The moment Uncle Chen opened the door and saw Old Master Huo, his eyes stung and reddened.
Master Huo had not visited in over three months, and he had nearly thought Master Huo had given up on Young Master Cixiao. Now, Uncle Chen's delight was plain on his face.
"Master, it's been a long time."
"It has, Old Chen."
Master Huo looked up toward the living room. Perhaps because Luo Beishi was here, it had become much livelier.
"Grandpa, I'll go upstairs with you."
In his delight, Uncle Chen had not noticed that the young madam was behind Master Huo. Did that mean the young madam had coaxed him into coming?
Uncle Chen understood at once and happily followed them.
The bodyguards stayed by the front entrance.
Today had felt like New Year's to them. The madam had taken them to the corporation, slapped Huo Cifeng in the face, and flaunted his wealth. They were all bodyguards, but now they could even whistle smugly at Huo Cifeng's guards.
"Captain, do you think the person Madam really likes might be the boss?" Although A Hu had worn sunglasses today, he had still clearly seen the name of the madam's company: Shixiao.
The reason behind that name certainly gave them food for thought.
"I don't know. Maybe that's possible?" A Long could not make sense of Luo Beishi's attitude either. Rumor had it that the madam had once pursued Huo Cifeng like crazy, yet now he would not even spare Huo Cifeng another glance. There was even an indescribable contempt for Huo Cifeng in his eyes.
"If a woman threw tens of billions at you for no reason, what would you think the reason was? If that's not love, what is?" A Hu propped his chin on his hand, thinking it over and analyzing it rationally.
A Long thought that although A Hu was usually unreliable, he actually had a point this time. "Go on."
A Hu said, "Also, could Madam have pursued Huo Cifeng because he wanted to use him as our boss's substitute?
"How else can you explain what happened today? Besides, the boss is so vicious that it's normal for Madam not to dare approach him, so Madam wanted to find a stand-in!"
The more A Long listened, the more far-fetched it sounded, yet it was unexpectedly reasonable. And so A Hu spread the theory among the bodyguards, who passed it on until they all knew.
Upstairs.
Master Huo sat on the stool Luo Beishi had brought over, looking at his once-proud grandson, who now lay quietly asleep in bed. A heavy, painful feeling slowly spread through his heart.
Luo Beishi said, "Grandpa, stay for lunch. I'll go downstairs and arrange it. Have a good chat with A-Xiao."
He called him A-Xiao because the system had told him that was what the old master usually called Huo Cixiao, which lent it a certain closeness.
Old Master Huo said, "All right, go ahead. Thank you for the effort, Xiao Shi."
Hearing the old man's voice, Huo Cixiao was still sulking a little. You haven't come to see me all week. Are you trying to throw away this burdensome grandson of yours? Don't think I'll forgive you just because you're old! Hmph!
And why did my bargain wife leave without even telling me how things went today, or whether the meeting was thrown into chaos?
Only after Luo Beishi left did Old Master Huo's tightly pressed lips slowly part. "A-Xiao, Grandpa accidentally found you a rich wife. You'd better thank me properly when you wake up!"
Huo Cixiao: *???*
Am I not rich enough? You needed to find me someone rich too?
Yet what Old Master Huo said next shattered his composure.
"Today was the shareholders' meeting. Cifeng originally thought victory was in the bag too. He transferred 15% of the shares over from your father, then borrowed over a hundred billion to acquire another 6%. Who would have thought... who would have thought it would blow up in his face! Hahaha..." Master Huo was a goofball too, and started laughing as he spoke.
Huo Cixiao: ...Could you stop just laughing? What happened next? What's with all of you telling me the beginning but not the ending? Picking on a man in a vegetative state?
"In the end, Xiao Shi splashed out forty billion to buy you 2% of Huo Corporation's shares, putting you 1% ahead of him!" Master Huo felt that his old bones had been holding this in all day. These youngsters were simply too entertaining. Not even television dramas would dare write something like this.
Huo Cixiao: ??? What? He had forty billion and still married someone in a vegetative state? Did a donkey kick him in the head?
"But A-Xiao, he's only holding them on your behalf. He left himself a fallback. When you wake up, you must thank Xiao Shi. For Xiao Shi to help you like this... perhaps only the two of you know the reason."
The old master paused, then continued in his deep, gravelly, aged voice, "Do you know what Xiao Shi's company is called?"
Huo Cixiao: ??? Can I actually talk to you? Can't you finish it all in one go?
"Shixiao Energy and Mining Company." Master Huo sighed softly after saying it. How had he failed to notice that the one Xiao Shi liked was A-Xiao? If he had known, would this whole substitute marriage business have happened?
Huo Cixiao: *...* He was completely bewildered and could not figure it out for the moment.
He could draw only one conclusion: his bargain wife was generous, and his bargain wife had helped him.
Lunch passed in a warm, harmonious atmosphere between Luo Beishi and Old Master Huo.
Luo Beishi felt that it had been a long time since anyone had eaten with him, and he was quite happy now. All the more so since his companion was an old tycoon worth hundreds of billions.
"Cifeng, you're joking, right?" No matter what Huo Cifeng said, Luo Ming refused to believe him.
Huo Cifeng drew a deep breath. Was this Luo Family playing dumb when they knew perfectly well?
"Today, Luo Beishi thoroughly enraged me. Uncle, you won't mind if I target him from now on, will you?"
Hearing Huo Cifeng's tone turn cold and grim, Luo Ming wanted to distance himself from Luo Beishi immediately, regardless of whether any of this was true. "Your Uncle Luo has no reason to lie to you. Cifeng, we really don't know where that brat got his money. If you don't believe me, you can investigate my accounts, my company, everything."
"You haven't forgotten, have you, Uncle Luo? I still hold 40% of your family's shares. Do you think you can get them back? I'm a businessman. I never make a losing deal." Huo Cifeng laughed in his fury, then stormed out and slammed the door after those words.
Luo Ming's face had turned liver-red.
He had originally planned to have Luo Bai behave himself and coax the shares back later. Now Luo Beishi had suddenly interfered, and Huo Cifeng was not only angry-had his words just now also meant he wanted Luo Ming to persuade Luo Beishi to take back the shares he had given Huo Cixiao?
The problem was that he could not even get a glimpse of that unfilial son now. He could only go to Huo Cixiao's villa and have a look, or his company would face another crisis.
After turning it over in his mind, Luo Ming decided to go looking for that unfilial son Luo Beishi every day and demand an explanation, while also asking where his money had come from.
He had actually dared to make so much money behind his back, then helped a man lying in bed in a vegetative state instead of helping his own father's struggling company! This was outright rebellion!
The fallout from Huo Corporation's shareholders' meeting went far beyond this. It had even made the financial headlines, and Luo Beishi was happily scrolling through his phone.