Dressed in a rigorous black Zhongshan suit, an elderly man sat at the head of the table. His gray hair did nothing to diminish the sharpness of his gaze as he stared at Ji Chen, who was standing in the living room, for a full half hour.
Neither grandfather nor grandson spoke a word.
Ji Chen figured that someone would soon come to rescue him anyway, so there was no need to butt heads directly with the old man. Getting the old man so angry that something happened to him would just make Ji Chen unfilial, especially since the old man before his eyes was his maternal grandfather.
His grandfather, Lan Xiao, came from a political background and carried a heavy aura of authority. Having only a single daughter, Lan Ying, he had always wanted her to follow a political path as well.
His mother had her own mind and refused entirely to follow the future arranged by the old man. Instead, she fell in love with his father, Ji Heng, and rushed into marriage. Because of this matter, the Ji family and the old man had already fallen into a deeply estranged relationship.
After their marriage, the firstborn was his older sister. Although the old man was disappointed that she was a girl, he still wanted to compromise and have her take the Lan surname to personally groom her for a political career, but his older sister firmly disagreed, and his parents naturally protected her.
The two families started feuding again, culminating in his older sister successfully driving the old man’s blood pressure soaring.
Later on, when his older sister entered the military-industrial research institute and came under the state’s direct protection, the old man remained quite proud and let the matter go.
The second child was Fu Chi. This time, the old man played a foolish hand and directly stole the child.
Just a few days after birth, the infant was snatched away by the old man’s people, but an accident occurred along the way. Political rivals or some offended enemies intercepted them.
Fu Chi was immediately taken away during their escape, and the two families naturally pursued them closely. That person seemed to think there was no way out and actually boarded a cruise ship, jumping into the sea with the infant Fu Chi.
The two families expended countless resources searching and dredging for a long time, but not a single trace was found; it was completely like finding a needle in a haystack.
Ever since then, his parents and the old man had completely broken ties. They would not return for holidays or festivals, treating him as if he no longer existed.
His mother, Lan Ying, could never move past the hurdle of losing her child. Afterward, she and his father lived abroad for several years, and it was during that time that he was adopted. The old man was completely unaware and always thought he was his biological maternal grandson.
Refusing to give up, the old man still wanted him to inherit the Lan family. However, because of the previous incident involving Fu Chi, the old man felt a lingering sense of guilt and did not dare to make any reckless moves, only occasionally bringing him to visit the Lan family.
Right now, grandfather and grandson stared at each other without speaking, until the old man said with displeasure: “Have you forgotten how to address your elders?”
Ji Chen replied expressionlessly: “Elder Lan.”
“Scoundrel, what did you call me?”
“I called you Elder Lan. I know you are my maternal grandfather, but neither my mother nor my father allows me to get close to you. Presumably, you must have done something truly unforgivable. Those who gave birth to me are my parents, and naturally I must listen to them.”
A flash of guilt crossed the old man’s eyes, but he quickly concealed it and said: “Those who gave birth to you are your parents, that is true, but without me, your mother would not have been born, and neither would you. There is no one to inherit the Lan family; how about you change your surname to Lan?”
Ji Chen laughed mockingly: “I am Ji Chen, the little crown prince of the Beijing circle and the future heir of the QingSheng Group. Why would I give up what is in my hands to take the Lan surname?”
The old man sneered with disdain: “Merchants chase profits and deal with money all day long. You will only be tainted with the smell of copper. As a man, you should accomplish real deeds for more people, walk the political path, and rise step by step through actual achievements. That is true glory.”
“That kind of glory varies from person to person. You need it, but I do not. I only want to inherit the Ji family, so please drop any ideas about me.”
“Audacious!”
“Fine, I am audacious. So what? Your so-called glory is what drove you to abduct people into the Lan family in broad daylight. Do you have any idea how much money I could have earned in the time you wasted? Have you ever considered anyone else?”
“You…” The old man stood up, thoroughly angered.
Yue Jian, the man standing guard at the door who had forcefully brought him to the Lan family, walked in with a gloomy expression: “Is this how your father taught you? Do you have zero upbringing regarding respect for elders?”
The speaker was around the same age as his father and served as the old man’s deputy, looking refined and scholarly.
“My son’s upbringing is not for an outsider to critique. Have dogs in this day and age started barking at their masters’ house?” Ji Heng walked in forcefully with a large group of bodyguards, his face cold.
Seeing that Ji Chen was safe and sound, the chill in Ji Heng’s eyes softened slightly.
He looked at the old man and said: “Our two families severed ties long ago. If you ever privately bring my son to the Lan family again, don’t blame me for letting you see whether money can really make ghosts push grindstones. Just how much more suppression can the Lan family’s remaining influence withstand?”
Ji Heng had no intention of talking nonsense. He glanced at Ji Chen with a smile and said: “Let’s go, follow Dad home.”
Ji Chen nodded obediently and prepared to follow, but Yue Jian, looking deeply aggrieved on behalf of the old man, spoke up angrily.
“The old man is the young lady’s biological family. You can say whatever you want to me, but that child had a short life. How can you hold a grudge against the old man forever? Can’t you see that his health has been growing worse and worse over the years?”
Ji Heng, who was walking outward, stopped in his tracks…
This was the first time Ji Chen had ever seen his father physically strike someone. Snatching up a potted plant from the side, Ji Heng hurled it directly, and immediately afterward, the Lan family’s retainers and Ji Heng’s bodyguards broke out into a chaotic brawl.
The incident ultimately ended with the old man failing to mediate the fight and fainting away in anger.
Having exchanged name cards purely out of politeness at the non-alcoholic club last time, Beishang never expected that this little crown prince would actually not stand on ceremony and would make full use of this connection.
Looking at dozens of wounded individuals along with two high-ranking figures who had just been admitted to his hospital, Beishang secretly vented his complaints in their three-person group chat before putting on a professional medical smile to receive his patients.
Seeing Beishang walk over in a white lab coat with a bruised forehead, Ji Chen stepped forward and asked: “How is it? Is the old man alright?”
Beishang looked surprised: “Isn’t that your maternal grandfather? You call him ‘the old man’?”
Ji Chen didn’t answer, and Beishang didn’t press further, answering truthfully: “Elder Lan is fine. It was just a temporary surge of anger, mostly due to advanced age. A few days of rest will do.”
“Your father sprained his lower back and needs proper rest. As for that patient named Yue Jian, his shoulder suffered a comminuted bone fracture from being struck by a heavy object and requires careful treatment. The rest only have minor injuries, so don’t worry.”
Ji Chen said with a dark face: “Send the medical bill for that Yue Jian straight to him; make him pay for it himself.” It was truly letting Yue Jian off too lightly to only break a bone after bringing up a sore subject.
Mentioning that the child had a short life wasn’t that just stabbing his father straight in the heart?
Beishang remained silent for a moment before nodding: “Alright, a nurse will go remind him. As for the injury on your forehead, do you want to get it treated?”
Ji Chen reached up to touch it, hissed in pain, nodded, and followed Beishang into the treatment room.
The bite mark on his neck had only just healed, and now his head was injured again. His fate was truly eventful. Standing numbly while Beishang applied medicine, he was startled when the treatment room door was knocked twice and pushed open.
Seeing that it was Fu Chi, Beishang wasn’t surprised in the least. He cast an amused glance at Ji Chen’s expression before continuing calmly with his work.
Fu Chi walked closer, scrutinized the injury on Ji Chen’s forehead, and frowned: “Who did you get into a fight with?”
Ji Chen retorted ungratefully: “Stop acting like you don’t know. Didn’t Beishang tell you that my dad and I started a group brawl? I bumped it by accident. Why are you here? You keep showing up in front of me, which makes me suspect you harbor malicious intentions.”
Before Fu Chi could reply, a voice came from the unclosed doorway: “Who harbors malicious intentions?” Holding his lower back, Ji Heng slowly walked inside.