In the meeting, Kang Jun felt his head begin to hurt.
At every single meeting, the same question would come to him. "What do you think president?"
He sincerely wished that they would learn how to do things on their own and find the right way by discussing amongst themselves but for some reason, as much as he gave them the opportunity to do so, they always wanted to rely on him.
This put a strain on the mans' mind.
He didn't mind doing all the work and making the decisions. It was actually much easier for him that way but it wouldn't fix the underlying problem of the corporation.
If one day Kang Jun were to just disappear from Kang Corporation, how would they survive?
Kang Jun sighed.
Seeing as the meeting was going nowhere, Kang Jun almost had half a mind to leave but he stayed until it was over.
When it ended, Kang Jun walked out massaging his temple and then immediately came back to his grandfather. Once he entered, he noticed that the old man's face had blackened considerably since he had last seen him.
Kang Jun frowned. In his mind, he struggled about whether or not to ask the elder if something was wrong…
He hadn't made a decision yet when Mr. Long opened the door.
"President, shall I bring Mingyu over to—"
Kang Jun shot him a glare that paralyzed him. The words stopped flowing from his mouth and his whole body turned to ice.
"You can leave. I'll take him."
Mr. Long nodded, gave Kang Jun a few papers and documents and then quickly left.
Since his altercation with Qiao Lan. He had been able to convince the elder to give him Mingyu for a while. So the boy had started spending the grand majority of his time with Kang Jun. Because of this, he had made the arrangement so that both he and Mingyu could meet AnLing regularly.
She hadn't been busy lately so she was free to spend some time babysitting Mingyu when Kang Jun was busy with work.
It was a sneaky trick that the man and the boy had agreed upon unanimously so they could both enjoy as much time with her as possible.
Either way, the girl never disagreed since the time she spent with Mingyu was paid for and went directly to her rent.
A part of Kang Jun knew that it wasn't the true reason why she accepted to do it…
Though this wasn't something he wanted the elder to ever know.
From the corner of his eye, Kang Jun glanced inside the room, where Elder Kang and Secretary Rong sat.
They watched Kang Jun. The elder continued to look strangely pale but since Secretary Rong wasn't saying anything about it Kang Jun decided against asking him what was wrong.
Walking to his desk and sitting down, Kang Jun was calm. He looked through his files, put it down and then picked up the contract. He laid it on his files and read through it.
Noticing the way Kang Jun acted, Elder Kang scoffed.
He should have known that it was going to turn out like this…
This grandson never cared about anyone else's discomfort.
"Grandson…" Elder Kang spoke in a low voice.
Kang Jun: "Mmm?"
"Did you threaten Qiao Lan?"
"Mmm." Kang Jun answered matter-of-factly without care. He did do it, so there was no point in denying it.
"Did you harm her in any way?"
Hearing this question, Kang Jun paused before he looked up to meet his grandfathers old, weary eyes.
One glance and Kang Jun could bring a person to their knees.
The elder felt unspeakable pressure.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kang Jun was pretty insulted that those words had come out of the elder's mouth. He thought that the old man knew him by now.
He didn't physically harm women or children.
Never.
"Answer!"
"I refuse." Kang Jun sneered. Was there any point to answer? The elder seemed to have already made up his mind.
"That means you did!"
Kang Jun looked at his grandfather dismissively. There was no respect in his eyes, just contempt and Elder Kang felt the piercing gaze penetrate straight through him. Kang Jun looked at the Elder like he was nothing. Elder Kang would have been insulted if he hadn't provoked Kang Jun himself first.
Seeing both of their anger begin to flare up, Secretary Rong was forced to step in between the two.
"Second Master, your grandfather didn't mean to offend you. He just got a call from Elder Qiao, who was inquiring about what you'd done to Qiao Lan."
'So what?' Kang Jun's expression could be read easily.
"What did you do to her?" Elder Kang repeated calmly.
"You know."
'I know what?!' Elder Kang felt a headache coming. Seeing that the elder didn't understand, Kang Jun leaned against his chair and looked down at the old man.
"I threatened to destroy her if she touched Mingyu. That's all."
"That's all?" Elder Kang wasn't convinced.
"That. Is. All." Kang Jun accentuated every word that came out of his mouth.
Elder Kang didn't know what to say. It's true that he had already known that but he had to fix this problem and to do that, he had to get all he could from Kang Jun. The only reason Elder Kang had doubted him was because of the outrage he had heard in Elder Qiao's voice when he had called.
Would the old man only call because Qiao Lan had been threatened? He doubted it but neither did he believe Kang Jun would do anything unspeakable to Qiao Lan because his grandson was not a stupid man.
But in the end, he didn't want to strain his friendship with Elder Qiao. The old man was his best friend. When it came to his relationship with Kang Jun the elder knew that sooner or later he would be forgiven because they were blood kin, but it wasn't the same when it came to Elder Qiao.
Elder Kang sighed.
"Apologize to her, and to Elder Qiao."
Kang Jun's face darkened in surprise. The man was so surprised in fact, that he let out a small laugh. Elder Kang watched horrified.
It was the most emotion that he had ever shown his grandfather with the exception of intense anger.
"I refuse."
"Stop with your stupidity! Can't you just give an inch so we can all continue to live peacefully? The Qiao's are an important part of our family!"
Kang Jun looked at his grandfather calmy and then began to work on the pile of documents in front of him. "Not my family, and you know what they say, 'give an inch and they will take a mile'"
Kang Jun's reasoning was right, and if it were about anyone else, Elder Kang would have agreed but it was different when the decision could affect the whole internal workings of the Kang Family.
"Kang Jun, if you don't do this then forget about me signing the contract." Elder Kang threatened.
"Then get out."
Kang Jun never allowed himself to be threatened.
If Elder Kang refused to honor his promise, it was his choice but he had to understand the consequences. Kang Jun, when pushed into a corner would come to a point where he would be forced to declare war. This war would be on, not just on Qiao Lan but on Elder Qiao and Elder Kang also.
Even if no one stood on his side he would still continue to push until all his enemies laid in a bloody pile at his feet. He would have no mercy and he wouldn't care who got hurt in the crossfires.
Elder Kang was so shocked by the man's harsh words that he began to shake in anger.
"Why you—" Elder Kang started, but then he shifted his tone. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"
'Very unreasonable' Kang Jun's mind couldn't help but sigh but he didn't utter a word.
Secretary Rong looked at the old man. "You've made your choice. It's too late to regret."
Secretary Rong felt bad for the old man but he didn't try to interfere. This was between grandfather and grandson and only they would be able to find a satisfactory solution to their problems.
He chose neither side, they both had their rights and their wrongs, after all.
So all he did was watch.
"Kang Jun, you know how important the Qiao's are to me. Please, just do me this one favor…" Elder Kang had no choice but to resort to pleading. He knew that anything else would have no effect.
After a long pause, Kang Jun looked slightly defeated and then said,
"Fine. I'll speak to him but you have to sign this first."
Kang Jun sighed the contract and then passed it to Elder Kang.
Kang Jun tapped his finger on it.
Elder Kang's face immediately brightened. He did as Kang Jun asked and then said, "Great, great. I'll arrange something"
"No. I will."
With that said, Kang Jun picked up the contract, walked out the door and then went to tell Mr. Long to take care of his grandfather until he decided to leave. Kang Jun didn't even look back to see the face his grandfather was making.
He didn't care.
He no longer had the patience to stay there either.
Before he left, Kang Jun turned to Mr. Long and said, "Make twelve copies of this, send one to me and another to my grandfather. As for the rest, including the original, put them in a safe location."
He handed the contract over to Mr. Long.
"Yes, sir." Mr. Long said with a smile.
As he left, Kang Jun was still felt slightly annoyed.
He needed a cleanse, so he went to visit one of the busiest subsidiaries owned by the Kang Corporation.
In the car, Kang Jun couldn't help but lean back in his chair and smirk.
Elder Kang hadn't noticed yet but he had made a critical mistake.
The moment when Mr. Long had come in, he had secretly handed Kang Jun a secondary contract with certain…
Revisions.
The most important being that Kang Jun would have full privilege to act as he wished but also, that he would have the elder's blessing in all decisions he made from that moment on until forever!
***
Due to a cold, that just kept worsening and worsening, Ning Jie hadn't required AnLing's services for nearly two weeks. In the time she didn't work as an assistant, she spent her free time working on other jobs, trying to find a new job, writing songs, and visiting her grandmother.
There was no point in hiding anymore, though now, whenever she visited, Shuya would come not too long after her so she was no longer able to freely converse with Grandma Lu. And as much as the old woman minded it, she was still glad to have both granddaughters around since her other grandchildren would barely visit due to their busy scholarly or work lives.
Ever since Xiao Mian had visited, Grandma Lu had started to bother AnLing less and less with the talks of marriage through this was because Xiao Mian had promised to introduce AnLing to a good man and Grandma Lu trusted she would.
"Little Ling, did Little Mian introduce you to a man yet?"
"She'll do it at her engagement party," AnLing replied reluctantly.
Either way, AnLing was in no rush.
"Good good, you must marry. Find a good family and man that will appreciate you. I also want to see the wedding of one of my grandchildren." Grandma Lu was giddy but her eyes contained a gleam of sorrow.
Since AnLing wasn't quiet nor reluctant she thought that AnLing had agreed to her request but the woman was wrong.
She just wanted the old woman off her back.
Shuya, feeling that their grandmother was paying extra attention to AnLing, began to feel a pang of jealousy. "Grandma, AnLing is fine the way she is isn't she? She doesn't need to get married."
"Oh? Then would you marry and give me some cute grandchildren?"
Shuya's face slightly paled, but then she smiled awkwardly and said, "I have really high standards. If you can introduce me to a Mo's, a Qiao's or a Tang's then I'll consider it."
Hearing Shuya say this, AnLing rolled her eyes.
The only reason Shuya had mentioned those families was that she knew that there was no way Grandma Lu could connect to them
The Mo's and the Tang's were the entertainment kings.
The Mo's had risen to power over the last 20 years. Starting from when they'd taken over Halo Stars from their previous owners. Over the span of ten years, they were able to turn Halo Stars into the best company to sign with. Everyone knew that, at Halo Stars, you would get the best resources.
While the Tang's were the oldest entertainment empire. Spanning many subsidiaries domestically and abroad and they were beginning to become formidable opponents in the fashion and jewelry industries.
As for the Qiao's, they were the most unreachable.
The Qiao's were unlike the other two families, they dealt more with military or technology, though it depended on which side of the family one was talking about. Either way, there was no way for a barely-above-average business major, such as Shuya, to connect with them, even more, unlikely marry into the family.
They were rich and influential. if they wanted to they could destroy anyone and everyone that tried to flock around them but there was one family above them all…
"What about the Kang's?" AnLing asked without thinking.