Chapter 109: Signing the Contract
The two of them pointed fingers and blamed each other, their spit flying everywhere. They had completely lost the poise expected of a wealthy family.
Huo Chen watched this scene.
He only found it ironic.
He understood Huo Chengzhang; he knew the man cared about his “face” and reputation. Once he agreed to something out loud, he wouldn’t go back on it.
But he didn’t trust Li Meiqing.
The man sat on the sofa, coldly watching the two argue. A few minutes later, he spoke slowly, “Everything needs to follow proper procedures. A negotiated business deal must involve a signed contract…”
Before he could finish, Li Meiqing, who had been eavesdropping on his every move, reacted firstā
“You mean you want us to sign a contract?”
“Huo Chen, don’t go too far!”
Huo Chengzhangās face turned as cold as it could get. He looked at Huo Chen. “You really want to sign a contract with me? Do you distrust me that much?”
At this point, Huo Chen had nothing left to worry about.
As the saying goes, “A kind mother brings a filial son.” A child is only filial if the parents are kind, but he hadn’t felt a single shred of kindness. It was impossible for him to be the perfect “pious son” now.
Li Meiqing hit and scolded him at every turn.
He had endured it.
He had endured it until today, not just to ensure a peaceful life for Lin Huaizhi in the future, but also as a way of paying back the debt of being born to Li Meiqing.
But next time.
He would no longer let them hit or scold him freely.
“Itās not just you.” Before Huo Chengzhang could look relieved, Huo Chen spoke again. “I donāt trust either of you.”
Both Huo Chengzhang and Li Meiqing froze.
Why don’t you trust us? We are your parents; why won’t you trust us?
But what was there to trust?
Was it when they told him as a child that if he got first place, he could have his own privacy? Was it when they said if he behaved, they would cook his favorite food? Or when they promised that if he was the best at everything, they wouldn’t limit his meal times?
They had promised so many things, but looking back, every single one was just an excuse to keep him in line. Not one promise was ever kept.
But it was all for Huo Chenās own good!
Children only care about eating, sleeping, and playing. If they hadn’t restricted him, his heart would have run wild. How could he have become such an outstanding person?
Yes.
Outstanding.
No matter how much he cursed him, Huo Chengzhang knew that Huo Chen was an incredibly capable man. In the entire Long City, there wasn’t a single person of his generationāor even the older generationāwho could match his talent.
Huo Chengzhang didn’t know how things had reached this point.
But he knew Huo Chen was a stubborn child. No matter how many nice things he said now, Huo Chen wouldn’t change his mind.
Huo Chengzhang sighed deeply.
“Since you said you want to sign a contract, you must have prepared one. Bring it here.”
Huo Chen had indeed brought a contract. He made a phone call, and Liu Fei quickly appeared at the door, pulling the documents out of a briefcase.
“Boss, the contract.”
Huo Chen took it and nodded to Liu Fei. “Wait for me outside.”
The contract wasn’t particularly thick, but it was about a dozen pages long. It listed various scenarios that might occur in the future, effectively cutting off any way for Huo Chengzhang or Li Meiqing to trouble Lin Huaizhi ever again.
Huo Chengzhang only flipped through two pages.
“Do you really like that person named Lin that much? Even though he actually stabbed his own biological father with a knife?”
Huo Chenās expression didn’t change.
“You only care that he stabbed Zhang Qiang, but you don’t care why he did it. If a person isn’t pushed to a dead end, they wouldn’t do such a thing.”
The manās expression was incredibly serious, showing not a hint of doubt or disdain for Lin Huaizhi. Seeing this, Huo Chengzhang said no more. Instead, he took out his private seal and stamped the contract.
Li Meiqing was still arguing on the side.
“Why are we signing? Why are we agreeing to him? You can stamp yours, but I will never agree to this!”
Huo Chengzhang didn’t try to persuade her. He only said coldly, “Huo Chen has already set his mind on this. Whether you want to enjoy your life or suffer for the rest of it… choose for yourself.”
Li Meiqing fell into instant silence.
Huo Chengzhang had already left the room, leaving only Li Meiqing standing in the living room. She looked at Huo Chenās incredibly cold features and suddenly felt a bit dazed.
When did Huo Chen grow up like this?
His entire face looked so heartless, and there wasn’t a speck of warmth in his eyes, as if he were a precisely operating machine.
But clearly, when he was born, he was so small, so cute, and his whole body was so soft. She had been afraid of hurting him even if she held him a little too tight.
How did he become like this?
Clearly, all parents are like this. Clearly, the Huo family was in decline, so they had to be a bit stricter with him. She had only done what all parents in the world do. How did she and Huo Chen end up at this stage?
Li Meiqing couldn’t figure it out.
But she wasn’t the type to blame herself. She only needed the status she was proud of to remain intact.
Having Huo Chen kicked out of the Huo Group had already brought her too much ridicule and cold looks. If she truly fell out with him now, she would be laughed at until the day she died.
She had already lost her sonās heart; she couldn’t lose the money too.
Li Meiqing stopped thinking and finally signed the contract. She wanted to say something more to Huo Chen, but she saw him put the contract away and turn toward the front door.
She stood frozen in place.
Watching this scene, she felt a sudden flashback to when Huo Chen was a child, watching him walk out the door to go to school.
“Huo Chen…”
The woman suddenly called out his name.
“When are you coming back for dinner?”
Huo Chenās figure paused, but he didn’t turn back to look at her. He only left behind four wordsā
“If I have time.”
If I have time… Hearing those words, Li Meiqing wanted to laugh but couldn’t. She seemed to have asked a college-aged Huo Chen the same question, and his answer then was also “If I have time.” But in reality, from the moment Huo Chen moved out, he never had “time” again.
He probably wouldn’t come back.
Li Meiqing thought to herself.
…
Huo Chengzhang and Li Meiqing stopped interfering with Lin Huaizhi. The online buzz should have cooled down under Huo Chenās PR efforts, but the reality was that it only grew more heated.
Someone was fishing in troubled waters behind the scenes.
Huo Chen thought about it and ultimately decided not to interfere further. Lin Huaizhi could control the narrative and handle the PR himself. The fact that Lin Huaizhi hadn’t made a move meant he was letting it happen on purpose.
He had promised to let Lin Huaizhi handle it, and he wouldn’t break his word.
The trending topics were indeed something Lin Huaizhi was allowing. Zhou Ning, on the other hand, was worried to death. Because of Zhang Qiangās mess, Huaimengās stock price was plummeting.
But this was a classic case of “the eunuch being more worried than the emperor.” No matter how anxious Zhou Ning was, he couldn’t solve the problem for Lin Huaizhi.
Zhang Qiang was feeling smug.
He looked at the overwhelming trending topics and the voices condemning Lin Huaizhi, thinking it wouldn’t be long before Lin Huaizhi came crawling to him. When that happened, he would have a never-ending supply of money.
It wasn’t until a week had passed that Zhang Qiang still hadn’t seen a sign of Lin Huaizhi.
He finally couldn’t sit still anymore.
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