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Chapter 99: They want to keep an eye on him.
Huo Niansheng tilted his head back and downed his drink in one gulp: “What can they do? It’s not like I’m not married.”
Chen Wengang chuckled lazily, feeling tipsy, his eyes glimmering with infinite charm.
Huo Niansheng played with his hair. At this moment, having the beauty in his arms was worth more than gold. Winning this person was the best deal he’d ever made. His third uncle and the supporting directors and major shareholders would have to accept this fact before discussing anything else.
Chen Wengang, with his eyes lowered, was lost in his own thoughts.
The 2% equity specified by Huo Kaishan clearly wouldn’t belong to anyone. It was just like a carrot dangling in front, luring people to try to gain more influence by coaxing and persuading Huo Niansheng to marry.
After the marriage, it would still be a carrot, luring his lawful spouse to find ways to bear him an heir.
In the end, it’s all about people dying for wealth and birds dying for food.
Huo Niansheng moved his gaze to his face, bringing his lips closer: “What are you thinking about?”
Chen Wengang came back to his senses and elbowed him in the ribs: “Afraid you’ll be heartless, abandon me, and become a modern Chen Shimei.”
Huo Niansheng grabbed his arm, moving his lips down: “If I become Chen Shimei, what will you do?”
Chen Wengang felt warmth on his neck as the other’s breath sprayed into the crook of his neck.
He felt ticklish and couldn’t help but laugh, trying to dodge, almost dropping the glass he was holding.
Huo Niansheng pressed on: “Tell me, what will you do?”
Chen Wengang took the initiative and kissed him: “No way out. We’ll have to die together.”
Huo Niansheng took his glass and placed it back on the bar, holding his fingers as if grasping something precious: “That’s my man. Let me teach you, do things thoroughly, leave no room for retreat. Whoever makes your life difficult, you make their life doubly difficult.”
“Including you?”
“Including me.”
After enough fooling around, Chen Wengang stopped messing around: “But your family elders are all shrewd, they won’t give up easily.”
Huo Niansheng didn’t take it to heart: “I may be useless, but I hate being manipulated the most. If someone wants to benefit, they can’t just focus on me. The lawyers can study it further and see if there are any loopholes in the will.”
Chen Wengang laughed, “That might be difficult for them.”
Huo Niansheng sneered, “Huo Zhenfei’s family lawyers aren’t just for show. Push him, and he’ll figure something out.”
The next morning, Huo Yuxiang came bouncing back.
Huo Zhenfei had cleaned himself up immaculately, as always dressed in a suit, following his son to the door.
He was calm and composed, as if he hadn’t made any outrageous demands the day before. Following Huo Niansheng to the living room, Chen Wengang, who had woken up early and was already dressed, greeted them.
Huo Niansheng, however, had just woken up, still in his bathrobe, yawning, and casually told Huo Zhenfei to sit wherever he liked.
Huo Zhenfei sat on the sofa, ordered his son to move the model parts to the study, and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Then he got to the point. After some discussion the previous night, he was there to convey the meaning of Third Uncle Huo:
“I still need to remind you that suddenly giving Wengang so many shares might not be a good thing for him.”
“Why are we still on this?” Huo Niansheng was dismissive and even a bit impatient, “Didn’t you think about how much you spent on the dowry when you got married? Don’t be so stingy now that it’s my turn to get married. Shouldn’t I provide some security?”
“There’s no issue with you providing him security,” Huo Zhenfei choked for a moment, “Father’s point is to respect the established facts. It’s not that he can’t accept Wengang as your partner. But transferring shares without discussing it with anyone, making him a major shareholder, many informed relatives, senior executives, and company elders might not accept or recognize him.”
Huo Niansheng raised an eyebrow, “Then we need to clarify something—if discussed in advance, would Third Uncle or you have agreed?”
Huo Zhenfei replied honestly, “It’s very likely that neither of us could easily agree.”
Huo Niansheng smiled, “So I had no choice but to act first and report later?”
He was dead set on being obstinate.
However, Huo Zhenfei had no way to deal with him. People on the same boat often want to row in different directions, and that’s the situation now.
Who doesn’t have their own plans? Even at the moment the will was finalized, he couldn’t deny he had his own designs regarding Huo Niansheng.
This included wanting to take preemptive action by giving Chen Wengang a heads-up, trying to play the emotional card, and making his tough demands seem trivial… When Huo Zhenfei did these things, he wasn’t unaware of what he was doing, but he had an obligation to do so.
He and Huo Niansheng were fundamentally different. Huo Niansheng had the luxury to live as he pleased. He could laugh when he was happy and act out when he wasn’t. He didn’t need to care about what others thought and could act unpredictably. But what about Huo Zhenfei?
He was the eldest grandson of the family. He had to consider the bigger picture. He needed to think about the livelihoods of tens of thousands of employees in the company and how to keep the Huo family’s ship sailing steadily. Where could he find the energy to worry about everyone’s personal affairs?
Chen Wengang was pouring flower tea into a transparent glass pot when he heard his name mentioned: “What are you guys talking about?”
Huo Niansheng motioned for him to bring the tray over and sneered, “Nothing much. He’s just jealous that I’m too good to you.”
Huo Zhenfei spoke with a tone of helplessness and steadiness, “When will you learn to control that mouth of yours?”
Chen Wengang smiled slightly and sat down next to Huo Niansheng, “Are you still arguing about the shares?”
Huo Niansheng, as if no one else were present, let him lean into his embrace and started to gently comb his hair with his fingers, like smoothing the feathers of a canary.
Huo Zhenfei knew he was doing it for his benefit and didn’t continue the previous topic. Instead, he turned to Chen Wengang and said, “By the way, aside from your studies, you also work at a school for special education, right?”
Chen Wengang, holding back Huo Niansheng’s mischievous hand, sat up straight and replied affirmatively.
Huo Zhenfei extended an olive branch: “Then you should have experience with public welfare projects, and you’re a top student. Actually, there’s another reason I came today—I hope you can help with this. You know Fang Qin is pregnant, and often feels unwell, but she’s the chairwoman of the Huo Foundation and some work has piled up. Could you consider helping her out?”
Fang Qin was the name of Huo Zhenfei’s wife. Chen Wengang looked at him indifferently, roughly understanding his intention.
Reputable tycoons often set up their own foundations for the sake of family and corporate image, engaging in specific charitable endeavors. These foundations are typically managed by the matriarch of the family, and participating in philanthropic activities is an important aspect of “ladies’ socializing.”
Currently, Third Uncle Huo was the chairman of the group and the head of the family, and the chairperson of the foundation was originally his wife, Huo Zhenfei’s mother. However, after having grandchildren, the old lady dedicated herself to doting on them. Years ago, the chairperson position was transferred to Huo Zhenfei’s wife, Fang Qin.
Huo Niansheng’s gaze was fixed on his cup. He looked at people through it and said eerily, “They want to keep an eye on him.”
The room became quiet.
Huo Zhenfei simply said, “It’s not exactly like that. With Fang Qin pregnant and due to give birth, many matters will need a trustworthy assistant to handle. Whether Wengang wants to stay later is up to him. If he doesn’t like it, he can leave at any time.”
Huo Niansheng’s lips curled slightly, and just as he was about to say something, he felt a sudden warmth in his hand.
Chen Wengang held his hand, seriously discussing, “What do you think?”
Huo Niansheng looked at him with soft eyes, “What, do you want to go?”
Chen Wengang understood the intentions of the Huo family members and smiled, “As a shareholder, I’m probably a hot potato right now.”
So placing him in an observable position would help detect any movements early on.
Huo Zhenfei couldn’t force him to work at the foundation, but from another perspective, it might be convenient for Chen Wengang.
Huo Niansheng smiled, “Aren’t you doing well at school? Don’t you want to stay there?”
This wasn’t a problem for Chen Wengang: “I was involved in most of the work for Houren School, from its preparation to its establishment. Now that it’s on the right track, the teaching staff is complete, and a new teaching system has been introduced, maintaining its operation involves mainly routine tasks. I never planned to stay there for my whole life. I’m still young and can accept new challenges.”
After a few seconds, Huo Niansheng took a sip of tea and said, “Do as you like. If you face any grievances, come back and tell me.”
Chen Wengang laughed, “What kind of talk is that?”
Huo Zhenfei shook his hand, “Then welcome aboard. Let’s arrange a time for Fang Qin to take you to visit the foundation.”
***
After ten days or so, the impact of Huo Kaishan’s death gradually subsided. Although there was still much media interest and heated discussions surrounding the distribution of his estate, all the buzz eventually died down, and life returned to normal, except for the black armbands each member of the Huo family wore.
During this period, Chen Wengang made a trip back to the Zheng family. Zheng Bingyi was in the study reading the newspaper. He adjusted his reading glasses and sighed when he saw Chen Wengang.
Chen Wengang had been called back to sign some documents. Lawyer Cao had previously needed to process property transfer procedures for him, but Chen Wengang had been procrastinating and hadn’t completed the formalities. This time, Zheng Bingyi personally called to urge him to come and sign, and in the end, Chen Wengang came as the elder had requested.
But Chen Wengang guessed that more importantly, Zheng Bingyi probably wanted to remind him not to speak carelessly to outsiders.
When he entered, Chen Wengang thought of the recent news about tax evasion investigations, which was just the tip of the iceberg. The real risks were often hidden deeper. He had worked at the Zheng Corporation and had seen many things firsthand. Naturally, Chen Wengang never intended to leak a single word of it, as it was a matter of principle. But seeing Zheng Bingyi, he noticed significantly more white hair on his adoptive father.
This made him sigh. The shipping industry relies on favorable conditions. When foreign trade is sluggish, shipping companies experience a downturn, and idle ships in the port are the most direct evidence. Coupled with the impact of other modes of transportation, the economic landscape is changing, and transformation is necessary.
Even if the Zheng Corporation was reluctant to abandon shipping, it still had to find the right direction and seek new reforms.
This suddenly made Chen Wengang think of He Wanxin.
The union between the Zheng and He families was inevitable. After stepping away, Chen Wengang seemed to understand things more clearly. In this marriage alliance, whether it was He Wanxin’s ambition or Zheng Yucheng’s affection, these were very personal matters.
However, having left home, it was no longer suitable for him and his adoptive father to discuss business matters.
Zheng Bingyi’s demeanor was noticeably more amiable. “How are you finding it living on your own? Are you getting used to it?”
Chen Wengang selectively shared some details, “I’m doing well. You should also take care of your health.”
“Keep that apartment in your possession. Even if you don’t live there, it’s good to have something to fall back on. You can sell it in the future and buy something you like,” Zheng Bingyi finally said. “And do come back often. Don’t cut off contact just because you’ve moved out.”
Chen Wengang bowed to him, said his goodbyes, and walked out the door.
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For every Ko-fi received for a perticular novel, I will release a new chapter!
Btw, what about that Mrs.Zheng who was pregnant? After all this time has passed, she must be due to give birth soon, right?