DLRAS Chapter 99

Chapter 99: They want to keep an eye on him.

Huo Niansheng tilted his head back and drained his own drink in one gulp: “What moves can they make? It’s not like I’m unmarried right now.”

Chen Wengang let out a lazy, humming laugh. His mind was pleasantly clouded, the corners of his eyes angled upward, and his gaze shimmered with boundless, captivating charm.

Huo Niansheng toyed with his hair. In this moment, holding such a beauty in his arms, he wouldn’t trade it for a fortune. Winning over the person in his embrace was the most profitable deal he had ever made in his life. Third Uncle Huo, along with the directors and major shareholders who supported him, would simply have to understand and accept this fact before discussing anything else.

Chen Wengang lowered his eyes, lost in his own thoughts.

The 2% equity designated by Huo Kaishan clearly wouldn’t belong to anyone just yet; it simply dangled ahead like a carrot. To grasp a little more authority, there would always be unwilling people trying to reason with Huo Niansheng or play the emotional card, eagerly contriving ways to push him into marriage.

Once he married, it would still be a carrot, able to dangle in front of his legal spouse, prompting them to try every possible method to bear him an heir.

At the end of the day, it was all just ‘men dying for wealth, as birds die for food.’

Huo Niansheng shifted his gaze to Chen Wengang’s face, bringing his lips close. “What are you thinking about?”

Chen Wengang snapped back to reality, nudging Huo Niansheng in the ribs with his elbow. “I’m just afraid you’ll be heartless and ungrateful, abandoning me after getting what you want, like a modern-day Chen Shimei.”

Huo Niansheng grabbed his arm, his lips trailing downward. “If I become a Chen Shimei, what will you do?”

Chen Wengang felt a burst of warmth on the side of his neck; the other man’s hot breath tickled the crook of his collarbone.

He felt ticklish and couldn’t help but laugh, leaning back to dodge. Chen Wengang was still holding his glass and nearly lost his grip, almost dropping it on the floor.

Huo Niansheng continued to press: “Tell me, what would you do?”

Chen Wengang turned the tables and kissed him. “There’d be no other way. We’d just have to die for love together.”

Huo Niansheng took his glass, set it back on the bar, and clasped Chen Wengang’s fingers together, as if grasping something precious in his palm. “Now that’s my person. Let me teach you: when you do things, you have to go all the way and leave no room for retreat. Whoever makes your life difficult, you make theirs twice as hard.”

“Including you?”

“Including me.”

Having had enough of messing around, Chen Wengang stopped tangling with him. “But the elders in your family are all shrewd foxes; they won’t concede defeat easily.”

Huo Niansheng didn’t take it to heart. “As for me, I’m just mud that can’t be plastered to a wall, but the thing I hate most is being manipulated. If anyone wants benefits, they can’t just scheme against me. The lawyers can go ahead and study it more—see if there are any loopholes left in this will to exploit.”

Chen Wengang laughed, “I’m afraid that’s going to be quite difficult for them.”

Huo Niansheng scoffed coldly. “Huo Zhenfei doesn’t keep his own legal team around for nothing. Push him a bit, and he’ll come up with a way.”

Early the next morning, Huo Yuxiang eagerly trotted over again.

Huo Zhenfei had groomed himself impeccably, dressed in his usual sharp suit and leather shoes, arriving at the door with his son.

He was perfectly composed, acting as if he hadn’t been the one making those excessive demands just the day before. He followed Huo Niansheng into the living room. Chen Wengang had woken up early and was fully dressed. Huo Niansheng, on the other hand, had only recently gotten up; still wrapped in a bathrobe, he yawned and told Huo Zhenfei to take a seat wherever.

Huo Zhenfei sat down on the sofa, ordered his son to pack up the model parts and take them to the study, and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Then he cut to the chase. Naturally, there had been some discussion after he returned home last night, and he was here to convey Third Uncle Huo’s intentions—

“I still have to give the necessary warnings. You letting Wengang suddenly hold so many shares might not be a good thing for him.”

“Why are we still obsessing over this?” Huo Niansheng brushed it off, even growing a bit impatient. “Why don’t you think about how much you spent on the bride price for my sister-in-law when you got married? Don’t be so stingy when it’s my turn to marry. Shouldn’t I give my person some security?”

“You giving him security is not an issue.” Huo Zhenfei choked slightly. “Father’s meaning is to respect the established facts; it’s not that we absolutely cannot accept him as your partner. But the transfer of shares is something we should have communicated about in advance. You giving them to him without consulting anyone, making him a major shareholder—I’m afraid many relatives, executives, and company veterans who know the inside story won’t submit to or acknowledge him.”

Huo Niansheng raised an eyebrow. “Then let’s clarify one thing—if we had discussed it in advance, would Third Uncle have agreed, or would you?”

Huo Zhenfei answered truthfully: “It’s highly likely neither of us could have agreed easily.”

Huo Niansheng smiled. “So didn’t I only have the option to act first and report later?”

He was absolutely determined to play the rogue.

Yet, Huo Zhenfei had no way to deal with him. Even people in the same boat sometimes want to row in different directions, and that was exactly the situation now. Who didn’t have their own little schemes in mind? The moment the dust settled on the will, he couldn’t deny that he hadn’t plotted against Huo Niansheng.

This included wanting to strike first and gain the upper hand, giving Chen Wengang a preemptive warning, trying to play the emotional card, and packaging an unreasonable demand as something trivial… When Huo Zhenfei did all these things, it wasn’t that he lacked clear self-awareness, but rather that he was obligated to do so.

After all, he and Huo Niansheng were different. Huo Niansheng was entitled to live however he pleased; he could laugh when happy, act recklessly when unhappy, ignore others’ opinions, and do everything unconventionally. But what about him, Huo Zhenfei?

He was the eldest grandson of the family. He had to consider the big picture. He needed to look after the livelihoods of tens of thousands of employees top-to-bottom in the company, and he had to think about how to steer the massive ship of the Huo family smoothly. Where would he find the extra energy to also accommodate the romantic entanglements of every family member?

Chen Wengang was pouring floral tea into a transparent glass pitcher and heard his own name. “What are you talking about?”

Huo Niansheng watched him bring the tray over and sneered, “Nothing. He’s just jealous that I treat you too well.”

Huo Zhenfei adopted a helpless but composed tone: “When will you ever learn to watch that mouth of yours.”

Chen Wengang smiled faintly. He also sat down, right next to Huo Niansheng. “Are you two still arguing over the shares?”

Huo Niansheng, ignoring the presence of others, let Chen Wengang lean against his chest and used his fingers to slowly smooth out his hair, like petting a canary.

Huo Zhenfei knew he was doing this just for his benefit. He didn’t continue the previous topic, changing the subject instead, and said to Chen Wengang, “Speaking of which, apart from studying, aren’t you currently working at a special education school?”

Chen Wengang stopped Huo Niansheng’s teasing hands, sat up straight, and said yes.

Huo Zhenfei extended an olive branch to him: “Then you should have some project experience in the public welfare sector, and you’re an outstanding student. Actually, I came today hoping you could help with this situation—you know Fang Qin is pregnant and often feels unwell, but she serves as the president of the Huo Foundation. She has a backlog of work; would you consider going there to help her share the load?”

Fang Qin was the name of Huo Zhenfei’s wife.

Chen Wengang looked at him calmly. He more or less understood Huo Zhenfei’s intention.

Prominent wealthy elites usually established their own foundations to manage their family and corporate image, engaging in philanthropy in specific fields. The usual operating model for these foundations was management by the matriarch of the family, and participating in charity events was an important part of “wives’ social networking.”

Currently, Third Uncle Huo was the chairman of the group and the head of the family, so the president of the foundation was originally his wife, Huo Zhenfei’s mother.

But after having a grandson, the old lady devoted all her time to doting on him, so a few years ago, the role of president had been passed to Huo Zhenfei’s wife, Fang Qin.

Huo Niansheng’s gaze was fixed on his cup. He looked at people through the glass and said faintly, “You want to keep him under your nose so you can watch him.”

The room fell silent.

Huo Zhenfei simply said, “You can’t phrase it like that. It’s just that during Fang Qin’s pregnancy and childbirth, many things will inevitably need a trustworthy assistant to handle. Whether Wengang wants to stay in the future is entirely up to him; if he’s unhappy doing it, he can leave at any time.”

The corner of Huo Niansheng’s mouth hooked up. Before he could say anything, his hand suddenly felt warm.

Chen Wengang held his hand and discussed it with him earnestly: “What do you think?”

The look Huo Niansheng gave him was very soft: “What, you want to go yourself?”

It wasn’t that Chen Wengang didn’t understand the Huo family’s intentions. He smiled: “As a shareholder, I’m probably a hot potato right now.”

Therefore, placing him somewhere observable meant that if there was any sign of trouble, they would be the first to know.

Huo Zhenfei certainly couldn’t force him to work at the foundation. But looking at it from another angle, this might not be an inconvenient arrangement for Chen Wengang either.

Huo Niansheng smiled: “You’re doing fine at the school, are you dropping it?”

This wasn’t an issue for Chen Wengang. “I participated in the majority of Houren School’s work, from its preparation to its establishment. It’s on track now, fully staffed with teachers, and has introduced a new teaching system. Maintaining its operation from here on out just involves routine work. I never planned to stick to it forever anyway. I’m still young; I can take on some new challenges.”

After a few seconds, Huo Niansheng lowered his head and took a sip of tea. “Whatever you want. Go if you want to. If you suffer any grievances, come back and tell me.”

Chen Wengang chuckled. “What kind of talk is that.”

Huo Zhenfei shook hands with him. “Then let me be the first to welcome you. Once we arrange a time, I’ll have Fang Qin take you for a tour of the foundation.”

After a couple of weeks, the impact of Huo Kaishan’s passing gradually subsided. Naturally, there were still heated discussions about the inheritance distribution that interested reporters, but all the buzz would eventually pass. Life returned to normal, except for the black armbands worn by the members of the Huo family.

During this period, Chen Wengang returned to the Zheng residence. Zheng Bingyi was reading the newspaper in the study; he pushed up his reading glasses and let out a sigh at him.

Chen Wengang had been called back to sign some documents. Lawyer Cao had previously wanted to process the real estate transfer procedures for him, but due to Chen Wengang continually dragging his feet, it hadn’t been completed. This time, Zheng Bingyi personally called to urge him to come sign, and in the end, he complied with the old man’s wishes.

But Chen Wengang guessed that, more importantly, Zheng Bingyi probably wanted to remind him not to carelessly speak out of turn to outsiders.

Entering the door, Chen Wengang thought about the news from a while ago. Being investigated for tax evasion was only the tip of the iceberg; the real hidden dangers were often buried deep. He had worked at the Zheng Group and had seen many things with his own eyes. Naturally, Chen Wengang had no intention of leaking a single word anyway—that was a matter of his own bottom line. But upon seeing Zheng Bingyi, he felt his adoptive father’s white hair had noticeably increased.

It made one sigh with sorrow. The maritime shipping industry depended on the heavens for its livelihood. If the foreign trade situation wasn’t prosperous, shipping companies would suffer a downturn. Empty ships parked at the ports were the most direct evidence. Coupled with the impact of other transportation methods, the economic landscape was changing, and a transition was mandatory.

Even if the Zheng Group was unwilling to abandon their ships and step onto land, they still needed to find a suitable direction and seek new reforms.

This suddenly made Chen Wengang think of He Wanxin.

The alliance between the Zheng and He families was imperative. It seemed that after stepping out of it, he could see it more clearly. In this marriage alliance, whether it was He Wanxin’s ambition or Zheng Yucheng’s feelings, they were all very much on a personal level.

But he had already left the family, and it was no longer appropriate for the adoptive father and son to discuss business matters.

Zheng Bingyi, however, appeared to have a much kinder attitude: “How are you living on your own outside? Are you getting used to it?”

Chen Wengang picked out a few details to share with him: “I’m doing very well. You also need to take care of your health.”

“Keep that apartment in your hands. Even if you don’t live there, you should have something to fall back on, even if you sell it later to buy something you like,” Zheng Bingyi finally said. “Also, come back and visit often. Don’t just cut off contact once you leave.”

Chen Wengang bowed to him, said his goodbyes, and walked out the door.

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