Chapter 8
Xu Yinyin was still in a daze until she sat on the ebony carved wooden chair.
How did she go from being a nobody who was only focused on watching melons to becoming a target that everyone was eyeing?
[Grandpa, are you trying to honor me or harm me?]
You said you're already so rich, so what if you can support me as a loser? Don't be so stingy, wuwuqaq.
The old man's hand almost couldn't hold the kettle steady while pouring tea.
Why is his little granddaughter so cute? It can be said that she has no ambition at all.
If he had heard this when he was young, he would have chased the person away, but now, he just felt that such qualities were too precious.
"Yinyin, don't be nervous. Grandpa just wants to have a good talk with you. I brought you to the study to avoid being disturbed by others."
The old man tried to slow down his tone as much as possible, fearing that his long-accumulated aura would scare her.
"Grandpa, you're worrying. I'm not nervous. You're so kind and friendly, not scary at all." Xu Yinyin started to flatter him.
"That's good." The old man gestured for her to drink the tea. "This tea is very fragrant, no worse than the milk tea you young people drink."
Xu Yinyin quickly picked up the teacup with both hands, took a sip, and said honestly: "Actually, I'm not very good at tasting tea. All of them taste the same to me. Just don't look down on me for chewing on a peony."
The old man laughed out loud, "How could that be? My darling granddaughter is so cute and humorous. Grandpa loves her so much."
Xu Yinyin was flattered and smiled. "Grandpa, you're too kind. I grew up in an orphanage and was raised in a rough environment. I'm lacking in many areas and I still need to learn."
"When it comes to humor, Grandpa is the best. You just joked about arranging for me to go to the company for training, which scared me to death. With my education level, there's no way I could make a fool of myself in the company, haha."
Xu Yinyin began to play dumb, trying to get away with it.
"Grandpa is not joking, Grandpa is serious."
“······” I don’t want to listen, I don’t want to listen!
"Education is nothing compared to blood ties. If you care so much about it, I'll donate to a prestigious foreign university tomorrow and buy you a prestigious degree to save your face."
“······”Xu Yinyin was completely stunned.
[Ah? Can money really allow you to do whatever you want? Where is morality, where is the bottom line, where is the school address!]
The old man suppressed his laughter and continued, "Yinyin, regardless of academic qualifications, as long as we are descendants of the Xu family, we are bound to inherit the family business tradition. Others want it but can't. You are the one who refused even when your grandfather gave it to you. It's a bit hurtful."
Xu Yinyin was so shocked that her lips twitched: [No, you can actually turn the tables on me. Does that mean I'm wrong for not coveting your property?]
"Grandpa, you're probably getting senile. As people age, they become more and more wary of their descendants coveting their inheritance. Why do you trust me so much? Where's your suspicion?"
"Well, Grandpa, it's not that I don't want it, it's just that I'm limited in my ability. Aren't you afraid that I'll squander the family fortune? Besides, there are so many capable heirs in the family, it doesn't matter if I'm there or not. Just treat me like air."
If the other person wasn't an elder, she would have almost said, "You treat me like shit, just let it go!"
"Of course, you won't know if you have the ability until you try it out at a company. Don't underestimate yourself."
What else can Xu Yinyin say? !
The old man sighed deeply and said, "Don't blame me for acting on my own. It's just that my body is getting worse day by day. I'm really afraid that one day I'll pass away and leave behind a lot of regrets and unable to rebirth. Cough, cough..."
Xu Hongshan suddenly covered his mouth with a handkerchief and started coughing. His face became a little hideous because of the force, and the blue veins on his forehead trembled with the strength of his cough, which made people feel distressed.
Xu Yinyin hurriedly stood up to help the old man calm down and said anxiously, "I'll call a doctor for you."
[Wuwuwu, please don't let anything happen to you right now. You called me here to talk alone, and now I'm being watched covetously. If anything happens to you, I'll definitely be treated as a shameless regicide and usurper, and I won't be able to explain myself!]
The old man caught a glimpse of his granddaughter's trembling legs from the corner of his eye. He still felt that he was not doing enough. He kept coughing and waving his hands, saying intermittently, "No, it's okay. Grandpa won't die for the time being, because Grandpa has seen hope again."
After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked at her with hope in his eyes.
“······” No, I don’t want to be your hope!
The next second, the old man secretly squeezed the white handkerchief, and then took it away from his lips.
Xu Yinyin caught a glimpse of the glaring scarlet.
"!!!! You are coughing up blood!" she exclaimed.
"Shh!" The old man raised his finger, signaling, "Don't tell anyone else. This is a secret between us."
“······” No, I don’t want to know such secrets.
[The more secrets you know, the faster you die, okay, Grandpa, you're really trying to trick me :)]
"Yinyin, can you just think of it as helping Grandpa? There's really no one around Grandpa that he can trust. Can you just think of it as helping an old man who's barely surviving and give the company a try?"
"Ah, this--" Xu Yinyin was extremely conflicted.
She seemed to see the dying old emperor, desperately wanting someone to carry on his legacy, yet feeling helpless.
But, she really just wants to be a salted fish and doesn't want to be forced into palace fighting!
In a flash, she thought of someone.
"Grandpa, I remember my cousin is about to graduate from high school. Since you can help me buy a diploma from a prestigious foreign university, can you also buy one for my cousin? Otherwise, let him go to the company in advance?"
[Damn it, Second Aunt just kept showing off her son's presence, why didn't I think of that, yes!]
Xu Hongshan, who was suddenly caught off guard, said: "..."
Damn it, how could I forget about this!
Xu Hongshan frantically mobilized his brain cells. After a moment, he looked at Xu Yinyin hesitantly and said with an extremely lonely expression, "You may not know, but A Yao has always wanted to sever ties with his family. He doesn't want my success to overshadow his own brilliance. He won't go to the company."
[What?! Is my cousin really that rebellious? He's giving up the life he was born in Rome and insists on relying on his own strength!]
[Tsk, it's obvious he's never been through the harshness of society, never experienced the hardships of life!]
[Damn it! Another day where I want to fight a headstrong rich kid.]
The old man continued to add: "Alas! It seems that I am destined to bear endless pain and regret before I die. Well, if you don't want to, grandpa won't force you."
The old man slowly walked to the French window and looked up at the dark night sky.
The moonlight hangs alone, and against the backdrop of the deep and boundless sky, it looks even more lonely and desolate.
"Outsiders only see the Xu family's global reach, but how many people know the hardships I faced when I started my business? It's hard for others to start a business, but it's hard for me to maintain it. If I'm destined to have nothing, then don't let me have everything from the beginning."
Xu Yinyin's conscience was tortured by the old man's hidden sorrow.
[Wow, am I being too heartless? Grandpa is so helpless, can't I just agree to his small request?]
[But once you agree, you'll be drawn into the vortex of power struggles among the wealthy families, and there's no way you can escape unscathed.]
Xu Yinyin quietly looked at the old man's back. The figure that was just tall and handsome now looked like a weathered tree, and the hunched body was full of vicissitudes and helplessness.
How did things turn out like this? You shouldn't be so torturous. How can you force someone to stand up straight? Ugh~
The old man listened to her thoughts quietly, without any guilt for playing the victim or cheating others, but with the determination and confidence that came from having planned and planned thousands of times.
If Xu Yinyin could hear the old man's inner voice, she would definitely say, with your kind mind, how could you raise three useless people? Tsk!
After five minutes of silence, Xu Yinyin resigned herself to her fate and said, "I'll go, Grandpa. Please don't be sad, okay?"
Xu Yinyin silently despised her own conscience.
The old man pretended to sway and turned around with difficulty. His eyes, which were always shrewd, were actually filled with a thin layer of tears.
Xu Yinyin's eyes widened in fear.
[Grandpa, are you so moved that you're crying? No way, you're making me feel even more guilty!]
She quickly walked towards him and pulled out a tissue.
When he looked up again, tears silently slid down his old cheeks, hitting Xu Yinyin's conscience hard.
Xu Yinyin's hands trembled slightly as she wiped her tears.
She seemed to have seen too many things she shouldn't have seen today. If this happened in a palace drama, it would be enough to get her head cut off!
Are you willing to bear witness to the emperor's weakness? Are you going to die?
"Grandpa, don't worry, I will train well. I will do my best to complete whatever Second Aunt arranges and will never cause you any trouble."
"Yinyin, you're really not forcing yourself because you sympathize with grandpa. Grandpa doesn't want to use morality to blackmail you."
Xu Yinyin smiled bitterly and said, "No, no, there is absolutely no such thing. I volunteered."
You've already cried in front of me, how can I refuse? It's not moral kidnapping, but you definitely feel guilty!
[You should be thankful that I'm easy to deal with—no, easy to talk to. Otherwise, if I were to pretend to be dead, no one would be able to persuade me!]
The old man patted her shoulder with satisfaction and said, "Thank you, Yinyin. Thank you for helping me so much."
Xu Yinyin tried hard to adapt to society and thought that she could rest easy after becoming the daughter of a wealthy family. However, she did not expect that she still could not escape the fate of working!
Hey~~
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