Chapter 190 (The Song of the Nightingale) A Debate at the Family Gathering
Chen Yuanxi hesitated for a while. Since the university had been founded by his adopted father, Lin Ziwei, it was the only immovable property to commemorate him. If he demolished the university, his father’s soul could not rest in another world. With a large area of grassland and singing birds, the campus’ scenery was beautiful in all seasons. However, it would be ruined soon, and Chen Yuanxi could do nothing about it, but let out a sigh. Since it had been decided, it was useless to argue. Otherwise, the others would be suspicious about him.

“You’re right. After all, we graduated from Jifu University. Besides, if they run it well and update it to a half state-owned half private university, the nearby buildings within ten kilometers can be taken as school district housing. In the short term, setting up a pedestrian street seems to be the best choice, but in the long term, we may benefit more by keeping the university,” Zhao Yuan remarked.

“Don’t digress. We’re discussing where Wanxin and you will register your marriage,” Chen Tianjiao narrowed his eyes and said slowly.

Chen Yuanxi immediately winked at Zhao Yuan.

“Well, I suggest you not to rush to get your marriage certificate.” Chen Yuanxi got several cups of Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica ready soon.

“Yuanxi, dad and mom don’t drink coffee much. The western lifestyle is not popular here. You’d better prepare some green tea for them,” Chen Wanxin reminded.

Chen Tianjiao shook his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get down to business. Yuanxi, go on.” Chen Tianjiao interrupted Chen Wanxin and took a sip of coffee. It was so bitter that he frowned, but he still continued to drink it quietly.

“Sister, acting brother-in-law, I may be too blunt, but what I’m thinking is in our family’s interests. We don’t know much about my acting brother-in-law’s background, so we need to observe a little bit longer. Otherwise, if his company goes into debt because of poor management, and as the major shareholder, he can’t find anyone to invest, my sister and I have to pay off his debts with our company’s money. Or maybe he will pay the debt on his own, but once their marriage is registered, my sister will be obliged to pay the debt together with him. Therefore, in any case, our Chen family has to pay the debt for him. Although our company’s performance is not rising very fast, we have a net profit of 15%. I’m planning to expand our company into a group one. If a horse steps on a trap while running on a grassland, it will fall heavily. Do you agree with me, dad?” Chen Yuanxi said with a smile.

“What? Acting brother-in-law?” Zhao Yuan could not help but laugh inwardly.

“Our company? You should make some contribution and officially become the deputy general manager before you call it ‘our company!'” Chen Wanxin corrected him angrily.

Chen Yuanxi only stared at Chen Tianjiao, but said nothing.

“Since the company is the Chens’, of course it belongs to you and your brother! What are you arguing for?” Chen Tianjiao looked a little annoyed.

“Tianjiao, we’d better focus on the current issues. As the saying goes, financial matters should be settled clearly even between brothers. Let’s talk about such trifles later.” Deng Yifei patted Chen Tianjiao on the shoulder.

“The elder she grows, the more I need to teach her! She is already a listed company’s general manager!” Chen Tianjiao shot a glare to his wife.

“How can you call him ‘acting brother-in-law?’ We have held a wedding ceremony and everyone has known it!” Chen Wanxin shouted anxiously and angrily. She did not want to continue this topic anymore.

“It’s said in the past few years, you, the Chens’ young lady, used every means, and even with the threat of death, to force dad and mom to agree your marriage with my false brother-in-law. Since dad and mom have agreed on your marriage, why didn’t you get your marriage registered? I was shocked when I heard this from dad yesterday. My false brother-in-law, can you explain it? It’s you or my sister don’t want to have the certificates?” Chen Yuanxi asked, half-smiling.

“False brother-in-law?” Zhao Yuan turned his head slightly and sized up Chen Yuanxi. A smile appeared on his lips, and he immediately understood Chen Yuanxi’s intention. He answered, “I made the proposal. We brought forward our wedding for my company’s financing’s sake. With Wanxin’s company behind me, my last round of financing will be very smooth. We have discussed it. Because I’m not good enough for Wanxin now, I offered not to apply for the marriage certificate for a short time.”

“Sister, even your boyfriend has taken our family’s interests into account. Why are you so eager to get the certificate?” Chen Yuanxi asked with a smile.

Chen Wanxin instantly understood Chen Yuanxi’s intention. She wished she had a thousand mouths to defend herself. However, what Chen Yuanxi said had stirred up Chen Tianjiao’s resentment against her, and now he was looking at her emotionlessly. Chen Wanxin suddenly flew into a rage. “Boyfriend? You!”

“You ignored our family’s interests for personal reasons! Do you deserve to be the general manager of this company?” Chen Yuanxi continued with a faint smile, “Zhao Yuan, we will hold a family meeting later. You’d better leave us alone for a moment.”

Chen Wanxin suddenly took out a drawing with a smile. In the drawing, a pretty young woman was smiling affectionately. Chen Yuanxi closed his eyes painfully, because the woman in the drawing was his mother, Huang Xiya.

“Dad, look! I have never met my auntie, but I got a photo of her and copied it recently. She is so beautiful. Her eyes are just like Brother Yuanxi’s. It’s a pity that she has married Lin Ziwei and stayed with him for nineteen years!”

Chen Tianjiao’s face turned pale. Chen Wanxin was secretly pleased, because it was what she wanted.

“What do you mean, Chen Wanxin? What makes you call my mother that?” Chen Yuanxi was in a rage, looking terrible.

“Enough! Wanxin, you know well that Xiya—Why are you still rubbing it in?” Chen Tianjiao banged the table and shouted angrily. Chen Wanxin immediately pretended to apologize. Meanwhile, she gave Chen Yuanxi a furtive glance and found he was on the verge of tears. She suddenly felt that it was much more effective to use Huang Xiya to blow Chen Yuanxi than to use Zhao Yuan. After all, Zhao Yuan was still safe and sound, but Huang Xiya’s life was uncertain.

“Yuanxi, you will be in charge of the demolition of Jifu University!” Chen Tianjiao waved Chen Yuanxi and Chen Wanxin away, still angry with Lin Ziwei. “Don’t hurry to register your marriage. Let’s talk about the following issues later!”

Zhao Yuan smiled slightly and answered, “Dad, I will follow your words.” He was gentle when he called Chen Tianjiao ‘dad’ and it made Chen Wanxin a little moved. With a faint smile, Chen Tianjiao said, “You’d better call me ‘uncle’ now. You can call me ‘dad’ when your company goes public and you have gotten the marriage certificate.”

“Dad!” Chen Wanxin was furious and looked at Chen Yuanxi angrily. But soon, she smiled. “You should at least set a deadline for the demolition,” she said.

“Yuanxi, a month!” With that, Chen Tianjiao walked to his study.

As soon as the three of them walked out of the room, Chen Yuanxi slapped Chen Wanxin in the face. Without any mental preparation, Chen Wanxin almost fell to the ground.

“I still remember your name is Lin Wenxi!” Chen Wanxin said ferociously and raised her hand. However, before her hand could reach Chen Yuanxi, she got another slap in the face. It was so loud that Deng Yifei heard it and rushed out to see what was happening. Chen Tianjiao walked out as well and looked at the siblings.

“Aren’t you afraid of being punished by God and struck by lightning?” Chen Yuanxi said coldly.

Chen Wanxin scolded Chen Yuanxi angrily, pointing at him, “You are trying to stop me from marrying Brother Yuan. Why are you doing this?”

“You’re trying to marry a man with a questionable origin. Why are you doing this?” Chen Yuanxi asked back.

Deng Yifei shouted at Zhao Yuan, “Zhao Yuan, my daughter was beaten. How can you just stand by and watch?”

Chen Yuanxi’s heart trembled. “Zhao Yuan, I should be blamed to beat my sister, but you heard what she said just now. You’d better discipline your woman when you’re back!” With that, he left, angrily.

Chen Wanxin looked at Zhao Yuan. She knew it was useless to ask him for help. She had already been grateful that Zhao Yuan had performed well at the wedding, without embarrassing her in front of her family and friends. Besides, he had agreed to get the marriage certificate with her. She knew that Zhao Yuan subconsciously helped Chen Yuanxi when they had been talking just now, but she did not care. After Chen Yuanxi’s departure several years ago, Zhao Yuan almost died. She did not believe that they would restart a relationship in such a short time. She needed to find a way. There were many problems that needed to be solved.

Obviously, Zhao Yuan could not continue to live in the Chens’ wedding room, so he left alone and took up residence in a hotel in the small city.

After Zhao Yuan had left, Chen Tianjiao asked Chen Yuanxi to come back to attend the family meeting.

Chen Yuanxi had just walked far away in anger, but after receiving his father’s call, he immediately showed up. Chen Wanxin was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She really wanted to rush to him and tear down his smiling face. However, Chen Yuanxi only called her ‘sister’ with a smile, looking so close to her. Chen Wanxin was even angrier, feeling like her lungs explode.

Chen Tianjiao got the news from his elder brother that after coming out from their mansion, Chen Yuanxi had vented his anger on Zhang Dong again, who had been avoiding Zhao Yuan, by asking him to clean the rust on the gate. Chen Tianjiao immediately asked Zhang Dong to meet him, and then asked Zhang Dong to go back first. Chen Tianjiao knew that Chen Yuanxi might still be mad at Zhang Dong, but he did not know that after six years, his son, who had been calm and decent, still could not forgive Zhang Dong because of that incident. He had once wanted to ask Mo Qian to explain to Chen Yuanxi on behalf of him, but Mo Qian told him that if he compromised once, he would have to comprise more times in the future. However, apart from Zhang Dong, nobody else could protect his son well.

“Even your younger brother knows what it means not to get the marriage certificate for the moment. Zhao Yuan is a reasonable person as well. But why are you still insisting on this? You’re so eager to marry him, even ignoring our family’s interests!” Chen Tianjiao was furious.

“In the beginning, I didn’t think that much. Considering that A Yuan was nice to me these years, I just wanted to run our companies well with him. After all, if we join hands, the two companies would be stronger than being run separately. A Yuan’s company will soon be able to raise capital, and he has been preparing for the company to go public. Although it was delayed a little, I have confidence in my husband. A Yuan is already 27, and he is YH Company’s general manager. He is capable enough to handle this. Don’t you think so, Yuanxi?” Chen Wanxin asked.

Chen Tianjiao’s face softened a lot.

“Zhao Yuan is a sensible and capable person. He must be considering about the company’s interests, so he decided to postpone the marriage certificate application. He has been reasonable, so he must have his reason for doing so. Sister, if you agree that Zhao Yuan is man of reason, you should take his suggestion into consideration, instead of registering your marriage in a hurry. Am I right? Do you think Zhao Yuan’s concerns are absurd? You have been with him so many years, but I’m only his former roommate. Don’t you know him better than I do?” Chen Yuanxi smiled slightly.

“‘As man and wife we ever unite, we never doubt our love.’ Of course I will support A Yuan. I won’t care even if his company fails to go to public, and I would like to share the consequences with him. I trust him because he deserves my trust. That’s why I want to get our marriage certificate earlier. It’s a guarantee for both of us. As an outsider, you can’t understand my feelings for my husband. Dad, mom, I’m sure you will understand how I feel now. After all, you have married for years,” Chen Wanxin said.

Chen Yuanxi was shocked.

His heart almost stopped beating. He wrote these words on the note he had left to Zhao Yuan. Obviously, Zhao Yuan had kept the note. But when did Chen Wanxin find it?

“Outsider?”

Chen Yuanxi sneered secretly, but he still looked peaceful and gentle. “The marriage between you and Zhao Yuan is not only an affair about you two, but also about the two families. Since I’m a member of the Chens, I can’t be taken as an outsider, and dad and auntie are not outsiders either. Zhao Yuan didn’t protest when dad decided to postpone your marriage registration. Even he can wait, why are you in such a hurry? Is our whole family not as important as Zhao Yuan, an outsider? I don’t understand why you call me ‘outsider’. Sister, you should think it over.”

“Chen Yuanxi, you’re still loving Zhao Yuan! Then why did you leave him without hesitation years ago? What were you worried about? You must have been hiding something!”

Chen Wanxin thought. But she did not know what she could do.

“Dad, mom, I admit I’m too selfish, but I did it because I love A Yuan so much! Mom, you have been treated dad in the same way, haven’t you?” Chen Wanxin’s eyes became reddish.

Hearing that, Deng Yifei was heartbroken. She looked at Chen Tianjiao with tears in her eyes. Chen Tianjiao’s expression softened. He gently patted Chen Wanxin on the back and said with a nod, “Let’s wait for some time. If there’s nothing wrong with Zhao Yuan during this period, you can apply for the certificate with him, okay?”

“Dad, I have returned to the Chens for more than six years. Although my adopted father and you had different political views before, he had raised me for nineteen years. I don’t know whether Uncle Hong Xuan is still alive. My mother has gone for years with my adopted father’s ashes with her, and I don’t know her whereabouts. Now I don’t have any family members except the Chens. Everything I’m thinking about is out of consideration for our family.” With that, Chen Yuanxi’s eyes turned red as well.

Chen Tianjiao grabbed him by the hand, but did not know what to say.

“What your brother said makes sense. After all, anything about love is only personal affairs. We know how you love Zhao Yuan, but for our family’s sake, you should be more patient,” Chen Tianjiao said sincerely and earnestly.

Gritting her teeth slightly, Chen Wanxin nodded with a smile, but tears suddenly dreamed down her cheeks. Chen Yuanxi tried for a while, but could not squeeze a drop of tear. He then looked at Chen Tianjiao calmly and said, “Help me to find my mother.” With that, tears welled up. Even Deng Yifei was moved.

Since everything had been decided, Chen Yuanxi held back his impulse to refuse to tear down Jifu University. Glancing at Chen Wanxin, he walked back to his room.

After a short moment, he heard someone knocking at the door. He opened the door and saw Chen Wanxin. “What shall I do to make Zhao Yuan marry me?” she asked coldly.

“This is between the two of you. Why are you asking me?” Chen Yuanxi said, as cold as ice. Chen Wanxin found that he had not turned on the light, and his room was dark.

“You know what I’m talking about!”

“Don’t try to get what you can’t.”

“I will find a way!” Chen Wanxin said with a smile, taking a deep breath.

“Go ahead, sister! No matter what you will do, I can deal with it.”

With that, he closed the door.

“You’re just like a nightingale, but I will never believe what a nightingale is singing!” Chen Wanxin thought.

It was said that Chen Yuanxi had never turned on the light in his bedroom, even in the US, and he had only worked in his living room.