The summons came that evening. A single message from the family estate, short and commanding: *Dinner. Mandatory.*
Yen Rui didn't react outwardly when he read it, but Li Na noticed the way his fingers tightened around the phone before he slipped it into his pocket.
The Yen family mansion was older than the city's towers, its halls echoing with tradition, its walls lined with portraits of stern-faced ancestors who seemed to watch every visitor with disapproval. Li Na felt the weight of their stares as she walked beside Yen Rui, her hand looped through his arm for strength more than formality.
At the head of the long dining table sat **Elder Yen**, his father, his presence as commanding as the empire his name carried. Though age had thinned his hair and slowed his movements, his eyes were sharp as a hawk's, unforgiving, relentless.
"You've made a spectacle of this family," Elder Yen said the moment they sat down. No greetings, no warmth. Only judgment. "First Xu Lan, now this… sudden marriage. The board is uneasy. Investors question your stability. Do you think this is acceptable?"
Yen Rui's tone was flat, unyielding. "I've contained the damage. The company remains profitable."
"Profitable is not enough," his father snapped, slamming his hand lightly against the table. "This family is not built on survival. It is built on dominance. And dominance requires certainty. Heirs. Continuity."
Li Na's breath caught. She knew where this was going even before Elder Yen's eyes pinned her with a gaze that felt like a blade.
"You will provide an heir," he said coldly. "And quickly. That is the only way to silence doubters. Contracts can be questioned. Numbers can be forged. But bloodline cannot be disputed."
Heat rushed to Li Na's face. She opened her mouth, but Yen Rui's voice cut through before she could speak.
"This is not your decision to make," he said sharply, his calm cracking at the edges.
Elder Yen leaned back, his lips curling into a thin smile. "Every decision is mine until you prove you can lead without dragging this family's name into the dirt. I will not watch you destroy what generations built because of sentiment or because of her."
The sting of those words hit Li Na harder than expected, but she kept her head high, her voice firm. "With respect, Elder Yen, this marriage is not a bargaining chip for legacy. It's ours to define."
The old man's eyes narrowed. "You speak boldly for someone who holds no power here."
Yen Rui's chair scraped back suddenly as he stood. "She holds mine."
The silence that followed was thunderous. Elder Yen's face hardened, but he said nothing more. He only gestured for them to leave, his meaning clear: the conversation was over, but the battle was far from finished.
As they stepped out into the cold night air, Li Na exhaled shakily. "You didn't have to say that."
Yen Rui's jaw was tight, his voice low. "I did. Because if they think you're negotiable, they'll try to tear you away from me."
Her heart stuttered at the fierceness in his tone. For all his control, for all his walls, there was no mistaking it, he had chosen her, and he would not yield.
But deep down, she knew Elder Yen's words were not idle.
The family would not let go easily.