1. 34. Father’s Favored Son (Part 1)

The assistant, standing silently on the right side of Wang Defu, scoffed and stared indifferently at the state Wang Haoran was in.

"Like father, like son," he mused silently, noting the three-stitched wound over his forehead.

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Wang Haoran stood in front of the study, feeling something run down the right side of his face. He touched it and saw red fluid smeared on his hand, the smell of iron confirming it was blood.

His right forehead was bleeding from the hit he got from the ashtray his father had thrown earlier. He wiped his hand and pressed his forehead with a handkerchief he always carried.

"It looks like the handkerchief Liu Leah gave me finally has a use," Wang Haoran thought while walking forward, trying to shake off thoughts of the Liu Leah he knew from two months ago.

When Wang Haoran became engaged to Liu Leah, she kept giving him gifts but noticed he never used them. A gift not needed or used is useless, so Liu Leah embarked on a small side mission of investigating what Wang Haoran needed in his everyday life.

Wang Haoran, at that time, found this side of Liu Leah cute and cooperated willingly in her investigation. Seeing a frustrated Liu Leah, he suggested she gift a handkerchief instead. He could carry it all the time. It had many uses and was inexpensive.

Liu Leah reluctantly agreed, and so all the handkerchiefs Wang Haoran carried and kept in his dresser were from Liu Leah. Nobody knew this besides them both. Wang Haoran forgot, and so did the fake Liu Leah, who was more focused on eliminating Li Mei.

Wang Haoran stood in front of the study table, facing his father. "Father," he started, trying to mask his emotions about this meeting but failing.

Wang Defu frowned at his most favored son.

All three of his sons were promising. If he believed in God, he would have thanked Him for giving him exceptional descendants and perhaps even donated a lot of money to charity. But Wang Defu did not believe in God and did not believe in charity.

Wang Defu was a fourth-generation member of a wealthy family. The growth of their wealth had stagnated in his father's generation, but his vision, good leadership, and marriage to his current wife helped double the family's wealth.

He believed only in the usefulness of people or things. He grew up with his grandfather, whose worldview was greatly influenced by his childhood experiences of the Civil War.

Wang Defu and his grandfather were the opposite of his father. His father married for love and was heartbroken after his wife left him for another man. Grief-stricken and unmotivated, he nearly ran the family business into the ground.

Wang Defu still remembered what his grandfather said before disowning his father and throwing him out of the main house:

"You were lucky to be my only son, and the rest of my children were daughters. Otherwise, I would not have spent time teaching and training you to take over my company. The only benefit you have given me is my grandson, who is more promising than you. Now go and never come back. Believe in human affection, and it might feed and house you!"

His grandfather had shaped Wang Defu's beliefs and actions. He valued practicality, power, and usefulness above all else.

Returning to the present, Wang Defu's gaze bore into Wang Haoran. "You are late," he said coldly.

Wang Haoran, still pressing the handkerchief to his bleeding forehead, took a deep breath. "I apologize, Father. There were urgent matters I had to attend to."

Wang Defu's eyes narrowed. "Urgent matters? More important than this meeting?"

"Father," Wang Haoran replied, his voice steady despite the tension. "I will ensure it doesn't happen again."

While Wang Defu was staring intently at Wang Haoran, Wang Haoran was doing the same. In front of Wang Haoran stood a middle-aged man of the same height, bearing an eighty to ninety percent resemblance to him.

If anyone saw them together, they would not mistake them for being unrelated because the similarity was uncanny. He had phoenix eyes similar to the three Wang siblings, showing intensity and piercing focus as he scanned Wang Haoran. His expression revealed a worn and weathered appearance.

Even though he had a handsome countenance by this world's standards, he did not appear to age well. His face showed more wrinkles than his peers, and his belly was twice as large as his assistant's. How he carried himself indicated that he was a no-nonsense, rational person.

Wang Defu did not favor Wang Haoran because he was better than his brothers; he favored him because he was the easiest to control. His background was clean compared to Wang Zimo's, and he had no connections, unlike Wang Jun.

"Liu Leah wants a formal meeting to dismiss your engagement. She even gave an ultimatum that she will announce the dissolution of your engagement to the whole world with or without the meeting."

Wang Defu did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point. He narrowed his eyes after saying the last word.

Silence filled the room.

Hearing the words "dismiss" and "dissolution of engagement" made Wang Haoran stiffen. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

He tried to say something, but he couldn't. He was too shocked and in disbelief. He could already see his plans falling apart.

The frozen facial expression and doomed emotion in his son's eyes greatly appeased Wang Defu's anger. This son of his got lucky to have caught the attention of the Liu family's heiress, but he took it for granted.

When Wang Haoran asked him to arrange a beneficial engagement for him, he thickened his skin to start with the most powerful families with unmarried daughters. To his surprise, the Liu family's only child became interested in Wang Haoran upon their first meeting.

Wang Haoran might deny it, but at that time, he also seemed mesmerized and a bit interested in Liu Leah. His carefree attitude when dealing with Liu Leah could not hide the delight that flashed in his eyes whenever they were together, a detail not lost on Wang Defu.

Unfortunately, the engagement had to be postponed as the two were separated. Wang Haoran wanted to finish his degree abroad. They were only able to announce the engagement once Wang Haoran returned and inherited one of the smaller companies under the Wang family, like his two brothers. Even though Wang Haoran started late in the race between the brothers, he was able to catch up to the other two with his hard work and also with the help of the Liu family and Liu Leah.

Wang Defu did not question his son when he decided to take on a girlfriend, even though he was engaged. He thought Wang Haoran would have the common decency to prioritize Liu Leah and abandon the girlfriend once he got tired of her. But he was wrong.

He only heard surface rumors about the trio's relationship. When his assistant received Zhou Chun's demand—not a request—for a meeting about the engagement dissolution, he thoroughly investigated the deeper relationship between the three.

His son's girlfriend was connected to him more deeply than he thought. He even got the woman pregnant. The most crucial detail in the report, however, was Liu Leah's actions after Wang Haoran and Li Mei got together. They might still have a chance to reverse this situation.

Wang Defu massaged his forehead to soothe his tiredness and spoke solemnly.

"I agreed to have the meeting tomorrow morning. You will accompany me. My assistant will send you the time and address."

Wang Defu spoke in one breath, and after talking, there was no response from his son.

"What? Do you think she will tolerate you for too long? You even injured her forehead to the point that she was sent to the hospital."

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."