1. 35. Father’s Favored Son (Part 2)

Not getting any answer from his son again, Wang Defu added more.

"When you come tomorrow, you must promise Liu Leah that you will break up with your girlfriend and abort the child."

+++++

The last sentence spoken by Wang Defu elicited a stronger emotional reaction from Wang Haoran than hearing about Liu Leah's decision to cancel their engagement. He clenched his fist unknowingly, then gritted his teeth.

Wang Haoran thought about the various scenarios that might unfold based on what he said next.

He took a deep breath, exhaled, released his fist, and relaxed his tense shoulders. After a few moments of silence, he looked Wang Defu in the eye without flinching and gave his answer.

"Father, I understand. I will do as you say."

He excused himself before the mask he had forcefully put on his face could break.

"If nothing else, I would like to excuse myself."

Wang Defu silently looked at his son, trying to discern what he was thinking. After a few seconds, he nodded, indicating he was allowing his son to leave.

"Master," the man next to Wang Defu, who had been silent from the beginning, spoke. "We cannot trust his words," he added while looking at the closed door.

"I know," Wang Defu answered nonchalantly while shuffling the papers in his hands. He grabbed his fountain pen and continued signing the documents he was working on before his son dropped by.

"What matters is that he delivers the results I want and knows it. If he fails, I will just consider him a failed investment. His company has more than enough value to cover the costs I've spent on him."

The assistant did not question his master and silently waited by his side while organizing the papers next to him. He, too, was expendable, like any other employee working under Wang Defu, except for Wang Defu himself and his legal wife, the one and only Madam of the Wang family.

…..

Zhao Bolin was waiting next to the parked car in front of the Wang mansion's main door. He looked up when he heard the doors opening.

"Boss?!" he shouted when he saw Wang Haoran's appearance and was about to reach him, but Wang Haoran stopped him.

Wang Haoran looked like he was about to kill someone. His expression was so dark. He stayed quiet until he entered the back passenger seat, his right hand still holding the handkerchief over his forehead.

Zhao Bolin followed and sat in the front passenger seat.

"Let's go back to the hospital," Wang Haoran ordered solemnly.

"Yes, Boss," the driver replied immediately as he started the engine.

"What—" Zhao Bolin began to ask what happened when Wang Haoran cut him off.

"We'll talk when we reach the hospital."

"Yes, Boss."

Zhao Bolin sat quietly, feeling like he was with the Wang Haoran he first met abroad. At that time, Wang Haoran was like a deer backed into a corner with nowhere to run, a trapped mouse trying his best to survive.

Zhao Bolin had thought Wang Haoran didn't have any family until he started receiving and answering calls from someone. After those calls, he walked lighter than usual. To this day, Zhao Bolin still doesn't know who was behind those calls.

He tried to ask Wang Haoran multiple times but was ignored. Even Li Mei joined in asking after learning about it, but Wang Haoran always said it was all in the past and that the person was not important.

"How's she?" Wang Haoran asked when he didn't hear Li Mei's voice.

The phone they used for video calls was attached to the car dashboard phone stand but only showed the ceiling. Li Mei was able to tolerate not seeing Wang Haoran for a few minutes, and she was showing improvement.

"She fell asleep as soon as you left the car. Eating a lot might have brought on a food coma," Zhao Bolin answered.

He glanced up at the mirror and saw no change in Wang Haoran's expression. "Wang Defu must have demanded something heavy from Boss again," he thought.

He was concerned about the injury on Wang Haoran's forehead, thinking it was probably deep since the bleeding hadn't stopped, causing Wang Haoran to keep applying pressure.

It wasn't the first time Wang Haoran had been called to the main house, and it wouldn't be the last, but this was the first time he had come out of the main house looking so dreadful and with a bloody face.

…..

When they reached the hospital, Li Mei was still sleeping, so they went ahead to the next room, where a doctor and other hospital staff were waiting, prepared to take care of Wang Haoran's forehead injury.

After he was patched up, the doctor started giving orders to the staff and then explained his findings, what would happen next, and instructions for Wang Haoran. Noticing that Wang Haoran was not listening, he repeated the information to Zhao Bolin.

"Do you have any questions or concerns?" the doctor asked. He had tried to ask more questions earlier but was ordered to take care of the wound and leave.

"That's everything. We will call you if we need your help. Thank you, doctor. You may leave," Zhao Bolin answered for Wang Haoran.

The doctor then bowed and excused himself, followed by his staff when he did not receive any questions from the two men.

"Click."

"Mute the video call," Wang Haoran ordered when he heard the door close.

Zhao Bolin followed suit and sat in front of Wang Haoran. He silently and patiently waited for the following words to come out of his boss's mouth, knowing they would be essential.

Wang Haoran recounted everything that had happened from the moment he knocked on his father's study room until he left.

Zhao Bolin took a deep breath, stood up, and walked around the room. He then stopped and looked at his boss. Gazing into his eyes, he asked, "What's your plan?"

He believed that Wang Haoran would never do anything terrible to Li Mei, especially now that she was carrying not one but two children for Wang Haoran.

The two talked for a long time until Li Mei woke up and started looking for Wang Haoran.

…..

Meanwhile, in a break room located in Wang Haoran's company, his employees were gossiping without a care in the world.

Employee A: "Did you see the new post on MeTube? It was deleted, but I downloaded it immediately and shared it with my friends. They missed it since they were busy when it was uploaded."

Employee B: "No, I didn't. Send it to me quickly. Do you think it's real?"

Employee A: "I don't know, but the video was so funny. Everyone is using Liu Leah's name as slang for 'jealous b*tch.'"

Employee B: "Really?! Hahaha, that's funny…"

This kind of conversation wasn't limited to this break room; it happened in households, restaurants, malls, parks, and anywhere social media reached in the city. It might even spread to nearby towns.

Despite the efforts of the Liu family and Zhou Chun to erase digital rumors and fake news about Liu Leah, they couldn't stop people from saving the content on their private phones, laptops, tablets, and other digital devices. Nor could they stop people from talking about it, as everyone had their mouth and mind.