Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 63: The Deal
“Xiao Yun…”
Duan Haoran finished revealing the truth and looked at Xiao Yun, calling out his name, opening his mouth as if to say something but hesitating.
Xiao Yun was not a fool; he could see from Duan Haoran's hopeful gaze that he was expecting him to acknowledge his roots.
— Hey, is it really that easy for me to recognize my ancestry?
Perhaps to others, being able to connect with the Duan Clan would seem like a stroke of good fortune from a past life, but for Xiao Yun, it meant nothing.
The Duan Family had never shown him any kindness, and aside from Duan Qingxue, he felt no emotional connection to the other members of the Duan Family.
“Mr. Duan,” Xiao Yun suddenly asked coldly, “I have a few questions I would like you to clarify. Are you willing to explain?”
Duan Haoran could clearly sense the hostility in Xiao Yun's tone. He awkwardly smiled and said, “Silly child, as long as I know, I will certainly tell you everything!”
“Good.” Xiao Yun replied, “First, as far as I know, Gu Tianfeng's subordinates have caused trouble at the Phoenix City Grand Hotel multiple times. Were you the one behind this? Second, why did Qingxue leave the Duan Family? What kind of contract did you sign?”
“You mentioned Phoenix City and Gu Tianfeng… uh, yes, that was my doing.” Duan Haoran blushed unexpectedly at Xiao Yun's questions and could only nod in acknowledgment.
Xiao Yun pressed on, “Why did you do this?”
“Xiao Yun, I… I have my reasons that are hard to explain…”
Xiao Yun let out a cold laugh: “What reasons could be so hard to speak of here?”
In this room, apart from An Yiran, there was no one else. Moreover, Xiao Yun could tell from Duan Haoran's words that she was his Confidant.
At this moment, An Yiran could hardly bear it any longer; Xiao Yun was too arrogant. How could he speak to Duan the Boss with such an attitude, as if he were a police officer interrogating a criminal?
"Mr. Xiao, I hope you can speak to my grandfather with more respect!" An Yiran glared at Xiao Yun with displeasure in her beautiful eyes.
Xiao Yun coldly replied, "Sorry, but I'm just speaking the truth!"
"You..." An Yiran wanted to get angry but was stopped by Duan Haoran's gesture.
Duan Haoran cleared his throat a few times and said to Xiao Yun, "Kid, I won't hide it from you any longer. I sent Gu Tianfeng to cause trouble in Phoenix City, but it was actually at someone else's command. As for why they wanted me to do this, I don't really know the specifics."
"Who is that person?"
Xiao Yun felt that the person who could manipulate Duan Haoran into seizing Phoenix City must be quite formidable.
For someone like Duan Haoran, a prominent figure, who could possibly command him?
Moreover, this person was intent on taking Phoenix City, likely related to the Ethereal Stone.
He couldn't help but recall the Mind Control Cicada on Duan Haoran.
"This person is Song Chaoyang from Beijing. His father, Song Zicheng, was once my sworn brother and also our children's matchmaker." At this point, Duan Haoran did not want to hide anything from Xiao Yun. He hoped to touch this young man with his sincerity and bring him back into the Duan Family.
No matter what, he did not want to lose Xiao Yun, his closest grandson. As long as this grandson was willing, he could immediately hand over the management of the Duan Group to him.
Unfortunately, he could never have imagined that Xiao Yun had no interest in this; what he cared about was only Duan Qingxue.
Duan Haoran told Xiao Yun that when he was young, he ventured to Southeast Asia for a living and it was during that time that he met Song Zicheng.
Later, they each started their own families and returned to Huaxia. Song Zicheng stayed in Beijing and had a daughter, while Duan Haoran returned to his hometown, Galaxy City, and had a son. The two families thus arranged a marriage between their children.
Unexpectedly, as the two children grew up, despite having met a few times, they never developed any feelings for each other and were quite averse to one another. Song Zicheng was a person who valued reputation greatly; fearing he would lose face, he angrily forced his daughter to marry into the Duan Family.
After the marriage, the couple lived separately and did not interfere in each other's lives, which caused Duan Haoran much distress. This couple was the parents of Duan Qingxue.
Years later, the couple likely felt that being together had lost its charm. They shared a meal for the first time and planned a trip together, leading others to believe they had reconciled. Little did anyone know that they both jumped off a cliff at a scenic spot in another city.
When Song Zicheng in Beijing learned of his daughter's tragic fate, he spat out blood on the spot and died without treatment. Song Family's eldest son, Song Chaoyang, rushed to Galaxy City and caused a huge uproar.
At this moment, Duan Qingxue began to run away from home. She hated her grandfather and believed that Duan Haoran was responsible for her parents' deaths. Little did she know of her grandfather's inner pain; he had thought several times about visiting his granddaughter's flower shop to express his grievances but could not go out during the day due to fear of sunlight, and at night she would not even acknowledge him.
"As for the contract you mentioned regarding Qingxue, it does exist," Duan Haoran said with a light sigh. "However, it is related to Wilson from America."
"Who is Wilson?" Xiao Yun asked warily.
Duan Haoran replied, "Wilson is a young businessman from America; his father is a congressman. Everyone knows about his family among world leaders. Since I have some business abroad, I have dealt with Wilson before. He has been to Huaxia and met Qingxue; he immediately took a liking to her and said that marrying Qingxue would be his greatest happiness in life..."
"So you secretly promised Qingxue to Wilson?" Xiao Yun questioned.
Duan Haoran's face flushed again as he nodded. "Yes, Wilson is someone you cannot offend. He told me directly that as long as he could be engaged to Qingxue, no one would dare bully the Duan Family again."
He then sighed deeply and continued, "I was also forced into a corner by that bastard Yan Jing Song Chaoyang, so I agreed to Wilson's proposal in hopes of using his influence to suppress the Song Family and protect my Duan Group!"
Xiao Yun sneered coldly. "For Wilson's sake, and also to prevent Duan Qingxue from associating with other men, you came up with this ridiculous scheme to force her to sign a contract and installed surveillance in her flower shop. You only canceled the surveillance at night for the sake of her privacy but stationed people around her shop at midnight..."
Duan Haoran awkwardly cleared his throat several times. "I’m not very clear on the specifics; I only instructed my nephew Duan Shaohang to handle this matter..."
Hearing him mention Duan Shaohang reminded Xiao Yun of Duan Qingyu, whom she had beaten up fiercely. Like father, like son; it seemed that Duan Shaohang was not a good character either.
"To my knowledge, a few years ago, Duan Qingxue had a male classmate with whom she was quite close. He often came to her flower shop to hang out, but not long after, he inexplicably lost his life. You should know about this, right?"
Last night, Xiao Yun stayed in the flower shop and accidentally came across a notebook belonging to Duan Qingxue, where he found this entry.
Unexpectedly, Duan Haoran was shocked by what he heard and exclaimed, "How could this happen? Even if there were other men involved with Qingxue, I would never do such a thing, and Gu Tianfeng, who is responsible for protecting Qingxue's safety, wouldn't either." He turned to An Yiran and said sternly:
"Call Tianfeng immediately and have him start investigating this matter. No wonder Qingxue hates me so much; it turns out someone has been doing something utterly despicable behind my back!"
Xiao Yun could tell that Duan Haoran did not seem like someone who was lying. So who could have done this?
"Xiao Yun," Duan Haoran looked at Xiao Yun again and said, "Actually, I've come to terms with things now. I realize that what I've done regarding Phoenix City was too extreme. I've already canceled that plan and informed the Boss Lady of Phoenix City that if she intends to expand her hotel business, I can provide financial assistance free of charge..."
Xiao Yun was already aware of this and asked, "Let me ask one last thing: is the Mind Control Cicada on your arm from the Song Family?"
"What? You can tell that I've been marked with a Mind Control Cicada?" Duan Haoran trembled all over, his expression one of utter astonishment.
"Yes, and I also know that if you don't remove this Mind Control Cicada soon, you only have about six months left to live!"
Xiao Yun then smiled and said, "How about this? Let's make a deal: I'll help you remove the Mind Control Cicada from your body if you give me the Yanshan Fengshui Map that's in the living room. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Duan Haoran felt as if a great wave had surged within him. He seemed unable to believe his ears and asked with a trembling voice, "You... you mean the Yanshan Fengshui Map?"
Comment 0 Comment Count