I Was Half Responsible

Father Wen and Wen Chenglin exchanged a glance. Clearly, neither of them believed a single word Zhong Mohan said.

The other man was definitely not the type to visit without a reason. Saying he had come to see Xiao Ze was nothing more than an excuse; his true aim clearly lay elsewhere.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Zhong, but Xiao Ze may have drunk a little too much at the banquet yesterday. He's still sleeping upstairs, so I'm afraid he can't see you. How about I accompany you to sit in the garden?"

Father Wen and Wen Chenglin reached a silent agreement. Since Xiao Ze was merely a pretext, they should not let Zhong Mohan see him. Whatever the reason, both Father Wen and Wen Chenglin wanted to avoid any contact between Wen Chengze and Zhong Mohan.

Hearing Father Wen say that, Zhong Mohan remained calm. "That works. I happen to have something I'd like to discuss with President Wen."

Sure enough, he did have something to discuss with them.

"You and Mom take care of Xiao Ze. I'll go talk with Mr. Zhong." After quickly giving Wen Chenglin a few instructions, Father Wen led Zhong Mohan toward the garden.

The servants had already prepared refreshments. Zhong Mohan sat with his legs crossed, elegance apparent in every gesture.

But Father Wen, seated across from him, did not dare relax in the slightest. Zhong Mohan might have been young, but the fact that Old Master Zhong had skipped a generation and handed the Zhong Household over to him proved that he was no ordinary man.

Naturally, Father Wen was well aware of the turmoil among the various Lineages. However, he had no intention of involving the Wen Household in it.

He did not care about the Zhong Household or those harboring ulterior motives. He only wanted to keep his family from being harmed in this war for power.

"The flowers in President Wen's back garden are truly beautiful." Zhong Mohan swept his gaze across the garden and spoke casually.

"My wife tends to them. She likes these things." Looking at the flowers, Father Wen's eyes softened slightly.

Zhong Mohan lightly tapped his fingers against the table. "Then she must have put a great deal of care into them. If a violent storm were to strike suddenly, they would be easily destroyed. What a pity."

On the surface, he was talking about flowers, but Father Wen was no ordinary person. He understood the man's meaning immediately.

For a long while, neither of them spoke.

"President Wen, you have contributed greatly to the company's growth into what it is today."

Father Wen did not take such pleasantries to heart. He was waiting for Zhong Mohan to get to the point.

"However, I think managing such a large company while also having to divide your attention among other matters must be exhausting for you, even with your eldest son helping."

"It's manageable. These are all things I should do." Father Wen had already vaguely guessed what Zhong Mohan was about to say.

"How about handing over what you currently possess to me? I can offer you a suitable price. You can rest properly, and you won't have to live in fear every day."

Father Wen drew in a sharp breath. He had expected Zhong Mohan to negotiate, but he had not expected him to be so blunt.

What Father Wen held concerned the very foundation of the Zhong Household. Naturally, he would not hand it over so easily, much less to Zhong Mohan.

At the same time, though, Father Wen held part of the initiative in his hands. He could only maneuver carefully between the sides.

"Mr. Zhong, you must be joking. I don't know what you're talking about."

Zhong Mohan pressed his lips together and straightened in his seat. It was as though he had suddenly become a different person, his startling presence making Father Wen's heart jolt.

"President Wen, you should know that I'm still willing to discuss this with you. If you refuse to cooperate, I can't guarantee what I might do. After all, dealing with the Wen Household would take some effort, but it's not beyond my means."

Father Wen's face immediately darkened at the threat.

Wen Chenglin was no fool. He knew Zhong Mohan had gone to discuss something with his father, but they had been gone for so long that he could not help feeling worried. He was also concerned about Xiao Ze upstairs and wondered how he was doing.

Half an hour later, Father Wen and Zhong Mohan returned to the living room.

From a distance, Wen Chenglin heard Father Wen's voice. It was not as gentle as usual, but rather somewhat sharp. "Mr. Zhong, you may be able to turn clouds into rain with a wave of your hand. I hope that while I do what I can, you will also do what you should."

Listening to his father, Wen Chenglin felt as though Father Wen was mocking Zhong Mohan.

Zhong Mohan, meanwhile, still wore his expressionless face, without the slightest change in expression.

But Wen Chenglin had no time to dwell on the details. All he could think about was that Zhong Mohan was leaving.

For some reason, he instinctively felt that Xiao Ze should not have too much contact with Zhong Mohan.

However, just as Zhong Mohan and the others reached the door, the doctor who had gone upstairs earlier happened to come down.

At the sight of the doctor, Zhong Mohan paused and tilted his head toward Father Wen. "Is the young master ill?"

Without waiting for an answer, Zhong Mohan began to think. Wen Chengze seemed to have left directly last night, and the bathroom had not been used.

Though he had no experience in this area, he had at least seen enough to know how it worked. Given Wen Chengze's awkward personality, he definitely would not have cleaned himself up properly. Getting sick had been inevitable.

Watching Zhong Mohan stop in his tracks, alarm bells immediately rang in Wen Chenglin's head.

Sure enough, they heard Zhong Mohan say, "Since I came to visit the young master, and he's ill, I should all the more go see him. He should be awake by now, shouldn't he?"

Father Wen and Wen Chenglin could not argue with Zhong Mohan. In the end, they could only brace themselves and take him upstairs.

But they could not understand it. If coming to see Xiao Ze had merely been a pretext, why insist on putting on a show and going upstairs to see him?

Moreover, Wen Chenglin did not believe Zhong Mohan's explanation.

Although his younger brother usually did not speak much, he was definitely no harmless little white rabbit. At yesterday's banquet, there had been absolutely no one capable of bullying him.

No matter what the Wen father and son thought, Zhong Mohan still entered Wen Chengze's bedroom.

The moment he entered, Zhong Mohan caught a whiff of a delicate fragrance, the same scent that had driven him mad yesterday.

The person on the bed was weakly leaning against the headboard. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he looked utterly listless.

Hearing someone enter, Mother Wen and Wen Chengze both looked over.

Wen Chengze's cheeks, already somewhat rosy from his fever, drained of all color the instant he saw Zhong Mohan.

Why was this man here?

And why did Father and his brother look so awful behind him?

Could it be that Zhong Mohan had told Father and his brother about what happened last night?

At the thought of that possibility, Wen Chengze wished he could find a block of tofu and smash his head into it.

The man did not feel like a guest in the slightest and sat directly beside Wen Chengze.

"Xiao Ze, I frightened you yesterday. When I came earlier, you were asleep, and I was originally planning to leave. But then I happened to run into the doctor. Since you're awake, I should come see you. After all, I'm half responsible for what happened yesterday. I can give you whatever compensation you want." Zhong Mohan spoke without changing expression, and there was even a teasing look in his eyes as he watched Wen Chengze.

Wen Chengze: For the first time in his life, he wanted to swear.

Could you just get lost already?