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The next day, Yu Zi met with Yu Ziheng at a café in the CBD.
Xie Dongcheng accompanied Yu Zi to the café. As they approached the entrance, they saw the tall figure of Yu Ziheng through the glass. It was already October, almost winter, yet Yu Ziheng was wearing just a tracksuit, with wireless earphones in his ears.
Xie Dongcheng hadn’t seen this younger brother of his before, only heard of him in passing.
“So tall?” Xie Dongcheng whispered to Yu Zi as they pushed open the door and entered.
Yu Zi nodded. “He’s thirteen or fourteen years old.”
Xie Dongcheng found a table not far from them and waited there.
As Yu Zi approached, Yu Ziheng noticed him and quickly took off his earphones, pulling out the chair opposite him for him to sit.
“Ge,” Yu Ziheng greeted him, but Yu Zi raised his hand to stop him.
“Go ahead, what do you need from me?” Yu Zi called over the waiter and ordered a sparkling water for Yu Ziheng.
Yu Ziheng lifted his youthful face and looked at his long-unseen brother: “There’s something I don’t know how to handle.”
With that, he fiddled with the outer wall of the glass with his fingertips: “I’m a little scared…”
Yu Zi was impatient and directly asked, “Just get to the point, what’s the matter?”
Yu Ziheng took a deep breath and then spoke: “Over half a year ago, one afternoon after I finished tennis practice, I took the car back home…”
Yu Zi was too lazy to listen to these details: “Get to the point.”
Yu Ziheng hesitated, lowered his head, and cleared his throat: “I saw a woman at home.”
Yu Zi suddenly looked up at him: “What do you mean?”
“My dad, your dad too. With her in the bedroom…”
Yu Zi looked at his expression and realized that the boy had encountered an embarrassing situation.
“Did he see you?” Yu Zi asked in return.
Yu Ziheng paused for a few seconds, then nodded slightly.
“Why are you telling me this?” Yu Zi didn’t understand. Even if they had some superficial brotherly relationship back in China, he should have told his mother first. Why suddenly come to him to vent?
“My dad threatened me not to tell my mom. He also forbids me from telling any relatives abroad.” He sighed softly and looked at Yu Zi, “I thought and thought, and you were the only one I could think of.”
Yu Zi clicked his tongue. This was very much like Yu Qing’s usual style. He couldn’t help but find it ridiculous. Did Yu Ziheng think he had experience in this area?
Yu Zi remained calm on the surface and asked along his words, “And you haven’t told your mom yet?”
“No.” He shook his head, “But I feel it’s unfair to my mom. Ge, what should I do?”
Originally, Yu Zi just wanted to comfort him with a few words. But halfway through his thoughts, he suddenly realized something and his expression became somewhat heavy.
“After that, did he show any unusual behavior?” Yu Zi asked quickly.
“What kind of unusual behavior?”
“Towards you and your mom.”
Yu Ziheng pondered for a moment and replied, “Yes. He suddenly became very nice, to my mom too. He’d pamper her every day and even bought her a sports car.”
Yu Zi fell silent for half a minute after hearing this. His guess might be true.
Yu Ziheng looked at him puzzledly.
At this moment, the phone lying on the table suddenly rang. Yu Ziheng saw the flashing words “Yu Qing” on the screen, and he became nervous for a moment, his fingers trembling slightly.
Yu Zi then got up, picking up the phone from the table and walking outside.
Yu Zi pushed open the door and walked out into the open air before answering the call.
The person on the other end seemed to have been waiting for his answer, and his tone was very urgent.
“Hey, Yu Zi.”
“What’s up?”
“After our last conversation, I gave you more than a month to consider. The new office has been arranged, and the money is in place. You can…”
Yu Zi didn’t let him finish, interrupting his words directly, “Let’s meet tomorrow.”
Yu Qing didn’t expect Yu Zi to be so straightforward, paused for two seconds before asking, “Are you willing to see me?”
“Of course, you’re my real dad.”
Yu Qing laughed, “You’re really my good son. Then I’ll set the place.”
Yu Zi silently sneered on this end of the line, then said to the other end, “No need. Since you’re coming back to the country, I’ll be the host. I’ll send you the address.”
Yu Qing was overjoyed, “Okay, okay!”
After Yu Zi hung up the phone and walked back inside, Yu Ziheng couldn’t sit still.
He stood up all of a sudden and asked softly, “Does he know I came to see you?”
Yu Zi shook his head, then patted his shoulder, “Go back and wait for my message.”
Yu Ziheng finally felt relieved, as if he had found some support, “Thank you, ge. I couldn’t find anyone else to talk to, so I thought of you…”
Yu Zi didn’t respond to his words, “No need to be grateful to me. I’m not doing this for you.”
“Then for what?”
Yu Zi tapped the table, indicating him to get up, “It’s none of your concern. Go home, your mom must be worried not finding you.”
Soon, Yu Zi got a taxi for him and sent him off.
After Yu Ziheng left, Xie Dongcheng also stood up. The two of them walked towards the parking lot one after the other.
It wasn’t until they got into the car that Yu Zi spoke up.
“I know why Yu Qing came to see me that day.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t just give me money for no reason.” Yu Zi tossed the phone screen into the car’s glove compartment.
He paused for two seconds, then looked back at Xie Dongcheng, “He wants to transfer his assets.”
“Transfer his assets?!” Xie Dongcheng had just heard the conversation between the two brothers and only guessed that Yu Qing might have a new lover, but he didn’t expect it to go this far.
“Yes. He wants a divorce. On the surface, he’s acting in front of Yu Ziheng’s mother, making sure she has no guard up. Yu Ziheng’s mother is soft-hearted, she’ll definitely agree to this investment. That way, his actions become very legitimate.”
Yu Zi fastened his seatbelt and continued, “But in reality, he’s using this method to transfer his assets in advance. That’s also why, yesterday, He Xun said he went to seek legal advice. It’s not safe to give the money to someone else, but if he gives it to me in a legitimate way, the money won’t be subject to divorce settlement.”
“Then the call he gave me last year…” Xie Dongcheng remembered the inexplicable call he received, as if he understood something.
“To investigate my life. To see if I’m convenient for him to control.”
It seemed that Yu Qing had already planned for a divorce long ago, but the timing wasn’t right after going bankrupt. After going abroad, he came into contact with the assets of his current wife’s family and immediately made his own plans.
There was still one thing Xie Dongcheng didn’t understand: “But how can he be sure that after giving you the money, you’ll give it back to him? Investment involves risks. What if it all ends up in losses?”
“So he suddenly came to the office that day, wanting to take me away. He even wanted to arrange a house for me, that was his purpose. Even if I lost all my money, he had ways to make me spit it all out.”
Xie Dongcheng felt a shock running through his body: “He wants to control you?”
Yu Zi nodded.
“How do you plan to deal with it? Is there anything I can help with?” Xie Dongcheng knew the matter was complicated and didn’t want Yu Zi to risk himself.
Yu Zi suddenly smiled, opening a crack in the car window. The autumn breeze blew in, dispersing the stray hairs on his forehead.
“You only need to help me with one thing.” His tone was firm.
“What thing?”
“Tomorrow, accompany me in a play.”
Yu Qing’s calculations were precise, but the one thing he hadn’t calculated was that Yu Ziheng would come to Yu Zi on his own.
That night, Yu Zi booked a table at a Western restaurant and reserved a semi-private room.
Then he sent the address to Yu Qing. Yu Qing quickly replied, seeming to have been waiting for a long time.
The next day at noon, before the agreed time, Yu Qing arrived at the restaurant’s private room. When he pushed the door open, he was smiling, seeming to be in a good mood.
Yu Zi sat on the innermost seat, with Xie Dongcheng standing behind him.
Before Yu Qing sat down, he glanced at Xie Dongcheng, but didn’t greet him.
Yu Zi ordered drinks for him, and his phone was placed on the table.
“Sit.” He gestured to Yu Qing.
“Have you figured it out?” Yu Qing pulled out a chair and sat down, raising his eyebrows at him.
Yu Zi pretended to be hesitant and nodded: “The company has just started, there are too many places to spend money.”
“I heard you’ve raised funds in a round?” Yu Qing lightly picked up the glass in front of him.
Yu Zi knew he hadn’t completely let down his guard.
“Paul’s place, as you know, has a lot of rules. Not very generous with money either.” Yu Zi curled his lips.
Yu Qing glanced at him several times, then exhaled: “Okay. My funds are still abundant. Let’s stick to what we discussed in the previous round for the first round. There will be more later. But since it’s an investment, it’s not a gift. I need a return.”
Yu Zi naturally understood his meaning and nodded: “You can trust me.”
“So these days, get ready to move the office, don’t stay in that small place. And the house on the west side is also prepared for you, with someone to take care of everything for you.”
Yu Zi found it ridiculous, whether it was for care or other purposes, he was probably clear himself.
Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, Xie Dongcheng knew it was time for him to intervene. He took a step forward from behind.
“Mr. Yu, this might not be possible. He can’t move.” Xie Dongcheng looked into Yu Qing’s eyes, his tone serious. “We just received investment from Xuyang, there are many things to be done.”
“This matter has nothing to do with you. I’ll handle it.” Yu Qing glanced at him, “Please step aside and give us some space.”
Xie Dongcheng stood still, looking puzzled, “Why? Is there something I can’t hear? I’m his partner and have the right to know the details of this investment.”
Yu Zi chimed in, “Yeah, why can’t he know? He also invested money in the company in the early stages.”
Yu Qing stared at him, contemplated for a few seconds before speaking, “Yu Zi, this is our family matter. It’s not convenient to let outsiders know.”
Yu Zi glanced at Yu Qing for two seconds, then turned his head and glanced at Xie Dongcheng, signaling him with his eyes, “You should step out first.”
Xie Dongcheng finally walked slowly from behind him to the door, opened the door of the private room, then hesitated and glanced back.
Seeing him close the door tightly, Yu Zi breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Yu Qing, “Dad, is there something he can’t know?”
Yu Qing gradually changed his tone, “Yu Zi, I’ve always known that you’re a bit dissatisfied with your brother and his mother, feeling that I favor them.”
Yu Zi crossed his arms, showing a troubled expression, watching his performance.
“This time when I went abroad, I realized that I owed you too much since childhood. I also know that you’ve been living a hard life in China this past year…”
Yu Zi lightly pressed his brow, looking somewhat bitter, “You just realized this?”
Yu Qing sighed, “Aren’t I here to make it up to you?”
Seeing him gradually relax, Yu Zi continued to probe, “So, is this money your joint property?”
Yu Qing scoffed, “What joint property? My money, I have the right to dispose of it.”
Yu Zi smiled, “Aren’t you afraid of them finding out?”
Yu Qing replied, “This is an investment, completely legitimate. Besides, is there a problem with supporting my son’s career?”
Yu Zi nodded, seeming to understand his meaning, then continued, “So what’s your next plan?”
Seeing him accept his plan, Yu Qing’s shoulders relaxed, “My marriage with Xiao Ziheng’s mother has always had problems. Overseas is not a place to stay for long.”
Yu Zi nodded, continuing to probe, “Are you planning to divorce her?”
Yu Qing had already drunk half a glass of red wine, his neck gradually turning red, “Yes. I’ve already found a lawyer.”
Yu Zi applauded lightly, “Truly my dad. Far-sighted.”
Yu Qing felt a little elated by his praise, “With my support, are you still worried about not having money to spend in the future?”
Yu Zi suddenly picked up the phone from the table and pressed a button.
Outside the room, Xie Dongcheng received a message, raised his hand and pressed the button on the electric door of the private room.
With a buzz, the partition of this private room slowly retracted into the wall, and the originally closed room suddenly connected with the adjacent one.
Yu Qing was startled by this movement, immediately turning his head to look.
But the sight behind him made his alcohol-induced confidence vanish in an instant, his whole body chilled to the bone.
At the other end of the private room, a lady in a dress sat at the table, staring fixedly at him.
“How did you come here?!” Yu Qing stood up abruptly, the chair scraping across the floor, emitting a sharp metallic friction.
Yu Zi looked at the confrontation between the two, the atmosphere tense, on the verge of erupting.
“Auntie, did you hear it too? If you didn’t hear clearly, I have an audio backup here.” Yu Zi smiled, nodding at her.
Yu Ziheng’s mother also nodded at him.
Then, Yu Zi pulled out a chair, clapped his hands, and walked out of the private room.
Leaving behind a tumultuous situation.
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