Chapter 316: Whose One-Man Show?

"What’s your name?"

’He couldn’t get a response to anything else, but surely asking for a name was okay, right?’

But the result still disappointed Xia Zhiyun. Ling Lu remained completely unresponsive.

"Yun Zijin won’t be out of class for a while. Should we go wait at that coffee shop over there?"

Ling Lu still didn’t respond.

Xia Zhiyun really wanted to leave, but he was afraid Ling Lu was standing guard here to watch him. As long as Ling Lu didn’t move, he didn’t dare to either.

Just like that, Xia Zhiyun forced himself to stand with Ling Lu at the entrance of Dijing University for an hour and a half.

By the time Yun Zijin finished her class and came out of Dijing University, nearly two hours had passed.

When Yun Zijin drove out and saw that Xia Zhiyun still hadn’t left, a surprised expression crossed her face. "Why are you still here?"

Yun Zijin had assumed that, given Xia Zhiyun’s personality, he would never wait for her for so long. She didn’t expect to still see him when she came out.

But upon hearing Yun Zijin’s words, Xia Zhiyun nearly lost his composure.

’So this bodyguard wasn’t standing here to watch me and keep me from leaving?’

’Then what on earth was I standing here for these past two hours?’

Just then, Ling Lu got into the car without giving Xia Zhiyun a single glance the entire time.

Xia Zhiyun stammered, "You... I..."

Xia Zhiyun had no idea how to describe what he was feeling. This whole mess was a problem caused by a lack of communication.

But now that Yun Zijin was out of class, Xia Zhiyun decided not to dwell on it.

"Let’s find a place to sit and talk."

Yun Zijin gave a noncommittal response and let Xia Zhiyun pick the place.

Xia Zhiyun chose a coffee shop near the entrance of Dijing University.

The two sat down facing each other, and Yun Zijin got straight to the point. "Go ahead. What did you want to see me about this time?"

’It’s most likely about the Xia family’s shares,’ Yun Zijin guessed.

"You currently hold 41% of the Xia family’s shares, correct?"

’Just as I thought.’

"Wrong. It’s 36% now."

"Thirty-six? How could that be?"

Xia Zhiyun frowned, instinctively feeling that Yun Zijin was lying to him.

"I sold 5% to someone else, so now there’s only 36% left."

’In any case, I’m still the largest shareholder in the Xia family’s company.’

"How could you sell them to someone else?"

Xia Zhiyun blurted out instinctively.

"And why couldn’t I sell them to someone else?"

’Some of them I bought with my own cold, hard cash, some were a gift from Lu Yunque, and some were a gift from Randomly Spend. I didn’t use a single cent of the Xia Family’s money, did I?’

"You... You’re Dad’s biological daughter. Blood is thicker than water. If we could team up, the Xia family’s company would be ours to command!"

"*Your* command, you mean. I have no intention of participating in the Xia family’s operations or decisions.

The shares I hold were always meant to be sold. If Young Master Xia wants to buy them, you’re more than welcome."

’It doesn’t matter who I sell them to; I won’t be losing money either way.’

"I know you’re resentful that we didn’t find you all these years, but that’s because we didn’t know you existed.

But we know now, and we all welcome you home. Once you come home, you’ll be the one and only young mistress of the Xia Family."

Xia Zhiyun was trying to play the sympathy card.

"After all this time, don’t you think what you’re saying is completely ridiculous?

Besides, I don’t believe you don’t know the truth about my birth. As the son of the legitimate wife, are you sure you can accept a younger sister born from your father’s affair with another woman?"

Xia Zhiyun’s gaze snapped to Yun Zijin, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Dad said he was drunk at the time and mistook your mother for mine. Besides, that woman disappeared the very next day. No one knows who she was.

Even though we don’t share the same mother, the child is innocent. I don’t blame you."

"Oh, so he was drunk? In that case, can I assume your father forced himself on my mother?"

’The people involved aren’t here, so I can speculate all I want.’

"Don’t talk nonsense! Do you have any idea what the consequences would be if word of this got out!"

Xia Zhiyun glanced around and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was paying attention to them.

"Look at you. I was just making a reasonable speculation. I never said it was a fact."

’As for the truth, more than twenty years have passed; it’s impossible to verify now. Not unless my biological mother showed up and explained what really happened.’

’However, for someone to leave me at an orphanage and then disappear for over twenty years without a word... I feel that my biological mother wasn’t a very responsible person either.’

’If you don’t want a child, don’t have one. To give birth and then abandon the child is just irresponsible.’

’I was born in the winter. If the orphanage director hadn’t happened to get up in the middle of the night, heard my faint cries, and opened the door to check, I probably wouldn’t have survived to see the next day.’

’So, if I were to acknowledge a mother, it would only be the orphanage director.’

’The debt of life I owed my birth mother was paid in full the moment she abandoned me, a tiny infant, in the freezing cold and never returned.’

"Don’t you understand what can and cannot be said?"

Xia Zhiyun warned Yun Zijin in a low voice.

Yun Zijin let out a soft laugh. "What, Chairman Xia dares to do it, but he doesn’t dare to admit it? Why don’t you go home and ask your dad under what circumstances he and my never-before-seen mother had me?"

’From a medical standpoint, a man who is dead drunk shouldn’t be able to perform, right?’

’But my existence proves that something unspeakable must have happened that day. So besides alcohol, there must have been other factors. What could they be?’

"You don’t need to say these things to provoke me. I’ll only ask you this one question: are you willing to hold onto your shares, stand with me and Dad, and help us make the Xia family’s company prosper?"

Xia Zhiyun still hadn’t given up on getting Yun Zijin to support them.

"I’ve said it before, the shares I hold are for sale. If Young Master Xia wants more shares on his side, then show some sincerity.

As long as you offer no less than five hundred million per percentage point, we can talk."

’But for me to hold onto the shares and let them use me? That’s out of the question.’

"You know perfectly well we can’t come up with that much money right now!"

The Xia family had already sunk an untold amount of money into the company to fix its cash flow problems. Things had just started to look up, but they were a long way from being able to free up that kind of capital again.

"No money, no deal. If you don’t buy, plenty of other people will."

’Chen Xianfeng already came to me and bought 5%. Li Haichuan probably won’t be far behind.’

"You! Are you really so heartless that you’d just stand by and watch the Xia family’s company go downhill, and even declare bankruptcy in the end!"

"I haven’t done anything. In fact, by buying that land in the South Suburb, you could say I gave the Xia family company a helping hand to a certain extent.

From that perspective, I’m practically the Xia family’s benefactor. Not only does Young Master Xia not offer a word of thanks, but he’s also trying to get his hands on my shares. How utterly disheartening."

As she spoke, Yun Zijin raised a hand and wiped away nonexistent tears. The act was a bit over the top, but it left Xia Zhiyun so angry he was speechless for a long moment.

"But you were the one who actively asked for it!"

’And the price they sold it to her for was over a billion cheaper than it should have been!’

’Who in their right mind sells land to someone for over a billion less than its worth?’