Just after saying this sentence, Ye Zhou felt something was off. In a strange quietness, he finally managed to clear his mind of movie scenes and belatedly glanced at Mr. Jiang.
Mr. Jiang’s handsome face was filled with helplessness. He beckoned Ye Zhou over with a crook of his finger. The moment Ye Zhou leaned in, Mr. Jiang gently tapped his head a couple of times with his curled fingers and smoothly took the phone from his hand.
Despite the light taps, Ye Zhou dramatically clutched his head and flopped onto the sofa. After flopping down, he didn’t forget to grope around and grab a pillow to cover his face, beginning to play dead tactically.
Jiang Tingyuan was amused by his antics. Afraid Ye Zhou couldn’t breathe, he tried to remove the pillow from his face, but the formerly motionless Ye Zhou now swiftly hugged the pillow, refusing to let go no matter how hard Mr. Jiang tugged.
There was no way he would give up this pillow, symbolizing his last shred of dignity. It absolutely couldn’t be surrendered!
Jiang Tingyuan tugged and tugged, seemingly sensing his stubbornness, and finally gave up. But the moment he withdrew his hand, he noticed Ye Zhou had inched a little further away on the sofa.
Jiang Tingyuan: ?
Ye Zhou: x_x
To confirm his suspicion, Jiang Tingyuan pretended to look elsewhere, then suddenly glanced back at Ye Zhou, catching him red-handed in the act of trying to scoot forward.
Ye Zhou: tvt
As they played around, Jiang Yu’s mother’s voice came through the phone. Unaware the phone had been handed over, her tone was strained as she struggled to contain her anger: “I hope you can pass along a message for me. Tell him I have a very important matter to discuss. If things are delayed because of you, I will make you regret it!”
“How will you make him regret it?” Jiang Tingyuan’s voice was cold and detached, as if speaking to a complete stranger.
Those few words were laced with icy chill, freezing Jiang Yu’s mother on the other end speechless for a long while.
Although she had guessed they were together, she never expected the person on the phone to be Jiang Tingyuan himself! If her memory served right, he doted on his lover excessively. In her earlier panicked state, she had been rude to Ye Zhou. Now hearing Jiang Tingyuan’s tone, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.
However, she was, after all, Jiang Tingyuan’s stepmother. In her eyes, he was a junior who should respect his elder, even if she had misspoken in haste. Even if she had spoken out of haste, surely, Jiang Tingyuan wouldn’t argue with her over a trivial matter like this
With this in mind, Jiang Yu’s mother cleared her throat awkwardly. “Ah, is this Xiao Yuan? Your father has an urgent matter to discuss with you. Wait a moment, I’ll hand you over to him.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she shoved the phone into her husband’s hands, as if it were a hot potato.
Father Jiang took the phone and rubbed his hands, subconsciously asking, “How are things going with the money?”
“Money? I have plenty,” Jiang Tingyuan’s lips curved ever so slightly before shattering his father’s unrealistic delusion a second later. “I already know about Jiang Yu’s situation.”
“If you want to save him, let me show you the way.” Jiang Tingyuan’s voice was unusually gentle, yet devoid of kindness. “My previous suggestion still stands.”
“Is Jiang Yu’s share more important, or is your favorite son more important? The decision rests with you.”
Upon hearing this, the joyful expression on Father Jiang’s face froze, and the words of gratitude he was about to offer his eldest son twisted into an enraged roar. “How could I have birthed a thing like you? I should have strangled you the moment you were born!”
Jiang Tingyuan’s long legs were crossed, his expression unchanging despite his father’s vile words.
After the torrent of abuse subsided, Jiang Tingyuan glanced at his watch, his tone calm. “Ten minutes. You know my time is precious. The money will be deducted from your year-end dividends.”
When Jiang Yu’s mother handed the phone to Father Jiang, she put it on speakerphone. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Jiang Tingyuan asking Father Jiang to exchange shares seemed insane and unreasonable.
But thinking about the uncertain situation her own biological son might be in, she couldn’t help but question: Money? Yes, she loved money, but could money be more important than her son?!
As her husband berated Jiang Tingyuan, she tried to interject several times but failed.
At this moment, little did Father Jiang know, with just a few short sentences, Jiang Tingyuan had shattered the alliance between him and his wife, even managing to turn allies against him.
Jiang Yu’s mother snatched the phone, her voice stiff. “I’m sorry, Xiao Yuan. Let me reason with your father again. Please have the money ready, and when the time comes…”
Before she could finish, Father Jiang cut her off, furious. “That was your grandfather’s legacy to your father. Don’t even think about the shares! I have many children, losing Jiang Yu is no big deal!”
Father Jiang had only spoken recklessly in the heat of anger with Jiang Tingyuan. But those words caused Jiang Yu’s mother’s expression to darken abruptly upon hearing them.
Though Ye Zhou had been playing dead, his ears remained alert to the commotion. When the movie’s lead characters’ voices resumed, he cautiously peeked out from behind the pillow.
The living room was dimly lit due to the movie playing, with the only source of light being the movie screen. Jiang Tingyuan had his back to Ye Zhou, but for some reason, his silhouette, illuminated by the flickering light from the screen, exuded a sense of indescribable loneliness.
Recalling the recent call, even without the speaker on, Ye Zhou knew it couldn’t have been a pleasant conversation.
Remembering Father Jiang and relatives’ behavior during the New Year visit, Ye Zhou felt pained for Jiang Tingyuan.
No longer caring to play dead, Ye Zhou slowly removed the pillow and shuffled to Jiang Tingyuan’s side, extending his hand.
Jiang Tingyuan turned to look at him, the movie’s light accentuating his chiseled features with an edge of coldness.
Undeterred by his stillness, Ye Zhou bent down, grasped his hand, and enveloped him in a firm embrace, resting his head against Jiang Tingyuan’s chest.
“Don’t be sad. I’m here for you.”
“Those relatives are not worth your trouble. If you have me, isn’t that enough? Let me tell you, you shouldn’t be too greedy in life.”
“From now on, for a very long time in the future, I’ll be your lover, family, and friend. So don’t be sad. The past filled with regrets and things you never had is over. I’ll be by your side from now on.”
“I’ll accompany you through the rest of your long life.”
As Ye Zhou spoke, the movie’s climax unfolded with a soothing melody, its warmth and healing power unexpectedly entering Jiang Tingyuan’s ears along with Ye Zhou’s voice.
Jiang Tingyuan’s face flickered with surprise, but he quickly realized that Ye Zhou thought he was upset because of Jiang Changsong’s phone call. Rarely feeling a bit guilty, he hugged Ye Zhou back and rested his head on his shoulder, softly responding, “Okay.”
How should he tell his silly wife that he wasn’t actually upset just now, but was thinking of ways to escalate the conflict between Jiang Changsong and Jiang Yu’s mother to expedite obtaining the shares from Jiang Changsong’s hands?
However, seeing Ye Zhou’s earnest attempts to console him, Jiang Tingyuan swallowed his words of explanation.
Ye Zhou rarely initiated such intimate affection – so be it, let this beautiful misunderstanding linger on.
Who would have thought, the lingering would carry them all the way to the bedroom _(:3」∠)_
The next day, Ye Zhou massaged his aching waist, feeling something wasn’t quite right, yet unable to pinpoint what after thinking about it carefully. Ah well, if it helped Mr. Jiang forget his troubles, such sacrifices were worthwhile! Ye Zhou consoled himself.
Meanwhile, the thoroughly sated Mr. Jiang sat energetically in the office, working at a pace several degrees faster than usual!
Recalling Ye Zhou’s enthusiasm from the previous night, Mr. Jiang couldn’t help but fall into contemplation. After a long while, he looked at the phone on the table and inexplicably felt the urge to call Father Jiang again.
Of course, he resisted in the end, realizing it would be pointless as Ye Zhou wasn’t present, and calling too frequently wouldn’t be a good idea. Well, he would find another opportunity; Jiang Tingyuan reluctantly pushed aside that sinful thought.
He didn’t call, but a few days later, his father did.
Whatever Jiang Yu’s mother said must have worked. This time, when Father Jiang called, he was no longer as arrogant as before. His voice sounded very tired, and after a fruitless discussion, Father Jiang finally relented.
“How much are you offering?” he asked heavily.
If it weren’t for seeing the pitiful videos of Jiang Yu these days, along with Jiang Yu’s mother’s endless pleas, Father Jiang would never have been able to bring himself to agree to sell his shares.
The Jiang Group was currently a golden goose laying eggs, just as the old patriarch had foreseen. As long as Father Jiang didn’t lose his mind and sell off his shares, although he wouldn’t have control over the company, the annual dividends would ensure a very comfortable life for the rest of his life.
But what the old man had never anticipated was that his usually selfish youngest son would one day sell off his shares for someone else.
Jiang Tingyuan named a figure, which infuriated Father Jiang to the point that he abruptly hung up the phone.
Seeing his father’s reaction, Jiang Tingyuan remained calm and collected, and nonchalantly added his father’s number to the blacklist once again.
A few more days passed, and under the Summit’s CEO, Jiang Yu felt as if time dragged on endlessly. Concepts like pride and dignity seemed meaningless when facing a crisis; even basic necessities took precedence.
In just two weeks, Jiang Yu lost fifteen pounds.
During a video call with Father Jiang, Jiang Yu appeared sunken-eyed, pale-lipped, with dry, peeling skin on his lips from dehydration. Heavy dark circles under his eyes, devoid of the former vigor, he appeared only shrunken and defeated.
After the video call that day, Father Jiang eventually managed to contact Jiang Tingyuan and agreed to transfer his shares at the price initially proposed by Jiang Tingyuan, on the condition that Jiang Tingyuan provided immediate cash.
Thinking this was already a significant concession, Father Jiang was taken aback when Jiang Tingyuan spoke only two sentences.
“That was the price from a few days ago.”
“You declined back then, so the offer is no longer valid. If you want to buy now, it certainly won’t be at that price.”
Father Jiang was on the verge of losing his mind. If it weren’t for Jiang Yu’s mother desperately holding him back, he might have hung up the phone again. However, considering his youngest son’s distress and the pleading look in Jiang Yu’s mother’s eyes, Father Jiang eventually relented.
“How much is it now?”
Jiang Tingyuan casually sipped his tea, lifted the teacup, and stated a significantly lower figure than his initial offer from a few days prior.
“Fine, but I want cash only!”
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