Lu Minghai had suffered a stroke before. Although this time his fainting was not as serious as the last time, his condition was still not good, and he was asked to rest.
In addition, his fall was too sudden. The friends next to him were all around his age, and the boss, whose most strenuous activity was swinging a golf club, didn't react quickly enough and couldn't catch him in time, causing him to hit his head on the table.
The table was fine, but Lu Minghai had bumped his forehead and gotten a big bump with a cut, which didn't look very presentable. Anyway, he wasn't happy to see a "horn" on his forehead when he woke up.
Feng Zhihui and Lu Siyuan also learned about Ruan Bei and Qin Gu's affair. Lu Minghai suddenly fainted, and his friends naturally had to notify his family.
To distance herself from the situation, the friend recounted the events leading up to Lu Minghai's collapse to the mother and son. Feng Zhihui didn't know Qin Gu's name; she was aloof and didn't even know the names of Ruan's parents, let alone the "orphan neighbor who freeloaded at Ruan's house."
But Lu Siyuan knew that he had seen the information about Ruan Bei that Lu Minghai had investigated, and when he wanted to get along with Ruan Bei, he tried to start with Qin Gu, his childhood friend, but was coldly rejected by Qin Gu.
He suddenly understood why his father had fainted. He had thought that his family had agreed to Lu Sibai and Qin Shen being together because his parents loved their child.
Having gone through so much, he was no longer naive. If Lu Sibai had fallen for an ordinary boy instead of Qin Shen, his mother might not have objected, but his father would definitely not have agreed.
His father schemed and plotted, wanting Haiming Group to advance further. In order to form a marriage alliance with the Qin family, he knew that he could only choose one between Ruan Bei and Lu Sibai, but he still chose Lu Sibai.
And what happened? Fate really played a cruel trick on us.
Feng Zhihui wasn't very bright, but she was, after all, Lu Siyuan's biological mother, and she could still understand her son's expressions to some extent.
Seeing the wry smile on his face, Feng Zhihui looked at him warily: "Do you know that Prince Qin?"
"Mom, please don't ask." Lu Siyuan didn't want to tell her. Her mother and Ruan Bei had such a bad relationship, what good would it do to know?
“What can’t I ask? I’m your mother, what can’t you tell me?” Feng Zhihui persisted, determined to get to the bottom of it.
She was a mother, and when she got stubborn, no one could control her except Lu Minghai. But Lu Minghai was still asleep, and Lu Siyuan was so pestered that he had no choice but to tell her, "Qin Gu is Ruan Bei's childhood sweetheart."
Feng Zhihui: "..."
It took her a while to process the simple relationship, and she was completely stunned.
How could this be? The pampered and privileged Crown Prince Qin could have grown up alongside Ruan Bei? The Ruan family was so poor…
"Are you telling the truth?" Feng Zhihui couldn't believe it.
"Why would I lie to you? Haven't you seen it before? We almost got into a fight at the mall."
Feng Zhihui managed to dredge up that unpleasant memory from her own mind. There was indeed a boy with Ruan Bei at the time, but she couldn't remember exactly what he looked like. She only remembered that he was outstanding in appearance and was in no way inferior to Ruan Bei when standing next to him.
"How is this possible, how is this possible..." Feng Zhihui slumped into a chair, completely losing her composure, muttering to herself.
The child she raised got engaged to an imposter. The Ruan family was so poor, yet Ruan Bei grew up with the Crown Prince Qin. It was a joke!
Even after Lu Minghai woke up, Feng Zhihui had not returned to normal and remained in a daze.
Lu Minghai listened to the doctor's instructions with a frown, and then "admired" the "horn" on his forehead in the mirror held by Lu Siyuan, making him even more upset.
He now needs to be hospitalized to recuperate, and the company's affairs can only be left to Lu Siyuan. In the past year or so, Lu Siyuan's personality has changed a lot, and he has become much more silent.
However, he didn't just let this year slip by. He started from scratch in the company and has now gained a foothold. With Lu Minghai's support, taking over Haiming Group is not a problem.
This crisis is different from the previous one. This time, Lu Minghai is awake and can guide Lu Siyuan and support him.
Moreover, Haiming Group is currently developing well and has no major crises, so it can be considered to have made a smooth transition.
He gave Lu Siyuan some instructions about company matters, which Lu Siyuan noted down. He then instructed the nanny and caregiver hired by the family to take care of his father before heading to the company.
As soon as he stepped out of the ward, Feng Zhihui caught up with him.
"Mom, is something the matter?" Lu Siyuan was very busy. His father had assigned him a lot of work, some of which was the first time he had taken on such tasks, and he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
“Yes, call Ruan Bei and ask him to come see your father.”
Lu Siyuan: "???"
"Mom, what are you saying?" Lu Siyuan thought he was hallucinating.
“I told you to call Ruan Bei. He should be back in Jincheng by now. He needs to study; he can’t stay at the Qin family’s place forever. It’s not right.”
Feng Zhihui said to herself, "Give him a call. His father is sick. How can he not come to see him?"
"Mom!" Lu Siyuan drawled, her voice weak. "Ruan Bei doesn't acknowledge us at all. His surname is Ruan, and he only recognizes his parents from the Ruan family. How can I ask him to come see Dad?"
"And didn't you say before that you didn't acknowledge him, which is why you brought Sibai home?"
"How can you say that?" Feng Zhihui glared at him in dissatisfaction: "Minghai is his biological father. He's just a child who doesn't know any better. He was just deceived by the Ruan family. Those people are like that. They don't know how to work hard. They only want to take shortcuts and climb the social ladder. Their ambitions are sky-high."
She tilted her head back triumphantly: "I want them to know that I won't do what they want. What's the use of coaxing my son? We won't let them climb up and suck our blood."
Lu Siyuan felt so tired that he didn't want to talk. He had never thought that his mother had any major problems. At most, she was just too naive, simple-minded, and had a rather willful personality, always doing whatever she wanted.
Why can't you understand what I'm saying when something happens?
"What are you standing there for? Go call Ruan Bei. If the Ruan family finds out Qin Gu's identity, they'll definitely try to take advantage of him. How embarrassing! Xiao Bei is our Lu family's child. We have to bring him back and teach him a lesson."
Lu Siyuan felt as if he had been slapped in the face, his face burning and stinging. He looked at his wealthy mother, whose expression was calm and whose words came from the heart, without any sense of unease.
"I'm not going."
"Why?"
Lu Siyuan: "Mom, don't you find it ridiculous? You keep saying that the Ruan family will try to climb up the social ladder, but it was you who, after hearing about Qin Gu's identity, couldn't wait to do so. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Slap!" Feng Zhihui slapped Lu Siyuan hard across the face, her face flushed red as she hissed at him, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Lu Siyuan raised his hand blankly and touched his burning cheek. After receiving the slap, he felt relieved.
He turned around and, ignoring Feng Zhihui's attempts to stop him, returned to Lu Minghai's ward: "Dad, my mom wants me to call Ruan Bei and ask him to come see you."
Lu Minghai frowned: "What happened to your face?"
"My mom hit me."
Feng Zhihui caught up: "Minghai, it's because Siyuan is disobedient, he even said—"
"Shut up!" Lu Minghai lay on the hospital bed, a ridiculous bump on his forehead, but his aura was not weak at all.
"You are not allowed to go to Ruan Bei on your own, nor are you allowed to go to anyone related to him. If you dare to cause me trouble, go back to your Feng family!"
Feng Zhihui was stunned, and it took her a while to react. She almost rushed forward and attacked Lu Minghai: "You want a divorce? Lu Minghai, you have no conscience! You pursued me back then—"
"Aunt Wu!" Lu Minghai, annoyed by the noise, called out to the nanny who was huddled in the corner, not daring to utter a sound: "Take Madam home and watch over her."
After saying that, he looked at Feng Zhihui and said, "If you want a divorce, then go ahead and make a scene. I'm not joking with you this time. If you say one more word, I'll have someone make the divorce papers right now."
Feng Zhihui, like a bird whose throat had been choked, suddenly lost her voice.
No matter how much she jumps around, she's still afraid of Lu Minghai. When he's serious, what he says at that moment is never a lie.
The nanny, Aunt Wu, was heartbroken. The couple was having a fight, and she was getting involved, so she was bound to suffer. Now she was listening to her husband and sending his wife home, but his wife would definitely hold a grudge.
But I can't refuse to do it, since I'm getting paid.
Aunt Wu could only go over and carefully help the woman who was crying uncontrollably and completely losing her composure.
After Aunt Wu led the person out, the caregiver had already tactfully left as well, leaving only Lu Minghai and Lu Siyuan in the ward.
Lu Minghai closed his eyes, looking exhausted: "Don't worry about your mother. She's confused and treats everyone else like fools. When you take over the company, you can't let her control you."
Lu Siyuan nodded, hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask but not knowing how.
Lu Minghai knew what he was thinking and sighed, "As for Ruan Bei, just get along with him the way you used to... but don't get too close, lest you upset him."
For some reason, the child always looked at them with a cold gaze. It wasn't that he hated or disliked them; in fact, his emotions were a good thing.
It was cold, so cold it was deathly still, as if there were no expectations placed on them whatsoever.
Lu Siyuan lowered his head: "...I understand."
"Go." Lu Minghai closed his eyes.
Lu Siyuan turned around, took two steps, then stopped and turned back: "Dad, Xiao Bei is my younger brother."
He wanted to acknowledge him and treat him well, not because of Qin Gu or the Qin family.
"Then keep thinking like this," Lu Minghai said in a deep voice without opening his eyes.
Ruan Bei is a smart kid; perhaps Tian Siyuan's sincerity will be able to move him.
Ruan Bei was unaware of everything that had happened at the Lu family's home. Of course, even if he had known, he wouldn't have thought much of it; at most, he would have found it laughable.
Lu Siyuan might have a tiny bit of brotherly affection for him, but it couldn't compare to his feelings for Lu Sibai.
Although he has let go of the past, in his previous life, he was held back by Lu Sibai and could only watch helplessly as he struggled in the water. Later, in order to cover up Lu Sibai's affair, he did not hesitate to slander him.
How can he have the nerve to talk about sincerity when he's done something like this?
His sincerity is worthless.
Ruan Bei knew nothing and was not affected. He happily went to Qin Gu's birthday party and returned happily with the gift Qin's father gave him. Although he didn't know why Qin's father was giving him a gift for his birthday.
Life went on peacefully afterward. Lu Sibai's appearance that day seemed like an illusion, and all the bad things stayed away from him.
This year's exchange competition returned to the traditional format. Perhaps because the Special Affairs Bureau didn't have as many backlogged tasks, everyone was quite disappointed, feeling that last year's format was more interesting, and most importantly, the rewards were more generous.
Ruan Bei has made great progress this year. He has learned more spells and incantations, improved his realm, and greatly enhanced his combat skills.
In the final round, he ran into Qin Gu again. Throwing talismans at Kun Kun was pointless; aside from a few auxiliary talismans, he relied entirely on his own fighting skills.
In the end... they didn't win.
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