Chapter 76: Her Real Brother
Chapter 76: Her Real Brother
The voice belonged to Ge Chunlan, Yu Taian’s wife.
Li Zian wasn’t surprised at all that Ge Chunlan had come. Most of the people transferred to the warehouse as loaders were relatives from her Ge family. It was perfectly normal that some relative who had her ear had called, asking her to come and put out this fire.
Ge Chunlan stepped out of the car, followed by a young man.
The boy looked about sixteen or seventeen, wearing a school uniform with a suit-like design. The tailoring was excellent, making him look neat, tall, and well-proportioned. You wouldn’t see uniforms of this quality in regular public schools. Just from the uniform, it was clear that he attended a private school where the tuition cost an absolute fortune.
Li Zian didn’t recognize the boy, but he thought his face somewhat resembled Yu Meilin’s.
Could it be Yu Meilin’s half-brother, Yu Jiaxing? he wondered silently.
Just as he thought this, the boy stared at him and said, “Hey, where’s my sister?”
So it really was Yu Jiaxing.
Li Zian looked at him but didn’t reply.
Is “Hey” my last name?
Yu Jiaxing frowned. “Are you deaf or something? I’m talking to you.”
Li Zian said flatly, “And you are?”
“You seriously don’t know who I am?” Yu Jiaxing looked genuinely shocked.
Ge Chunlan immediately tried to make the situation worse. “Jiaxing, your sister picked this live-in husband from the mountains. He’s got a terrible temper! He dares to yell at me and your second uncle! You’d better watch your mouth.”
Yu Jiaxing snorted coldly. “What was my sister thinking, marrying a man like this? He has zero class.”
His tone dripped with contempt and scorn.
Ge Jun and Ge Chunlan stood by watching coldly, clearly hoping to see some drama.
Li Zian remained perfectly calm. He didn’t need to guess what Ge Chunlan and Ge Jun were up to.
They’d come about their relatives, but figuring they wouldn’t get anywhere against Li Zian, they’d brought Yu Jiaxing along. They wanted to make Yu Meilin hold back because of him.
This idiot kid is being used as a weapon and yet he’s strutting around, Li Zian thought. He and Yu Meilin are half-siblings, but he’s nowhere near her league. Yu Meilin’s mother built the Dajiang Group into what it is. His mother, Gao Shengmei, is just a trophy wife. The difference isn’t just in their IQ, but in class itself.
Since you’re here to be a human shield, you better be ready to take an arrow to the forehead.
Li Zian brushed it off casually. “Yu Jiaxing? Don’t think just because your sister is my wife, you can get cocky with me. Who do you think you are?”
Yu Jiaxing was stunned.
In the Yu family, he was always the one everyone spoiled and indulged. When had anyone ever insulted him like this?
Not even his sister Yu Meilin had ever spoken sharply to him before! He’d expected even less from this live-in husband, who the entire Yu family supposedly detested!
“Jiaxing, you see?” Ge Chunlan immediately fanned the flames. “Didn’t I tell you? Your sister’s man has a huge temper! You better watch yourself, or he might hit you!”
“He wouldn’t dare! I’m going to find my sister right now! I’ll make her divorce him! Otherwise, she can forget she has a brother!” Yu Jiaxing stormed towards the side door of the car showroom, trembling with rage.
Li Zian felt nothing but scorn.
Is this how all sixteen- or seventeen-year-olds act? So impulsive and rebellious?
This “real” little brother actually wants Yu Meilin to divorce me? He thinks way too highly of himself, thinking the world revolves around him.
Wei Dazhuang stepped directly into Yu Jiaxing’s path.
The man had his virtues. He wasn’t one for complex calculations. Didn’t matter whose precious son you were. In his mind, there were only two bosses: Yu Meilin and Li Zian. No one else got the time of day.
“Move!” Yu Jiaxing yelled.
Wei Dazhuang didn’t budge.
“Move, or I’ll tell my sister to fire you!” Yu Jiaxing threatened, suddenly shoving Wei Dazhuang hard.
Being a strong teenager, he managed to push Wei Dazhuang back a step. Wei Dazhuang didn’t dare fight back. He looked at Li Zian helplessly.
Li Zian said, “Let him in.”
Wei Dazhuang nodded at once and stepped aside.
Yu Jiaxing threw one last hate-filled look at Li Zian. “You just wait!”
Li Zian smiled. “I’ll be waiting.”
Yu Jiaxing snorted and stormed through the side door, striding angrily towards the office building.
Li Zian turned his gaze to Ge Chunlan and Ge Jun, his tone indifferent. “You two can go in too. Your relatives are in the warehouse. Cousin Sister Ge, as the former chief of this company, you must know where the warehouse is, right?”
Ge Jun got out of the car’s driver’s seat. “Li! Making company veterans work as warehouse loaders – such a vicious idea! Yu Meilin wouldn’t think of this. It was your idea, wasn’t it?”
Li Zian nodded. “Yep. It was all me. From start to finish, my idea. Got anything else to say?”
“You… you little…!” Ge Jun lifted a finger in a floppy, effeminate gesture, ready to curse. But catching Li Zian’s cold stare, he swallowed the insults abruptly. His floppy finger retreated instantly.
The vivid example of Yu Jiayong flashed in his mind. The man’s finger was still wrapped in bandages.
“A-jun, let’s go see for ourselves,” Ge Chunlan said, heading for the small door. She didn’t miss the chance to send Li Zian a disgusted look. “Talking to a live-in son-in-law with no real say is a waste of breath. When did the Yu family business need a live-in’s opinion?”
Li Zian’s mind remained perfectly unruffled.
Ge Chunlan and Ge Jun entered the main gate, their two bodyguards trailing closely behind them.
Wei Dazhuang looked anxiously at Li Zian, lost about what to do.
Li Zan instructed, “Dazhuang, go gather every security guard currently in the company and bring them all to the warehouse.”
“Ok, I’ll go right now.” Wei Dazhuang hurried off to summon them.
Only then did Li Zian slowly start walking towards the warehouse.
Truthfully, he had zero desire to be tangled up in the Yu family’s messy internal squabbles. Before coming down to the city, the infighting of wealthy families had just been TV drama stuff to him. Now, here he was, smack in the middle of the Yu family’s turf wars.
Long before Ge Chunlan and Ge Jun reached the warehouse door, someone with sharp eyes spotted them. Shouts went up, and a whole crowd surged out, Ma Chuan unable to hold them back.
Victims meeting their rescuers, the large group instantly surrounded Ge Jun and Ge Chunlan, pouring out their bitterness. Some even cried.
This New Star Company had been a cushy “retirement home” for the Ge family relatives. High salaries, easy work, and chances to skim extra cash whenever possible. Now, Yu Meilin had smashed both their rice bowls and their side hustles. Who wouldn’t be devastated? Who wouldn’t panic?
Ma Chuan scurried over to Li Zian, panting. “L-Lord An… there are so many of those bastards… I couldn’t stop them…”
Li Zian said, “It’s alright. You did well.”
Ma Chuan nodded and bowed, a sycophantic smile on his face. “Lord An thinks highly of me. I’ll do anything for Lord An, absolutely!”
Li Zian pointed towards Ge Chunlan in the crowd. “That’s Ge Chunlan, Yu Taian’s wife. General Manager Yu’s second aunt. Ever seen her before?”
Ma-Chuan shook his head. “Nope. First time seeing her.”
“What about the effeminate man beside her?”
“Oh! Chief Ge? No, Ge Jun! Of course I know him.”
Li Zian asked, “Are you scared of those two?”
Ma Chuan paused, processing this. “Lord An, you mean…?”
“In a minute, when I cough, you start chewing people out. Doesn’t matter who it is. Curse them out loud and clear.”
A sly grin spread across Ma Chuan’s face. “Got it, Lord An! Relax. Over here, it’s only you and General Manager Yu that matter. Whoever it is, I’ll curse until smoke comes out of their heads!”
Just then, Yu Meilin and Yu Jiaxing emerged from the office building and walked over. Yu Meilin looked calm. Yu Jiaxing’s face was dark and stormy, clearly furious.
Ge Chunlan raised her voice. “Quiet, everyone! Let me talk to Meilin.”
The huge, noisy crowd instantly hushed.
Ge Chunlan stepped out from the crowd. Yu Meilin had just reached Li Zian’s side but hadn’t had a moment to speak to him before Ge Chunlan commanded, “Meilin, come over here. Your second aunt wants a word.”
Yu Meilin hesitated for a second, then walked towards Ge Chunlan.
Yu Jiaxing, who had followed Yu Meilin, shot another glare at Li Zian, huffed, and went with her.
“Lord An, who’s that kid?” Ma Chuan asked quietly.
Li Zian replied, “General Manager Yu’s half-brother. Don’t curse at him.”
Ma Chuan nodded quickly. “Understood.”
He wouldn’t dream of cursing Yu Meilin’s brother. That’d be like cursing General Manager Yu herself. Even ten times the bravery wouldn’t make him do it.
In the time it took for their brief exchange, Yu Meilin reached Ge Chunlan. She spoke politely, “Second Aunt, what brings you here?”
Ge Chunlan sighed heavily. “Why else? For the sake of all our aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters! They’re family to you too. Everything was fine! Why did you listen to that man and send our people to become warehouse loaders? Yu family members working as loaders! If this gets out, what face will the Yu family have left?”
Yu Meilin just listened, her expression unreadable.
“Meilin, by seniority, I’m your uncle!” one uncle piped up. “I was working here when your mother was still around! I may not claim great achievements, but I put in effort! You send me to be a loader? Actions like this make us veterans feel completely cold inside!”
“At the end of the day, we’re all Yu family,” another added. “We see each other constantly! How do you expect us to ever face each other after this?”
“We know it’s not your idea!” a third voice chimed in accusingly. “It’s all that Li guy! We don’t blame you! But your man is really bad news. Kick him out soon, or you’ll regret it later!”
The large group buzzed with overlapping voices. Some pulled rank, some complained, some outright stirred the flames.
Li Zian walked towards the crowd.
Ma Chuan followed behind him, the picture of a loyal hound.
“In a minute, when I cough, start throwing insults at them,” Li Zian said quietly.
“Understood, Lord An,” Ma Chuan confirmed.
Just then, Wei Dazhuang arrived leading a dozen or so security guards, all looking eager. Layoffs meant opportunity for those who stayed. Performing well here could earn Lord An’s favor and maybe a promotion to team leader or something.