C11 A Condition

It was none other than Lu Yuan himself.

Without caring about the crowd’s reactions, he strode over to Su Lianyi’s side and gently pried her clenched hands open.

“Didn’t I tell you?” he said softly. “From now on, I won’t let anyone bully you again.”

Su Lianyi could only blink at him. She wasn’t expecting him, of all people, to appear here all of a sudden.

Truth be told, as soon as Lu Yuan was chased away yesterday, she had immediately regretted the way she had treated him.

She became especially remorseful later in the evening, when her precious daughter wept for her absent father.

Just like Su Xiaoxiao, Su Lianyi was terrified that Lu Yuan would once again disappear from their lives, perhaps for good this time. Their daughter hadn’t even spent a whole day with him, and she would have to go back to being fatherless again.

And so, when Lu Yuan stood before her, Su Lianyi felt the walls around her heart tremble. Strangely, the warmth from his hands seemed to envelop her entire body.

“Who are you?” Old Master Su demanded. “How did you get in here? How dare you barge into our family meeting? Somebody, get him out of this room!”

He obviously failed to recognize Lu Yuan as the useless piece of trash they had been taunting just a while ago.

Su Zheng rushed over to the old man’s side and supported Old Master Su’s back.

He cast a taunting glance at Su Lianyi before saying, “Grandpa, this is Lu Yuan. Do you remember? He is the chauffeur who managed to marry Si Lianyi five years ago, then suddenly disappeared.”

Old Master Su narrowed his eyes, his brows knitted. His thoughts were racing as he compared the Lu Yuan standing before him with his previous impression of the young man. He could sense that Lu Yuan’s temperament had changed, but other than that, he appeared to be just the same. He was even dressed in the same shabby clothes he had always sported.

At this point, Su Lianyi was finally able to compose herself. “What are you doing here?” she snapped, pushing Lu Yuan away. His presence only spelled more trouble for her.

Lu Yuan’s face fell when she pushed him away, but he obliged her by taking a step back.

Old Master Su cleared his throat loudly. “So! You are that scum, Lu Yuan. You actually have the face to come back after disappearing for so long, huh?

Well, your only value now lies in your concession to divorce Su Lianyi. If you think you’re capable, you might also try your hand at convincing her to enter into a collaboration with the Qingyuan Group! That’s the least you can do after the havoc you caused five years ago.”

Lu Yuan was enraged to hear them speak of his wife as if she were a bargaining chip whose sole purpose was to sacrifice herself to serve their interests.

He turned to glare at Old Master Su, his eyes blazing with fury. For some reason, Old Master Su felt his blood run cold.

“Wha—What are you planning to do?” the old man asked, his voice faltering.

“Apologize to Su Lianyi,” Lu Yuan stated.

They should be expressing their gratitude, too. If Su Lianyi hadn’t been here, Lu Yuan would have made sure that these imbeciles left the room crawling or carried on a stretcher.

Old Master Su swallowed a lump in his throat. He stared at Lu Yuan with wide, frightened eyes, unable to shake the impression that he was staring at the god of slaughter from the depths of hell. Before long, he felt his fingers tremble, and his knees shook beneath him.

Seeing this, Su Lianyi made to reach for the old man, but Su Zheng beat her to it. Her cousin held their grandfather up by the waist and sneered at her.

“Su Lianyi! Is this how your husband treats Grandpa, the head of our family? He has no manners at all!”

“That’s right, Grandpa is already 80 years old. Are you trying to provoke him on purpose? You want to anger him to death and snatch the inheritance by some devious scheme, is that it?”

“Seriously, Grandpa should just disown Su Lianyi. It would save everyone a lot of trouble and eliminate any risks of her plotting against the family.”

The rest of the crowd were discussing among themselves, not bothering to lower their voices.

Su Lianyi’s hands balled into fists yet again. The corners of her eyes turned red, and her body began to sway to the side ever so slightly.

She had worked hard to build the Tianzheng Group up from the ground, and everyone knew it. She hadn’t made a fuss when they snatched it from her hands, but there seemed to be no end to their greed. They were betraying her right to her face.

As furious as she was, Su Lianyi was mostly sad.

Meanwhile, Old Master Su finally calmed down. He didn’t dare to scold Lu Yuan anymore, though. Instead, he directed his attention to Su Lianyi.

“Listen well, Lianyi. No matter what others think or say, it was because of you and your husband that the Su family is unable to rise to prominence in the Yun State.

It is only right that you make up for your mistakes and the repercussions of your scandal. I am already being merciful by providing you the means to make amends. Either you listen to Su Zheng and divorce Lu Yuan to get together with President Zhao, or you can seek a cooperation with the Qingyuan Group on your own, without any help from the Su family.

Mark my words, however. If you fail to seal a deal with the Qingyuan Group, I will disown you and kick you out of the Su family once and for all.”

Old Master Su’s eyes glinted with sinister malice as he finished his words.

Su Lianyi could feel the color drain from her face.

Even if she had the strength of her family backing her up, it would be a heavenly feat to secure a collaboration with the renowned Qingyuan Group. How was she supposed to manage it on her own?

“Grandfather, I...”

Su Lianyi was about to refuse the matter altogether, but Lu Yuan interrupted her.

“We don’t need your help. Su Lianyi will manage on her own.”

“Great!” Su Zheng exclaimed, visibly overjoyed. “I’m sure you can do it, Lianyi. After all, you are the most capable person in our family, are you not?”

He shifted his stance and gave her a mocking smirk. “But I’m warning you, don’t even think about saying that we bullied you. You were given a choice. You’re the one who squandered your chance. Your husband may have chosen on your behalf, but we won’t let either of you go back on your word.”

“It’s clearly an impossible mission, but he agreed right away. He’s just like the rumors say, a good-for-nothing fool,” a relative muttered.

Tianzheng Group was nothing more than a second-rate business from the local vicinity, whereas Qingyuan Group was one of the leading companies in the entire capital. It didn’t take a genius to know that there was no way a corporate giant would even spare a glance at an insignificant company like theirs.

“All right, now that is settled, the meeting is adjourned. You are all dismissed!”

Old Master Su clutched his cane and gingerly got back to his feet. Before leaving, he turned to Su Lianyi again. “You have three days. If you fail your task, make sure you pack your bags and leave the Su family!”

Old Master Su hobbled out of the room, while those left behind sneered and smirked at Su Lianyi with gloating expressions.

“You weren’t expecting this, were you?” Su Zheng mocked. “It won’t be long now. The company you’ve worked so hard for will soon be mine.

I am a direct descendant of the Su family, and in Grandpa’s eyes, I am the only legitimate heir. I can barely wait for three days. I’ll be there to watch you and your family getting kicked out of the family residence!” Su Zheng ended his speech with a bark of laughter.

“He wasn’t wrong. Su Lianyi is the daughter of an illegitimate child. Where did she ever get the nerve to fight against Zheng for the position of heir? She thinks too highly of herself.”

“Zheng, don’t forget that I’m always on your side! I’ve supported you all this time. Make sure to remember once you become the chairman of the company!”

“Me, too, Zheng! You have everyone’s support!”

Su Zheng sauntered out of the conference room, surrounded by his pandering relatives. Soon, Lu Yuan and Su Lianyi were left alone.

When the last person finally turned the corner down the hall, Su Lianyi whirled around and slapped Lu Yuan across the face.