Does Xie Qian need a whetstone?
Xie Jinghu thought about it and concluded that Xie Qian was already sharpened on both edges. One careless move and he could cut his own father until the blood flowed freely. He needed no further sharpening!
Even if sharpening were required, it would have to be done by a formidable figure in the business world.
Zhao Dong was no such figure, and neither was Zhuo Chen.
Zhuo Chen’s only advantage was blood ties.
After pondering for a long while, Xie Jinghu shook his head and refused Zhuo Chen. “Xie Qian does not need a whetstone.”
Zhuo Chen was not angry at the refusal. He even found an excuse for Xie Jinghu. “I understand your concerns, President Xie. You fear my existence will drive a wedge between you and your son. My mummy did wrong, and I cannot beg your forgiveness on her behalf. Naturally, I feel even less entitled to accept other financial support from you. The Si Lan shares are the only thing I can claim as mine. I do not want to lose them, so I am asking for your help.”
Xie Qian already had everything.
Zhuo Chen had only the 20% stake in Si Lan.
If Xie Qian succeeded in bringing Si Lan down, Zhuo Chen would be left with nothing.
With no prospects left, Zhuo Chen might truly become desperate.
After careful consideration, Xie Jinghu did not refuse this time. “Just this once?”
Zhuo Chen nodded. “Yes, just this once. I want to hold onto my Si Lan shares.”
Xie Qian wanted Si Lan to collapse, yet Zhuo Chen wanted it to survive the crisis.
After weighing the matter solemnly, Xie Jinghu agreed.
“Very well.”
As Zhuo Chen saw Xie Jinghu out of the car, he bowed deeply. “Thank you.”
Xie Jinghu shook his head. “No need to thank me. No matter what you call me, I always… Zhuo Chen, it is not that I do not wish to acknowledge you. Many things are simply the work of fate.”
Zhuo Chen understood the subtext.
After rekindling an old flame with Sara Zhuo for over a decade and then falling out again, Xie Jinghu was now desperate to distance himself from that extramarital history.
When Sara Zhuo was young and pregnant with Zhuo Chen, she had married the old overseas Chinese businessman. That choice had nothing to do with Xie Jinghu.
Had she chosen differently, Xie Jinghu would certainly have married her, and Zhuo Chen would naturally have been their legitimate son.
So Xie Jinghu felt he had done nothing wrong. The fault lay with Sara Zhuo, and he hoped Zhuo Chen would soon recognise this and stop resenting his own father!
Zhuo Chen watched silently as Xie Jinghu walked back into the Jinhu office building.
In the land-scarce capital, owning such a building was truly impressive.
Xie Jinghu was indeed very wealthy.
The opportunities of that era were unrepeatable. Xie Jinghu had caught the best entrepreneurial wave in China’s history. Even if Zhuo Chen had the ability to replicate his success, reaching Xie Jinghu’s current achievements would require twenty years of unrelenting effort.
During those twenty years, Zhuo Chen could not slacken, could not make mistakes. Only then might he become a second Xie Jinghu. Xie Qian was different. Xie Qian could openly disdain Xie Jinghu’s money while using it to start his own ventures.
If he succeeded, it would be the cherry on top.
If he failed, he would inherit Jinhu.
“…Why should he have that?”
Zhuo Chen murmured, “No one ever asked what surname I wanted. You all decided for me. No one ever asked me.”
He turned up the collar of his coat to hide his face and walked away into the twilight.
…
Assistant Qi nervously tipped off Xie Qian.
“Young Master Xie…”
“I already know.”
Zhuo Chen seeking help from Xie Jinghu was both unexpected and entirely predictable to Xie Qian. Bringing down Si Lan was never going to be easy. After the “Japan trip incident”, Zhao Dong would receive no further aid from Xie Jinghu. At the critical moment, it all depended on whether Zhuo Chen would lower his head.
Xie Qian had thought Zhuo Chen would grit his teeth and hold out a while longer. He had not expected him to yield so soon.
Regardless of whether Xie Jinghu helped or not, Xie Qian would proceed with his original plan.
What surprised Xie Qian was not Xie Jinghu’s decision to intervene, but the fact that Xie Jinghu proactively informed Xie Qian beforehand.
Fearing the phone would not convey matters clearly, Xie Jinghu flew to Shanghai specifically to meet Xie Qian face to face.
“I cannot stand by and watch Si Lan collapse. I know you loathe everything connected to that woman surnamed Zhuo. I am not doing this to favour anyone. It is for the personal safety of you and your mother! At the divorce, your mother received half the assets, and you hold 11% of Jinhu shares. You must leave others some hope…”
“The 20% Si Lan shares, cloaked as foreign investment and held through proxies but actually belonging to Zhuo Chen, are the hope you left him?”
Xie Qian cut through Xie Jinghu’s circumlocution and exposed the truth directly.
Xie Jinghu was slightly taken aback. “You knew all along… When did you find out?”
It must have been recently, surely?
If he had known much earlier…
The thought flashed and vanished. Uncharacteristically patient, Xie Qian explained, “I suspected long ago, but only recently confirmed it. Businessmen do not act without profit. You would not have helped Zhao Dong with funding and operations for no reason.”
Xie Qian claimed it was recent knowledge, and Xie Jinghu secretly sighed in relief.
If Xie Qian had known early yet endured without exposing it, he would not merely be a sharpened blade. He would be a profoundly scheming demon blade!
Xie Qian changed tack. “No matter who holds Si Lan shares, its fate remains the same. It will collapse.”
Xie Jinghu wanted to analyse the pros and cons, still motivated by concern for Xie Qian’s safety, yet Xie Qian refused outright!
Xie Qian’s stubbornness gave Xie Jinghu a headache.
“Spare Si Lan, and I will compensate you with something of equal value. You dislike Zhao Dong. I can find a way to force him out. Of course, I am not trying to increase Zhuo Chen’s stake in Si Lan. The only thing I can give him is that 20%. The portion Zhao Dong relinquishes can be sold to others. The He family, for instance, would be an excellent choice.”
Xie Qian wanted to deal with Zhao Dong, and so did Xie Jinghu.
The difference was that Xie Qian’s method meant Zhao Dong and Si Lan perishing together, while Xie Jinghu wanted to preserve Si Lan and let Zhao Dong take the fall alone!
Xie Jinghu had already planned the follow-up. “He Zhinian is still very capable. Transfer Zhao Dong’s shares to He Zhinian. Let the He family become Si Lan’s largest shareholder. Zhuo Chen will forever remain a minority holder.”
With He Zhinian in charge, Zhuo Chen could not make waves. He Zhinian could keep him firmly suppressed. At least in the short term, Zhuo Chen could not surpass He Zhinian!
In a few years, once Xie Qian had further matured through experience, Xie Jinghu still hoped Xie Qian would return to Jinhu and gradually familiarise himself with its operations.
When that day came, with Xie Qian’s position as heir firmly established, Zhuo Chen would still be circling in Si Lan’s small pond. By then, Zhuo Chen’s ambition would have been worn down, he would have adapted to his current life, and he would no longer think of opposing Xie Qian.
Xie Jinghu truly believed he was considering everything for Xie Qian’s sake, paving the way early for him to inherit Jinhu while also arranging a future for his other son, ensuring the boy neither starved nor gained enough power to trouble Xie Qian.
How thorough his planning was!
Xie Jinghu nearly moved himself, yet Xie Qian still refused outright. “I do not need equivalent compensation. Si Lan must collapse. Nor do I wish to hear your arrangements and plans. Keep the equivalent compensation for Zhuo Chen. I do not mind if you go comfort him and show him fatherly concern.”
Go and concern yourself with Zhuo Chen.
Xie Qian feared that if he listened any longer, he would be sick.
