and donated.

This was the only way to bow to the new era and gain a chance to breathe.

Even his aunt in Hong Kong had been severed from by his grandfather through a public notice in the newspaper—a ruthless but necessary move to nip any potential threat in the bud.

In this climate of fear and uncertainty, his personal marriage had long transcended the realm of private matters.

It had been imbued with the strategic significance of the family.

His choice of Li Yaqin was certainly influenced by an unexpected attraction he felt upon first meeting her.

Those clear, cool eyes, carrying a certain wildness, had indeed stirred a genuine stirring within him that he had never experienced before.

However, as a responsible head of the Zhao family, personal desires must always serve the interests of the family.

More importantly, there was her pristine, untainted background.

In this extremely sensitive period, any marriage connected to old forces or connections could easily backfire.

Li Yaqin, on the other hand, was like an unpolluted spring from the countryside.

Her simplicity, her supposedly "red and righteous" background, were precisely the political cover the Zhao family desperately needed at that moment.

He calmly examined the game before him, the position of every piece, every possible outcome.

Li Yaqin, this pawn who had unexpectedly entered his world, occupied a delicate yet crucial position.

She came from two completely different worlds and needed time to adapt to this sudden shift in class and environment.

But that wasn't a problem; he had enough patience.

Once she started working and truly came into contact with the people and events in this circle, she would naturally gradually grasp the power and weight inherent in the surname "Zhao."

She would understand what a bottomless vortex she had married into.

And what he needed to utilize was precisely her greatest "advantage"—her invaluable "innocence" in the midst of a political storm.

These scions of high-ranking families were inherently driven by a cold, calculating nature.

From childhood, they were taught that family interests came first, personal feelings second.

Always choose the most advantageous path.

Emotion? Feelings? Ha, those are luxuries one might occasionally indulge in after one has enough to eat and wear and is absolutely certain of safety.

His inexplicable interest in Li Yaqin must also be kept within the bounds of "advantage."

Now, the family faces unprecedented scrutiny; he must build a solid firewall for the family, and for himself.

Marrying a woman with a simple background, a clean ancestry, and no political stains would undoubtedly greatly reduce the risk of the Zhao family being attacked.

For a family already in turmoil, this provides a strong shield, one that is difficult to use against them.

Marrying her offers the most direct benefit: a sharp reduction in political risk.

Having a wife from an ordinary family with a simple background is itself a politically correct gesture.

It effectively offsets the negative impact of the Zhao family's heavy historical background.

Unlike other women from prominent families, she wouldn't bring with her a complex web of kinship ties or potential political troubles.

Her existence was more like a form of "purification."

This marriage diluted the overly strong, outdated aspects of the Zhao family.

It perfectly aligned with the needs of his family and career development.

It also satisfied his secret possessiveness towards the young girl.

It was a further, meticulously planned move, a game of chess concerning the very survival of the family.

A win-win situation, why not?

It sent a clear signal to the outside world:

The Zhao family was willing to integrate into the new era and connect with ordinary people.

This, implicitly, bought the Zhao family valuable buffer time and space in the public eye.

It paved the way for the more complex subsequent handover of industries and the resettlement of personnel.

What was the ultimate goal?

Naturally, it was to protect the Zhao family, this large ship that had weathered many storms, from capsizing in the current turbulent waves.

Using Li Yaqin's seemingly insignificant "advantage," he was providing a temporary protective umbrella for the family.

He needed to weather this all-encompassing storm of reckoning.

He needed a stable home front, a wife who wouldn't cause any extra trouble.

This would allow him to concentrate all his energy on dealing with the overwhelming pressure and challenges from the outside world.

Once the storm subsided, the Zhao family might need to lie low, or perhaps transform.

But as long as its core strength was preserved, there would be a day of resurgence.

This marriage was a crucial piece he had laid for the family's future.

It was both self-preservation and survival.

Of course, choosing Li Yaqin, rather than other women with similarly simple backgrounds, wasn't entirely without ulterior motives.

He did have a somewhat unusual interest in her.

It's rare for a scion of a high-ranking family to be moved, and since he had, bringing her under his wing would be a way of settling a grudge.

This interest just happened to serve the family's overall interests.

For the Zhao family, and for himself, it was about securing a relatively advantageous position in the upcoming new landscape.

As for Li Yaqin herself...

She would gain the status of the young mistress of the Zhao family, and everything that came with it.

For her, this was undoubtedly a dramatic shift and a leap in her destiny.

A fair trade, each getting what they wanted.

He admitted that even without Li Yaqin,

Zhao Chengyu would have married a woman with a clean background and a docile lifestyle, based on the needs of his family.