Chapter 616 No One Cleans Up

Expensive antique vases were broken into pieces on the ground, with no one to pick them up; the precious Persian carpet was covered with muddy footprints.

Father Zhao slumped on the cold leather sofa, staring blankly at the priceless crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

In just 24 hours, all his hair had turned gray.

It was not the fashionable silver-gray, but a withered, lifeless gray-white that symbolized that the vitality had been drained away in an instant.

The business empire he was proud of, the hard work of his life, was reduced to ashes under Chi Wenyan's thundering means, without even a trace of struggle.

The trigger of all this was his most beloved daughter, Zhao Xiyue.

"Chairman, the Chi Group's acquisition team has arrived downstairs..." The butler reported carefully with a trembling voice.

Father Zhao's eyes turned slowly, and a last spark of despair finally ignited in his cloudy eyes.

He stood up suddenly, his body shaking violently due to weakness.

"Prepare the car! I'm going to see Chi Wenyan!"

The Chi Group's headquarters building towers into the clouds, gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the morning light, like a giant steel beast overlooking all living things.

Father Zhao was stopped by security at the front desk. Once upon a time, he was a distinguished guest here and could take the president's exclusive elevator directly, but now, he couldn't even get a glance from the receptionist.

"I have made an appointment. I am Mr. Zhao from the Zhao family. I want to see your President Chi!" Mr. Zhao's voice was hoarse, with a hint of humility that he himself did not realize.

The receptionist gave a formal smile and said, "Sorry, Mr. Zhao, there is no appointment. Mr. Chi is not seeing any guests today."

"Tell him I'm here waiting for him! Always waiting!"

Father Zhao waited from early morning to dusk in this bustling hall filled with people, filled with countless gazes of sympathy, contempt, or gloating.

His back bent down little by little, and the dignity and aura that once belonged to the business tycoon were completely worn away by time and despair.

Finally, the internal call from the president's office came through.

"Let him come up."

Assistant Lin's voice was emotionless on the phone.

The president's office on the top floor.

Chi Wenyan sat in front of the huge French window, a glass of red wine in hand, looking down indifferently at the lights of the city below. His aura was so cold that it seemed like frost, causing the temperature in the entire office to drop several degrees.

The door was pushed open and Zhao's father walked in with a hunched back.

When he saw Chi Wenyan's handsome but frozen face, his legs went weak and he could no longer hold on. He fell to his knees with a plop!

"Wen Yan... Mr. Chi!" Zhao's father burst into tears, his voice filled with endless regret and pleading. "Please, for the sake of our past relationship, please have mercy! Let the Zhao family go!"

Chi Wenyan didn't even look back, but just gently shook the red liquid in the cup. The scarlet color was like the blood flowing from Zhao.

"mutual affection?"

He finally spoke, his voice low and cold, and every word was like a poisoned ice knife, stabbing into Zhao's father's heart.

"Chairman Zhao, when your daughter hired someone to throw sulfuric acid at my wife, did she ever mention the word 'affection' to you?"

Father Zhao trembled all over, his face ashen. He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed heavily, "Xiyue is confused! She's been blinded by greed! I apologize to you and Ji Wan on her behalf! I'll make her go to jail and face the harshest legal sanctions! But the Zhao family is innocent! Those old employees who have been with me for decades are innocent! That's my life's work..."

Chi Wenyan finally turned around slowly.

He looked down at Zhao's father who was kneeling on the ground. His eyes were cold and expressionless, as if a god was examining a humble ant.

The corner of his mouth curled up in an extremely sarcastic arc.

"Innocent?" He chuckled, but his laughter was full of coldness. "Your good daughter almost destroyed everything I had, and ruined the person I loved most. I just took away your company and left you with nothing. It's already the greatest kindness."

He walked step by step to Zhao's father, squatted down, and gently lifted Zhao's father's chin with his slender fingers, forcing him to look at him.

"If she dares to touch Ji Wan's hair, I will make your Zhao family disappear from this world completely."

Father Zhao trembled like a sieve under his gaze and couldn't even utter a word to beg for mercy.

Chi Wenyan released his hand, stood up, and readjusted his cuffs which were not wrinkled at all. His tone was light, but it carried the most cruel judgment.

"Chairman Zhao, you really are..." He paused, his deep black eyes filled with mockery and contempt, "You've raised such a good daughter."

Father Zhao didn't know how he walked out of the door of Chi Group.

He was like a walking corpse with its soul sucked out, and Chi Wenyan's poisonous sarcasm echoed repeatedly in his ears.

"Chairman Zhao, you really raised a good daughter."

Good girl...

Yes, the good girl he raised personally pushed his life's work and the entire Zhao family into an abyss of no return!

The honking horns and the clamor of pedestrians faded into a blurry background. He looked up blankly at the Zhao Group building towering into the sky. It had once been a symbol of his pride, but now it was like a giant tombstone, silently announcing his defeat.

"Director Zhao..." The assistant came running over with a pale face, holding a document in his hand, his voice trembling, "Chi's acquisition letter has just been delivered, and all the procedures have been completed."

Finished.

These three words completely crushed Zhao's father's last tense nerve.

He pushed his assistant aside and stumbled into the building. The employees gave him mixed looks, but he couldn't make out any of them. He walked up to the top floor, into the office that belonged to him but was about to change hands.

He stood in front of the huge French window, in the same position as Chi Wenyan just now, overlooking the same city. But what Chi Wenyan saw was the empire surrendering under his feet, while what he saw was the ruins collapsing.

On the table, there was a photo of him and Zhao Xiyue. In the photo, his daughter was smiling like a flower, innocent and full of life.

Father Zhao stretched out his trembling hand, wanting to touch it, but suddenly pulled it back.

It's this face that ruins everything.

He smiled, but his smile was uglier than crying, and turbid tears rolled down his deep wrinkles.

"Xiyue, Daddy is sorry..."

He failed to teach you well.

"Dad is here to accompany you too..."

No, he wasn't even qualified to be with her. He was going to a deeper, colder place to atone for his own stupidity and indulgence.

He slowly and resolutely pushed open the window leading to the void.

"ah--!"