Chapter 37
The matter of how to survive on twenty yuan a week was indeed beyond Yu Congyan’s realm of experience.
As they finally emerged from the office, the gossiping employees immediately shifted from curiosity to indifference, diligently focusing on their work, their gazes fixed on their desks.
Assistant Zhong tactfully postponed all meetings and events scheduled for tonight and tomorrow morning. Nothing could interfere with his boss’s love life.
Although it wasn’t official yet, it was only a matter of time. As his assistant, he had to share his boss’s joys and sorrows—
And keep a list of those who weren’t happy, wary of potential backstabbers.
Everyone in the villa was busy preparing for the upcoming family dinner.
Choosing outfits, perfume, and tailored suits was just the first step. The more crucial task was to memorize the recent news and events surrounding the invited guests.
Xia Wansheng felt he had never been this diligent, not even before final exams.
“Seriously, who can remember that CEO Li’s third ex-wife is now his son’s date?!” Xia Wansheng found this network of relationships incredibly complex. Knowing any more might get him silenced.
Misfortunes never come singly. Yu Xuan, who had previously threatened him about the family dinner, finally sent his instructions, inconspicuously hidden among Xia Wansheng’s deliveries.
He had thought it was just the latest fashion magazine and a 4090 graphics card, but when he carefully filmed the unboxing video, a USB drive fell out.
It was the kind of old, faded USB drive that would typically contain incriminating evidence or secret codes.
“…” Yu Xuan wouldn’t be asking him to steal files from Yu Congyan’s computer, would he?
Xia Wansheng finally felt that these people were indeed unscrupulous. He had been starting to think everyone was as law-abiding as Yu Aotian, not even resorting to petty tricks like harming someone’s money tree.
He connected the USB drive to his computer. The person on the screen looked familiar, a younger Yu Congyan.
The CEO’s childhood, quite a rare sight.
Yu Congyan on the screen looked about eight or nine years old, celebrating his birthday in the backyard garden. The young Yu Aotian didn’t have his current cold and aloof demeanor, innocently asking his mother for another piece of cake.
It seemed like an ordinary birthday party video, but the plot took a dark turn—
Zhai Yan turned around, seemingly arguing with her husband, then, enraged, grabbed the child-like Yu Congyan, her nails digging into his fair arm:
“You think I don’t know about your dirty little secrets? This child isn’t even yours, get out and don’t ever come back!”
It was indeed Zhai Yan’s voice.
Xia Wansheng broke out in a cold sweat.
The old video ended there. He tried to replay it, but it had been automatically deleted.
Something wasn’t right, this wasn’t the script.
Wasn’t Yu Xuan supposed to be Father Yu’s illegitimate child with his first love, and Yu Congyan the rightful heir, with capable but distant parents, and the ability to build his own empire?
No wonder Yu Congyan, despite having the protagonist’s setup, had asked him “what if he went bankrupt”?
It was because he had never had any support.
The Yu family would never expose this scandal to protect their reputation, but that didn’t mean there weren’t underlying tensions.
Yu Xuan, using another new number, sent an unexpectedly simple instruction: “Keep Yu Congyan occupied at the family dinner and make him leave early.”
No mention of playing the video.
Xia Wansheng was dissatisfied with this seemingly pointless task, perhaps Yu Xuan had other plans, but Xia Wansheng wished he could just handle it himself.
Then he could just go and tell Yu Congyan: Hello, I’m here to frame you.
After tossing and turning in bed, Xia Wansheng sadly realized it was better to inform him.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch Yu Congyan face betrayal.
Bankruptcy could be recovered from, but losing one’s spirit was much harder.
As Xia Wansheng pondered, he meticulously peeled a grapefruit. By the time he finally decided to tell Yu Congyan, he had a plate full of peeled grapefruit segments.
People tended to do something with their hands when lost in thought.
Xia Wansheng stood resolutely in front of Yu Congyan’s bedroom door. To appear less deliberate, he even mixed the grapefruit segments with a fruit platter Aunt Liu had just prepared.
“What is it?” Yu Congyan opened the door, but didn’t invite him in.
He was very territorial about his bedroom.
“I need to talk to you,” Xia Wansheng put down the fruit platter, “about your family.”
He knew even if he revealed the truth now, without evidence, Yu Congyan wouldn’t believe him.
And the evidence, hidden by Yu Xuan for so long, was meant to be revealed at the family dinner, exposing the truth to the entire Yu family and their business partners.
He would bring down Yu Congyan in one fell swoop and inherit the Yu family!
Seeing his serious expression, Yu Congyan hesitated, then let him in.
“I’ve heard some rumors about your family.” Without the video, Xia Wansheng couldn’t expose the villain yet, so he pretended to be sharing a speculation.
“There’s a possibility that you’re not the current CEO’s biological son…”
Although he inwardly wanted to punch the air, he was still nervous about revealing this to the protagonist.
“Why are you telling me this?” Yu Congyan asked, his expression unchanged.
Did he already know?
Xia Wansheng was unsure, but he continued: “It’s just a guess, wouldn’t it be dangerous if someone used this against you?”
He wanted to warn Yu Congyan to be wary, but after speaking, he realized this sudden revelation was baseless and didn’t know how to continue.
Yu Congyan remained silent for a few seconds.
When he spoke, he didn’t address the issue of his parentage, but gestured for Xia Wansheng to sit down on the sofa, sighing,
“Did Yu Xuan threaten you again?”
He had already investigated and knew Yu Xuan planned to expose his carefully hidden secret at the family dinner.
But it was an old matter, and a paternity test had already been conducted, so strictly speaking, it was invalid evidence, a smokescreen he had deliberately released for Yu Xuan to ruin himself.
Unfortunately, Old Man Yu was still somewhat displeased about this matter. His mother had caused a scene back then, and everyone had thought she was guilty, but the results proved them wrong.
His mother wasn’t happy either. From that moment on, she realized the Yu family didn’t value her, this was bound to happen sooner or later.
“Don’t worry, I deliberately leaked that information, it won’t affect me.” Yu Congyan briefly explained.
Compared to that unsubstantiated recording, the medical report in his possession was far more convincing.
But Yu Xuan’s reckless actions would not only lose him supporters but also his credibility in the industry.
“I wasn’t worried about you, I just saw a news article and wanted to confirm if it was true, no one threatened me.” Xia Wansheng emphasized.
“Mm, I understand.” Yu Congyan said.
Housekeeper Zhang, seeing them emerge from the bedroom, almost said his usual line: “Young Master hasn’t smiled in a long time.”
But he suppressed the urge, his main priority as the household manager was to ensure everything ran smoothly.
Tomorrow was the family dinner. Xia Wansheng felt inexplicably nervous, watching Housekeeper Zhang ironing his shirt.
He suddenly became curious about the price of the shirt.
“Uncle Zhang, this shirt is custom-made, isn’t it?” Xia Wansheng asked tentatively.
It was said to be the work of a reclusive master tailor known for his exceptional craftsmanship, an artist with years of experience abroad.
“Yes, Mr. Xia, this shirt was handmade by a famous designer in Milan, Italy, it’s worth 88,000 yuan!” Housekeeper Zhang said proudly.
Look at the exquisite fabric and tailoring, although it didn’t look like it was worth 88,000 yuan, it exuded an aura of luxury, as if he could see gold coins shimmering through the fabric.
88,000 yuan.
Xia Wansheng thought it was a rather unique number, enough to buy two apartments in his small hometown.
