Chapter 22

Chu Ci immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly, rejecting this absurd idea, "It should be impossible."

Her life trajectory will not overlap with Huo Junyan's.

They were originally two parallel lines that would never intersect.

She was working part-time at a bar when she met Huo Zixi, who was drunk and getting into fights. She helped Huo Zixi make his presence felt in the Huo family, which brought her into Huo Junyan's sights.

Besides being attracted to him, Chu Ci probably also wanted to challenge the hellish dungeon.

I never imagined I would actually go to hell.

"Zixi, if what you said is true, then everything I've suffered is my own doing."

From her absurd actions to drugging Huo Junyan, she ended up on the Huo family's blacklist. Perhaps she understood this five years ago, which is why she chose to leave first.

She once told Huo Zixi that she wanted to go to Africa to do infrastructure construction, and five years ago, the ferry's destination was Africa.

But an unexpected accident happened, and everything changed beyond recognition.

"What exactly are you thinking?" Huo Zixi asked anxiously.

Chu Ci paused for a moment, then quickly adjusted her mindset, "Tell me about the Huo family."

She is someone who doesn't dwell on things for long, can quickly adapt to the current environment, and can react very quickly.

Huo Zixi perked up and carefully analyzed with her, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you, you can definitely win over my uncle."

Huo Junyan, who was standing at the door, turned and left.

The highest-ranking member of the Huo family today is Huo Junyan's grandfather, the patriarch of the Huo family.

The old man had two sons. The eldest son passed away early, leaving behind a son, Huo Zixi's father, Huo Chengxun. Just from the name, you can tell that he inherited the family's honor and merits, which shows how much the old man valued this eldest grandson. Unfortunately, he was utterly useless.

That being said, if he weren't the eldest son and grandson, he would have been expelled from the Huo family long ago, which shows how absurd and useless he is.

Therefore, the old man handed over the family business to his second son, Huo Chaojiang.

He is the fourth child, according to the age order of his cousins.

This was not a custom in large families, but Old Master Huo's younger brother left behind two sons, both of whom were raised by the old man himself. The second son was Master Qin.

Having learned from Huo Chengxun's example, Old Master Huo doted on Huo Chaojiang's only son, Huo Junyan, as if he were his own eyes.

When the Huo family received the news about what happened five years ago, Chu Ci had already had an accident. Huo Junyan locked himself in the Linshan Villa for a month, and then everything went back to normal.

Only his closest family members noticed the obvious changes in him.

They chose to use a gentle approach, letting time heal all wounds.

Unexpectedly, five years later, Chu Ci not only reappeared alive, but also became entangled with Huo Junyan's son and the Zhou family.

Before Old Master Huo could finish listening, he immediately shook his head and said:

The Huo family children must acknowledge their ancestry; everything else is out of the question.

"...Anyway, things are pretty messed up at home right now, especially with the AI ​​medical project running into trouble. So many shareholders, everyone has their own considerations. It was fine before, but now my uncle has so much dirt on him... I'm not talking about you,"

She shook her head indifferently.

Huo Zixi sighed heavily, "They are all elders, I can't expect my uncle to abandon everything for you."

Chu Ci smiled and said, "Let's not talk about Huo Junyan's current position, the wealth he possesses, or the responsibilities he bears."

All of this pushed him forward, not allowing him to be willful.

Even she herself, when she decided to break ties with Zhou Yubai, anticipated that her people in the engineering department of Zhou's Enterprise might be implicated.

So they prepared a sum of money for each of them. Fearing that someone would notice something was amiss, the money was not given in advance, but was set to be automatically credited to their accounts 24 hours after they finished settling accounts.

If she has to consider so much in a small engineering department, how much more so in a large, century-old family like the Huo family?

“This is what I think,” Huo Zixi offered enthusiastically, “We can’t rush this. We have to proceed step by step. We need to achieve some results so that the old man can see your value. Once he says a word, no one else’s objection will matter.”

Chu Ci took a deep breath, "Do you know about the Wen family?"

The Wen family, a mysterious and low-profile family in Beijing's elite circles, may not have the same social impact and public attention as the Huo family, but their overall strength is likely superior.

Of course, these two families with such profound heritages would not clash unless it was a matter of life and death.

Huo Zixi was puzzled, but still nodded, "Of course."

“We’ll buy out the Wen family and then dump it in front of your Huo family. Let’s see who dares to disobey us.”

Huo Zixi looked at her quietly, "Can you please stop talking nonsense?"

Chu Ci rolled her eyes at him, "You know it's nonsense. What kind of achievements do we need to make to be considered 'valuable' in front of your Huo family patriarch?"

Don't be ridiculous. The chance of someone becoming a billionaire from scratch is probably one in ten thousand, and even then, it requires a huge opportunity.

A sum of 10 billion might catch Old Master Huo's eye, but that's about it.

As for hundreds of billions.

Chu Ci's wild thoughts: If I were to travel back in time and become an ancient general, achieving great military exploits, becoming a local ruler, receiving countless rewards, and accumulating local tax revenue, my net worth would definitely reach hundreds of billions.

hey-hey!

"Can't you be a little more sensible? You didn't say this when you were helping me out before. Where did the domineering Sister Chu go?"

Huo Zixi couldn't help but complain.

"Times have changed, and besides, can our situations be the same?"

Chu Ci placed her hand on his shoulder. "You only need an opportunity to push yourself in front of the Huo family and make them acknowledge your identity. It's not about making them choose you as their heir, so of course it's easy. From the Huo family's perspective, I'm choosing a partner for Huo Junyan to share the family's future, understand?"

"Stop talking about 'your Huo family, your Huo family' all the time. Your son is also a member of the Huo family... Hey, are you going to give up?"

Chu Ci had already reached the door when she turned back and spread her hands, "That's right."

Why are you like this?

"I call this assessing the situation and making judgments."

Huo Zixi, unwilling to give up, chased after him, "Where are you going? We haven't finished talking yet, what am I going to do?"

“Take my son home,” Chu Ci turned around, “and you’d better find a way to get a bigger share of the family fortune.”

"Me," Huo Zixi watched the elevator doors close, his lips moving slightly, "I'm not even on the family tree, so where am I supposed to claim my share of the inheritance?"

The Huo family's old residence.

The quiet and ancient Chinese courtyard house was suddenly filled with lively activity today. Old Mr. Huo, who is over eighty years old and still in good spirits, was even driving children's race cars in the courtyard.

Xingxing, dressed in a racing suit and wearing a helmet, was driving a jeep race car, urging the elderly to keep up with the group in a childlike manner.

Huo Chaojiang also drove a small SUV, squeezing in second place with his father.

Meng Huizhou followed his great-grandfather and four generations of his family, filming them with his mobile phone.

When Meng Huizhou first learned of Xingxing's existence, he was very resistant. Huo Chaojiang said nothing, and the couple probably thought the same thing. They only instructed Huo Zixi to bring the child back first.

Unexpectedly, their eyes lit up when they saw the stars.

She was exquisitely beautiful, with a personality a hundred times better than Huo Junyan was when he was young. The couple adored her, and even the old man liked her very much.

Five years ago, they knew about Chu Ci and acknowledged her beauty. They introduced her to potential partners and even intentionally chose men who looked similar to Chu Ci.

Huo Junyan remained unmoved throughout.

The couple discussed it many times and both felt that their son's personality changed drastically when she had an accident just as he was falling for that girl.

Therefore, they dare not push too hard when it comes to blind dates.

I just feel very envious when I see that my peers are gradually having grandchildren.

Meng Huizhou zoomed in on her phone screen. Hmm? There was another person in the picture. She looked up and saw Huo Junyan walking towards them.

Now, four generations—great-grandfather, great-grandfather, and grandson—are all together.

"Mrs. Huo, I've come to pick up my son."

Are you trying to drive me crazy?

"I didn't go on a blind date today. Didn't you say that if I didn't go on a blind date, I would sever our mother-son relationship?" Huo Junyan shrugged, indicating his agreement and that he would strictly follow through.

Meng Huizhou was so angry he nearly fell backward.

The three of them drove their toy cars back from the other side, and Meng Huizhou raised his phone again, saying, "Move aside, you're blocking my light."

Every day, she's been infuriating since she was little; how can she compare to her beloved grandson who's so lovable?

Huo Junyan stood on the lawn, gazing tenderly at the stars. His raised hand in celebration, the way he tilted his head back in triumph, the expression so similar to hers.

"Mom, I want to marry Chu Ci."

Meng Huizhou almost dropped her phone. The three race cars were already in front of her, and she could only stop Huo Junyan from continuing with her eyes.

“Dad,” Xingxing jumped out of the car, “I beat Grandpa and Great-Grandpa.”

"Yes, yes, the stars are amazing." Huo Chaojiang held the stars high and tossed them up and down playfully.

Meng Huizhou and Huo Junyan helped Old Master Huo up, but he refused and got out of the car himself. "Have the children's schools been arranged?"

"Dad, don't worry, the enrollment procedures are all done. We'll send Xingxing to the international kindergarten tomorrow," Meng Huizhou said.

Huo Junyan was stunned. "Mom, how come I didn't know? Who arranged this?"

Huo Chaojiang put Xingxing down, his voice authoritative despite his calm demeanor, "Do you think he can continue attending the neighborhood kindergarten?"

Meng Huizhou gestured for the nanny to take Xingxing to play somewhere else. "Junyan, what's wrong with our arrangements? Is it worth your big reaction?"

“Mom, last time you secretly did a DNA test on Xingxing, I said that I would handle Xingxing’s affairs myself, and Chu Ci doesn’t like others interfering with her.”

Old Master Huo gave him a deep look and then left.

"Shut up!" Huo Chaojiang frowned.

"Dad, Dad," Meng Huizhou took two steps after him, but then, worried that the father and son would start arguing, he quickly turned back. "Don't even think about Chu Ci. Leave Xingxing with your father and me to take care of her."

“That’s impossible,” Huo Junyan said without changing his expression. “It’s better for children to live with their parents.”

The couple were both stunned.

With parents? With parents...

Meng Huizhou held back for a moment, then said, “Junyan, your father and I are not old-fashioned people, and we don’t insist that you find someone of equal social standing, but Chu Ci is absolutely out of the question.”

"Mom, she's still alive. I'm so glad."

Huo Chaojiang and Meng Huizhou exchanged a glance, both feeling a little soft-hearted, but the price of making concessions was too high.

Meng Huizhou sighed and said earnestly, "I know, your mother has seen it all these past five years. You were heartbroken back then, but, but..."

“But this woman is too cunning. Zhou Yubai is not a fool, yet he suffered such a huge setback because of her. This time she is on your side, but what about next time?” His voice remained restrained and deep, like a still sea.

The silent confrontation between father and son.