Chapter 44 - Close-Range Ultimate Attack: I am not you, nor will I become...

After the reception began, Ruan Chaoyang, the CEO of Chaohui, introduced several local entrepreneurs who were interested in cooperation to Fu Qingli and his two companions.

The young masters of the three prominent families in Beicheng have recently been maneuvering in Haicheng, preparing to acquire the island hotel project.

The news had already spread within the industry, and many business leaders were closely following their progress. However, since what they were doing was ultimately at odds with the Fu and Su families, everyone remained in a wait-and-see mode, unwilling to easily take sides.

With Ruan Chaoyang leading the way, a few bolder individuals also decided to take a gamble and try their luck first.

They understood that at this point, there was still a chance to maximize their profits by discussing joining the partnership.

These three, setting aside their backgrounds, have been in the business world for many years and possess top-notch abilities and methods. Once they have established themselves, they will quickly gain the upper hand, leaving the others with no choice but to passively accept their terms.

“The three of you are so young, yet you have such lofty ambitions to build Haicheng. You are truly remarkable! As a Haicheng native, I feel ashamed. I hope for continued pleasant cooperation so we can all contribute to the development of Haicheng.” One of the entrepreneurs picked up his glass and lightly clinked it with the three of them.

"No, we will need your help in the future."

Zou Song readily accepted the good advice and joined Fu Qingli and Ji Jiali in congratulating them on the successful collaboration.

"Qingli, you're here too." Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind, filled with undisguised surprise.

People around them turned their heads and saw Fu Wenxun, president of the Fu Group, and Su Qichao, the head of the Su family, walking towards them in suits.

Among the crowd were many entrepreneurs who had met them before, and they all greeted them.

"President Fu, President Su."

"Mr. Fu, Mr. Su."

Everyone's attention was focused on them, but Fu Qingli remained with her back to them, her expression calm and composed, as if she hadn't heard Fu Wenxun's voice at all.

Fu Wenxun smiled and nodded, walked through the crowd to Fu Qingli's side, put his hand on Fu Qingli's shoulder, and introduced him to the entrepreneurs who were discussing cooperation with Fu Qingli in a friendly manner: "This is my son, Fu Qingli. Please take good care of him!"

In this setting dominated by local entrepreneurs, he arrogantly refused to introduce himself and instead introduced Fu Qingli.

They were playing a provocative game, turning the tables on the other side.

In short, their current hostile relationship can be explained as a family conflict between father and son.

They even attempted to attribute all the hard work and progress made by Fu Qingli and his team to the title of "Fu Wenxun's son".

Fu Wenxun was very confident; he felt he knew his son well enough.

Although Fu Qingli was seven years old, he was absent from his father's role.

But Shen Yu taught him very well, instilling in him propriety, manners, and the ability to conduct himself appropriately.

Even though she hated him, she never took it out on the rest of the Fu family; no matter how much she didn't want to see him, she would still go back to the ancestral home to visit the Fu family elders during holidays.

Based on his understanding of Fu Qingli, he would still give himself face as a father in front of outsiders.

But this time he miscalculated.

Unexpectedly, Fu Qingli sneered, turned aside and shook off his hand, speaking without any mercy: "President Fu, there are no fathers and sons in the business world. You've misjudged the timing of your attempt to play the family card!"

After speaking, he turned to face Fu Wenxun directly, his gaze deep and sinister, showing no mercy.

The words were a double entendre.

He talked about both the competition and the various hurts he had caused Shen Yu and Lin Xi in the past.

How could Fu Wenxun not understand?

His expression changed slightly.

Faced with her son's seemingly unfamiliar gaze, she felt a sense of bewilderment and panic for the first time, as if she could no longer control him.

No! He wouldn't let Fu Qingli follow in his footsteps!

Just as he was about to reprimand him, Su Qichao spoke first: "No matter how much competition there is, blood ties can never be severed. Nephew, you must not forget your roots!"

He wore half-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness beneath the lenses, the curve of his lips a half-smile, and his words as blunt as ever.

“Uncle Su, Jiali and I don’t like hearing that,” Zou Song said nonchalantly. “What? Uncle Fu is willing to do anything for the Su family, but Brother Fu doing things for us is considered forgetting his roots? We’re all doing this for our friends, so why is there a distinction between high and low status?”

Zou Song's words also implied that the Zou and Ji families were placed on the same level as the Su family.

A wise person will naturally weigh the pros and cons.

Anyone who dares to utter a word of superiority or inferiority will face encirclement and suppression by the two powerful families.

As shrewd as Su Qichao was, he naturally wouldn't fall into this trap.

He adjusted his glasses, his movements still elegant: "Young Master Zou, you can't just say things like that. As Qingli's friends, you should know the relationship between my Yi'an and Qingli. Helping the Su family is helping yourself."

"The relationship between Brother Fu and Miss Su," Ji Jiali drawled, pausing deliberately with his hand holding the Bodhi seed for a moment, then suddenly realized after thinking for a while, "Oh~ I know, Uncle Su must be referring to the fact that Miss Su tells everyone she's Brother Fu's fiancée, right? But as far as I know, Qingyuan Technology issued a statement saying that anyone who dares to spread such rumors will be sent a lawyer's letter. Uncle Su wants one too?"

“You…” Su Qichao was speechless for a moment.

Fu Qingli actually got the official Qingyuan account to issue a public statement, making Su Yi'an and the Su family a laughing stock in Beicheng. However, seeing that Fu Wenxun's attitude towards the Su family remained unchanged, things gradually calmed down.

Unexpectedly, Ji Jiali made a bold move, turning the two business tycoons into a laughingstock.

"Hmph!" Su Qichao snorted coldly, glared at Fu Wenxun, and stormed off.

Fu Wenxun frowned deeply, staring intently at Fu Qingli for a long time. Seeing that he showed no remorse whatsoever, he opened his mouth to reprimand him, but considering the gazes of everyone, he opened his mouth and finally said, "Come with me!"

Fu Qingli didn't move, so Fu Wenxun stood still and waited.

Since the standoff was taking place in front of everyone, Fu Qingli still gave him some face as a father and said to the people around her, "Excuse me!"

Take long strides. Keep up with Fu Wenxun's pace.

"What... what's going on?" Ruan Chaoyang clicked his tongue and couldn't help but ask Ji Jiali.

He had previously worried that this was a scheme by the Fu family, using the feud between father and son as bait to lure them into a trap, gain the greatest profit from the project, and swallow up the shares of these local companies.

Unexpectedly, the Fu family father and son have reached such a tense point.

Ji Jiali understood that he didn't really care about the relationship between the Fu family father and son, but rather that the more tense their relationship was, the more advantageous it would be for him.

He sneered inwardly, but put on an indifferent expression and replied briefly, "It's nothing, just some family disputes."

Then, changing the subject, "Where were we?"

Zou Song then reminded them, "We've come to the topic of the island's greening plan."

"Then let's continue."

It's just a tactic of "feigning indifference to lure the enemy into a trap." The more they conceal their secrets, the more Ruan Chaoyang will believe in what he has found and the more determined he will be to cooperate.

-

Fu Wenxun walked through the passage into the garden and chose a secluded spot to stand.

Turning around, he saw Fu Qingli, who was half a head taller than him, standing a meter away.

Appropriate social distancing seems far too distant for their relationship.

He couldn't help but scoff, "Is this how your mother taught you to treat your elders?"

In a secluded place, Fu Qingli was already unwilling to endure it any longer, but he still had to mention Shen Yu: "You have no right to mention her!"

The voice was icy, as if it contained shards of ice, piercing straight to the heart.

“You…” Fu Wenxun took a deep breath, knowing he was in the wrong, and compromised, “Alright, then let’s talk about your marriage with Yi’an. Your Uncle Su and I have looked into it, and the fifteenth of next month is an auspicious day. You two can get engaged on that day. Remember to apologize to Yi’an when you have time after making such a scene before…”

"Fu Wenxun!" Fu Qingli laughed angrily, disregarding etiquette and calling him by his name directly, "Can't you understand human language? Why are you so stubborn!"

Hearing his rude words, Fu Wenxun flew into a rage: "How dare you! I'm doing this for your own good! You're still young, you don't know how important it is to be well-matched in marriage! Otherwise, you'll end up like Shen Yu and me..."

"Will I end up like you, a tragic figure? Don't you know who caused this tragedy? It was you! It was your constant infidelity that drove your mother to utter despair of your marriage! Ask yourself honestly, why did you pursue a marriage of equal social standing? Was it for mutual support? No! You pursued marriages of equal social standing because you thought they could tolerate your philandering and wouldn't be as stubborn as your mother in divorcing you. But if that were truly the case, your sister from a prominent family wouldn't have used your secret rendezvous videos to force your mother to leave you, and those women wouldn't have constantly aggravated your mother's illness by posting your photos on the boat. Your so-called 'marrying of equal social standing,' your so-called tolerance and magnanimity, are the real culprits that drove your mother to her death."

“Fu Wenxun, I am not you, and I will never become you. I will never have those dirty relationships with men and women like you! So stop trying to control my life with your heartless and ruthless thoughts!”

Fu Wenxun never imagined that his son would so bluntly reveal his philandering ways.

His face was ashen, and after a long pause, he asked incredulously, "You... how did you become like this?"

In my memory, after that incident, Fu Qingli only maintained a superficial peace with him, and she didn't even bother to express her hatred to him.

His final words were spoken after Shen Yu's death, when he single-mindedly decided to place her ashes in the Fu family ancestral cemetery.

Fu Qingli finally couldn't help but say, "My mother suffered a lot while she was alive because of you. Now that she's gone, please let her go and don't let her die with regrets!"

He never imagined that one day he would be lectured by his own son with such harsh words.

Fu Qingli turned around, her back to him: "When you were alive, although Mother hated you, she always advised me to be closer to you, saying that you were at least a good father! I also thought that you, like other fathers, would respect me. But I told you that my bottom line is Xiaoxi. Since you have chosen to break your promise, don't blame me for no longer being polite to you!"

Ignoring Fu Wenxun's powerless roar, and not wanting to face him anymore, he simply walked away.

But she was stopped at the corner of the garden. Su Yi'an looked at him with a bright smile and said, "Brother Qingli, Father said you were here, so I came over!"

Fu Qingli chuckled, not in the mood to pay attention to her, and just glared at her coldly.

Su Yi'an felt a little scared looking at his cold gaze. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a figure appearing around the corner. The light purple dress complemented the purple rose on Fu Qingli's collar perfectly.

She steeled herself and reached out to take Fu Qingli's hand: "Qingli, Father said our engagement banquet is scheduled for next month. Will you come?"