"Su Alkaid!"
This attitude pushed Zhang Ya's patience to its limit.
She had raised this son under the strictest conditions since he was young, all because she wanted him to shine brightly and achieve great success, so that one day in the future, when she took him to the upper echelons of Tian Nan, his extraordinary status would make his birth father, Su Huaifeng, regretful.
In the past years, this son had indeed been utterly compliant in her presence, never daring to contradict her.
In recent years, as the Zhang Family rose to power, she felt she could rely on her family's power to wash away former disgraces. Moreover, Su Alkaid was too lackluster; despite her meticulous upbringing, his performance in all aspects was still unsatisfactory. Disappointed, she shifted her focus back to the family and relaxed some of her control over him.
But how simple could matters in a large family be?
She had been away from home for so many years and had become estranged from the family elders.
After spending a year or two back home without achieving much, she had no choice but to turn her gaze back to Su Alkaid, planning to use this blood-related son as a gateway and leveraging the Zhang Family's power to make some money off the Su Family to strengthen herself.
But the result...
After loosening her control over him for just a year or two, this obedient and honest son had completely rebelled, daring to show her such disrespect!?
Zhang Hong, noticing that his cousin was about to fly into a furious rage, spoke up first to prevent a further worsening of the conflict, "Did the people from the Su Family say something to you? Did they make you any promises?"
"Whether it's you or the Su Family, I don't wish to be overly involved,"
Su Alkaid said calmly.
"Not wanting to be involved? Was Su Yaoyu's rushing over to Yunmeng City days ago with great fanfare for a rendezvous with a lover?"
At this, a man in his early thirties sneered.
Su Alkaid glanced at him, "And you are?"
"Zhang Rufeng, by seniority, you should call me cousin..."
He hadn't finished speaking when Su Alkaid waved his hand to interrupt him, "If you can't speak properly, then say less."
"Nephew, it's not just me saying this, but in these past two years, you've also stepped into society and experienced the cunning of social interactions. You should understand how important status and background are when navigating society,"
Zhang Hong said earnestly in a paternalistic tone, "With status and background, you can easily thrive in any profession, while others toil to death and, if they make a couple hundred thousand a year, consider themselves successful. But with the right connections and opportunities, you can easily make tens of millions with just a little effort, an amount ordinary folks cannot accrue working themselves to death or even if they literally die from overwork. So, listen to your mother and me, there's no harm in it."
He paused briefly: "Moreover, what we are really doing is claiming something back from the Su Family that was taken from you but actually belongs to you."
"And then?"
Su Alkaid looked at him, "And after we get it back, who handles it? You guys?"
"You're young and suddenly having a lot of money, you might not manage it well and could easily ruin your life with wasteful spending. We, your elders, holding onto it for you, is for your own good. Besides, we will invest that money and manage it to generate considerable annual profits for you. Just from these profits alone, you could live a carefree life,"
Zhang Hong continued in a concerned tone.
Su Alkaid listened, then shook his head.
He had lost interest in continuing this conversation.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
Following that, Su Yaoyu, Caiyun, Lin Xiaowei, and a middle-aged man in a suit quickly walked over.
Upon seeing Zhang Ya and others blocking the entrance, Su Yaoyu's expression grew complicated.
Yet, she still called out, "Mom."
"Hmph, I don't have such a treacherous daughter,"
Zhang Ya coldly said, "After carrying you in my womb for ten months and giving birth, you refuse to do even a little bit for me. What use are you?"
"Mom, the things you are doing... are illegal..."
As Su Yaoyu spoke, considering there were many outsiders present, she did not elaborate further.
She simply said, "I need to take Alkaid back home for a bit, and you are..."
"Is there something wrong?"
Zhang Ya said somewhat gleefully, "Su Huaifeng fell ill, right? This time, he probably won't make it. Bringing Alkaid to see him for the last time? Oh, had you known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place!"
"Mom, Dad and you... were together for a whole three years... A day as husband and wife means a hundred days of grace..."
"Shut up!"
Before Su Yaoyu could finish speaking, she was angrily interrupted by Zhang Ya, "From the moment I, heavily pregnant, caught him messing around with three women, he and I had no grace, only enmity!"
Su Yaoyu opened her mouth but really didn't know what to say.
And Alkaid just watched from the side,
his face showing little emotion.
After all, he wasn't the original person; to Zhang Ya or Su Huaifeng, he didn't feel much.
Even hearing from Zhang Ya that Su Huaifeng was dying didn't stir much within him.
If not for inheriting this body and its past karma, he wouldn't even want to see the faces of Zhang Ya, Su Yaoyu, and the rest.
On the side, Zhang Hong had been quietly observing Alkaid.
Seeing this scene, he too felt a quiet pity.
Thinking of making it through Alkaid as a chess piece to bite a piece off the Su Family on behalf of the Zhang Family seemed not an easy task.
But...
If the emotional card couldn't be played, then the benefit card would be.
In the world of adults, interests were more effective than so-called feelings.
"Su Huaifeng had bet right these ten years; his assets bloated by over tenfold. He even made it to the board of directors at Bu Zhou Group. By worth, he had fifty or sixty billion, and 'Star Sky Center' alone was worth no less than thirty billion. But how much of that will your Su Family ultimately be willing to give to Alkaid? Even one-tenth? The rest, I guess, would be thoroughly exploited by his uncles and aunts," Zhang Hong said. Then, turning to Su Yaoyu, "As for you, once Su Huaifeng dies, without father or mother, who will stand up for you? A daughter married off is like water thrown out, from the Su family side, even leaving you one or two million as dowry would be considered generous. Your position as general manager of Star Sky International Hotel is also coming to an end. Now, people respectfully call you Miss Su, but disrespectfully, once back to the Su family, you might not even have a place at the table."
"These are the Su Family's internal affairs; you don't need to concern yourself with them," Su Yaoyu retorted, clearly not as gently as Zhang Ya.
"I don't care about the Su Family's affairs, but if the assets owed to my cousin-by-marriage are being encroached upon, I cannot simply stand by," Zhang Hong declared righteously. "With Su Xiangyang being implicated in such a big case and stirring up so much noise, the Su Family won't be able to protect him. It's likely he'll soon be going to jail. Thus, Alkaid becomes the sole heir to Su Huaifeng, and since he is of age, Su Huaifeng's assets, if not all fifty or sixty billion, then at least half ought to be his. If the Su family tries to dismiss us with just one or two billion, we, the maternal side, will be the first to object."
Finishing, he glanced at Alkaid, "Cousin, rest assured, we will stand behind you."
"This matter..."
Su Yaoyu was about to refuse.
But at that moment, Alkaid spoke up, "Wait!"
He took a step forward, "Su Xiangyang, going to jail?"
"The issue has caused a huge uproar and the evidence is conclusive. He's been sentenced to twenty years in the first trial," Zhang Hong said with a smile. "Perhaps in the future, with some maneuvers, it might be reduced to fifteen or ten years. But as for dividing Su Huaifeng's legacy, he certainly won't catch up."
"Twenty years, ten years," Alkaid repeated and looked at Su Yaoyu, "Is this the justice executed by the Su Family Law Hall?"
"The patriarch will compensate you..."
Su Yaoyu said hastily.
"No need,"
Alkaid spoke curtly, "Haven't you always wished for me to return to the Su family? Let's go."