Yan Jiaqiang didn’t return home that day. When he called, Du Rulan’s tone was normal.
He breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that Yan Yan hadn’t told Du Rulan about the situation yet, giving him some preparation time.
The next afternoon, Yan Jiaqiang returned home from work. As soon as he entered the door, Du Rulan pounced on him, scratching his face with both hands and shouting in a frenzy, “Yan Jiaqiang! Why did you treat me like this? Who is that woman? Who is she?”
The physical strength of the irrational woman should not be underestimated. Yan Jiaqiang was careless and got scratched by Du Rulan’s long nails, leaving a blood mark on the right side of his face. He winced in pain.
Initially, he felt a bit guilty. Du Rulan was his legally wedded wife after all, and they had raised three children together. However, being scratched like this made him angry. He grabbed Du Rulan’s wrist and pushed her onto the couch, growling, “Are you crazy? Stop acting like a madwoman!”
The household staff were startled by his harsh tone and dared not appear, hiding in the kitchen.
“Mad woman? Whose fault is that? I’ll fight you to the end, you shameless, heartless bastard! Shameless!” Du Rulan yelled and cried, her well-groomed hair in a tangled mess around her face. She looked like a madwoman as she lunged at Yan Jiaqiang, hitting and scratching.
Yan Jiaqiang tightly held her wrist, his brows furrowed. In some ways, being discovered wasn’t a bad thing. He had lost any feelings he had for Du Rulan a long time ago, and the Du family no longer held much value to him. If Du Rulan wanted a divorce, it might even be better. He still had four wine recipes on hand. Even if other businesses of the Yan family couldn’t be revived, he could stand firm again with the Emerald Villa.
Thinking this, he slapped the hysterical Du Rulan, who was covered in tears and snot, back onto the couch. He snorted, not bothering to look at her, and went upstairs to his study. He locked the door, and went to the safe. He wanted to take the wine recipes and stay at another place for a few days as he sorted out his issues with Du Rulan.
After entering the password, he opened the safe and was dumbfounded—there was nothing inside! All four wine recipes he had stored were gone!
He quickly calmed down and thought about it—other than him, only Du Rulan knew the password. His face changed dramatically, and he left the study quickly, rushing downstairs. He grabbed the crying Du Rulan as if picking up a chick, and pushed Yan Yan, who was comforting her, aside.
“I’ll ask you once did you take what was in the safe?”
“I didn’t!” Du Rulan cried out, “wuuu…”
“Dad, you’re crazy!” Yan Yan’s chest heaved with anger, and he quickly helped Du Rulan up.
Yan Jiaqiang raised his head and slapped Du Rulan’s face, his voice stern, “Only you know the safe’s password aside from me. Who else could it be? Speak! Where did you hide it?”
Du Rulan stared at him like a stranger, loudly crying out for help, “Help! Help! Someone help, he’s killing me!”
Yan Jiaqiang’s face was cold, and he wanted to hit her again.
Yan Yan pushed him away, “Yan Jiaqiang! Have you gone crazy?”
“Its none of your business.” Yan Jiaqiang shoved him aside, kicked Du Rulan in the side, and demanded, “Tell me, did you take it?”
Du Rulan stood in front of Yan Yan, a sly smile on her face. “Yes, I took it! I’ve destroyed them all! If you dare, go ahead and kill me!” In truth, she didn’t have a clue what Yan Jiaqiang was talking about; she was deliberately provoking him.
“You!” Yan Jiaqiang’s head spun with anger, and he laughed. “Okay, you think I won’t dare?” With that, he slapped Du Rulan’s mouth harshly. However, the back of his head suddenly throbbed with pain. He slowly turned around, and saw Yan Yan holding the neck of a vase, broken fragments littered the ground.
Yan Jiaqiang felt dizzy. He clutched his head in pain, and slumped down on the floor, his hand covered in blood.
Yan Yan was stunned. He let go of the vase’s neck, and it crashed to the floor.
Du Rulan’s face turned pale, “Help! Someone! Call an ambulance!”
Yan Weifeng and Zhang Qiaoqiao had gone to pick up Yan Si from kindergarten and returned home at this moment. They were shocked by the scene and quickly stepped forward to help.
While the Yan family was in chaos, Huangfu Yuchen sent the photos from the digital camera to the newspaper’s email and then returned to the farm.
Yan Ge didn’t ask him what he had been doing; instead, he went up to him, hugged him, and kissed his lips, then returned to the sofa with a nonchalant look and watched TV as if nothing had happened.
Huangfu Yuchen was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled and sat down beside him. Together, they watched TV.
During this time, Yan Ge received several phone calls. All were regarding Yan Jiaqiang cutting ties with him. After finishing the calls, his phone ran out of battery.
People who knew him knew that Yan Ge’s parents didn’t like him, so most of them sympathized with him.
People who didn’t know him assumed that Yan Jiaqiang had cut ties with him because he was in a relationship with a man. However, they didn’t care much. After all, people’s thoughts were becoming more open these days, and their family matters had nothing to do with others.
In general, Yan Ge didn’t hear anything bad.
The next day, the popular “Imperial Capital Daily” extensively reported about Yan Jiaqiang’s affair and the fact that he had a son almost the same age as his grandson. The entire business world was in an uproar. Just over a month ago, Yan Jiaqiang and Du Rulan had been featured on the front page of the newspaper, showing their affection. Everyone was now laughing at the Yan family.
The Yan family and the Du family also stirred up a fuss. Although a married daughter was like spilled water, the Du family was also prominent figures. How could they let someone slap their faces and not retaliate?
Inside the Yan family, there was also turmoil. The Yan family’s businesses were currently facing a major crisis. As the head of the family, Yan Jiaqiang should have dealt with the situation promptly, but he was now wrapped in scandals. This is tantamount to encouraging other members of the Yan family to rebel against him.
Yan Jiaqiang first had his affair exposed, then he lost the wine recipes, and now he was being questioned by other members of the Yan family. He was in a dire situation.
He called Huangfu Yuchen, wanting him to provide the wine recipes again, but Huangfu Yuchen replied innocently, “ I’m sorry Mr. Yan. I directly gave you the original recipes back then because I wanted to show my sincerity and also because I was afraid you wouldn’t believe the recipes. You should have noticed that the recipes were written on very old paper. In other words, I don’t have any copies.”
Yan Jiaqiang was thunderstruck.
On the other hand, Du Rulan wasn’t one to be underestimated. She quickly found out Yin Huiru’s address and rushed iver to scold her. Soon, that too made the headlines.
While all this was going on, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen’s house was peaceful and warm.
Yan Ge was sitting on the couch, watching TV, while Huangfu Yuchen was looking over the account books. At this moment, his phone suddenly rang.
— “You are my little apple, I can’t love you enough…”
Yan Ge’s eyelid twitched and he shot Huangfu Yuchen a glare. He’d get goosebumps all over his body every time he heard that ringtone. He had even changed the ringtone a few times, but Huangfu Yuchen always changed it back, so he had no choice but to let it be.
“Baby, the lyrics after that are great.” Huangfu Yuchen explained, patting Yan Ge’s head before answering the call with a calm voice that was neither enthusiastic nor cold, “Who’s this?”
A middle-aged man’s calm and enthusiastic voice came from the other end, “Mr. Huangfu, I’m Meng Yingshan, the CEO of Feiyang Group. We’re having a banquet at Jingli Hotel the day after tomorrow at 7 PM. I wonder if Mr. Huangfu and Mr. Yan would be honored to join us?”
“Xiao Ge?” Huangfu Yuchen looked at Yan Ge for confirmation.
Yan Ge nodded absentmindedly, his eyes still fixed on the TV drama “Suspicion During the Turmoil,” which was reaching its climax tonight.
Huangfu Yuchen replied, “Mr. Meng, it’s our pleasure to be invited. We will be there on time.”
“Good, haha. Then I’ll await your arrival.”
Two days later, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen appeared at Jingli Hotel at 7 PM, dressed exceptionally handsome, and right on time.
Meng Yingshan saw them and walked up with a smile.
“Mr. Yan, long time no see. Hello, Mr. Huangfu. I’ve heard a lot about Mr. Huangfu’s talents and handsomeness, seeing you today, it seems your reputation is well-deserved.”
“Mr. Meng, you’re being too kind.” Yan Ge smiled gently, “If you have time, feel free to drop by the farm.”
Meng Yingshan led them to a quieter area. “I invited both of you here for a few reasons. First, I wanted to personally express my gratitude. Second, I hope to make friends with you. And third, I’d like to introduce a few friends to you. They are interested in collaborating with your farm.”
“We appreciate the opportunity, Mr. Meng.” Yan Ge looked at the group of young people walking towards them.
Among them, the one in the middle stood out the most. He was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with striking features, a handsome appearance, and walked as if he was on a runway. The man to his left was a couple of years younger, but his presence was just as strong. His eyes were sharp and perceptive, and he subtly scanned Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen before giving them a courteous smile and nodding. The woman beside them wore a desert-colored dress with high heels, confidently striding forward. She exuded a strong aura of a successful woman.
“Allow me to introduce them to you. This is Xiao Shuai, the CEO of Qingyuan Enterprise; this is Kang Wei, the CEO of Hengchun Limited; and this is Anqi, the director of Kang’an Group.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen exchanged greetings with them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Xiao Shuai smiled, “Your farm is truly impressive. I was lucky to get some discount coupons the first time I visited with my family. Unfortunately, my younger brother and cousin snatched the coupons from me before we even got home.”
Everyone laughed.
Meng Yingshan chuckled, “You young folks always have interesting things to discuss. I, on the other hand, won’t join in the fun.”
After Meng Yingshan left, the group exchanged a few words of casual conversation before getting to the main topic.
“Mr. Yan, Mr. Huangfu, to be honest, the three of us are interested in visiting your farm. However, we’ve heard that your farm is rather cautious about collaborating with other companies. We were worried that dropping by directly might be too forward. So, we thought we’d take this opportunity to have a chat with the two of you.” Kang Wei spoke rapidly, clearly a straightforward person.
Huangfu Yuchen patted Yan Ge’s shoulder and suggested, “Xiao Ge, Xu Kai is over there. Do you want to go say hello?”
Yan Ge nodded and turned to Xiao Shuai and the others, “An old friend of mine is also here. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Mr. Yan, please go ahead.”
After Yan Ge walked away, Huangfu Yuchen gestured with his hand, inviting the three of them to a quieter spot.
“I understand the nature of your respective businesses,” Huangfu Yuchen began, “and I have a general idea of the areas you’re interested in collaborating on. This isn’t a problem, but I do have a condition.”
“Oh?” Xiao Shuai had initially thought Huangfu Yuchen might be difficult to deal with due to his cold expression. However, Huangfu Yuchen speak directly and straightforwardly, and his impression improved slightly. “Please, go on.”
Kang Wei and Anqi also looked intrigued.
“We’re here on behalf of our companies, and we’re all the decision-makers,” Anqi smiled charmingly. “Mr. Huangfu, please feel free to share your condition.”
Huangfu Yuchen took a sip of his wine and calmly stated, “As long as you can help me destroy Yan Jiaqiang’s company, not only will I cooperate with you, but I’ll also share 10% of the profits with you.”
Yan Jiaqiang didn’t return home that day. When he called, Du Rulan’s tone was normal.
He breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that Yan Yan hadn’t told Du Rulan about the situation yet, giving him some preparation time.
The next afternoon, Yan Jiaqiang returned home from work. As soon as he entered the door, Du Rulan pounced on him, scratching his face with both hands and shouting in a frenzy, “Yan Jiaqiang! Why did you treat me like this? Who is that woman? Who is she?”
The physical strength of the irrational woman should not be underestimated. Yan Jiaqiang was careless and got scratched by Du Rulan’s long nails, leaving a blood mark on the right side of his face. He winced in pain.
Initially, he felt a bit guilty. Du Rulan was his legally wedded wife after all, and they had raised three children together. However, being scratched like this made him angry. He grabbed Du Rulan’s wrist and pushed her onto the couch, growling, “Are you crazy? Stop acting like a madwoman!”
The household staff were startled by his harsh tone and dared not appear, hiding in the kitchen.
“Mad woman? Whose fault is that? I’ll fight you to the end, you shameless, heartless bastard! Shameless!” Du Rulan yelled and cried, her well-groomed hair in a tangled mess around her face. She looked like a madwoman as she lunged at Yan Jiaqiang, hitting and scratching.
Yan Jiaqiang tightly held her wrist, his brows furrowed. In some ways, being discovered wasn’t a bad thing. He had lost any feelings he had for Du Rulan a long time ago, and the Du family no longer held much value to him. If Du Rulan wanted a divorce, it might even be better. He still had four wine recipes on hand. Even if other businesses of the Yan family couldn’t be revived, he could stand firm again with the Emerald Villa.
Thinking this, he slapped the hysterical Du Rulan, who was covered in tears and snot, back onto the couch. He snorted, not bothering to look at her, and went upstairs to his study. He locked the door, and went to the safe. He wanted to take the wine recipes and stay at another place for a few days as he sorted out his issues with Du Rulan.
After entering the password, he opened the safe and was dumbfounded—there was nothing inside! All four wine recipes he had stored were gone!
He quickly calmed down and thought about it—other than him, only Du Rulan knew the password. His face changed dramatically, and he left the study quickly, rushing downstairs. He grabbed the crying Du Rulan as if picking up a chick, and pushed Yan Yan, who was comforting her, aside.
“I’ll ask you once did you take what was in the safe?”
“I didn’t!” Du Rulan cried out, “wuuu…”
“Dad, you’re crazy!” Yan Yan’s chest heaved with anger, and he quickly helped Du Rulan up.
Yan Jiaqiang raised his head and slapped Du Rulan’s face, his voice stern, “Only you know the safe’s password aside from me. Who else could it be? Speak! Where did you hide it?”
Du Rulan stared at him like a stranger, loudly crying out for help, “Help! Help! Someone help, he’s killing me!”
Yan Jiaqiang’s face was cold, and he wanted to hit her again.
Yan Yan pushed him away, “Yan Jiaqiang! Have you gone crazy?”
“Its none of your business.” Yan Jiaqiang shoved him aside, kicked Du Rulan in the side, and demanded, “Tell me, did you take it?”
Du Rulan stood in front of Yan Yan, a sly smile on her face. “Yes, I took it! I’ve destroyed them all! If you dare, go ahead and kill me!” In truth, she didn’t have a clue what Yan Jiaqiang was talking about; she was deliberately provoking him.
“You!” Yan Jiaqiang’s head spun with anger, and he laughed. “Okay, you think I won’t dare?” With that, he slapped Du Rulan’s mouth harshly. However, the back of his head suddenly throbbed with pain. He slowly turned around, and saw Yan Yan holding the neck of a vase, broken fragments littered the ground.
Yan Jiaqiang felt dizzy. He clutched his head in pain, and slumped down on the floor, his hand covered in blood.
Yan Yan was stunned. He let go of the vase’s neck, and it crashed to the floor.
Du Rulan’s face turned pale, “Help! Someone! Call an ambulance!”
Yan Weifeng and Zhang Qiaoqiao had gone to pick up Yan Si from kindergarten and returned home at this moment. They were shocked by the scene and quickly stepped forward to help.
While the Yan family was in chaos, Huangfu Yuchen sent the photos from the digital camera to the newspaper’s email and then returned to the farm.
Yan Ge didn’t ask him what he had been doing; instead, he went up to him, hugged him, and kissed his lips, then returned to the sofa with a nonchalant look and watched TV as if nothing had happened.
Huangfu Yuchen was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled and sat down beside him. Together, they watched TV.
During this time, Yan Ge received several phone calls. All were regarding Yan Jiaqiang cutting ties with him. After finishing the calls, his phone ran out of battery.
People who knew him knew that Yan Ge’s parents didn’t like him, so most of them sympathized with him.
People who didn’t know him assumed that Yan Jiaqiang had cut ties with him because he was in a relationship with a man. However, they didn’t care much. After all, people’s thoughts were becoming more open these days, and their family matters had nothing to do with others.
In general, Yan Ge didn’t hear anything bad.
The next day, the popular “Imperial Capital Daily” extensively reported about Yan Jiaqiang’s affair and the fact that he had a son almost the same age as his grandson. The entire business world was in an uproar. Just over a month ago, Yan Jiaqiang and Du Rulan had been featured on the front page of the newspaper, showing their affection. Everyone was now laughing at the Yan family.
The Yan family and the Du family also stirred up a fuss. Although a married daughter was like spilled water, the Du family was also prominent figures. How could they let someone slap their faces and not retaliate?
Inside the Yan family, there was also turmoil. The Yan family’s businesses were currently facing a major crisis. As the head of the family, Yan Jiaqiang should have dealt with the situation promptly, but he was now wrapped in scandals. This is tantamount to encouraging other members of the Yan family to rebel against him.
Yan Jiaqiang first had his affair exposed, then he lost the wine recipes, and now he was being questioned by other members of the Yan family. He was in a dire situation.
He called Huangfu Yuchen, wanting him to provide the wine recipes again, but Huangfu Yuchen replied innocently, “ I’m sorry Mr. Yan. I directly gave you the original recipes back then because I wanted to show my sincerity and also because I was afraid you wouldn’t believe the recipes. You should have noticed that the recipes were written on very old paper. In other words, I don’t have any copies.”
Yan Jiaqiang was thunderstruck.
On the other hand, Du Rulan wasn’t one to be underestimated. She quickly found out Yin Huiru’s address and rushed iver to scold her. Soon, that too made the headlines.
While all this was going on, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen’s house was peaceful and warm.
Yan Ge was sitting on the couch, watching TV, while Huangfu Yuchen was looking over the account books. At this moment, his phone suddenly rang.
— “You are my little apple, I can’t love you enough…”
Yan Ge’s eyelid twitched and he shot Huangfu Yuchen a glare. He’d get goosebumps all over his body every time he heard that ringtone. He had even changed the ringtone a few times, but Huangfu Yuchen always changed it back, so he had no choice but to let it be.
“Baby, the lyrics after that are great.” Huangfu Yuchen explained, patting Yan Ge’s head before answering the call with a calm voice that was neither enthusiastic nor cold, “Who’s this?”
A middle-aged man’s calm and enthusiastic voice came from the other end, “Mr. Huangfu, I’m Meng Yingshan, the CEO of Feiyang Group. We’re having a banquet at Jingli Hotel the day after tomorrow at 7 PM. I wonder if Mr. Huangfu and Mr. Yan would be honored to join us?”
“Xiao Ge?” Huangfu Yuchen looked at Yan Ge for confirmation.
Yan Ge nodded absentmindedly, his eyes still fixed on the TV drama “Suspicion During the Turmoil,” which was reaching its climax tonight.
Huangfu Yuchen replied, “Mr. Meng, it’s our pleasure to be invited. We will be there on time.”
“Good, haha. Then I’ll await your arrival.”
Two days later, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen appeared at Jingli Hotel at 7 PM, dressed exceptionally handsome, and right on time.
Meng Yingshan saw them and walked up with a smile.
“Mr. Yan, long time no see. Hello, Mr. Huangfu. I’ve heard a lot about Mr. Huangfu’s talents and handsomeness, seeing you today, it seems your reputation is well-deserved.”
“Mr. Meng, you’re being too kind.” Yan Ge smiled gently, “If you have time, feel free to drop by the farm.”
Meng Yingshan led them to a quieter area. “I invited both of you here for a few reasons. First, I wanted to personally express my gratitude. Second, I hope to make friends with you. And third, I’d like to introduce a few friends to you. They are interested in collaborating with your farm.”
“We appreciate the opportunity, Mr. Meng.” Yan Ge looked at the group of young people walking towards them.
Among them, the one in the middle stood out the most. He was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with striking features, a handsome appearance, and walked as if he was on a runway. The man to his left was a couple of years younger, but his presence was just as strong. His eyes were sharp and perceptive, and he subtly scanned Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen before giving them a courteous smile and nodding. The woman beside them wore a desert-colored dress with high heels, confidently striding forward. She exuded a strong aura of a successful woman.
“Allow me to introduce them to you. This is Xiao Shuai, the CEO of Qingyuan Enterprise; this is Kang Wei, the CEO of Hengchun Limited; and this is Anqi, the director of Kang’an Group.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen exchanged greetings with them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Xiao Shuai smiled, “Your farm is truly impressive. I was lucky to get some discount coupons the first time I visited with my family. Unfortunately, my younger brother and cousin snatched the coupons from me before we even got home.”
Everyone laughed.
Meng Yingshan chuckled, “You young folks always have interesting things to discuss. I, on the other hand, won’t join in the fun.”
After Meng Yingshan left, the group exchanged a few words of casual conversation before getting to the main topic.
“Mr. Yan, Mr. Huangfu, to be honest, the three of us are interested in visiting your farm. However, we’ve heard that your farm is rather cautious about collaborating with other companies. We were worried that dropping by directly might be too forward. So, we thought we’d take this opportunity to have a chat with the two of you.” Kang Wei spoke rapidly, clearly a straightforward person.
Huangfu Yuchen patted Yan Ge’s shoulder and suggested, “Xiao Ge, Xu Kai is over there. Do you want to go say hello?”
Yan Ge nodded and turned to Xiao Shuai and the others, “An old friend of mine is also here. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Mr. Yan, please go ahead.”
After Yan Ge walked away, Huangfu Yuchen gestured with his hand, inviting the three of them to a quieter spot.
“I understand the nature of your respective businesses,” Huangfu Yuchen began, “and I have a general idea of the areas you’re interested in collaborating on. This isn’t a problem, but I do have a condition.”
“Oh?” Xiao Shuai had initially thought Huangfu Yuchen might be difficult to deal with due to his cold expression. However, Huangfu Yuchen speak directly and straightforwardly, and his impression improved slightly. “Please, go on.”
Kang Wei and Anqi also looked intrigued.
“We’re here on behalf of our companies, and we’re all the decision-makers,” Anqi smiled charmingly. “Mr. Huangfu, please feel free to share your condition.”
Huangfu Yuchen took a sip of his wine and calmly stated, “As long as you can help me destroy Yan Jiaqiang’s company, not only will I cooperate with you, but I’ll also share 10% of the profits with you.”
