Chapter 77: The Old Grandpa Has a Reason to Give Money
Guo Duoyu’s Alpha father, Yan Xin, and Uncle Guo had met on campus. Back then, as a young professor, he was still more than ten years older than Guo Ran.
Therefore, Yan Xin’s father really wasn’t in his sixties.
The old man was in his seventies, pushing eighty.
He couldn’t be scolded, couldn’t be driven away, and even more so, couldn’t be touched.
Uncle Guo didn’t even dare invite him into the office… only in this reception area where people came and went did he have the secretary pour two glasses of pure water. He sat at a distance and asked, “Elder, how did you find this place?”
Although Elder Yan was old, he was refined. Thin and tall, his shoulders and back weren’t weak or hunched like most elderly people in their seventies.
Only his pupils couldn’t hide the years, showing a sense of exhaustion and cloudiness consistent with his age.
The old man said, “You’ve made your business so big. A quick search online gives the address. It wasn’t hard to find.”
Guo Ran nodded, silently fished a box of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, then pushed the cigarette box and lighter together onto the coffee table. “You smoke.”
Elder Yan shook his head. “I’ve already quit.”
So Uncle Guo began to puff away on his own. The old man stared at him, and he stared at the tips of his own feet.
For a long while, neither spoke.
The head secretary, Luo Yi, reached out and tugged Liang Bo, signaling him to talk on the side. The two turned into the office area behind the reception desk. Luo Yi asked, “Is that meeting over there still happening?”
“Still happening…?” Liang Bo raised his eyebrows in confusion. “The outsource team is waiting for the progress.”
“Then what? Make them wait for President Guo?”
Liang Bo reached up and scratched the back of his head, pursing his lips indecisively. “I don’t think they need to wait anymore.”
Luo Yi gave a cramped smile. “Then you go back and keep the meeting going?”
Liang Bo curled his lip, looking somewhat helpless. “President Shou told me to follow President Guo.”
Luo Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Then the person who makes the final call isn’t there… how is it going to work inside?”
Liang Bo retorted sheepishly, “Even if I’m there, I can’t make the call either! Sigh… President Shou is listening in. Please help me pass a message to that side. Just say President Guo has temporary matters to handle and won’t be going back. Have Little Bai take the meeting minutes for me.”
“Fine, fine.” Secretary Luo nodded in compromise. “I’ll go pass the message. You take care of things on President Guo’s side; I won’t worry about it then.”
Liang Bo watched Luo Yi leave, then went to the pantry to gather a tea tray, arranged several kinds of free internal company snacks and fresh fruit slices, and carried them to the front desk to help Uncle Guo entertain the guest.
Uncle Guo was still smoking; it was unclear if he just wanted to exhaust the old man Yan this way.
Elder Yan sat with him in silence for fifteen minutes before finally being unable to resist sighing and finding a topic himself. “I heard you named that child ‘Duoyu’ (Superfluous)… actually, you know, to us, he isn’t superfluous at all.”
Uncle Guo nodded perfunctorily. “Mm-hmm, I know. He’s not superfluous; I’m the superfluous one.”
“You aren’t superfluous either. Back then, we were constantly urging Yan Xin to hurry up and marry you. It was him who wronged you.”
Guo Ran leaned forward and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then immediately pulled another one from the box.
The reception colleague desperately gave Liang Bo a look. Liang Bo quickly reminded Uncle Guo, “President Guo, if you keep smoking, the property management will come up to fine us again.”
Guo Ran had no choice but to put down the cigarette and pop a cherry tomato into his mouth.
Seeing that he wouldn’t engage, Elder Yan continued to lament, “You weren’t very talkative back then, and now that you have such a big business, you still have so few words.”
“Mm.” Uncle Guo nodded. At this moment, his mind had finally cleared some things up. He leaned his back into the sofa and spoke his heart freely. “He is studying abroad and rarely comes back. Yan Xin has his number. If you want to see him, contact him anytime. I won’t interfere.”
Elder Yan gave a bitter smile. “Look at your impatient temper. I haven’t even said why I came to see you today.”
Uncle Guo took a deep breath. “Then you say it; I’m listening.”
“You left back then without a word and didn’t even go back to your own home. We looked for you for a long time…”
As Elder Yan spoke, he pulled a savings card from his jacket pocket. “There are some of my own savings in here—five hundred thousand. You might look down on it now. But I am, after all, that child’s biological grandfather. I hope to make some compensation to you both on behalf of his father. At the same time, I also hope you can change his name. ‘Duoyu’ doesn’t sound like a person’s name. If you really feel he is superfluous… at least tell him he still has a grandfather, and that his Alpha father never thought of abandoning him.”
Uncle Guo suddenly let out a light laugh. “I understand. What you want most is for him to change his surname to Yan.”
Elder Yan smiled bitterly. “His surname is Yan to begin with. However, I know you certainly aren’t willing and aren’t reconciled. Yan Xin was clearly dating you back then, but ended up marrying someone else. He was wrong; he should come and apologize to you personally.”
Uncle Guo felt as if his scars were being publicly peeled open. His brow furrowed, his mouth pursed into a straight line, and it took a long time before he spoke. “You should be very clear that he never intended to marry me. Back then, you chose to deceive me along with them. After I discovered the truth, you were the one who kept coming forward to say nice things, saying the fetus was many months along, thinking of my health, and having my family persuade me to wait until after the child was born to break up with him. I know you wanted a grandson, and I also know you actually didn’t care who your son married; you were just helping your son clean up his mess. What I didn’t expect was that Professor Yan is now fifty years old—he’s an old man himself—and he actually still lets you come forward to negotiate with me.”
Elder Yan sighed long and shook his head. “I certainly wished the person who married him back then was you, Xiao Ran. You have to believe me; I have always been on your side.”
Uncle Guo lost his smile. “You’re on my side… but besides persuading me to hurry up and give birth to the child, what else have you ever done for me?”
Elder Yan’s face was distressed. “Yes, I am just an ordinary person. I was a middle school teacher my whole life. I don’t have much ability and didn’t teach my son well. He did wrong, and I didn’t know how to help him make amends. Even this bit of money now might be insignificant in your eyes. But I only have this much ability. It’s a token of my heart… if you don’t want it, just pass it on to the child for us, okay?”
The old gentleman spoke very euphemistically, so much so that it was almost pleasant to hear. Although he avoided the important points and focused on the trivial, he seemed very reasonable and leak-proof.
But if Uncle Guo accepted this money, it was basically equivalent to tacitly allowing Guo Duoyu to recognize his ancestors.
Liang Bo listened from the side for a long time. What he couldn’t figure out most was that Yan Xin had Guo Duoyu’s phone number, and if Elder Yan wanted to, he could certainly contact his grandson. With electronic transfers being so convenient now, why didn’t they just give the money to Guo Duoyu directly instead of coming to find Uncle Guo?
Uncle Guo smiled bitterly repeatedly. He couldn’t out-argue Elder Yan. After hesitating for a long time, he finally chose to compromise, reaching out to take the bank card. “Fine, I’ll give—”
“Wait!” Liang Bo leaned in unexpectedly, pressing down on the small card. He turned and gave Uncle Guo a grin. “We’re all family; talking about money hurts feelings.”
After speaking, he used some force to snatch the card from Uncle Guo’s hand and pushed it back to Elder Yan. “A large asset—please keep it safe.”
“You child…” Elder Yan complained with a smile. “Being family, Xiao Ran shouldn’t refuse.”
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