Pei Mingjiang did not answer the call. Instead, after Lin Hengzhi hung up, he snatched the phone and called Pei Rong, urgently asking, “Is there something wrong with the company?!”
Recently, his phone has been monitored by caregivers and his grandson. He could only receive occasional calls from family and friends, as they didn’t want him to worry and risk further complications. The doctor had repeatedly warned him not to be stimulated.
Pei Mingjiang understood and complied. Every time he asked, Pei Rong assured him everything was fine, though he felt deep down that things were not going well.
Time was still on their side!
How could Lin Hengzhi’s response come so quickly?!
From the tone of the call, Pei Mingjiang knew it wasn’t just a casual greeting.
This question bent Pei Rong’s back even further, causing him to feel even guiltier as he said in a hoarse voice, “Dad, I’m sorry.”
It was his decision that had failed, and in the end, he could not protect the Pei family’s vast estate.
Upon hearing those words, Pei Mingjiang realized the severity of the situation. He felt dazed for several seconds, his mind going blank.
As he slowly regained his composure, he realized what was happening, his bony hand tightly gripping his chest. “Ah!!!”
An overwhelming, muffled anger surged in his throat.
Pei Xiyue had already sensed something was wrong and called for the doctors and nurses, who rushed in. One administered a sedative while another attempted to calm him.
But the pain of having his dreams shattered could not be soothed like that.
“Grandpa!” Pei Xiyue was in a panic, watching his grandfather’s eyes bulging and his face contorted, a look that felt incredibly unfamiliar.
His mind was still in a fog, unsure of what was happening.
What was going on?
Why did his grandfather react so violently to the name Lin Hengzhi, immediately guessing that the family had gone bankrupt?
In his confusion, Pei Mingjiang managed to look at his grandson, filled with deep regret. He had hoped for this grandson to be the heir, but now, before he could pass on the family business, everything was gone.
The more he thought about it, the more unbearable it became. Eventually, a hint of blood appeared in his eyes, and he froze in endless rage.
“Take him to the emergency room!” the doctor shouted.
Soon, the nurses and doctors worked together to transfer him to a stretcher and quickly pushed him to the emergency room.
Pei Xiyue followed behind but was stopped at the emergency room entrance.
Pale-faced, he first called his parents and both grandfathers to inform them. Once everyone was notified, he nervously searched for Lin Hengzhi.
As he typed in the pinyin for the three characters, the system automatically recognized it. He clicked on a Baidu entry.
After reading it, he felt puzzled. Had their family offended such a powerful figure?
Upon exiting Baidu, he noticed a headline: “Surprising! Renowned Physicist Lin Hengzhi Has a Granddaughter?”
Below was a profile picture, showing only a side view. But Pei Xiyue felt it looked very familiar as if something was about to reveal itself.
He clicked on it, and the news article opened. It was several months old, with not many people paying attention to it. It reported how a research enthusiast had encountered a few people walking together in the hospital and thought they looked familiar, prompting him to ask and eventually recognize them.
Later, the writer walked away and snapped a few photos of the trio.
As the article opened, the accompanying image enlarged, and what Pei Xiyue had found familiar became even clearer.
That profile—wasn’t it the face he had secretly admired several times?
Pei Xiyue swayed slightly, leaning against the cold hospital wall for support. He sat down on a chair in the hallway, staring intently at the screen, trying to deny that this wasn’t Fu Qingli.
If it really was her, how could his grandfather treat her this way?
But he knew it was indeed Fu Qingli!
No wonder his grandfather chose to adopt her and make her his fiancée!
The Pei family needed Fu Qingli’s grandfather to provide technology to ensure they remained at the forefront of the automotive industry.
The Pei family’s business wasn’t limited to the automotive industry, though that was their main focus. They had prospered during the rapid development of cars over the past decade, and they had connected with Lin Hengzhi, allowing them to lead the market while other industries flourished as well.
Now that the Pei family was going bankrupt, it was because they had reaped the benefits but had not treated Fu Qingli well. Lin Hengzhi was furious, and with his help, their rivals obtained the patents he had long coveted. Now, with the Pei family’s funds running dry and facing bankruptcy, their rivals were well-capitalized and poised to strike!
Pei Xiyue gripped his phone tightly, his fingers turning white and bloodless as if they were fake.
With a “crack,” the screen shattered under the pressure of his grip, the broken glass cutting into his numb fingers.
He leaned wearily against the back of the chair, reflecting on how, under his grandfather’s misguidance, he had once thought Fu Qingli was a poor little girl saved by their family’s kindness. Looking back now, it seemed so ridiculous.
But there was one thing he couldn’t understand.
The Pei family had the money and had provided a good environment; why didn’t they show a little more care for Fu Qingli?
Just a little bit more might have changed everything.
At that moment, Pei Xiyue felt a weight on his shoulder as the chair creaked, and he turned to see Pei Rong, who had a scruffy beard, sit down.
Pei Xiyue blinked, his voice laced with a hint of grievance and resentment as he asked, “Dad, why didn’t Grandpa treat Fu Qingli well back then?”
Pei Rong frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
He too was puzzled about this matter. He had asked many times, but Pei Mingjiang always brushed it off. However, today, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment toward his father.
If he hadn’t acted so ruthlessly and gone too far, Lin Hengzhi wouldn’t have set him up like this!
Then He Yue arrived, looking grim, and immediately asked, “What’s going on? Dad’s health was supposed to be stable. A Yue, didn’t I tell you not to let Grandpa see the news?”
Pei Xiyue weakly replied, “Someone called, and Grandpa didn’t even need to say who it was; he just knew.”
He Yue furrowed her brow. “Who?”
“Lin Hengzhi.”
He Yue snapped, “I don’t know him! How could he make Dad so agitated?”
Pei Xiyue refused to speak further, feeling ashamed. The grandfather he once admired and respected turned out to be such a person; he didn’t want to confront that truth or explain everything that had happened.
Pei Rong sighed and began to explain, “Lin Hengzhi is the physicist who sold patents to the Pei family, which allowed us to lead the automotive industry for several years.”
He Yue responded impatiently, “And then?”
Pei Rong struggled to continue, “He is Fu Qingli’s biological grandfather. For certain reasons, he asked the Pei family to take care of Fu Qingli, and selling the patents was a condition of that arrangement. Now that Fu Qingli has gone back to Lin Hengzhi, he knows how our family has treated her, so… he’s taken action against the Pei family.”
“What?!” He Yue inhaled sharply, her heart racing and her face flushed with anger. “Are you kidding me? Isn’t she just an orphan?”
Pei Rong remained silent.
He Yue looked at her son, whose eyes were already red and filled with shame.
The “orphan” she referred to was the key to maintaining the Pei family’s status in the province!
How foolish she felt!
He Yue could no longer laugh; her mind spiraled with all the disdain and hidden contempt she had felt for Fu Qingli over the years.
Although she hadn’t verbally attacked her, she had always viewed Fu Qingli with suspicion and disdain since she was arranged to be her son’s fiancée. She would have preferred that the girl disappear from her sight entirely.
Yet it turned out… she had never been a down-and-out person!
He Yue covered her face, her cheeks burning with shame, mixed with intense regret.
If she had known this, she wouldn’t have opposed it!
Soon, other relatives of the Pei family rushed in, turning the previously quiet waiting area into a noisy scene. Nurses repeatedly came out to remind everyone to keep it down, but everyone still wore grim expressions.
“What’s going on? If the eldest brother is in trouble, is there still hope for our family?”
“A Yue, how are you taking care of your grandfather?”
“Ah… the Pei family is falling apart because of you all!”
Amid the lamentations, there was a palpable anxiety about the future. People said that a dead camel is still larger than a horse; although the Pei family had declared bankruptcy, not all their industries had disappeared. If they could manage to save even a small portion of their businesses and operate them well, they wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing, even if it wasn’t like before when they could casually place five million yuan vases in their living room.
But the Pei family had no trust in Pei Rong. All their hopes rested on Pei Mingjiang, and now he was in trouble again.
Finally, after more than three hours of rescue efforts, someone came out, but they went straight to the ICU. A doctor then informed them, “There was too much stimulation; he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He won’t be the same as before. He’ll need to stay in the ICU for at least a month for careful observation. Even if he recovers, he might only be able to move his eyes and mouth…”
In short, Pei Mingjiang was completely incapacitated.
It would take a large sum of money to keep him alive.
The man whom everyone in the Pei family had relied on had now become someone who needed help to survive.
Upon hearing this, the Pei family members quickly shifted their mindset after a brief period of disbelief. “Since that’s the case, then what the eldest brother promised me about that small company still needs to happen.”
“Exactly, brother! You’ve gained so much; now that the Pei family is gone, we should at least get a share of that small company, right?” Pei Qi, having received a hint from her husband, chimed in.
Seeing the greedy expressions on their faces made Pei Rong’s face turn green with anger. “Shut up! Dad isn’t dead yet, and you’re already thinking about getting benefits, aren’t you?”
Everyone fell silent but continued to push for their demands afterward.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152