Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Don’t…” Fang Liguo quickly pleaded, “Everything can be discussed…”
If the official Weibo account went public, it would mean the entire country would learn about Jiayi’s plagiarism. The irreversible negative impact on her and the Fang family’s reputation was too daunting to contemplate.
Seeing Fang Liguo hang up, Song Ling inquired, “Fang Yuan is demanding 60 million from us? On what grounds?”
“Because Jiayi plagiarized her song!” Fang Liguo fumed at the thought. “Can you stop calling her that? If you hadn’t chased her out, with her status as Master Qingyin, think of the benefits she could have brought us. We have two outstanding daughters. How much prestige could we have gained? In the future, when she gets married, she could even bring valuable connections! We shouldn’t have turned our backs on Fang Yuan. Now it’s too late to regret…”
“Who knew that… that girl was Qingyin? She never mentioned it before!” Song Ling felt a surge of anger. “She must be scheming! Madame Old Fang dotes on her so much, and she didn’t even inform Madame Old Fang!”
Song Ling was confident that Madame Old Fang would have informed them if she had known.
Fang Liguo sat dispiritedly on the sofa. The 50 million penalty and the 60 million compensation totaled over 100 million! Where could he find such a sum in cash?
“Liguo, why don’t we try discussing this with that girl? Perhaps…”
Before Song Ling could finish, Fang Liguo scolded her again, “Do you know if she’s soft-hearted? If you had been more understanding, even if we parted ways, we could have done so amicably. If we crossed paths, we could have smiled and chatted. We wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Fang Liguo realized that since Fang Yuan left the Fang family, nothing had gone smoothly.
Jiayi had barely achieved second place, only to be humiliated days later.
Fang Liguo couldn’t articulate his current emotions—was it heartache, anger, or pity?
Suddenly, he thought of Fangyuan Capital and a light bulb went off.
“No wonder she dined with Wu Di, and Special Assistant Liu was so deferential to her…” It seemed highly likely that her association with many dignitaries stemmed from her status as Master Qingyin.
Fang Liguo was consumed with regret. “I summoned Jiayi, so 1 must sincerely apologize to that child and seek her forgiveness…”
“Why?” Song Ling exclaimed excitedly and with indignation, “Jiayi already apologized to her on stage…” Why should they apologize again? Wouldn’t that be letting Fang Yuan trample over them?
“A few words of apology might reduce the compensation by 60 million yuan. Aren’t you pleased?” Fang Liguo sensed that resolving this matter wasn’t straightforward. “I’m concerned that the child might be deeply hurt by us and won’t forgive us easily… She’s already blocked our number.”
“She used to like Kayi’s necklace, didn’t she? We could give her that at the very least…”
After Song Ling finished speaking, Fang Liguo smiled.
Song Ling was a bit irked. “What are you laughing at?”
Fang Liguo responded, “She’s a renowned pianist. Why wouldn’t she have the money to buy a necklace?”
Song Ling was perplexed. “Then why did she take Jiayi’s necklace? And she’s been interacting with so many men. If it’s not for money, what is it for?”
Fang Liguo pondered for a moment. “What Jiayi said might not be entirely accurate. She might be engaging with men due to her identity…”
Song Ling suddenly found his explanation plausible, but how could Jiayi lie? Fang Liguo must be overthinking!
Just then, Fang Liguo’s phone rang again. It was Secretary Zhuang from the company.
“President Fang, something terrible has happened! The Cheng family has declared that no company is allowed to cooperate with our Fang family. Anyone daring to assist us will be in direct opposition to the Cheng family!”
“Now, even the companies currently working with us are terminating their contracts…”
“If this continues, our company will truly be ruined!”
Fang Liguo was stunned. “We didn’t offend the Cheng family. Did the Cheng family say why?”
Secretary Zhuang replied, “No…”
“Then why don’t you go and find out!” Fang Liguo was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. At the award ceremony today, they didn’t have any conflict with the Cheng family. They didn’t even exchange greetings. How could they have offended them?
“President Fang, don’t worry. 1’11 go and find out right away!”
After Secretary Zhuang hung up, Fang Liguo couldn’t shake the feeling that things were spiraling out of control.
He couldn’t fathom why the Cheng family would target the Fang family. Could it be because of Fang Yuan?
Was it possible that the Cheng family, fond of Master Qingyin, saw her being mistreated and decided to help her seek retribution? If that were the case, the Fang family had managed to offend two influential figures at once…
