Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

The argument stopped.

The moment the operating room doors swung open, the smell of disinfectant, along with the chilling atmosphere of life and death, rushed out.

The surgeon removed his mask, his voice tired but clear: "The patient is out of danger for now, but needs absolute rest."

This announcement finally brought a glimmer of warmth, easing the last bit of tension and noise in the hospital corridor.

All eyes were on them.

As the bed rollers rolled over the floor tiles, Zhao Xiaowan's pale face was revealed.

She opened her heavy eyelids a crack, her unfocused gaze sweeping over the familiar faces before her.

Her throat bobbed slightly, but she ultimately did not utter a word.

When her gaze fell upon her two older sisters huddled at the back of the crowd, her withered lips twitched almost imperceptibly. A nod, nearly drowned out by the ticking of the medical equipment, was the only expression of intimacy she could muster with her remaining strength.

Then, she closed her eyes completely, as if she had exhausted her last bit of life and fell into a deep sleep.

"Sis! Say something!"

"Your father and mother are still alive, and you're ignoring them? Isn't that going too far?"

"Speak up, do you still have the surname Zhao or not?"

"Dad told you to get a divorce from your brother-in-law, but you didn't. Dad told you to make a will as soon as possible, but you didn't. Are you still Dad and Mom's daughter?"

"Pah, you ingrate."

"All these years of raising them have been for nothing."

The two brothers, Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu, were so anxious that they stamped their feet. They glanced warily at the bed, and seeing that their sister ignored them, they started spewing all sorts of foul language.

"Pah, you ingrate."

"After raising him for so many years for nothing, and being so unfilial, no wonder he died young."

Mr. Zhao frowned, feeling annoyed by his two sons' foul language and by his daughter's lack of attention to him.

The person has been saved for now.

That's a good thing!

But if the daughter insists on not getting a divorce and refuses to make a will, neither of these two things can be done. In the end, the daughter will still pass away sooner or later due to her illness. Given the current relationship between the son-in-law and herself, it would be good enough if they didn't become enemies. How could she possibly benefit from him in the future?

Therefore, the best course of action now is to force our daughter to write down her will.

Based on his preliminary assessment of his daughter and son-in-law's assets with the company's finance department, even disregarding properties like houses, cars, and jewelry, just considering the child prodigy's company shares alone, the current market valuation would be at least a dozen or twenty small-cap stocks. And this is the pre-IPO valuation; the company is about to go public on the NYSE. If the IPO is successful, they'll be making US dollars, reaping profits from overseas investors, one crop after another…

At the very least, the value of the original shareholders' shares should increase by at least one, two, or three times, right?

Why is he so shameless?

That's his reason for being shameless!

The entire Zhao family fortune was built by him over 20 years of hard work, risking his life and risking his health.

Even if you included all the land and real estate under the Zhao Group, it probably wouldn't be worth more than a few hundred million. Not to mention, they're currently embroiled in a mountain of lawsuits, caught evading taxes, and heavily fined. They now have to make up for all the taxes evaded over the past ten years, multiplied by three. If they don't pay on time, the company will be seized, and he, as the legal representative, will have to work as a sewing machine operator.

How could he not be anxious?

Unfortunately, the company's cash flow was insufficient to pay the maximum penalty of three times the amount of tax owed.

Of course, there are other options, such as selling your real estate, villas, cars, gold and silver jewelry, luxury goods, etc.

If that's still not enough, they can also consider the Zhao family's own shares in Xiao Shen Tong. Although the Zhao family is a minority shareholder in Xiao Shen Tong, they only held less than 5% of the shares during the Series B financing. Now, after the dilution from the Series C financing, the entire Zhao Group holds less than 2.7% of the shares in Xiao Shen Tong.

But even with this 2.7%, if the Zhao family were willing to sell, there would be plenty of investors willing to accept it, and it could be sold at a premium. Let alone more, cashing out three to five hundred million yuan would be no problem at all.

But that won't work, because it would be too unprofitable. The child prodigy is about to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, which will bring a surge in its stock price...

Selling your shares in the "little prodigy" stock at this point would be like throwing away your money.

Do you think he's stupid?!
It's painful to cut your own blood, of course, but it's easier to cut the blood of your daughter and son-in-law.

This made him think of the shares of Little Prodigy Company held by his third daughter and son-in-law. Those shares far exceeded those held by the Zhao family. Not only was his son-in-law the president of Little Prodigy, but he was also planning to pass them on to his grandson. The agreement he and his wife had made, which stipulated that his son-in-law would hold on behalf of his grandson, already represented more than 10% of the company's total shares. That was a solid 10%. If…

We can get our hands on it.

He didn't ask for more, just half. His daughter seems to have been saved, but she probably won't live for more than a few months. As her grandfather, why can't he hold the money on her behalf?
Thinking of this, he didn't care about saving face anymore. Even if his daughter only had one breath left, he wanted her to make her write her will today, in front of everyone in the hospital.

So he was about to pounce, but before he could even push aside his two sons, who looked like phoenixes and dragons standing in front of him, Zhao's mother grabbed his arm in terror and pulled him back: "Old man... calm down... calm down... don't get close... that disease... it's deadly, this deadly disease, we should stay away..."

It was just this short delay.

Xiao Jun had already handed his son over to his mother, and then he rushed over and stood in front of the gurney, his arms outstretched like iron gates.

The nurses tacitly accelerated the pushing of the bed, while the security guards closely guarded the Zhao family members.

"It's the other way around!"

Zhao's father became furious, shook off Zhao's mother, and tried to pounce on her to snatch her back.

"Kid, I'm her biological father! You dare... You think you're the only one who brought men today? You have two bodyguards clearing the way. What are you so capable of... Get her and take her back..."

Although the Zhao family had been cleansing their name for many years, they still had capable and daring men under their command.

Before the words were even finished, and before the thugs brought by both sides could even confront each other, a low laugh came from the shadows of the corridor.

Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong walked out slowly, their auras as two business tycoons instantly making the air feel heavy and still.

"Old Zhao." Lu Yang's lips curled into an icy smile. "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. My sister-in-law barely escaped death and was given a second chance at life. The way you're acting... is it because you think she's lived too long?"

Mu Qizhong casually twirled the metal lighter between his fingers, and the soft click startled Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu.

“Brother Lu is right, that’s what I meant too. If you feel there are still unresolved conflicts and neither side is satisfied, you can fight outside. Don’t disturb the patient’s rest.”

Zhao's father choked up, staring at Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong with unfathomable coldness in his eyes.

All the bluster crumbled.

He couldn't afford to offend either of them, not only because they were the real major shareholders behind the child prodigy, but also because these two powerful figures from across the river, after years of integrating into Pengcheng, had accumulated connections and relationships that were beyond the reach of a local like him.

He gave an awkward laugh, not daring to say anything polite, for fear of making more enemies and causing the Zhao family to be deliberately targeted within the child prodigy's organization.

With a livid face, he grabbed his two cursing sons and, under the silent "escort" of the Zhao family's bodyguards, disappeared in a sorry state at the elevator entrance.

Unfortunately, he had guessed that Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong, these two powerful figures from out of town, were not to be trifled with, and deliberately chose to back down to avoid conflict with them, but the outcome was still predetermined.

There's no need for him to provoke us.

The butcher's knife in Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong's hands had been hanging over the Zhao family's heads for a long time without their knowledge. Unfortunately, he never realized it. He was anxiously trying to raise the fines and even set his sights on his dying daughter. He never suspected that the people behind the scenes were Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong, whom he dared not and could not afford to offend. And the reason was simply to vent his anger for his daughter and son-in-law.

All we can say is that every scheme and calculation comes with its own price, predetermined by fate!

If the Zhao family could restrain their greed, they would only need to shatter family ties and trample on wealth that seemed within their grasp...

Choose another path.

If we view all of this with tolerance and goodwill, would the outcome be completely different?

Zhao Xiaowan is nearing the end of her life, so it's impossible for her not to consider what will happen after she dies. The couple has reached this point, and there's no longer any affection between them. Moreover, her child is still young, and there's no guarantee that Xiao Jun won't remarry in the future. Therefore, it's understandable that she would choose to make a will, or even more radically, choose to divorce and then make a will, relying entirely on her family, in order to protect her child's interests.

However, the Zhao family shouldn't have revealed their greedy nature so quickly, almost as if they wanted to devour their married daughter alive. Her two younger brothers were practically telling her outright that her money was the Zhao family's money.

If she doesn't divorce, she can't take the money with her, but at least she can make a will to leave her share to her son.

However, if she does choose to divorce, regardless of whether she makes a will or not, with such biased maternal grandparents and such a greedy uncle, it is likely that not only will the money not reach her youngest son, but whether he can even live to the age of eighteen and inherit the estate is still up for debate.

So how should we choose?
From the moment she fainted from anger and was rushed to the operating table for emergency treatment, to the moment she came out of the operating room and refused to even look at her parents and two younger brothers again, it was clear that she had made her choice.

They finally drove the Zhao family away.

Xiao Jun gently touched his wife's cold hand with his fingertips and gazed at her slightly heaving chest.

At that moment, he felt exceptionally calm, without anger, sadness, or fear of contracting HIV.

We were husband and wife.

The other party has reached this point because they are on their last legs.

At least 80% of the blame lies with him. If he had paid more attention to the woman in front of him over the years, hadn't been so playful, so unreliable, and hadn't been so focused on fooling around outside, if he had set aside even a little time to spend with her amidst his debauchery, their marriage wouldn't have ended up like this.
this moment.

Pain swept over his entire body like poison.

Yes, this marriage was an arranged marriage between wealthy families from the beginning. He only reluctantly agreed to marry the woman in front of him under the strong pressure of his stepfather and mother. Otherwise, given his playboy personality, he would never have married so young.

However, thinking about how the woman in front of him had indulged him all these years and given him such a lovely son, while he... had never grown up, and naively believed that he was just a sacrifice in this marriage of convenience, he was unwilling to face this woman at home and spent more of his time with those disreputable women outside...

As a result, this disaster finally occurred!

Yes, he regretted it, he was so regretful he was practically green with envy.

Tears kept flowing down my face.

Lu Yang and Mu Qizhong stood at the door of the ward, not going in. They looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Then he silently shook his head and turned to leave.

Now that things have come to this point, whether as friends or brothers, they have done what they could to help, and staying here any longer will not make a difference.

Lu Yang was alright, because Qian Youyou was still there. He went over first to greet the pregnant woman who had just been arguing with the Zhao family with a very agitated expression.

I told her not to get so agitated, and whether she wanted to keep the baby.
"It took me so much effort to get pregnant. Your dad is still waiting to hold his big, fat grandson."

Lu Yang opened his arms and hugged Qian Youyou, then put his mouth close to her ear and said those nonsensical things, just to make her laugh.

Then she left quite casually to chase after Mu Qizhong, who was almost at the end of the hospital corridor.

As for his father-in-law and mother-in-law, I believe that the elderly couple are actually not very willing to see Lu Yang.

What's really awkward is that at their level, something as shameful as artificial insemination, even though it's already a private matter, is still difficult for them to talk about openly.

The key point is that Lu Yang is a married man. If he is unwilling to admit to fraternizing, he can't possibly admit that their daughter is Lu Yang's lover.
Their expressions changed when Lu Yang opened his arms to hug their daughter just now. If Lu Yang dared to call them father-in-law or mother-in-law to their faces again, it would be even more outrageous...

Anyway, although it's true, they won't admit it in public.

It’s not difficult to understand either.

All this planning was for a big, healthy grandson, not some cheap, unmarried son-in-law.

When Lu Yang caught up with Mu Qizhong, the two had just left the hospital building when Mu Qizhong started teasing Lu Yang. Seeing Lu Yang's dark expression, he quickly changed the subject to Xiao Jun.

Looking up at the sky, he sighed, "Alas, I never thought that the two of them actually had feelings for each other. This kid, this is the first time in years I've seen him cry so sadly, his eyes are as red as a rabbit's."

Lu Yang chuckled: "That doesn't necessarily mean there are real feelings involved. Even if there are feelings, it's not the kind you're thinking of. After being together for so many years, even raising a dog would develop feelings, let alone a person..."

In Lu Yang's opinion, Xiao Jun definitely didn't have any feelings for Zhao Xiaowan, otherwise he wouldn't have been wandering around outside all these years, unwilling to devote his attention to managing his family.

The reason I cried so bitterly this time was mostly out of self-blame for not fulfilling my responsibilities as a man… (End of Chapter)