Chapter 6

"Then hand it over to my sister, hand it over to A-Yan!" Yan Donglin said carelessly. "I never planned to take over your lousy group anyway. You're the only one who treats it like treasure. Look how badly the real economy is doing now—"

"Donglin!" Seeing the old man was about to reach for his belt, Wenren Jing cut off his brother-in-law's complaints in a deep voice. "Is that any way to speak to your father?"

Seeing Yan Guangchuan's movement, Yan Donglin flinched guiltily and instinctively scooted closer to Madam Yan. He muttered, "But it's true!"

Madam Yan rubbed Yan Donglin's head, both annoyed and amused, then gently persuaded her husband, "Don't get angry with him. Hasn't he always been this scatterbrained since he was little?"

"A doting mother raises a wayward son!" Yan Guangchuan glared at Madam Yan, but he finally lowered the hand that had been reaching for his belt.

Yan Donglin breathed a sigh of relief and sat close beside Madam Yan. Looking at Wenren Yan, who sat unmoving on the other end of the sofa as though he had seen nothing and heard nothing, he said indignantly, "You only know how to bully me."

"Since you know A-Yan always bullies you, and you can't bully him back, why do you keep provoking him?" Yan Yuheng shook her head helplessly. She did not know whether to pity her foolish younger brother or laugh at how he never learned his lesson, no matter how often he got burned.

Wenren Yan disagreed with his mother's assessment and retorted, "I didn't bully him."

"You didn't bully him first. You were only counterattacking in self-defense." Wenren Jing snorted. After thinking for a moment, he still asked, "Why did you suddenly want to become an actor?"

Wenren Yan looked calm. "To fulfill a contract."

That excuse might fool outsiders, but everyone present was family who knew him inside out. Who would believe it?

Still, everyone knew Wenren Yan's personality. If he did not want to say something, no one could pry it out of him.

Yan Yuheng shook her head. After a moment of silence, she said hesitantly, "About Wenren Heavy Industry... do you want to reconsider?"

The moment she said that, the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere fell silent. Wenren Jing frowned. Before his son could speak, he said, "Dinner will be ready soon. We don't discuss company matters at the table. We can talk after dinner."

Yan Guangchuan looked at the grandson he was proudest of and valued most, then said slowly, "You've always had your own ideas since you were young. Now that you've built your own career, your considerations are even more thorough. Your grandfather has never worried about that. But Donglin was right about one thing. This is how the domestic market is now. The real economy is sluggish, and everyone is speculating on so-called concept stocks. I know you finance people care greatly about short-term returns on capital in your investments. But sooner or later, you will take over Wenren Group. Shouldn't you try changing some things, some ways of thinking?"

Wenren Yan said nothing.

Yan Guangchuan continued, "I heard that numerous listening devices were installed in the new office building Yan Feng Capital rented. It seems many people are paying close attention to your return to China."

Wenren Jing glanced at his father-in-law and added solemnly, "Some things do not have to be done with one's edge fully exposed. When doing business in China, you still need to learn to keep a low profile and conceal your strength."

"That's business wisdom from ages ago." Yan Donglin curled his lip dismissively. "This is the information age, the age of big data. Your theory about fine wine needing no bush is long outdated. Look at the companies and enterprises making it big these days—which one didn't seize opportunities and market itself like crazy? Keep a low profile and conceal your strength? You'd better hope you don't conceal yourself into the grave."

"Donglin!" Madam Yan cut off her younger son's words and poked him in the forehead. "I think you're really asking for a beating."

"Ouch!" Yan Donglin rubbed his forehead and said indignantly, "Fine! I know I have no standing in this family. Nothing I say counts anyway. I can't be bothered to talk anymore. I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Wenren Yan glanced at Yan Donglin and suddenly said, "Me acting may also be a form of keeping a low profile and concealing my strength."

"What do you mean?" Yan Donglin did not understand. "Are you trying to pull some kind of open feint and covert maneuver on me?"

Was that necessary? More importantly, who was he putting on a show for? And who was he trying to fool?

Yan Donglin looked at Wenren Yan suspiciously. Was this brat really not just making excuses for his sudden whim?

Author's Note:

Thank you to the little angels who sent me mines or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-05-14 12:46:58 and 2020-05-15 11:01:31~

Thank you to the little angel who sent mines: Ni Keke, 1 mine;

Thank you to the little angels who sent nutrient solution: Ni Keke, 6 bottles; Civil Affairs Bureau, you get it?, 3 bottles;

Thank you all so much for your support. I will keep working hard!

Chapter 6

After all, it was an auspicious day specially calculated by an eminent monk after incense burning and ritual bathing. Even though Yan Donglin had a sudden fit and was dissatisfied with it for a while, he ultimately did not change the filming start date that had cost a fortune in incense money to determine. However, considering that Wenren Yan's feng shui might clash with his, Yan Donglin still invited an eminent monk to perform rites and chant sutras on the first day of filming, hoping to suppress the evil aura surrounding Wenren Yan.

—That's right. Yan Donglin, who had originally planned to get Wenren Yan drunk and squeeze an investment out of him, had ultimately tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice he used as bait. Not only had he failed to secure the hundred million investment, he had even paid out another two million in acting fees. All told, he had lost 102 million. When he had the company's finance department transfer the money to Wenren Yan, Yan Donglin's face turned green with pain.

"You don't feel bad paying Ao Qingyuan 112.2 million, but you're this heartbroken over giving me two million to stay with the production for three months," Wenren Yan said, deeply disapproving of Yan Donglin's behavior. "Don't go too far."

"What the hell do you know!" Yan Donglin clutched his chest, his voice weak as a thread. "If I give Ao Qingyuan over a hundred million, I can earn it back from him. What can I get back from the two million I give you? You won't even show your face."

That only made Yan Donglin even angrier. Because of Wenren Yan's inexplicable insistence, and because everyone in the family took Wenren Yan's side and also did not agree to let him show his face on television, Yan Donglin had no choice but to give in tearfully. He called the head of the props department in the middle of the night and told him to work overtime to rush out a crown with a mask, ensuring that Wenren Yan's face would remain hidden throughout filming.