Chapter 467: Chapter 467: Her, I Want Too
At this moment, the sound of a dagger hitting the table came from the head seat.
In an instant, the atmosphere plunged to freezing point again.
Old Mr. Gong accepted a towel handed by the butler and wiped his hands, saying sternly, “I can’t get you to come over usually, and I have to call her in, then you’re willing to come back this once.”
Gong Chen replied flatly, “I don’t want to come back.”
The straightforward answer made Lin Zhiyi feel the air around compress.
The old man gripped the towel tightly and warned, “Gong Chen! Don’t forget your identity!”
“Are you really going to oppose the family for this woman?”
“Lin Zhiyi hid away and gave birth to your child, showing her ill intentions.”
“If you remain obstinate, how will you convince the masses?”
The heavy, authoritative voice echoed threateningly in the hall.
Before the echo had faded, the old man cast a glance at the others.
Everyone disregarded Lin Zhiyi’s presence, speaking righteously.
“Lao San, you must not be deceived by Lin Zhiyi. Back then, she went to great lengths to climb into your bed, trying to make it widely known.”
“Now that nobody knows, quickly send her away, the further the better.”
“Lao San, you’re the CEO of the Gong Group, the head of the entire family, you must not be associated with her in any way.”
“She caused havoc in the Gong Family before, she’s clearly a menace!”
“…”
Lin Zhiyi bit her lip fiercely, yet couldn’t suppress the paleness on her face.
Saying her heart was not troubled was a lie.
These elders were ones Lin Zhiyi always treated with the utmost respect, staying out of each other’s way.
Yet, even after coming this far, they still wouldn’t relent.
Lin Zhiyi took a deep breath, sneaking a glance at Chen Jin beside her.
Chen Jin always carried two knives, who knows where he’d pull one from at a convenient moment.
Rather than being stifled now, she might as well go crazy.
At worst, let Li Huan write her another psychiatric diagnosis form.
Chen Jin seemed to see through her thoughts, stood with hands behind his back, his sleeves clenched tightly.
His eyes signaled: Don’t even think about it.
Tap, tap, tap, the sound of fingers lightly tapping on the side table surface.
Lin Zhiyi and Chen Jin lowered their heads, just meeting Gong Chen’s deep dark eyes.
Should I send you two out to ‘flirt’?
At this moment, the old man’s light cough came from the head seat.
“Gong Chen, you should understand the elders’ intentions, there’s no need for me to teach you what decision to make.”
Hearing this, Lin Zhiyi felt a thud in her chest.
No wonder Gong Chen didn’t want to return to the Gong Family, it was clearly a feast with hidden intent.
Eighteen highly respected elders applying pressure together, this wasn’t a choice, it was coercion.
After going around in circles, Lin Zhiyi became just another option.
Only this time, she had less of her past obsessions.
Whether it was in her past life or when she first reincarnated in this life, she had a vague sense of dissatisfaction.
Why were she and Xingxing so undeserving of love?
Like Ren Xiya said, she never approached Gong Chen’s choice from a place of trust.
Because she already knew his choice, she kept torturing herself and him to remember certain hatred.
As Sang Ran said, when faced with a choice, Gong Chen weighed the pros and cons, yet she was also selfish.
Back then, she couldn’t even protect herself yet hoped the other would forsake everything to choose her, then face danger together.
But why should Gong Chen do that?
After leaving, she became more understanding, realizing the person who should choose her the most was herself.
She shouldn’t put herself as an option, she should take the initiative.
At this moment, hearing “choice” again, Lin Zhiyi clearly felt much more at ease.
Gong Chen would have his own considerations, whatever he chose.
And she would have her considerations for herself.
But as Lin Zhiyi waited for Gong Chen to respond, she subconsciously clenched her fingers, though her eyes were much clearer.
Gong Chen stood tall with his back straight, his hand resting on a small table, gently tapping on the surface occasionally.
The subtle movements were unhurried, blending with the grand oriental decor, creating an indescribable oppressive atmosphere in the entire room.
Then, he turned the red jadeite ring, gently raised his eyes to look at the elders.
“You think I don’t want her in my bed?”
Everyone, including Lin Zhiyi, gasped.
He continued, “Back then, I didn’t retract the report because I planned to turn it to my advantage and marry her. Generally, I’m not a virtuous person, do you think I could be at her mercy in bed?”
Lin Zhiyi gritted her teeth, really wanting to shut his mouth.
“Instead of saying her intentions were impure, it’s more like I had a slow and steady plan. Thinking about it this way, we’re quite well-matched.”
Slow and steady plan?
Lin Zhiyi was shocked beyond words.
When?
When she met him…he was underage.
He was the one with ill intentions!
Old Mr. Gong, hearing this, was so angry his eyes were about to pop out.
But Gong Chen didn’t give him the chance to scold.
In the next second, under everyone’s incredulous eyes, Gong Chen took off the ring and placed it in the tray Chen Jin handed over.
“Have you had a few good years and forgotten something?”
“Since you think I can’t handle it, take care of it yourselves.”
Gong Chen flicked his fingers, and Chen Jin carried the tray with the ring, handing it out one by one.
But everyone’s faces were ashen, and no one dared to take it.
When Gong Chen took over the Gong Group back then, it wasn’t at a good time.
These elders were used to living off the success of others, gradually falling behind the times.
Plus, as the old man got older, he didn’t want to admit to aging, making successive wrong decisions.
To prevent others from saying he was senile, he directly elevated Gong Chen, who hadn’t even graduated from his master’s degree, to clean up the mess.
Over the years, they have always been enjoying the benefits brought by Gong Chen.
Chen Jin took a round and returned the ring to Gong Chen.
He didn’t take it, coldly squinting at the old man, “Are you taking over? But by then the company might need a new audit, the accounts you left need explanation at a general meeting.”
Hearing this, the old man’s face turned dark as iron.
Gong Chen ignored it, picked up the ring and put it back on, pulling Lin Zhiyi to sit on his lap.
“I want her too.”
Lin Zhiyi was so startled she couldn’t come to her senses for a long time.
These words from him were much more destructive than going crazy!
Yet, those elders couldn’t say a word, all looking at the old man.
The old man clenched his fists, tightened, then slowly loosened them, his gloomy gaze falling on Lin Zhiyi.
“You want her? Alright.”
“Just as your son needs someone to take care of him after he’s born, since she has had a child, she should be more knowledgeable in child-rearing.”
“As for that little girl, I will send her to a boarding school abroad.”
It looked like a concession, but actually, it was still manipulating Lin Zhiyi.
She stood up angrily, “What right do you have to decide my daughter’s future? She’s only three, why would she go to a boarding school!”
The old man sneered, “The boarding school she can go to is one you couldn’t enter in your lifetime.”
That tone sounded as if accusing Lin Zhiyi of being ungrateful.
She retorted sarcastically, “Old man, are you really not afraid of karma?”
“Only people like you believe in karma, it’s just an excuse for failures.”
“…”
Lin Zhiyi was about to counter when Gong Chen raised his hand to stop her.
He said directly, “I only have a daughter, no son.”
The old man chuckled, “I knew you would say that, you never planned on having this child from the start.”
“You just wanted Sang Ran to let go of her obsession, making it easier for you and Lin Zhiyi to be together.”
“Your original plan was to leave the child to the Sang Family, to comfort them for losing their daughter.”
“The child in that woman’s belly…isn’t yours, is it?”
As he finished speaking.
Lin Zhiyi felt icy cold all over.
The old man almost verbatim revealed the plan she had told Gong Chen and Sang Li about.
He even guessed that the child wasn’t Gong Chen’s.