Trigger Warning: Suicide
“Why would they want to kill their own mother?” Zhou Jingren frowned. “Are you going to ask my wife to find the people responsible for this? If this is your goal, then I would like to you stop talking now. The answer would be a no.” He said. How could he let his wife tire herself dealing with other people’s business?
Lily is pregnant! There is no way that he would allow her to involve herself in other family’s problems. This has nothing to do with them.
“Hear me out.” The old man calmly said. “I don’t want to force you into anything. I only want you to hear me out.” When he saw calmness in Lily’s eyes, he continued. “I am already eighty years old. But… I am still working at my company. I am nothing but a simple man. But I am a very proud person. I have worked hard to achieve what I have.” He met Lily’s eyes.
“I promised myself that the only time that I would stop working is if I’m dead… or if I lost the woman who supported me for sixty years.” His lips turned into a melancholic smile. “Me and Lu Xialu had experienced a lot. And in this world… she is the only person who I trust the most. I would even trust her with my life.” He looked at Zhou Jingren. “Do you understand?”
Zhou Jingren nodded, however, he maintained the frowned in his face.
“I’m sure you do.” Old Man Yu smiled. “I can see it.” He added and shifted his gaze back to Lily. “I could not live in a world without her. Do you see where we are going with this?”
Lily responded with a gentle smile. She side-eyed her husband as the old man’s words echoed in her head. A world without Zhou Jingren…
A pang of pain suddenly spread from Lily’s chest. She immediately masked the pain in her eyes. “You wanted to kill yourself.” She uttered. Seeing the old man nodded, a gleam of unfathomable emotion flashed in Lily’s eyes. “Don’t you think telling a stranger like me is very inappropriate?” she asked.
“It is.” He nodded. “But… I would rather tell an unfeeling stranger about this than my ungrateful children.” He smiled. “I wanted to talk to you because I want to propose a business deal.”
“A business deal… with a man who is about to kill himself.” She uttered. “Sounds interesting.”
“I intentionally provoked you earlier.” He ignored the sarcasm in Lily’s voice as he looked at Zhou Jingren. “I apologize for that. But I still believe that I did nothing wrong.”
“You just made her the enemy number one of your family.” Zhou Jingren’s face darken. “Stop being selfish. Why would you drag my wife into this mess?” he asked. His voice was steady and not loud, but the chill from his eyes was apparent.
“As I said… this is a business opportunity.” The old man answered. “Of course… I know that you will back her up no matter what happens. With the two of you standing side by side… I am sure that whoever is crazy enough to scheme against your wife… will lose.”
“Then… what is this business opportunity that you were talking about?” Lily’s question only made her husband’s face darker. Zhou Jingren’s lips thinned. Lily’s nature is really unique.
“The Yu Family is not a very wealthy one. Compared to your assets combined, we are nothing. However… our influence in Mainland China is very broad.” The old man ignored Zhou Jingren’s glare. He could understand the young man’s reasoning. In fact, he truly liked the fact that his proposition made Zhou Jingren angry. This only meant that the young man, his wife, comes first before any profits.
“I can give you access to the people who owe me a favor throughout the years. These are not just individuals that you can easily meet in the streets. We are talking about people whose last name was long considered ancient. People whose gold reserves are more than the gold reserves of some countries in the world. People who could cause storms and could bury islands. People who would dare refuse to see Kings and Presidents of countries.”
“That is a very tempting offer,” Lily said. “But I am sure this… would not be cheap.”
“Of course it’s not.” The old laughed. “This is the reason why I love talking to smart people.”
“Then… what do you want?” Zhou Jingren asked.
“I want you to give my children a good war.”
“Excuse me?” Lily blinked. She heard him the first time, however, the old man’s words only made her confuse.
“I want you… to schemed against my children.” This time, the old man said with a clear voice. “Make them fight each other. The last man standing will then… inherit my company. This is their test. This is their punishment.”
Lily and Zhou Jingren turned silent at the old man’s words.
Lily only stared at the old man’s wizened face. A slight smile was on her face as she thought about his words. Like an emperor, the old man would want his sons to fight for the throne. He was both ruthless and proud. Cold and emotional at the same time. A man like this… seemed very complicated.
“What do you say, Mr. And Mrs. Zhou?” Old Man Yu smiled. “I can understand if you refuse or would want to…”
“We will think about it.” Lily interrupted him. “We have our own battles but I can understand the need for this to happen. I can also understand why you are doing this. In fact… if something like this happened to me… I would do the same. However, you have to understand that this requires a lot of thinking.”
Seeing the old man opened his mouth to answer her, Lily held her hand. A gesture telling him that she wasn’t done speaking yet. “What you wanted is not just a small battle. This is a war. And wars are fought with sacrifices, brain, and a lot of betrayals.” She eyed Zhou Jingren. “To be honest… I am not sure that this is something that we need right now.”
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