Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Su Wanlin wore the benevolent facade of a perfect gentleman.

Otherwise, his hypocrisy and cold-heartedness wouldn't have been glimpsed by their social circle at the last Recognition Banquet.

Unfortunately, Song Manman was not a clever woman.

When Su Wanlin promised equal treatment for both children, she believed him implicitly.

Song Manman managed a strained smile.

"Alright," she said, "I'll have my lawyer come over later. But since Shengli and Linyuan are both my children, and Wanlin has promised equal treatment, could I divide my shares and give half to Shengli?"

Her eyes pleaded, "Even if he isn't of Su blood, he's still a child I raised with deep affection, and now he's the Su family's legitimate adopted son. He deserves half."

"He has nothing left—he needs these shares for security."

Song Manman had a gentle disposition, accustomed to presenting herself as a delicate, fragile flower.

In her eyes, the old patriarch of the Su family was a formidable lion—old and seemingly dormant, yet not to be underestimated. He had never approved of her temperament, even before her marriage to Su Wanlin, so she had no confidence that the cold-hearted patriarch would heed her words.

As for Su Wanlin...

Aside from his insistence on marrying her over twenty years ago, Su Wanlin had never once opposed the patriarch’s decisions.

Sure enough, when Song Manman turned to Su Wanlin, she found him silent, head bowed, his entire demeanor radiating resignation.

Song Manman withdrew her gaze and looked back at the patriarch, failing to notice how her husband’s eyes kept subtly scanning another young man—one seemingly unrelated to the Su family’s drama.

Gu Yubai was an outsider in this unfolding drama.

At this moment, his role was merely that of an innocent bystander—someone who had accompanied Yu Li to a charity banquet and, unintentionally, triggered a long-standing feud among the Su family, leading to a public quarrel.

Everyone present, except the oblivious Song Manman and Su Linyuan, tacitly ignored Gu Yubai.

The focus remained squarely on the patriarch and Song Manman.

The patriarch remained unyielding. "No."

"The stock transfer agreement from your marriage included a clause," he stated, "that shares obtained through marital ties must remain within the Su bloodline. This ensures the Su Group's control never falls into outsiders' hands."

His gaze turned meaningful. "If you divide Su Group shares with an adopted son, do you wish to see these brothers—one your biological son, the other adopted—turn against each other for profit? Do you truly wish to jeopardize the entire Su Group's future by letting them fight over interests?"

His tone wasn't harsh; if anything, it was uncharacteristically measured and gentle, yet the accusation was brutally effective.

Song Manman nearly suffocated on the spot.

For a moment, the muscles around her cheekbones twitched violently, her eyes revealing an incredibly conflicted and tormented expression.

Su Linyuan instinctively glanced at Song Manman, and his heart sank. His gaze toward Su Shengli grew increasingly complex.

The Su Group had thrived for generations, growing stronger with each successor, all because the Su family had long established a tradition of selecting heirs three generations in advance—preventing infighting over interests.

This tradition had held firm for generations. Even in Su Linyuan’s generation, despite his mother Song Manman bearing two sons, he remained the sole heir.

No one had ever challenged this rule—not even Su Shengli, who had willingly chosen an art school for college. He was sensible and considerate, and Su Linyuan, as the beneficiary, had naturally doted on his younger brother since childhood.

Even now, with Su Shengli relegated from legitimate second son to adopted heir, the family’s rules hadn’t changed. Su Linyuan still genuinely cared for him.

But in this moment, he suddenly detected something amiss in Song Manman’s eyes.

Was she... prioritizing Su Shengli over him—her eldest son and future heir?

Su Linyuan abruptly recalled Su Wanlin’s meaningful words earlier, and his eyes darkened.

For the first time, he began to question the true nature of their so-called familial bonds.

Fortunately, Song Manman still retained some rationality.

Under the patriarch’s mocking yet deeply meaningful gaze, she spoke timidly.

"I... how could I? Even if I love Shengli, I’d never let the Su family fall into chaos. I... value Linyuan just as much."

If that were true, she wouldn’t have made such a request in the first place.

Su Linyuan remained silent.

A flicker of disappointment also crossed Su Shengli’s eyes.

Song Manman looked at Su Shengli, her face contorting in anguish—as if she were a loving mother forced into an unbearable decision by a villain. And that villain, without question, was the patriarch.

The patriarch, already seething with anger, grew even more incensed at her expression.

He didn’t let her off. His voice was frosty.

"I know—you all see me as the villain. But is any of this my doing?!"

"Let me be clear. Your mother-in-law’s will explicitly bequeathed her inheritance to a blood-related Su grandson. Su Shengli isn’t Su blood. Even as an adopted son, he inherits nothing."

"Did you even ask me before legally making him an adopted Su heir? Did you think my retreat to a sanatorium meant I’d stopped paying attention? The fact that I’ve allowed him to remain in the Su family, living comfortably with future dividends, is already more than enough for an outsider!"

"I’ve been more than generous!"

Had he not already thrown away his cane, the patriarch would’ve lashed out with it by now.

Even without it, his fury drove him to lift his foot, ready to kick Su Wanlin—who stood shielding Song Manman. But the moment his toes left the ground, his balance wavered.

Su Linyuan instinctively steadied him.

The patriarch regained his footing, his voice suddenly thundering.

"You think I’m heartless? But when you pity your adopted son, have you ever considered your real child—the one who suffered outside this family, the one who reached adulthood with no assets, the one whose adoptive father lies neglected in a sanatorium?!"

"And now, because of your negligence, that child has cut all ties with the Su family! He no longer considers himself one of us, yet you show no regret—no care for his plight! Worse, you’ve let Su Shengli slander him!"

"Did you truly believe I wouldn’t discover any of this?!"

Song Manman’s face went pale. Su Wanlin instinctively glanced at Gu Yubai—who remained unmoved—before quickly looking away.

Unexpectedly, Su Shengli’s expression was cold, even showing a hint of satisfaction at the patriarch’s words.

He lifted his head, staring defiantly at the patriarch, a slow smirk curling his lips.

The patriarch snapped, "When it comes to cruelty, no one does it better than you two!"

-----

The room fell into a tense silence.

It was several moments before the patriarch spoke again.

"No need to wait until we get back. To prevent any complications, let's finalize the share transfer and Su Group's dividends right now."

He waved to someone in the distance. Within minutes, a man dressed in a black suit—clearly a lawyer—approached with several documents in hand.

Old Man Su’s eyes were half-closed.

When the documents were presented before him, Su Shengli's body trembled slightly. His cold expression finally gave way to disbelief.

How had things escalated to this point?

He had only sent people to mess with Gu Yubai, yet those incompetents had ended up burning him instead!

Old Man Su—wasn’t he supposed to be abroad?

How had he suddenly returned, just in time to overhear those men confess and apologize to Gu Yubai?

That mother-son pair, the true culprits, had fled, but Su Shengli was left to face the devastating consequences.

His inheritance was stripped away, his engagement was fake, and Yu Li wasn’t even the future heir of the Yu family. Even Song Manman’s attempt to split half her shares with him had been met with a furious scolding from the old man!

Why?

Why was this happening?!

A surge of hatred welled up in Su Shengli’s chest.

Even raising a pet for so many years would have fostered some affection, yet Old Man Su, known for his calm restraint in business, never gave him the time of day.

Whatever—who cared about an ailing old man who likely didn’t have many years left?

Even if the old man despised him, Su Shengli still had his parents’ love and his elder brother’s doting. Compared to Gu Yubai, who had nothing and was even impersonated by his own brother when returning to the Su family, he had it made.

But why, even after Gu Yubai’s identity was stolen, after Gu Yihong’s impersonation led to a complete fallout with the Su family, did his own life continue to spiral into an unpredictable abyss?

It was as if the entire world was reminding him: a usurper would eventually pay the price, and malice would never lead to a good end!

But some things were already done.

Between him and Gu Yubai, it had long been a life-or-death, kill-or-be-killed situation.

Su Shengli was shaking uncontrollably. To him, the old man was nothing but hypocritical and selfish.

What did that old man know about his pain?

Su Shengli felt the entire world was against him.

His body shook beyond his control, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his shirt.

The old man had expected a struggle, but to his surprise, Su Shengli took the documents from the lawyer without protest and signed his name in one swift motion.

Through the blur of tears, Su Shengli noticed a flash of surprise in the old man’s gaze.

Strangely, Su Shengli felt eerily calm. A hollow laugh escaped his throat, though his face was still wet with tears.

"Grandfather," he said, "now you can finally rest assured. I won’t... cause any more trouble for the Su family."

The last few words seemed to melt in his mouth before they were slowly uttered.