Volume 14
Chapter 6: Father (Part 2)
“Are you willing to protect Zhu Xi’s interests? Or will you continue to advocate for your own private interests?”
With one simple question, Chu Xiaodong had divided Lu Li and Zhu Xi into two camps. He had guessed right; Lu Li’s initial contact with Zhu Xi was all for Chu Jingyi. To put it bluntly, Lu Li had previously wished for the entire Yan family to drop dead—of course, except for Zhu Xi. If he hadn’t experienced so much of life and death with Zhu Xi, he might not have hesitated in answering this question at all.
Lu Li fell into a long period of thought. Chu Xiaodong wiped his glasses, held them by the temple, and looked at Lu Li through the lenses. The Lu Li in his reading glasses was clearer than the Lu Li he had seen before. His brows were tightly furrowed, his lips were pursed, and his index finger was unknowingly tapping on the tea table, his fingernails making a scraping sound.
What a simple question. As long as he gave up Chu Jingyi, he could win great benefits for Zhu Xi and make her even more devoted to him.
If Lu Li wasn’t willing to do so, then he still had a second path—did the life or death of that group of people from the Yan family really have anything to do with him? He could trample Zhu Xi’s trust underfoot, then offer the Yan family’s century-old foundation to the Chu family, just for a smile from a beautiful woman.
Neither option was really that difficult to choose, was it?
Chu Xiaodong thought, as long as Lu Li was a little more rational, a little more ruthless, just like him, he should be able to come to an answer very quickly. And no matter which one he chose, the person behind the screen would probably be greatly disappointed in him, and then everything would be over. He placed his glasses on the table. The slight collision of the frame with the stone table startled Lu Li, pulling him out of the vortex of his thoughts.
“Mr. Chu.”
“Mm? Have you made up your mind?”
“How many times have you given me a multiple-choice question?”
“This is the first time, I think,” Chu Xiaodong said nonchalantly.
“May I ask, can the affairs of this world really be summarized in two or three options?”
“What are you trying to say?” Chu Xiaodong had a bit of a headache. He used to like young people, feeling they were full of vigor and vitality. Now he didn’t like them anymore, because they always liked to jump out of the rules.
“The reason I can sit here and have a dialogue with you is because I have not failed to live up to the Fourteenth Princess’s expectations; and the reason I must sit here and have a dialogue with you is because I have not failed to live up to Chu Jingyi’s expectations. Either option would deny the legitimacy and rationality of my sitting here.” Lu Li’s mind was clearer at this moment than ever before, his logic incomparably clear. “As for you, Mr. Chu, as a politician, you cannot give up control of the Shenzhou Energy Group; as a father, you cannot be willing to push your own daughter onto the gambling table as a bargaining chip. The two options you’ve given are themselves full of loopholes, aren’t they?”
Chu Xiaodong took a deep breath. He still wanted to try and salvage the situation. “Lu Li, I am speaking to you as a father. I am well aware that wealth and power can corrupt the human heart. You are now a young man pursuing ideals, but when the Chu family is combined, will you still have such a pure heart? If I don’t force you to make a choice now, how will you treat Jingyi then?”
Men turn bad when they get rich. There was always some truth to this common saying. Lu Li couldn’t guarantee with empty words that his love for Jingyi would never change, just as he couldn’t guarantee that the universe would not extinguish.
Seeing Lu Li fall into thought again, Chu Xiaodong actually became a little afraid that Lu Li would think of another flaw or loophole in his words, so he quickly pressed on. “Lu Li, I am willing to agree to cooperate with you and the Yan family, willing to make concessions during the cooperation process, precisely because of you. I still owe you a life-saving favor. Do you remember?”
“…”
“So, I ask you again, I can give you a promise, I can let you become the link between the Chu family and Zhu Xi, I can be your backer, but I only have one request: don’t bother Jingyi anymore.” Chu Xiaodong’s speech quickened, which meant his brain was also operating at high speed. “”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chu. I cannot agree to that,” Lu Li said with extreme calmness. “This is a meeting of equals, Mr. Chu. My request is very simple, and also very fair. I don’t need any concessions or accommodation from you.”
Chu Xiaodong became a little anxious. “If you insist on this, then what will you say to the Fourteenth Princess if I refuse to cooperate?”
“Mr. Chu, you are different from me. I am just a commoner who has had a stroke of luck, with limited knowledge. I can be furious for a beauty, I can be shameless and act like a brat. But you are the master of the Chu family, the master of this country. Can you disregard the future of your family and country for Jingyi’s sake?”
Lu Li had learned the essence of Chu Xiaodong, throwing a dilemma back at him, torturing him psychologically.
The one he was torturing now was the flawed Chu Xiaodong.
Chu Xiaodong was speechless for a moment.
“Mr. Chu, in your heart, which is more important: your identity as a politician, or your identity as a father?”
The moment Lu Li said this, the Old Master Chu behind the screen suddenly turned his head, as if looking at Chu Xiaodong, waiting for his answer. Chu Xiaodong’s pupils slightly dilated. He subconsciously wanted to say that things couldn’t be so simply divided into two choices, but the words had just left his mouth when he reacted. Wasn’t this just agreeing with Lu Li’s previous point that “the affairs of this world cannot be summarized in options”?
Lu Li took a deep breath. He didn’t continue to press Chu Xiaodong for an answer, but instead relaxed his tone. “So, the affairs of this world cannot be mechanically treated as options. After all, the human world is not a game. Mr. Chu, what do you think?”
Chu Xiaodong frowned and followed Lu Li’s lead to change the subject. “Little Lu has insight. Since that’s the case, what will it take for you to let go of my Jingyi? Putting aside cooperation, from the perspective of our private relationship, what kind of benefits will it take for you to give up Jingyi?”
“It’s impossible to give her up.”
The old master’s body swayed. Perhaps he had also been moved by Lu Li’s stubborn idea.
“I can give you money. The profits of the Chu family for the next five years will all be yours! How about it? This money is enough for you to buy a small country in South America and be a king!” Lu Li had finally waited for this scene he had been anticipating for years. It was just that this time, the amount Chu Xiaodong was offering was not a mere five million, but all the profits of an aristocratic family for the next five years. Lu Li guessed that this sum of money was probably beyond his imagination; he probably couldn’t even count how many zeros there were.
“I don’t want money.”
“Then I’ll give you power! I can specially recruit you into government work. I guarantee you a promotion every year. You’ll start as a grassroots supervisor, become a regional leader in the second year, be promoted to a municipal chairman in the third year, and in the fourth year, you can choose a position in one of the four provincial-level leadership teams. In three years, I’ll personally recommend you to the central government in the Capital City. In ten years, you’ll be the next cabinet candidate, the youngest cabinet candidate in the history of Shenzhou. How about it?!”
“I don’t want power.”
“You like beautiful women? Then I can also…”
Lu Li interrupted Chu Xiaodong and once again prostrated himself before the tea table. This time, he was not bowing as the chairperson, but as a prospective son-in-law seeing his future father-in-law. “Uncle Chu, even if the towering mountains were ground flat, and the surging rivers were filled with sand, even if the scorching sun melted iron in the harsh winter, and snow drifted for thousands of miles in the blazing summer, only then would I give up Chu Jingyi! Please don’t try to persuade me anymore! I love her, and I am willing to give her happiness with my future! If I go back on my word, may I die without a complete corpse!”
Chu Xiaodong’s heart trembled. He felt he was powerless to turn the tide, but he still wanted to struggle one last time. “Lu Li, if I promise you—”
But before his words could finish, the screen was pushed over, and Chu Jingyi ran out from behind the screen, crying, calling Lu Li’s name as she threw herself into the young man’s arms, completely cutting off Chu Xiaodong’s final temptation.
Chu Xiaodong looked at his daughter, whose little face was flushed from crying, and helplessly drank the tea in one go. Chu Xiaodong, oh Chu Xiaodong, you also have a day when you miscalculate, don’t you?
