Marrying the Rich Man's Ex-Brother - Chapter 2

“This 20 million is compensation for you. You and…”

The main conference room was brightly lit and enveloped in a solemn silence.

A stern man with long hair tied back sat silently at the head of the long table. The other board members and executives who had already taken their seats remained quiet, either reviewing documents in their hands or attending to work.

With such a formidable, icy presence presiding over the meeting, even the most senior board members dared not act out of line in front of him.

In front of Wu Yan, the “Living King of Hell,” lay a laptop displaying the meeting’s PowerPoint presentation and the latest semi-annual financial report. But hidden behind the slides was a freshly published news article, faintly showing the headline: Funeral of Film Emperor Bai Chi

Monica, the secretary standing nearby, kept her eyes downcast, avoiding her superior’s screen, and softly reminded him, “President Yan, the meeting starts in three minutes. Should I go fetch Young Master Yu?”

Hearing this, Wu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and closed the laptop. “No need. I’ll go check on him myself.”

As he stood up, the small white daisy pinned to the chest of his black suit swayed gently.

After quietly instructing Monica, Wu Yan turned and walked toward the door, leaving the conference room.

Watching her boss depart, Monica sighed inwardly.

Ever since that person’s accident half a month ago, President Yan had visibly declined, almost to the point of complete despondency.

Though others might not notice anything unusual in his demeanor, as his most capable assistant and confidante, Monica knew just how unusual he had become.

A man who never even wore perfume now pinned a white daisy to his chest every day, a solemn token of mourning and remembrance.

Having worked closely with President Yan for five years, Monica hadn’t previously known about the tangled web of love and resentment between her boss and that film superstar.

But just from the dark circles under his eyes and his pallid complexion, she was certain President Yan’s feelings had been genuine.

No wonder, all these years, the top-tier diamond bachelor had never had anyone by his side.

But… the dead cannot return to life. With the heavy responsibilities President Yan carried, and now Young Master Yu beginning to make his mark, the pressure on him was greater than ever.

The group’s projects were limited, already operating stably with clear divisions. If they didn’t expand into new business territories, Young Master Yu would inevitably encroach on President Yan’s current authority, perhaps even replace him…

So, both professionally and personally, Monica hoped President Yan would emerge from this shadow as soon as possible.

After the Living King of Hell, Wu Yan, left the conference room, the seemingly calm but undercurrent-filled boardroom erupted into whispers—executives around the long table began murmuring quietly among themselves.

“Have you all seen the recent news? Even my child came to ask me if it was true or not…”

“Even if you don’t follow the news, this scandal has caused such an uproar that it’s the talk of the town. Even official media outlets have reported on it—how could anyone not know?”

“Ah… this is really a tricky situation. If we don’t suppress it, the media will inevitably sensationalize the story, and it could end up harming our group’s reputation.”

–

After walking through the corridor,

Wu Yan came to a halt at a deserted corner.

The man, who had been expressionless, suddenly revealed a rare tenderness in his eyes.

He slowly lowered his gaze and carefully reached out to gently adjust the small white daisy pinned to his chest.

After straightening the flower, Wu Yan was about to continue toward his younger brother’s office when a soft female voice called out to him from behind.

Wu Lisha, who had been on her way to observe the board meeting in the main conference room, spotted her eldest son leaving and quickly caught up to him, her crystal-embedded heels clicking lightly against the floor.

“Xiao Yan, are you going to Xiao Yu’s office? Let me come along with you, dear.” Wu Lisha’s tone was gentle, her eyes filled with unmistakable maternal affection as she looked at her son.

Though nearly fifty, she had aged gracefully, her well-maintained appearance still reflecting the beauty honed by time.

After all, in her youth, Wu Lisha had been renowned in Hong Kong as a stunning beauty of mixed heritage from eight different countries.

However, unlike her younger son, who had inherited her exotic features,

Wu Yan took after his father, possessing a strikingly classic Eastern appearance.

Though Wu Lisha thought her eldest was quite handsome, his demeanor was entirely different from that of his sunny, pretty-boy younger brother, Xiao Yu.

Wu Yan had the quintessential classical Eastern look—narrow, phoenix-like eyes, sharp eyebrows, and thin, pressed lips.

His shoulder-length black hair, tied back with a white hairband, added an artistically melancholic, almost world-weary aura to his presence.

His eyes were perpetually cold and unreadable, his expression stern and imposing, making him a figure feared throughout the corporation—a living “King of Hell.” Even the veterans who had built the company alongside his father addressed him respectfully as “President Yan.”

Now twenty-eight, Wu Yan had matured into a man of remarkable presence.

But in Wu Lisha’s eyes, her eldest son would always be her little darling who needed her care and attention.

She reached up to tidy the stray hairs near his ear and gently smoothed the wrinkles on his collar.

Her gaze lingered on the white daisy on his chest, and she sighed silently.

Xiao Yan was always like this, keeping his troubles bottled up inside.

Even as his mother, Wu Lisha found it difficult to grasp what exactly was on her eldest son’s mind.

But… given her age and experience, many things didn’t need to be spoken aloud for her to understand roughly what was going on.

According to Xiao Yan, he was wearing the daisy to mourn the passing of a very close friend.

Yet, Wu Lisha had no knowledge of such a friend in his life.

Recently, there had been no funeral announcements within the upper-class circles of Shenzhen or Hong Kong.

Instead, the news had been dominated by the tragic accidental death of a young mainland film emperor.

And it seems that the prematurely deceased film emperor’s favorite flower in life was the white daisy…

Now, throughout the city’s streets and alleys, spontaneous memorial activities for him can be seen, with small floral wreaths even appearing at the base of the corporate building.

However, Wu Lisha couldn’t bring herself to ask her son for details. After all, if Wu Yan had indeed had some entanglement with that film emperor, he must be deeply heartbroken at this moment.

As a mother, Wu Lisha couldn’t bear to reopen her son’s wounds or risk upsetting Wu Yan further, so she continued to feign ignorance.

After Wu Lisha finished tidying up, Wu Yan offered her a faint smile and said softly, “Thank you, Mother.”

–

Turning the corner of the hallway.

Wu Yan and his mother walked side by side to the door of his younger brother’s office.

The assistant guarding the door quickly stepped back three paces, retreating behind the door to make way for Wu Yan and Madam Wu.

“President Yan, Madam, what brings you here!?”

Wu Yan narrowed his gaze, scanning the silent office with a stern expression before his sharp eyes landed on the two intertwined figures by the desk.

His younger brother, who should have been in the meeting room, was instead holding his little lover in his arms, whispering intimately in front of the entire office, though it was unclear what they were saying.

Wu Lisha’s eyes narrowed slightly as she suppressed a flicker of surprise and gently tugged at Wu Yan’s sleeve.

She knew her eldest son’s temperament well—a workaholic who couldn’t tolerate the slightest disorder.

And her somewhat lazy and free-spirited younger son, Wu Yu, often ended up criticized by his older brother for it.

But Wu Yu had grown up now and was beginning to take on responsibilities within the corporation.

In public and private, as the eldest brother, Wu Yan had to consider his authority and dignity, not always able to dismiss his younger brother’s actions outright.

Taking his mother’s hint, Wu Yan calmly averted his gaze, instead pulling out his phone to check messages on the corporate internal system.

His phone’s background was a photo of a blue iceberg. If any of Bai Chi’s fans had been present, they would have recognized it instantly as the cover image from Bai Chi’s Weibo profile.

Unfortunately, Wu Lisha didn’t follow celebrities. Seeing her eldest son use this screensaver for years, she had always assumed Wu Yan simply wanted to admire the unique polar scenery.

Shifting her gaze from her eldest son’s phone, Wu Lisha looked back at the two entangled figures in the office.

“Xiao Yu? Mom came to call you to the board meeting.”

Hearing this, Wu Yu slowly pulled back from Bai Chi, and Wu Lisha finally saw that the person shielded by her younger son’s chest was his little lover, crying heartbreakingly, tears streaming down like pear blossoms.

On the floor between them lay a thin check, likely the breakup money Wu Yu had offered his lover.

The online scandal was currently causing an uproar, and even Wu Lisha, who didn’t pay much attention to the entertainment industry, had heard about it.

She hoped Wu Yu hadn’t said anything harsh in the heat of the moment—that would be unfortunate.

After all, the other had just woken up from emergency hospital treatment and was still a patient.

Even a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace; there was no need to truly sever ties.

Moreover, having navigated the business world with her husband for so many years, Wu Lisha knew that sometimes what you see isn’t necessarily the truth.

And she had always had someone keeping an eye on Wu Yu’s lover’s daily activities, quite certain that the other was genuinely devoted to Wu Yu.

So this matter might really be some kind of misunderstanding; otherwise, the child wouldn’t be crying so heart-wrenchingly.

Seeing Bai Chi crying so pitifully, Wu Lisha couldn’t bear it and quickly gestured for two secretaries to come over, signaling them to help Bai Chi sit on the sofa.

–

Bai Chi had prepared himself before coming.

He knew that the two people entering the office were Wu Yu’s mother and eldest brother, so he didn’t continue to make a scene.

After all, Bai Chi just wanted to get the compensation money he deserved from Wu Yu for the original owner, not to embarrass himself by crying in front of others.

After taking the tissue handed by the secretary to wipe his tears, Bai Chi obediently sat on the sofa, cautiously observing Wu Lisha and Wu Yan at the door.

When he noticed the small white daisy on Wu Yan’s chest, Bai Chi was momentarily stunned.

Could it be that this eldest young master of the Wu family—the renowned top-tier diamond tycoon—was actually a fan of his?

However, this somewhat absurd thought only flashed through Bai Chi’s mind for a moment before he dismissed it. A billionaire CEO of such stature probably didn’t have time to chase after celebrities like young people do; it was likely just a habit or a coincidence.

When Bai Chi had been on a business trip to Hong Kong before, he’d seen some upper-class elites wearing boutonnieres as a habit, probably adopted from Western customs. Since Shenzhen is adjacent to Hong Kong, perhaps this custom had spread there as well.

Wu Lisha gave the somewhat nervous Bai Chi a gentle smile and casually took the check the secretary had picked up from the floor, glancing at the amount.

Seeing that Wu Yu had only given Bai Chi a check for two million, Wu Lisha disapprovingly glanced at her younger son.

Xiao Yu had always been very generous to his little lover before, gifting multi-million-dollar villas and luxury cars without batting an eye. Giving only two million as a breakup compensation now was really quite inappropriate.

After all, this child had been with Xiao Yu since he was eighteen, for over a year now, giving him the best years of his youth.

And aside from this recent scandal, the child had never made any serious mistakes before, always staying dutiful and even persuading Wu Yu to settle down and focus on working in the group.

So, Wu Lisha still felt some pity for Xiao Yu’s little lover.

After all, whose child isn’t the apple of their parents’ eye? Putting herself in others’ shoes, Wu Lisha didn’t want to be too ruthless.

But now that Xiao Yu had finally started taking on responsibilities in the group and was in a critical phase of career development, he absolutely couldn’t be affected by any gossip scandals or negative news.

So, she knew this matter had to be resolved quickly, cutting through the complications as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if the scandal blew up and spread everywhere, becoming common knowledge, it wouldn’t be something money alone could fix.

Weighing the pros and cons, Madam Wu signaled her assistant to bring her a fountain pen and a new check, writing Bai Chi a new check for twenty million.

“Good child, you’ve suffered. This money is our compensation to you. It’s best for you and Xiao Yu to part on good terms.”

Bai Chi, who had been silently shedding tears, immediately stopped crying and accepted the check handed to him by Madam Wu’s assistant with both hands.

Although these twenty million were merely a drop in the bucket compared to the original owner’s two hundred million penalty fee, Bai Chi was not about to appear overly greedy at this moment.

Give and take, with a steady and sustained effort, ensures longevity—one shouldn’t make their greed too obvious all at once.

After all, the original owner’s scandal of climbing into someone’s bed had yet to be cleared up, and it might even affect the corporation. Thus, the Wu family’s suspicion and disgust toward him undoubtedly outweighed any pity or sympathy.

Now was not the right time to press for more debt repayment.

Although Wu Yu was a stingy, miserly scoundrel who’d only reluctantly forked over two million, the concern of parents for their child is universal. He still had a whole circle of relatives and friends—Bai Chi could chip away here and there, slowly gathering the full two hundred million.

Seeing Bai Chi carefully tuck away the twenty-million check, Wu Yu impatiently urged, “You’ve got the money, so can you leave now? Remember to go to the villa tonight and take all your things. We have a board meeting to attend now.”

Ignoring the miser, Bai Chi turned directly to Wu Lisha instead, his expression serious and his tone resolute as he assured her:

“Don’t worry, from now on, Wu Yu and I will go our separate ways—I’ll take my single-plank bridge, and he can take his road to the underworld!”

Wu Yu?

The secretary in the office: “…”

Truly an uneducated, illiterate fool who can’t even string a sentence together properly.

Unaware that Bai Chi’s words were deliberately meant to provoke him, Wu Yu inwardly scorned his former lover.

Having grown up bilingual as a mixed-race ABC, Wu Lisha didn’t detect anything amiss in Bai Chi’s statement.

However, Wu Yan, who had already reached the doorway, paused slightly at Bai Chi’s words and glanced back at the scene in the office.

Bai Chi’s pretty face was half-hidden by his long, cascading hair.

To his brother’s eyes, it was a wretched, vulgar, and greedy visage.

But Wu Yan caught the fleeting glint of amusement and mischief in Bai Chi’s eyes—like a mischievous little fox.

On the lapel of his black suit, the petals of a small white daisy trembled faintly. For a fleeting moment, Wu Yan even though he saw a shadow of that person— lively and vivid, willful and overbearing, once filling his heart and entire being, only to abandon him abruptly, taking with them all the hidden memories and profound love.