Liu Chi picked up the red wine that the waiter had just brought over and poured a glass for Chu Yuan. “Young Master Chu, let me offer you a toast.”
“CEO Liu, please.”
Chu Yuan did not hesitate. He raised his glass and drained it in one gulp.
Red wine, as one of the more refined and elegant types of alcohol, was meant to be savored slowly, not chugged down like beer or strong liquor.
But Chu Yuan had no patience for such pretension. He simply finished it in one breath.
Of course, given his status, neither Liu Chi nor Liu Yanran would dare think that the man sitting before them was some country bumpkin who did not understand how to appreciate fine wine.
After three glasses were emptied, Liu Chi finally spoke of the real matter.
“Young Master Chu, to be honest, the reason we invited you here today is that there is something we hope you can help us with.”
Hearing this, Chu Yuan let out a faint sneer inwardly, though his expression remained calm. “I prefer to be straightforward. CEO Liu, just say what you need to say.”
“Ah…”
Chu Yuan’s bluntness startled Liu Chi and made him even more awkward.
He cleared his throat and said, “Young Master Chu is indeed direct. Then I will not beat around the bush.”
“To be frank, the young man who had a conflict with you yesterday has some ties to our Liu family.”
At this point, Liu Chi found it hard to continue, but he forced himself to say, “I hope Young Master Chu can be magnanimous and spare Lin Tianyang from imprisonment.”
Injuring bodyguards could be treated as either a major or minor offense.
If it had been anyone else, Liu Chi would not have needed to show up in person. A simple word would have been enough.
The problem was that Lin Tianyang had provoked the one person he absolutely should not have offended.
Liu Chi carefully added, “This matter was indeed Lin Tianyang’s fault. If Young Master Chu requires any compensation, please name your price. Our Liu family will do our utmost.”
As expected, Liu Chi had come for this issue.
“I saw that kid dressed in rags, showing clear murderous intent. I even thought he was mentally unstable. I did not expect him to be connected to your Liu family. CEO Liu, could you enlighten me?” Chu Yuan asked with feigned confusion, his expression implying something else entirely.
Was that brat sent by the Liu family to assassinate me?
Liu Chi broke into a cold sweat and immediately replied, “He… he is the descendant of an old acquaintance of my father. The Liu family is willing to offer the Liu Research Institute in exchange for Young Master Chu’s forgiveness. Please grant us this favor.”
“The Liu Research Institute?”
A startled voice broke the silence.
Liu Yanran stared at her father in disbelief. “Dad, what are you saying? The Liu Research Institute is the life’s work of several generations of our family. And you’re giving it away just for that boy?” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
She felt her mind could not keep up.
A wild boy from the mountains. Her grandfather wanted her to marry him. And now her father was offering the most important asset of the Liu family for his sake.
Liu Chi smiled bitterly. This was hardly his intention.
A few simple words could not possibly explain everything. With Chu Yuan present, he could only offer a few vague excuses to calm Liu Yanran down for the time being.
Not only Liu Yanran was shocked. Even Chu Yuan was slightly surprised.
He knew about the Liu Research Institute. It was the Liu family’s largest pharmaceutical research institution. Losing it would cause the Liu family to bleed heavily.
For Lin Tianyang’s sake, the Liu family was truly willing to pay a high price.
This only strengthened Chu Yuan’s resolve to drive a wedge between Lin Tianyang and the Liu family and make them completely fall out.
Chu Yuan pretended to ponder for a moment and then sighed. “Since CEO Liu has spoken so sincerely, I, Chu Yuan, am not someone who presses advantage without mercy.”
“I can overlook the matter of Lin Tianyang injuring my bodyguards. Releasing him is not impossible either, however…”
“What other request does Young Master Chu have? Please say it.”
“The Liu family’s research institute is the heart and soul of your family. I will not take what others cherish.”
“But that brat dared to publicly declare he would kill me. If you want me to release him, he must apologize to me in person and swear that from now on, whenever he sees me, he will take a detour.”
“That is not an excessive request, is it?”
“Not at all, not at all. We must thank Young Master Chu for showing mercy.”
“Lin Tianyang made a mistake. He should pay the price. Having him apologize to Young Master Chu is only right.”
Liu Chi felt a huge burden lifted from his chest and quickly agreed.
He had thought they would lose the Liu Research Institute.
Now all that was required was an apology from Lin Tianyang. To Liu Chi, this was a tremendous gain.
His imagination was beautiful, but reality would be cruel.
For someone like Chu Yuan, who understood protagonists all too well, asking them to apologize was harder than reaching the heavens.
They would rather stand straight and take what they wanted than bend their backs and beg.
That was the true nature of a protagonist.
Perhaps some protagonists might temporarily endure humiliation when they lacked strength.
Chu Yuan had rejected the tempting prize of the Liu Research Institute and instead demanded an apology from Lin Tianyang.
What he wanted was precisely for Lin Tianyang to refuse.
If Liu Chi knew that what he considered the simplest condition would turn out to be the most difficult, what kind of scene would that create?
“Young Master Chu, let me toast you again to thank you for your generosity.”
Liu Chi finished his glass in one gulp.
What kind of situation was this? For the sake of some unknown wild boy, he had lowered himself to beg and even risked involving his daughter.
Liu Chi felt utterly miserable inside.
“CEO Liu, you are too polite. Still, I am curious. What exactly is Lin Tianyang to you? You are even willing to give up the Liu family’s most precious research institute for him.”
“Could he be your illegitimate son?”
Liu Chi’s face turned bitter, unable to speak.
Such a rebellious and unfilial son, whoever wanted him could take him.
As for revealing that Lin Tianyang was his daughter Liu Yanran’s fiancé, he could not bring himself to say it.
At this point, he almost suspected that Lin Tianyang was his half-brother, yet also tied to his daughter.
The relationship was a complete mess.
Liu Chi’s reaction was answer enough.
Chu Yuan had already gained a preliminary understanding that Liu Chi did not think highly of Lin Tianyang.
Within the entire Liu family, perhaps only Old Master Liu had fallen under the protagonist’s halo of lowered intelligence.
An old man nearing the end of his life, still insisting on interfering. That made things much easier.
Seeing that Chu Yuan had not pursued the matter further and had even agreed to release Lin Tianyang, Liu Chi hurriedly instructed the driver to bring Lin Tianyang over.
He wanted to settle this once and for all before any new complications arose.
After receiving Chu Yuan’s signal, Lin Wanzhu did not say anything more.
Since Chu Yuan no longer wished to pursue the matter, she had no interest in holding onto it either.