He really did not expect that behind Li Xiaoran’s seemingly calm smile, he was actually affected by his neglect of the mother and son.
He still wanted to use his authority as a parent to reprimand Li Xiaoran, but when he saw Li Xiaoran’s distant and cold gaze, he realized how absurd it was for him to try to blackmail this child with kinship.
He had ignored him for so many years and had completely pushed Li Xiaoran away from him. Li Xiaoran did not care about him at all.
When Li Xiaoran was leaving, Old Master Li’s anger exploded. He roared at Li Xiaoran’s back, “Li Xiaoran, if you dare to walk out of this door, I’ll cut ties with you.”
Li Xiaoran found it amusing. He stopped and looked back, chuckling. “Up to you.”
Master Li was speechless. With that, Li Xiaoran strode away.
“Without the Li family backing you up, you’ll have to fight countless battles in the business world,” Old Master Li shouted at his back.
He was old, and in the past few years, he had increasingly realized that the mistake he had made was unforgivable. Just as he was thinking about how to compensate Li Xiaoran, he did not expect that Li Xiaoran had already thought of cutting ties with him.
Old Master Li closed his eyes in despair. His heart ached.
“Dad, Xiao Ran clearly doesn’t want to help Zecheng. What should we do? Do we have to let Qiao An’s interview draft trend?” Li Tingye said anxiously.
Old Master Li said helplessly, “Gather 1.6 billion and send it to Xiaoran.”
The third branch heaved a sigh of relief.
However, the eldest and second branches were very dissatisfied. “Dad, Zecheng caused this disaster himself. There’s no reason for our eldest and second branches to be implicated. The third branch should fork out the money themselves.”
Li Zecheng and Third Madam’s expressions turned solemn again.
Old Master Li wanted to flare up, but when he saw the dark expressions of the first and second families, he knew that their tolerance for the third family had reached its limit.
Old Master Li did not want the Li family to fall apart. In the end, he turned around and reprimanded Li Zecheng. “Li Zecheng, you caused the trouble. Your eldest uncle and second uncle indeed have no reason to bear the responsibility with you. Think of a way to resolve the trending topic yourself.”
Li Zecheng stood there with his face covered in dust, like a homeless dog.
After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed.
The old man seemed to have aged ten years overnight. He sat on the sofa in a daze.
The butler walked over and bent down. “Master, are you worried about Fourth Young Master?”
The old man’s eyes were filled with worry. “Do you feel it? Xiaoran hates the Li family.”
The butler dared not speak.
The old man said to himself, “This child is shrewd. He has been pretending to be nonchalant all these years. I’m afraid he has been brooding over the cause of his mother’s death. In that case, he can’t be of use to the Li family. Butler, think of a way to throw him some obstacles. Don’t let him develop smoothly in his career. Don’t let him block Zecheng’s path.”
The butler opened his mouth but hesitated.
In the end, he changed the topic and said, “I heard that Fourth Young Master has already left Jinghang Hospital and gone to the Huo Group’s pharmaceutical company. I believe it was Old Master Huo’s idea for him to acquire the Hai Yue Group. After all, owning a media company will allow him to better advertise the Huo Group’s brand.”
Old Master Li’s dry and yellow eyes suddenly narrowed. He snorted and said, “No wonder this child’s temper has become bigger. It turns out that he has the richest man in the capital as his backer. Hmph, but why doesn’t he think about it? He’s not related to the Huo family, so why should the Huo family support him?” Old Master Li revealed a disdainful expression.
The butler pondered for a moment and asked, “Master, I heard that the vaccine of the Huo Group was developed in the same period as ours. After all, our Likang Group is an old brand and is trusted by the public. It’s very easy to squeeze out the newly established pharmaceutical company of the Huo Group. Why don’t we use this opportunity to give Xiaoran a lesson? After he suffers, he might be able to turn around obediently.”
Old Master Li smiled and nodded. “This child has never lost in his life. Let him have a taste of failure this time. Go and arrange it.”
“Yes.”
Old Master Li smiled confidently.
Li Zecheng, who was abandoned by everyone, was in a bad mood. He went to a bar alone to relieve his sorrows.
However, he happened to meet Li Xiaoran and Huo Zhou. Li Zecheng mocked, “Now that Uncle has climbed up the social ladder, he’s so smug that he doesn’t even know his surname.”
Li Xiaoran frowned. “You reminded me that I should change my surname. Otherwise, I’ll really forget my roots.”
Li Xiaoran had always had a wish, which was to take his mother’s surname. After all, his mother had given him life and raised him painstakingly.
Actually, this was also his mother’s wish. However, his mother had a bad reputation at that time. In order to protect the Huo family, she could not reveal her identity, so she reluctantly let Li Xiaoran take her father’s surname.
Li Zecheng looked at him suspiciously, feeling that Li Xiaoran’s words had a deeper meaning. “Shouldn’t your surname be Li?”
Li Xiaoran said, “Please tell your grandfather that my surname is no longer Li but Huo.”
Huo Zhou agreed deeply. “Xiaoran, your decision is really right.” He placed a hand on Li Xiaoran’s shoulder intimately.
Li Zecheng’s gaze landed on Huo Zhou’s hand that was wrapped around Li Xiaoran’s shoulder. He felt a chill and said, “Uncle, don’t tell me you sold your body to curry favor? Let me give you a piece of advice. If you climb high, you’ll fall hard.”
Li Xiaoran chuckled, his eyes revealing a mischievous glint. “Li Zecheng, Uncle will also give you a message. Don’t be an eyesore in front of me. Otherwise, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you will discover that your doomsday has arrived.”
With that, Li Xiaoran turned around and found a seat.
Li Zecheng did not believe it and insisted on following.
He sat down beside Li Xiaoran and said smugly, “I’m an eyesore to you. Do you think you’re Voldemort? I’m afraid you don’t have the means to destroy me.”
Li Xiaoran pushed the wine glass to him. “Since you’re here, drink a few glasses with Uncle.”
Li Zecheng felt depressed and drank to ease his worries.
After downing glasses of wine, Li Zecheng leaned on the table drunkenly.
Huo Zhou looked at Li Xiaoran and asked, “Your nephew is drunk. What should we do?”
Li Xiaoran took out Li Zecheng’s phone, found Wei Xin’s number, and handed it to Huo Zhou. “Call her and ask her to pick him up.”
Huo Zhou smiled slyly. “Xiaoran, if your nephew knows that you’re a two-faced wolf, he will definitely regret his actions today.”
Huo Zhou called Wei Xin and told her, “Miss, there’s a man here who’s drunk. You’re the first person in his contact list. I think you must be very close to him. Please bring him back.”