Chapter 11

"Why do you care about something like this? What exactly are you trying to do?" Whether out of fear or wounded pride, Chen Lingyun said reflexively, "Your father and I aren't dead yet. It's not your place to meddle in the company's affairs. If you want to fight over the inheritance, isn't it a little too early?"

"I'm warning you, Cheng Yu. You're still a child, so don't harbor such heavy thoughts. You'd be better off putting that energy into your studies. Stop thinking about this nonsense all day long. Even if your father and I want to choose an heir, we'll only groom your brother. C&C Jewelry will never be handed over to someone who only knows crooked tricks—"

Before Chen Lingyun could finish, a deafening bang rang out as Cheng Yu finally lost patience and kicked the chair over.

"Listen carefully!" Cheng Yu's face was livid as he stared coldly at Chen Lingyun, enunciating every word. "If there ever comes a day when I truly want C&C Jewelry, I won't wag my tail and beg for some inheritance rights. I'll use my own abilities to take it from whoever holds it."

"Instead of wasting your energy guarding against me, you should think carefully about how to turn things around when Feng Guangxu joins forces with the other shareholders and demands your removal. I just hope you won't end up wagging your tail and going door to door, begging those minor shareholders who only hold a few percent of the shares."

Thinking back to how helpless and pitiful Chen Lingyun had been when she was besieged on all sides years ago, Cheng Yu clenched his palm tightly. Blood trickled down through the gaps between his fingers, drop by drop onto the floor. If, the night before, Cheng Yu had still felt deep pity and indignation over Chen Lingyun's plight, and had wanted to protect her from being hurt again, then the moment she had thrown the proposal he had stayed up all night writing in his face and interrogated him, all the tenderness in his heart vanished. Like a basin of cold water poured over a raging fire.

Nothing remained but wreckage strewn across the ground.

"What happened this time?"

Hearing the commotion upstairs, the elderly couple knew something was wrong and hurried up to investigate. The moment they reached the doorway, they saw the mother and son confronting each other, along with the chair Cheng Yu had violently kicked over. The two elders sighed silently and asked with a headache, "Why are you two arguing again? What is it about this time?"

"Dad." Chen Lingyun called out pale-faced, clearly frightened by Cheng Yu's outburst just now. "It's nothing, we—"

Before she could finish, Cheng Shao, who had rushed over afterward, interrupted her. "A-Yu, what happened to your hand?"

Cheng Shao grabbed Cheng Yu's fists hanging at his sides and forcibly pried them open. Seeing his palm already torn and bloody, he was heartbroken. "What are you doing? Couldn't you talk things out properly? Why would you hurt yourself like this?"

"A-Yu is hurt!" Lin Sufen's heart clenched as well, and she hurriedly told Cheng Kaiyun to go downstairs for the first-aid kit.

Cheng Shao pulled Cheng Yu over to sit by the bed, then unscrewed a bottle of mineral water from beside the bedside table and handed it to him. "Drink some water first. Calm down."

Cheng Yu said nothing and did not take the water. He merely sat there quietly with his head lowered, his face dark, an almost visible low pressure surrounding him.

Cheng Shao patted his younger brother's shoulder, then turned to complain to Chen Lingyun. "Mom, it's not as if you don't know about A-Yu's condition. You heard exactly what the doctor said, didn't you? He needs rest, guidance, and his family's care and support. Can you stop arguing with him every day and constantly provoking him?"

Chen Simiao and his wife also disapproved of Chen Lingyun's actions and criticized her, "Exactly. You're his mother. How can you be less sensible than even Shao?"

"Is this really my fault?" Chen Lingyun was full of grievances too. "Why don't you first ask your precious grandson, your precious brother, what he did?"

Chen Lingyun flung the proposal Cheng Yu had stayed up all night to write before Cheng Yu's grandparents. "Look. All of you, look. Look at how calculating and scheming this child is. I don't even know where he found out about these things. Tell me, what does he usually do all day? He has such heavy thoughts—no wonder he developed bipolar disorder at such a young age—"

"Lingyun!" Chen Simiao barked, cutting off Chen Lingyun's complaints. "You're becoming more and more outrageous. Is that any way to talk about your own son?"

Lin Sufen shot Chen Lingyun a reproachful glare as well, then hurriedly covered Cheng Yu's ears. "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. She's so angry that she's lost her head and is speaking without thinking."

"Or maybe she just spoke the truth bluntly." Cheng Yu looked up at Chen Lingyun, his expression icy. "You don't need to slander me like that. You're right. C&C Jewelry is still yours, not mine. Even if someone else really takes it away, it has nothing to do with me. I don't need to be a busybody. From now on, you're on your own."

As Cheng Yu spoke, he abruptly stood up. Ignoring his grandparents' and Cheng Shao's attempts to stop him, he slammed the door and left. In the hallway, he ran into Cheng Kaiyun, who was hurrying back with the first-aid kit. "Where are you going?"

Cheng Yu bumped past Cheng Kaiyun's shoulder and walked downstairs as though he had heard nothing.

"A-Yu! A-Yu!" Cheng Shao hurried out after him, only for Cheng Kaiyun to grab his arm. "What happened this time?"

"Ask Grandpa and Grandma." Cheng Shao was anxious to catch Cheng Yu and had no mind to explain. He shook off Cheng Kaiyun's hand and rushed downstairs. Passing through the dining room, he remembered to grab a plate of custard buns before dashing out of the house. Under the watchful eyes of the neighbors doing their morning exercises, he ran without regard for his appearance for nearly ten minutes before finally catching up to Cheng Yu at the entrance of the residential complex, just as he was about to hail a taxi.

"You really walk too fast." Cheng Shao panted as he blocked Cheng Yu's path. His gaze swept over Cheng Yu's mangled palm, still dripping blood, then over his painfully pale face. Cheng Shao hesitated for a long while before changing the subject. "Eat something first. You still need to take your medicine after breakfast."

Cheng Shao had rushed out so quickly that he had not even brought water. He went to the convenience store beside the complex and bought two cups of hot soy milk, two bottles of water, and a pack of gauze and antiseptic, then pulled Cheng Yu over to sit on the bench outside the store.

"Where do you want to go have fun later?" As Cheng Shao cleaned the blood away and bandaged Cheng Yu's wound, he coaxed him gently, "Want to go to an amusement park? We can ride roller coasters, go bungee jumping, go racing. How does that sound?"