Chapter 38
Housekeeper Zhang was still ironing the shirt when Aunt Liu suddenly appeared, saying someone was looking for Xia Wansheng outside and insisted on seeing him personally.
Xia Wansheng assumed it was Lu Mingxi arriving early and, wondering why he was being so formal, went to greet him with a cheerful disposition.
He was met with a middle-aged couple with unfriendly expressions.
The system in his mind chimed in: [These are the original owner’s parents. They worked hard to put him through school, hoping he would become successful and support them, then leeched off him. He did become successful, but he never contacted them again.]
Ah, they were here to ask for money.
Xia Wansheng looked at the couple, who seemed out of place in the unfamiliar restaurant, and clicked his tongue, trying to imitate the original owner’s impatience, “Make it quick, I’m busy.”
The couple exchanged glances, realizing their son’s temper hadn’t changed, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. They put on an earnest expression:
“Son, your father hasn’t been feeling well lately, we want to take him to a good hospital in the city, but we spent all our money on seeds for next year, could you lend us some? We’ll return it after the harvest.”
Their words were so earnest, their demeanor so humble, it was enough to make anyone condemn the original owner for being unfilial.
But these two self-proclaimed uneducated farmers managed to find their way to the Yu residence in City A, something truly simple and unassuming people couldn’t do.
This family was truly interesting.
“I don’t have money, go back where you came from.” Xia Wansheng said, preparing to leave.
He remembered the original owner had an older sister who was good at managing finances. However, because she couldn’t shake off these parasitic parents, they came to her when she became successful, and this was exploited by her competitors, who publicized the matter.
Despite quickly clarifying the situation, her company’s stock price was affected. Later, betrayed by her own family, she faced financial ruin, her company was auctioned off, and she disappeared.
The original owner’s parents simply dismissed her with: “I knew she wouldn’t amount to anything.”
How absurd.
Seeing Xia Wansheng about to leave, the couple panicked, grabbing his wrist and shouting: “You live in such a luxurious place, how could you not have money?! If you don’t give us money, your father will die!”
Xia Wansheng glanced at the sturdy-looking father and thought it was nonsense.
“Really? I remember my sister giving you a lot of money before, where is she now?” Xia Wansheng asked.
“Who knows where she’s hiding! We worked so hard to raise you, and you’ve become such an ungrateful wretch!” the mother wailed loudly.
This was her usual tactic; it always worked before.
But Xia Wansheng felt like he was watching a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, demanding to put pebbles in his glass, while supposedly learning the fable of the crow drinking water.
“…” Xia Wansheng’s hand inched towards the wine bottle beside him.
He couldn’t stand this anymore.
Just as he was about to smash the full wine bottle against the table, the shards stained with his blood—
A familiar voice interrupted him.
“Xia Wansheng?! What are you doing here?” Shen Xinghe asked in surprise. He always seemed to encounter Xia Wansheng in strange situations.
He nudged Yu Congyan beside him, gesturing for him to look.
Yu Congyan had naturally noticed and had been watching Xia Wansheng. He instinctively moved to stop him when he reached for the bottle, but Shen Xinghe’s words interrupted him.
“I have something to do today, let’s talk later.” Xia Wansheng said to the original owner’s parents, tossing a card onto the table. “Take this and don’t ask my sister for money again.”
Then he quickly asked the system in his mind to calculate the amount that constituted extortion.
He ignored the two people who had suddenly appeared, seemingly not wanting to be recognized in this situation, and left.
“Why did he pretend not to know me?” Shen Xinghe said, puzzled, “No way, I was the one who called him to pick you up last time when you were drunk.”
Was it because he looked too handsome today that Xia Wansheng was too shy to talk to him?!
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Yu Congyan knew what he was going to say, ignoring the couple and walking forward, “Let’s go, tell me what went wrong at your family dinner.”
“I thought you didn’t like these events?” Shen Xinghe asked.
“Someone wants to go with me.” Yu Congyan continued walking.
The night of the family dinner quickly arrived.
The banquet hall was filled with various guests. After days of cramming, Xia Wansheng, with the system’s help, finally managed to memorize the complex network of relationships.
But he still didn’t understand. He was unlikely to be involved in these tycoons’ power struggles, why bother learning about their recent activities?
His question was quickly answered.
Someone came to provoke him.
Xia Wansheng watched as CEO Li, arm in arm with his sixth wife, walked past him with a disdainful glance. The young woman beside him said condescendingly: “Now anyone can get in.”
The young man in front of her was indeed quite handsome, qualified to attend this banquet, but he was still just hiding in the corner, eating cake.
He must have been brought here as an afterthought, clearly not valued.
Xia Wansheng, who was just a bit hungry: ???
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.” Xia Wansheng immediately summoned the system in his mind, ready for action.
This wasn’t his fault; he was being provoked.
His gaze shifted towards the nearby rose bushes, and the system, like an infrared scanner, started analyzing:
[Host, I think the balcony on the second floor would be perfect, the flowers are blooming, we can do this and that, then directly go offline, how about it?!] The system was excited about this unexpected opportunity.
“Did I say something wrong?! A clueless newcomer, probably doesn’t even have an invitation, must have snuck in.” The young woman pressed on, assuming Xia Wansheng was deliberately provoking her.
Their voices had attracted the attention of several onlookers.
Most people at this family dinner were here for the drama. The long-standing feud between the Yu brothers was well-known, and this was a perfect opportunity to watch a good show.
A few people outside the circle seemed to know what was going on: “Isn’t that CEO Li and his new wife, the one he met at a bar? Heard he’s turning over a new leaf again.”
“This is his sixth time turning over a new leaf, I don’t even remember what his previous wives looked like.” His companion shook his head, implying they shouldn’t trust his words.
“But I do recognize the person across from him. He was quite popular in the entertainment industry recently, I wonder who brought him here?”
Everyone assumed Xia Wansheng was just a small-time celebrity trying to gain some exposure, after all, just appearing at this kind of event could boost their profile.
Xia Wansheng didn’t bother explaining, instead saying, “This has nothing to do with you.”
With Yu Congyan still listening to the old man’s lecture, Xia Wansheng thought, you walked into this yourself, don’t blame me.
After he said this, he clearly saw CEO Li’s displeased expression, feeling his authority challenged.
But considering the upcoming important business discussions, CEO Li restrained himself and his companion.
The woman glared at Xia Wansheng, then prepared to leave.
But a crowd had gathered in the direction they were heading, seemingly waiting for some important figure.
Xia Wansheng, oblivious to the whispers around him, was lamenting the missed opportunity.
Then he looked up and saw Yu Congyan walking towards him with a cold expression.
People parted to make way for him. CEO Li, arrogant just a moment ago, released his companion’s arm, holding his wine glass and putting on a flattering smile, trying to approach him: “CEO Yu, about our collaboration this quarter…”
Yu Congyan walked past him coldly, not sparing him a glance.
“CEO Yu!” CEO Li, unwilling to give up, tried to approach him again, but Yu Congyan showed no intention of stopping. CEO Li, losing his composure, reached out to grab his sleeve.
If he couldn’t secure the investment from Yu Corp, his profits for the second half of the year would be gone.
But Yu Congyan clearly wasn’t the type to entertain such requests. He walked directly towards Xia Wansheng.
“Sorry I’m late, let’s go, the dinner is about to start.”
Yu Congyan seemed accustomed to being the center of attention, unfazed by the environment, even filtering out the insincere flattery.
Seeing Xia Wansheng still standing there, Yu Congyan initially thought he hadn’t heard him, then realized something was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” He turned and looked in the direction Xia Wansheng was looking.
CEO Li, meeting Yu Congyan’s gaze, suddenly shivered.
He instantly lost his courage, thinking only about how to disappear into the crowd.
Xia Wansheng’s carefully cultivated emotions were abruptly interrupted, “It’s nothing, let’s go.”
He paused slightly as he walked past CEO Li, hoping he would find some courage and continue the provocation.
But this man seemed to have understood their relationship, ignoring Xia Wansheng’s gaze, looking even more docile than a defeated quail.
Xia Wansheng almost wanted to encourage him.
How could a villain be so cowardly, running away before the protagonist even said anything?
Stand up for yourself!
But his attempts were useless. Only the young woman in CEO Li’s arms glared at him, but she didn’t dare to be too obvious.
Xia Wansheng wanted to linger a bit longer, but Yu Congyan didn’t give him a chance, subtly blocking his gaze with his body.
Xia Wansheng could only give up.
Old Man Yu looked quite healthy this year. He had built his business empire from scratch and believed he could pass it down through generations.
But in the original book, he died suddenly during a trip, and the following year, Yu Xuan successfully drove the company into bankruptcy.
“You’re Xia Wansheng, right? I’ll give you twenty million, just stay away from Yu Congyan.” Old Man Yu said bluntly.
He had assumed Yu Congyan rejected Miss Li because he, as always, didn’t want an arranged marriage. He hadn’t expected it was because of this young man, who didn’t seem particularly special.
Probably just a temporary shield, easily bought off.
Before Xia Wansheng could respond, Zhai Yan, unable to sit still any longer, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, “Dad, what nonsense are you talking about? This is a family dinner, it’s rare for the younger generation to visit, control your temper.”
She wanted to dismiss the topic.
“Unfortunately, I can offer that price as well.” Yu Congyan didn’t budge, his expression cold and resolute.
As soon as he spoke, all three of them looked at Xia Wansheng, waiting for his response.
