An hour ago, Chu Xu received a phone call.
It was from the old man, who rarely called him once in a blue moon.
When Chu Xu asked what was the matter, the old man wouldn't say, insisting he come back home first before telling him.
When Chu Xu said he would hang up if nothing was wrong, the old man stammered and couldn't make himself clear.
Wondering if some unspeakable major family crisis had occurred that the old man was too embarrassed to voice, Chu Xu went back after all.
Even though he didn't really want to return to that home of theirs.
He arrived at the Tianshan Villa Area at six in the evening.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw the three of them just finishing dinner and clearing the dining table.
Chu Xu let out a silent sigh, glad that he had eaten something beforehand.
"Our son is back...Chu Xiong glanced somewhat awkwardly at the leftover food on the table and said, "Chu Ran was hungry just now, so we ate first. I'll have someone make something for you right now."
Chu Xu shook his head. "No need, Dad, I've already eaten."
"Did you have something to mention when you called today? You wouldn't even tell me when I asked."
Chu Xu felt ill at ease staying here for even another minute, so he simply cut straight to the point.
"No rush, no rush. Rest a bit first. You haven't been home in such a long time, sit for a while,"
Chu Xiong gestured for Chu Xu to sit down as well, then lit a cigarette and began to smoke with a look of relief.
"The company has been too busy lately, and I haven't asked how your studies are going. How is it, son? Have you run into any trouble with your studies recently?"
Seeing him put on such a solemn expression, Chu Xu really hadn't the heart to shatter the illusion, yet he found it rather amusing.
"You forgot, I graduated half a year ago. I'm interning at a financial company right now and will be joining the firm full-time very soon."
"You've already graduated and started interning?"
Chu Xiong looked somewhat surprised, then slapped his own forehead. "Look at my memory, there's just too much going on at the company. Blame your old man. But son, why didn't you tell your dad about your job search? Your dad could have arranged something for you."
"I told you before, you forgot." Chu Xu desperately wanted to say those words, but once they reached the tip of his tongue, he couldn't be bothered to voice them.
Saying too much only ended up annoying people.
A person should always state the facts concisely.
"Arranged what? You can't even protect yourself and you're still thinking about others! Suffering just to keep up appearances!"
Then, a sharp, scathing voice came from upstairs.
A woman in pajamas clacked her way down the stairs.
She was pretty, but her facial features gave off a harsh impression—the saying that outward appearance reflects the heart probably applied precisely to her.
This was Chu Xiong's wife, and Chu Xu's nominal mother, though he had never once called her mother.
"Li Yue!"
Chu Xiong glared at her, but she wasn't intimidated in the least. Instead, she glared fiercely right back and continued:
"Did I say something wrong? The company's products have defects, suppliers are pressing for payments while withholding shipments, customer service issues can't be resolved, yet you still have the leisure to care about outsiders! Why don't you figure out how to solve this yourself!"
"Enough, Li Yue! He is my son, not an outsider!" Chu Xiong roared.
"What are you roaring at? He's your son, but what about him?" Li Yue pointed at a little boy who had just come out of the bathroom, her eye rims reddened.
At the sight of him, Chu Xiong lowered his head in silence and smoked on his own.
Both sides were sons.
It was just that Chu Xu was an adopted son.
"I'm telling you, Chu Xiong, I don't mind suffering, but you cannot let my son suffer too. Otherwise, I'm taking my son back to my parents' home!" Teary-eyed, Li Yue hugged her own biological son, Chu Ran, and began to sob.
Seeing this, Chu Xiong drooped his head even lower.
Li Yue was his second wife whom he married seven years ago; his first wife had passed away early on in a car accident.
To put it simply, in this home, Chu Xu had only ever felt warmth when his original mother was still around.
"What is it, Dad? What happened to the company?" Chu Xu couldn't be bothered to listen to this melodrama and hurriedly asked.
It was always some earth-shattering crisis right out of the gate; who could possibly take that?
Chu Xiong took a few puffs of his cigarette before answering, "The newly launched products have defects, there are too many customer complaints, and on top of that, your old man trusted an investor too easily and got swindled out of twenty million. The company is about to go bankrupt..."
"Twenty million? Dad, how could you even get scammed..."
Chu Xiong gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile and shook his head. "Blindly trusting someone's slander—this is the end result."
"Waaah..." Li Yue cried even louder.
Chu Xu frowned deeply. How could someone as smart as his old man get scammed?
Nobody who starts from scratch and builds a business is useless; they are all crafty veterans. Would they really get scammed?
It sounded utterly surreal.
Yet looking at his dejected expression, it seemed to be true.
Chu Xu pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there any way to fix this right now?"
Chu Xiong shook his head and was just about to speak when Li Yue eagerly chimed in, "Of course there is! As long as you—"
"Li Yue!"
Chu Xiong waved his hand to interrupt her, shook his head, and sighed, "There is no way."
Li Yue wiped away her tears and said, "What do you mean there's no way? You just can't bear to do it. You'd rather let me and my son suffer than say it, even though it doesn't strictly have to be him, waah..."
With that, she started crying again.
Of course Chu Xu could tell that there was a way to resolve the crisis, but that method seemed to be related to him.
Glancing at his silent old man, Chu Xu asked, "Dad, just tell me. Let me hear what the solution is."
Chu Xiong shook his head. "Don't ask anymore. I won't speak of that method. It's unfair to you."
"It's fine, Dad. Just tell me first, let me hear it."
Glancing at the mother and son crying into each other's arms, then looking at the calm Chu Xu, Chu Xiong sighed. "Last weekend, someone approached me and offered me a condition. As long as it's fulfilled, they will help me weather this crisis. Not only that, they can even help me rise to the next level. I didn't agree to it."
"What is the condition?" Chu Xu didn't ask why; he knew very well that the other party's condition must be extremely harsh, otherwise his old man wouldn't have rejected it immediately.
Chu Xiong looked at Chu Xu and said, "The condition is to have you marry someone in their family."
"Huh?"
Chu Xu's brain suddenly short-circuited.
Marriage?
Such an unfamiliar word, at least to Chu Xu as he was right now.
He was only twenty-two, having just graduated from college. Though some of his high school and middle school classmates were already married,
he always felt that kind of thing was a very distant affair. After all, he had always marched to the beat of his own drum and had no plans to marry anytime soon.
Now, to be suddenly told he had to marry someone else—it was truly catching him off guard.
"Are you sure it's marriage?" Chu Xu confirmed once more.
If he were some fallen prince, he could perhaps understand; there were always people obsessed with a pretty face.
The problem was, who would care for a grown man like him?
He was already starting to feel dazed.
Chu Xiong nodded. "Yes. I investigated them afterward; their background is terrifyingly powerful, and the listed companies they invest in are numerous. They aren't scammers."
"Is that so..." Chu Xu knitted his brow and lowered his head in thought.
Chu Xiong frowned deeply, staring fixedly at Chu Xu as the latter remained silent.
He turned his head slightly and gave Li Yue a sideways glance.
Li Yue understood immediately, shot him a resentful look of retort, and then said, "What are you hesitating for, Chu Xu? Are you an ungrateful wretch? Just think: you were picked up by this family when you were six, living in luxury and splendor ever since.
You attended elite schools, and everything you ate and wore was the best. Now that the family is in trouble, you want to wash your hands of it? Have you given any thought to us, have you considered your dad's feelings? His entire life's work is tied up in that company!
Can you really bear to watch his hair turn white overnight? I know you have a bone to pick with me, but what about your dad? He raised you for a full sixteen years! Sixteen years, not sixteen days! Do you know how long that is? And now when he needs you, you want to step aside? By what right? Did Chu Xiong owe you in a past life? By what right?! Are you going to say something!"
"Enough! Stop talking! I didn't agree to it in the first place, why are you pressuring the child?!" Chu Xiong roared, startling Li Yue into a daze before she quickly hugged the child and burst into another round of tears.
"They always say raise children to provide security in old age, but I see that saying is a lie. Raising children doesn't provide security in old age, they only bleed their parents dry..." Li Yue muttered to herself.
Chu Xu's mind was in turmoil. In an instant, he weighed countless pros and cons, yet they all collapsed instantly in the face of the accusation of being an ungrateful wretch.
That's right. His father had raised him for sixteen years.
Regardless of which periods during that time his father was good to him or neglected him, it was still an upbringing of kindness and grace.
If not for him, whether Chu Xu could have lived to this day would be an unknown question.
If not for this incident, would he ever have a chance to repay that upbringing?
Money, he had. Companionship, he also had.
So it seemed right now was the time to repay it. To take a step back, once married, it wasn't impossible to divorce—what if the other party couldn't stand him?