Chapter 125 – Dog Eat Dog
Wenren Yi froze, her expression like someone who had just eaten ten pounds of dirt and couldn’t spit it out, utterly aggrieved.
Seeing this, Lin Ganzhi felt not a shred of sympathy. In fact, his mood improved. When Wenren Yi, defending her dignity, refused to say it, he added another jab, “Look, Yan Shengping calls your dad ‘big brother,’ so I have to follow suit. Then, if I turn around and call you ‘big sister,’ do you think your dad could accept that?” A cunning smile appeared on Lin Ganzhi’s face.
That hot-tempered man would absolutely not accept it! He’d probably jump up and smack her on the spot!
Wenren Yi took a deep breath, downed a glass of water, and after mentally preparing herself, looked at Lin Ganzhi. With great forbearance, she called out, “Little Uncle!”
“Aye~” Lin Ganzhi responded with a beaming smile, then stuck his hand in his pocket and fumbled around.
Wenren Yi’s expression suddenly brightened, and she said with some embarrassment, “Ganzhi, what’s the relationship between us? You don’t have to be so formal,” With that, Wenren Yi held out her hands.
Lin Ganzhi had just found what he was looking for. The next second, a milk candy appeared in Wenren Yi’s palm. Wenren Yi’s eager expression froze.
“It’s just a piece of candy. No need to be so formal,” Lin Ganzhi said, popping one into his own mouth, a triumphant, mischievous little expression on his face.
The two of them, without a doubt, ended up wrestling again.
***
After Zhong’s Chips went bankrupt, the friends who had once seemed so close all deleted their contact information for the Zhong family. Even Madam Zhong was kicked out of her former circle of wealthy wives. Compared to the father and son, her state seemed even more broken. Early in the morning, she had already lost her temper with seven or eight servants at home. When the father and son came downstairs, exhausted, Madam Zhong was fiercely throwing the fruit from the table at a servant, her ferocious expression making her look like a madwoman.
“What are you doing!” Zhong Wenwei couldn’t help but lose his temper. He had been busy dealing with the bankruptcy until three or four in the morning yesterday, and now, just as he finally got some rest, he had to be provoked by his wife.
Seeing the two of them, Madam Zhong reined in her temper slightly, but her tone was still terrible. “I just wanted some fruit, but she tried to fob me off with this low-quality stuff. Our family only had one company go bankrupt, we’re not poor!” The more Madam Zhong spoke, the more wronged she felt, nearly bursting into tears in front of her husband and son.
However, her behavior clearly did not elicit any concern from the father and son, but rather deeper annoyance. Zhong Jingyi’s expression was haggard, and he didn’t even want to spare a glance for his scene-making mother. As for Zhong Wenwei, his long-suppressed anger finally erupted.
“Just one company? Just bankruptcy? You may not go out to work, but that doesn’t mean you lack basic common sense, does it? I’m really fed up with you two! One of you just knows how to live a life of pampered luxury at home, and the other is just brainless, unable to even manage a publicly listed company! Now the company is bankrupt, and we’re in debt! Half of the property we’ve accumulated has to be mortgaged. I guess since it’s not money you earned with your own hands, you don’t even have a basic sense of appreciation!” The angrier Zhong Wenwei got, the more he spoke, and he kicked over a nearby vase. A piercing crash echoed through the room.
Zhong Jingyi’s face turned completely pale, while Madam Zhong was thoroughly enraged. She frantically began to expose Zhong Wenwei’s past shortcomings in front of him, like how the initial capital for his business had been funded by her parents, and how they had even sold their shops for the sake of his business later on.
Zhong Jingyi stared blankly as his parents completely tore each other apart, arguing in front of him just like they did when he was a child. Childhood memories uncontrollably flooded his mind, and he stumbled back several steps in fear, until the butler pushed open the door to announce they had a guest.
“Old Hu, I never thought you’d still be thinking of our family at a time like this. I’m truly, very grateful!” In just five minutes, Zhong Wenwei had perfectly concealed his hysteria, once again becoming the dignified President Zhong of the past. The visitor was a former business partner of Zhong’s, with whom they hadn’t been in contact for many years due to a business disagreement. Although Zhong Wenwei was puzzled, the kindness of someone offering help in his time of need still made him treat this friend with the best hospitality his family could offer.
“Uncle Hu, please have some tea.” Zhong Jingyi personally served tea to President Hu.
President Hu accepted it with a smile, saying that Jingyi was getting more and more beautiful these days.
Beautiful?
Zhong Jingyi’s face stiffened. He was handsome, but no one had ever dared to call him beautiful. That wasn’t an appropriate word to describe a man!
“Uh, Old Hu, is there something you came here for today?” Zhong Wenwei quickly changed the subject before his son could flip out.
President Hu chuckled, a glint of light squeezing out from his round face. “Why, I came to congratulate President Zhong, of course.”
Zhong Wenwei didn’t understand, but he frowned slightly.
“Your son is so promising!” President Hu praised. Zhong Jingyi, on the side, let out a confused “huh?” President Hu immediately waved his hand and said, “I’m not talking about Jingyi, I’m talking about Shengping. Your son left Zhong’s for only nine months and managed to create Zhuoshi Enterprises, which is even more outstanding than Zhong’s. It’s just that the timing of the IPO was a bit unfortunate. Your original company went bankrupt just as it went public. Old Zhong, you should have told your son in advance. This rise and fall makes things so awkward. But what’s his is yours, right? You lose some, you gain some. I just came over to congratulate you in advance.”
Bang! Zhong Wenwei slammed his teacup onto the table. His face was full of rage, his expression written with disbelief. “What did you say!”
Old Hu was escorted out of the Zhong residence with his smile still intact. His driver didn’t understand why his boss was so happy after being kicked out.
“The villain of the past was personally dealt with by his adopted son. How could I not be happy? I’m going back to throw a banquet. I haven’t been this happy in a long time!”
The Zhong family was now immersed in a deathly still atmosphere. They never imagined that all of this was Yan Shengping’s doing. His methods were so ruthless, leaving no room for sentiment.
“Didn’t you have someone keeping an eye on Yan Shengping? How could this happen?” Madam Zhong said, her mind in a whirl.
“How should I know how this happened! Do I need to go back and write a report for you two?! If I had known, why did I have to kick him out in the first place? With him here, Zhong’s would only be stronger than the current Zhuoshi!” Zhong Wenwei was filled with regret now, but he was even more afraid that Yan Shengping’s revenge was just beginning.
“Why are you blaming me! Was I the one who forced him to leave? At least I treated him like my own son back then. Who was it that came back and complained about everything? I—” Madam Zhong stopped mid-sentence, then turned to look at Zhong Jingyi, whose eyes were already welling up with tears.
“Mom, are you doubting me, blaming me?” Zhong Jingyi sobbed.
“Cry, cry, cry! All you do is cry! What else have you learned after all these years abroad besides crying!” Zhong Wenwei had no patience for his son. In his heart, his son had never been as important as his business.
“Why are you yelling at our son! You had a hand in indulging him back then too. Don’t think I don’t know. You just couldn’t stand Yan Shengping holding power that surpassed yours, so you let him leave!” Madam Zhong was crystal clear about this in her heart.
Seeing that the couple was about to start arguing again, Zhong Wenwei shot a glare at her. “Arguing with you now is completely pointless! I’m calling Yan Shengping!” He would demand to know why he was treating his family this way!
Zhong Wenwei thought that with his great revenge accomplished, Yan Shengping would at least be willing to answer his call. As long as he answered, everything could still be discussed. At worst, he could speak to him nicely and ask him to return to the Zhong family. If he refused, Yan Shengping would be without parents from then on.
However, half an hour later, Zhong Wenwei’s somewhat triumphant expression turned ashen.
Just then, the silent Zhong Jingyi lifted his head. His eyes were verging on madness as he said, word by word, “Dad, I have an idea.”