Chapter 30: Serious Nonsense
Chapter 30: Serious Nonsense
The large flat at Gaochen Yipin cost eighty to ninety million even as a bare unit, and that was the old price, not to mention the interior decoration.
Besides its monetary value, the house was left to Yu Meilin by her mother, so it had special meaning to her. How could she give it up?
Yu Jiahao smiled and said, “Sis, don’t be angry. I’m not forcing you. If you don’t want to, then forget it. But if you can’t come up with the money later and try to sell it, maybe it won’t sell for half a year. If the court seizes and auctions it, wouldn’t it be gone anyway?”
Yu Meilin’s heart felt cold and broken.
She had already withdrawn from Dajiang Group, trading her equity shares for the company her mother once ran. But the Yu Family still wouldn’t let her go, pushing her into a desperate situation. Among the many members of the Yu Family, besides Grandma, who really treated her as family?
“Meilin, we are all family. Listen to my advice. I think Second Young Master’s suggestion is very good. Who could afford a house at that price on the second-hand market?” Yu Jiayong said.
Yu Meilin shouted angrily, “You shut up!”
Yu Jiayong spread his hands, looking indifferent. “Alright, alright. If you want me not to speak, I won’t speak. But Second Young Master really means well. I’m also part of the Yu Family, and I’m thinking of what’s best for you.”
The person told to leave didn’t leave, and the person told to shut up continued with sarcastic remarks. This was the situation of a tiger at the plains.
Li Zian moved close to Yu Meilin’s ear and whispered, “Let me handle this. I will do a divination for you.”
Yu Meilin was slightly stunned. How could she be in the mood for divination at a time like this?
But before she could decide, Li Zian stepped in front of her, blocking her view. He put his hands behind his back, his left hand holding his right wrist, and opened his right palm, stretching it out.
Yu Meilin hesitated, then raised a hand, extended a finger, closed her eyes, and began drawing on Li Zian’s right palm.
Yu Jiahao looked coldly at Li Zian. “Li, what are you blocking my sister for? I’m talking to my sister. You have no right to speak.”
Li Zian ignored him. Although he had inherited Ji Da’s Fangshi Esoteric Arts, he was far from reaching a level of effortless mastery and needed to concentrate fully.
Yu Jiayong said coldly, “Second Young Master is talking to you. Are you deaf?”
“Done,” Li Zian said.
Yu Meilin removed her finger from Li Zian’s palm.
An image appeared in Li Zian’s mind: a bird perching in a nest on a tree branch. The branch was in bloom, and below, a wolf looked up yearningly.
The Hexagram Interpretation formed: The magpie’s nest usurped by the dove is a smokescreen; the wolf harbors other schemes. A wild scent blossoms outside the home; sharing a bed and cooperating can break the deadlock.
Li Zian was also surprised.
This was the first time such a complex image had appeared, with birds, a nest, a branch, and a wolf.
But the Hexagram Interpretation was easy to understand. “The magpie’s nest usurped by the dove is a smokescreen” meant that Yu Jiahao’s coveting of Yu Meilin’s house was just a facade; he had another goal. The bird in the nest clearly didn’t refer to Yu Meilin, nor to him or Li Xiaomei, but to Lin Shengnan.
Lin Shengnan still held twenty percent of the equity shares in Dajiang Group. Whoever in the Yu Family could obtain that twenty percent would essentially control Dajiang Group. Lin Shengnan had always lived in Yu Meilin’s house. How could the Yu Family feel at ease? She was old; what if she made a will one day and left that twenty percent to Yu Meilin? Who in the Yu Family could accept that?
By pushing Yu Meilin into a desperate situation without even a place to live, the Yu Family would naturally have an excuse to bring the Old Matriarch to live in their own homes. Being close to the tower, one gets the moon first—wouldn’t that twenty percent be within easy reach?
As for the last two lines…
” A wild scent blossoms outside the home” referred to Mu Chuntao. If the King Kong Lolita had no intention, why would she flirt with a married man like him?
” Sharing a bed and cooperating can break the deadlock” meant that she and he needed to share a room; only by being united as husband and wife could they overcome the current predicament.
But as for these last two lines, even if Li Zian could interpret the hexagram, he couldn’t explain them to Yu Meilin.
He couldn’t possibly go to Yu Meilin and say, “This divination says your best friend is trying to steal your husband, and you need to sleep with your husband to get out of this mess.”
If he said that, Yu Meilin would most likely think he was using the opportunity to try to sleep with her. She probably wouldn’t trust him anymore and wouldn’t ask him to do divinations again.
Yu Jiahao and Yu Jiayong both stared at Li Zian. Having heard Li Zian say “Done,” they thought he had more to say, but after waiting, Li Zian remained silent. A contemptuous smile appeared on Yu Jiayong’s lips. “Are you sick or something? Maybe you should go to the hospital for a check-up.”
Li Zian said calmly, “Yu Jiayong, I’ll deal with you later about pushing my wife down the stairs. For now, you’d better shut up and not say a word.”
Yu Jiayong was stunned for a moment, then said aggressively, “You’re talking nonsense! Meilin is my cousin. Why would I push her down the stairs? If you dare slander me again, even in front of Meilin, I’ll rip your mouth apart!”
Yu Meilin stood beside Li Zian, about to speak, but Li Zian shook his head at her. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Yu Jiahao laughed. “Sis, this isn’t the you I know. When you were Chairperson at Dajiang Group for four years, you were a strong woman who could command wind and rain and act decisively. How have you fallen to listening to a villager from the mountains? What kind of potion has he given you?”
Li Zian said, “Brother-in-law, you’re no good either.”
Yu Jiahao’s face darkened. “What did you say? Say it again!”
Li Zian said, “Without your orders, would Yu Jiayong dare push Meilin down the stairs? Yesterday, you also ordered Yu Jiayong to steal the documents from Yun Di. You rushed over first thing this morning and said all those things. Meilin might not know what you’re up to, but I do.”
Yu Jiahao was shocked inside, but his face showed no change; he just stared at Li Zian with a dark expression.
Yu Jiayong pointed at Li Zian’s nose and cursed, “You idiot, if you dare talk nonsense again…”
Li Zian suddenly reached out and grabbed the finger Yu Jiayong was pointing at him, applying force and bending it backward.
Crack!
“Ah!” Yu Jiayong screamed.
Li Zian let go and punched Yu Jiayong in the stomach.
Yu Jiayong’s scream cut off abruptly. He crouched down, clutching his stomach, mouth open but no sound coming out, only gasping for breath. The finger he had pointed at Li Zian was bent at a ninety-degree angle, looking horrifying.
Yu Jiahao was both shocked and stunned, momentarily unresponsive.
He never expected Li Zian to suddenly resort to violence, and so brutally at that.
Li Zian walked toward Yu Jiahao.
Yu Jiahao regained his composure, but not a trace of fear showed on his face. “Li, you’re in trouble now. Breaking Yu Jiayong’s finger constitutes intentional injury. If you lay a hand on me, your punishment will be even worse.”
Li Zian stopped and smiled. “Brother-in-law, don’t be nervous. I won’t hit you. It’s just that your dog kept barking here, and it annoyed me, so I just made him quiet down.”
Yu Jiahao sneered. “Even when beating a dog, one must consider its Master. Who do you think you are? A dragon crossing the river? Daring to hit someone here. But I understand you; after all, you’re from the mountains.” After a pause, he added, “Jiayong, what are you waiting for? Call the police.”
Yu Jiayong hadn’t caught his breath yet, but upon Yu Jiahao’s command, he forced himself to use his other hand, which could still move normally, to pull out his Mobile Phone.
Li Zian smiled. “Brother-in-law, you’re right. I was reckless. If you don’t call the police, I’ll persuade Meilin to give you the house.”
“Zian!” Yu Meilin’s emotions were out of control. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
Li Zian said, “Let me finish.”
Yu Meilin held back her words.
Yu Jiahao said, “Jiayong, wait.”
Yu Jiayong held his Mobile Phone, awaiting instructions, glaring fiercely at Li Zian.
Li Zian said, “Brother-in-law, why don’t you state your additional conditions? That way, I can better persuade Meilin.”
Yu Meilin’s heart stirred. She hadn’t considered that Yu Jiahao might have additional conditions. She stared intently at Yu Jiahao, waiting for him to speak.
Yu Jiahao remained silent for a moment before saying, “Grandma can’t go with you. I will move in to take care of Grandma.”
Yu Meilin suddenly understood, and her eyes grew even colder.
Yu Jiahao continued, “That’s my only condition. If you meet it, everything can be discussed. Not only can I help you clear the debt, but I can also lend you more money for the Copper Mine development in Yun Di. How about that?”
Yu Meilin said coldly, “What if I don’t agree?”
Yu Jiahao said calmly, “Jiayong, call the police. Let’s get the one who hit you into detention first.”
Yu Jiayong used his injured hand to hold the Mobile Phone and dialed with his good hand.
Li Zian suddenly kicked the Mobile Phone out of Yu Jiayong’s hand.
“You damn—” Yu Jiayong’s eyes turned red.
Li Zian swung his hand and slapped Yu Jiayong across the face.
Smack!
Both Yu Jiahao and Yu Meilin instinctively flinched, as if that harsh slap had landed on their own faces.
Yu Jiayong was stunned by the slap, staring wide-eyed at Li Zian, tears shimmering in his eyes, his head buzzing. Why was this Live-in Son-in-Law from the mountain village bullying him like this?
Li Zian said, “If I didn’t have leverage over you, would I hit someone here? Yu Jiayong, I have the video of you pushing my wife down the stairs. I also have evidence of you sending Ma Chuan to steal the documents. Our company lost thirty million because of it. If we’re calling the police, let’s do it together. At most, I’ll be detained for fifteen days. I wonder how long you’ll be locked up. For stealing commercial secrets, a case involving tens of millions, I wonder how many years you’ll serve?”
“You… impossible…” Yu Jiayong’s voice trembled violently.
Li Zian took out his Mobile Phone, opened the Photo Album, pulled up a picture of Yu Jiayong dealing with Ma Chuan, and then another picture of Yu Jiayong meeting with Yu Jiahao.
After seeing the two photos, Yu Jiayong was dumbfounded.
Yu Jiahao’s face turned ashen.
Li Zian said, “Let’s call the police together now. My wife has a terrible headache, and the baby in her belly might not be safe. That’s a human life, you know. Come on, let’s call the police together. Whoever doesn’t call is a Sunzi.”
As he spoke, he started to dial.
Yu Jiayong knelt with a thud before Li Zian. “Zian, we are family. Why go so far?”
Yu Meilin stared blankly at Li Zian. She knew he was talking nonsense; there was no baby in her belly. But for some reason, hearing him talk serious nonsense didn’t bother her at all; instead, it felt satisfying.
“This has nothing to do with me.” Yu Jiahao turned and left quickly.
“Second Young Master, Second Young Master, please say something! I…” Yu Jiayong looked pleadingly at Yu Jiahao.
Yu Jiahao walked even faster.