Chapter 87: You Aren’t Fit to be the Head of the Huo Family
Before Huo Chen took over the Huo family, they could no longer sustain that life of drunken debauchery.
At that time, Li Meiqing had almost no parties or social engagements. Even buying a piece of jewelry worth a million required repeated consideration of whether the money could be spent.
Huo Chengzhang was even worse.
He cared about face. To ask him to flatter others while watching them flaunt their wealth in front of himâthat was impossible. But since he had nothing to flaunt himself, he could only silently endure the mockery from the outside world.
Later, under Huo Chenâs leadership, the Huo family soared. The two of them were completely exonerated and since then had walked with their heads high in Longcheng.
Li Meiqing engaged in revenge spending, buying hundreds of millions in jewelry. Huo Chengzhang also spent his days enjoying flattery. Both acted as if they were superior beings.
The Huo family was no longer short of money.
Millions or tens of millionsâLi Meiqing spent it casually, as did Huo Chengzhang.
So, during a rare mahjong game she had managed to organize, after losing several million in chips, Li Meiqing didn’t even realize the card had been cut when the payment failed.
The group of wealthy socialites had heard the recent rumors. Seeing that Li Meiqing had no money only deepened the credibility of the rumor that the Huo family was failing. They mocked Li Meiqing both openly and secretly.
Thus, just as Huo Chen finished his inspection and returned to Longcheng, he received a call from Li Meiqing the moment he stepped off the plane.
The womanâs shrill voice came through the receiver.
“Huo Chen! Have you lost your mind! You actually dared to cut off your fatherâs and my cards!!”
Huo Chen didn’t say anything; he simply hung up.
Li Meiqing was stunned for a second, then her fury hit the ceiling. She didn’t hesitate to call again.
As soon as it connected, her yelling started.
“Huo Chen! I am your biological mother! For a man, you not only hung up on me, but you even cut off my cards! You animal! You unfilial waste!”
“I give you two hours to restore my cards! Break off all contact with that man and never see him again! Then crawl back to the old mansion and apologize to your father and me! Otherwise, don’t blame me for disowning you as my son!!”
The call wasn’t hung up again, but the person on the other side didn’t speak.
Li Meiqing felt she had successfully threatened Huo Chen. She lifted her chin, her eyes full of certainty.
When Huo Chen was a child, he was afraid of her saying such things. Every time she threatened him, he would behave, study hard, and obey. A leopard doesn’t change its spots. Even if Huo Chen had grown up, how different could he be from when he was a child?
Li Meiqing was smug.
“Of course, as long as you break up with that man, Mother will still acknowledge you. After all, I carried you for ten months. Would I harm you?”
“Itâs all for your own good!”
Li Meiqingâs desire to vent reached a peak with that sentence. She began to recount how difficult the years had been.
“I may have been a bit strict with you over the years, but I hoped you would become better. After all, your self-control is so poor; how could I not be strict?”
“And for your sake, I spent all my time with you. I had no time for myself, rarely went to the salon, bought few clothes, and barely got any good sleep. Your current attitude toward me is breaking my heart!”
The carrot-and-stick approach was Li Meiqingâs most common tactic.
Of course, in her eyes, this was called ‘wielding authority with grace.’ She never reflected on whether her behavior caused Huo Chen harm. She only felt that thanks to her ‘stick’ education, Huo Chen had become so successful.
Huo Chen listened quietly to all of Li Meiqingâs grievances.
Since childhood, he had been taught that blood is thicker than water and that maternal love is great. He had craved Li Meiqingâs love, attention, and warmth. That was why every time she threatened him, he would compromise.
He forced himself, ignored his own needs, just to trade for a tiny bit of care from her.
He had once intentionally caught a cold or gotten injured just so she would hug and comfort him. He thought, how could a mother not love her child? Li Meiqing did love him.
But that love was far too shallow and thin. Compared to his health and safety, what she and Huo Chengzhang wanted most was the future of the Huo family.
Since then, Huo Chen had seen through it.
He was only six years old when he clearly understood that his parents didn’t care about him.
Hearing these confessions from Li Meiqing nowâto say he was indifferent might be an exaggeration, but to say he was heartbroken would be a lie.
It was mostly just laughable.
Huo Chen truly did laugh out loud. Amidst Li Meiqingâs confusion, he spoke slowly: “Since you love me so much, surely you can accept my sexual orientation and try to accept Lin Huaizhi. After all, as parents, you can do anything for your child, can’t you?”
Li Meiqing was instantly silenced.
Of course, it was only for a moment.
Since her weakness and memories of the past didn’t work on Huo Chen, all that remained was coldness and threats.
“I can’t do it!”
“How many times have I told youâthe Huo family needs an heir! If you don’t marry a woman, where will the heir come from?”
“Look at all the wealthy families in Longcheng. Which heir has married a man!”
“You don’t need to say anything more. Your father and I would rather die than agree to you being with that person named Lin. If you don’t want to be known as unfilial, youâd better break it off with him immediately!”
See.
No matter how nice she sounded, if one thing didn’t go her way, she would oppose it.
Huo Chenâs eyes were full of coldness. The new assistant followed behind him, so shaken by the intimidating aura that he didn’t even dare to breathe heavily.
“Itâs not the Huo family that needs an heir. Itâs you and Father.”
“Additionally, youâve likely forgotten, but no matter. I don’t mind reminding you. I am no longer the ‘heir’ of the Huo familyâ”
The manâs voice wasn’t loud, yet it was steady and filled with booming confidence.
“I am the head of the Huo family.”
No matter how dull Li Meiqing was, she noticed something was wrong with Huo Chen. Her face darkened, and her voice became extremely cold. “Huo Chen, youâre determined to choose a man over your father and me, is that it?”
The man on the other end of the line sneered.
“I’m afraid I don’t have the qualification to ‘not want’ you; itâs always been your choice whether to want me or not. But itâs fine. If you don’t want me, someone else does.”
Li Meiqing gritted her teeth.
“Fine! You insist on that Lin person! Then don’t ever come back! The Huo family doesn’t welcome you!”
“And don’t bother going to the company anymore! You aren’t fit to be the head of the Huo family!”
Whether Li Meiqing was truly stupid or just provoked by Huo Chen, she and Huo Chengzhang both held shares in the Huo family company. Together, they held just over what Huo Chen did.
Thus, the day after the phone call with Huo Chen, they went to the company to call a shareholders’ meeting. They joined forces with several other shareholders to dismiss Huo Chen from his position as Chairman.
To give Huo Chen a warning, Huo Chengzhang fired Zheng Xiuâang and the new assistant, Liu Fei, that same day.
When Zheng Xiuâang received the message, he initially thought it was spam. It wasn’t until he received a call from the HR department that he realized he really had been fired.
The sky had fallen.
Zheng Xiuâang didn’t even go to the company. Instead, he rushed to Lin Huaizhiâs door and began pounding.
The thunderous noise instantly woke Lin Huaizhi. Huo Chen opened his eyes as well. He pulled Lin Huaizhi into his arms and covered the young manâs ears with his hands.
Lin Huaizhi was a light sleeper.
Usually, once startled awake, it took him a while to fall back asleep. Moreover, the door was still being pounded.
When Huo Chen was around, it was usually fine; he could easily be lulled to sleep by Huo Chenâs body heat. But even though they were dating and slept together whenever they were both in Longcheng, Lin Huaizhi still found himself sinking into Huo Chenâs little gestures.
Like covering his ears now.
This feeling of being protected wasn’t bad at all.
Lin Huaizhi buried his face in Huo Chenâs chest. Last night, as soon as he got home and opened the door, he found Huo Chen inside. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and they had tossed and turned for half the night. He was truly exhausted and only wanted to sleep a little longer.
Unfortunately, the person knocking had no self-awareness. They kept banging as if the world was ending.
Five seconds later, Lin Huaizhi kicked Huo Chen.
“Go open the door.”
Huo Chen looked at the young man, who was covered by the duvet with only the top of his head showing. His gaze held a hint of grievance.
“You were so passionate when you were chasing me, but now that youâve got me, youâve started to be perfunctory. Truly, people don’t treasure what they get easily.”
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