Chapter Ninety-Two: A Heart-to-Heart Between Father and Daughter (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

The meal was not one in which host and guest were equally delighted, but at last it was finished smoothly enough.

Once both sides left the hotel, they went their separate ways. Lei Jiahao immediately had his driver take him back to the company’s branch in Deep Sea City.

Lei Jiahao was not foolish. He could tell that Liu Yiyi’s first impression of him was not especially good. Though he had been struck by her beauty at first sight, he was by no means a simple-minded man; otherwise he would not have been able to take over such a vast family enterprise. So he understood very well that haste made waste.

After such an unpromising first meeting, Lei Jiahao chose to withdraw for the time being and give Liu Yiyi some room to calm down. In any case, his group and Liu Yunlong’s company were cooperating, and there would be many more chances to meet Liu Yiyi in the future.

The Liu father and daughter returned home by car.

With no outsiders present, the two of them sat down and decided to talk. Liu Yiyi also intended to make herself clear to her father: she would flatly refuse Lei Jiahao. She had no interest in him at all.

Before Liu Yunlong could speak, Liu Yiyi asked, “Dad, you had me come back today just to introduce me to this Lei Jiahao?”

Liu Yunlong understood what his daughter meant, and hearing the complaint in her voice, he said earnestly, “Yiyi, I’m doing this for your own good. Lei Jiahao is the only son of Lei Yan from Yuntong Group. In the future he’ll be taking over the whole company, and he’s very capable. He’s not bad-looking either.”

“Stop, Dad. Our family already has more than enough money. Why should I sacrifice my happiness to marry into their family? I don’t like him. Didn’t you and Mom promise that you wouldn’t interfere with my freedom, that you wouldn’t force me to be with anyone? Why are you arranging Lei Jiahao for me?” Liu Yiyi cut him off unhappily.

“Yiyi, I’m not forcing you. I just want the two of you to meet and get to know each other first. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even if you don’t like Lei Jiahao, you can still become business partners. You’re going to take over the Liu Group someday, and that would be very helpful to you,” Liu Yunlong said.

But Liu Yiyi was in a bad mood now. Just as Li Wang had secretly suspected before, Liu Yunlong had not understood the situation, nor was he clear about his daughter’s state of mind. By insisting on introducing Lei Jiahao under these circumstances, he had only aroused her resentment. She was feeling stubborn and defiant, and she no longer wanted to hear another word about him. No matter what Liu Yunlong said, she could not take it in, and in fact she only felt irritated.

“Dad, I won’t like Lei Jiahao. And I also don’t like it when you introduce people to me without discussing it with me first,” Liu Yiyi said.

“All right. From now on, whatever I do, I’ll discuss it with you first. But Yiyi, cooperation between the Liu Group and Yuntong Group is inevitable. Lei Jiahao came here this time as Yuntong Group’s representative to talk about that cooperation. I hope you can stay restrained and not be willful,” Liu Yunlong said, rubbing his temples.

“I know. The reason I acted like that just now was because I wanted to show you that I don’t like this kind of arrangement. Since you’re not forcing me anymore, I’ll treat Lei Jiahao the same way I treat anyone else,” Liu Yiyi said with a nod.

After saying that, it seemed as if she was about to leave.

Liu Yunlong called out, “Yiyi, wait. Tell Dad about how things have been going at school lately.”

He felt that his daughter had changed quite a bit this time, and it had also been a while since he had taken the time to understand her situation in detail. So he used this chance to have a proper talk.

“Oh, Dad, there’s nothing much going on at school. I just paint every day, go to class, and spend time with my classmates,” Liu Yiyi said as she sat back down. Deep in her heart, she wanted very much to tell her father about Ye Fei, and even to tell him that the person she liked was Ye Fei. But because Ye Fei had specifically warned her not to reveal his existence to Liu Yunlong for the time being, she held herself back, despite how badly she wanted to speak.

“Mm.” Liu Yunlong nodded. He would never have imagined that his daughter was hiding anything from him, since in the past she had never concealed anything from the family.

“I’ve been busy lately with the cooperation with Yuntong Group, so I’ve neglected you a little. If anything comes up, you must tell Dad right away,” Liu Yunlong said.

Liu Yiyi moved closer to her father and acted spoiled. “I know. It’s very safe at school, and I rarely go out. Besides painting, I don’t have much else to do, so I’m keeping a very low profile.”

After their heart-to-heart talk, Liu Yiyi left in a cheerful mood.

Then Li Wang was called over by Liu Yunlong.

“Sit down. Li Wang, you’ve been with me for so many years. All this time you’ve done your utmost, and our family has always treated you like one of us. When there are no outsiders around, you don’t need to be so formal,” Liu Yunlong said, motioning for Li Wang to sit.

Li Wang nodded and then took a seat.

“Li Wang, has there been anything unusual with Yiyi at school lately?” Liu Yunlong asked.

It was not that Liu Yunlong did not trust his daughter, or that he believed she was hiding something from him. He was only worried that some matter or some danger might be drawing near in secret, unnoticed even by his daughter herself. So every so often, he would have Li Wang look into the situation.

Li Wang thought for a moment, then said, “Sir, the young lady has not encountered any danger at school. However, it seems the young lady may be in love. She has gotten to know a male student.”

“...” Liu Yunlong froze. There was such a thing? His daughter had actually hidden it from him?

“No wonder Yiyi reacted so strongly when we introduced Lei Jiahao this time. She’s changed a great deal from before,” Liu Yunlong said, suddenly enlightened.

Liu Yiyi had never hidden anything from the family before. This was the first time in all these years, so her relationship with that male student must not be shallow, and she must care about him very much. Otherwise, she would not have changed so much.

“Li Wang, what kind of person is he? Does he have some purpose in getting close to Yiyi? How long have they known each other?” Liu Yunlong asked with a frown.

“Sir, I’m not entirely clear yet. The day before yesterday, the young lady asked me to help with the porridge shop run by one of her classmates’ family. That was when I learned a little about that female student, and only then did I discover that the young lady had gotten to know a male student. Today, when I went to pick up the young lady, I saw this male student for the first time. It’s been too short a time, so I still don’t know much about him. I only looked him up in the school website at Yingde Private School. I learned that he was a study companion arranged in by Zhang Linsheng, and that he seems to have some connection with Zhang Xiaoxiao and several of the girls at the school, including the young lady. I still don’t know the details,” Li Wang said honestly.

Liu Yunlong was surprised. That male student was a study companion arranged by Zhang Linsheng? Not only did he have a relationship with Yiyi, he also had something to do with Zhang Xiaoxiao? And it seemed there were other girls at the school as well.

“On the Yingde school website?” Liu Yunlong murmured to himself, then hurried to the computer and entered the private school’s campus site.

Yingde Private School had many websites. There was the official one, belonging to the school, with sections on admissions and on the many aspects of student, teacher, and campus life. There were also numerous sites created by the students themselves for news, entertainment, and the like. There was the official website of the journalism department, as well as all kinds of entertainment sites made by students from that department, and sites created by students from other departments as well. All told, there were no fewer than a dozen.

As Liu Yunlong browsed through them, he found that the latest school headlines on every site were all about a study companion named Ye Fei. He seemed to have some connection with nearly half of the school beauties at Yingde, and that included his daughter, Liu Yiyi.

There were even many photos of Ye Fei taken with the beauties rumored to be involved with him, and quite a few of those showed Ye Fei with Liu Yiyi. Some pictured the two of them strolling through the night market, eating street snacks, or walking together on campus in the morning.

Seeing those photographs, the last trace of Liu Yunlong’s hope was shattered. At last he admitted to himself that his daughter truly did have a relationship with this male student.

Liu Yunlong studied the boy’s photos carefully, but he did not recognize Ye Fei as the mercenary who had once saved the lives of their family of three.

The reason Liu Yiyi had recognized Ye Fei at a glance was because of the difference in her state of mind and in what she had experienced.

Back then, Liu Yiyi had still been a young girl untouched by the world. Ye Fei’s image, as if a god had descended from heaven, had left an indelible impression on her. She remembered him with extraordinary clarity, and from the very first meeting, she had been able to recognize Ye Fei from the faintest lingering traces.

But Liu Yunlong was a successful man who had weathered the storms of the business world. Though he was deeply grateful for Ye Fei’s lifesaving kindness, he would not have the kind of vivid, lasting memory that a young girl might. So after so many years, he did not recognize Ye Fei.

“Li Wang, investigate this Ye Fei thoroughly,” Liu Yunlong said with a headache.

“Also, don’t let Yiyi know. Just look into it quietly. If there’s no problem, don’t alarm Ye Fei either,” Liu Yunlong added.

“Yes, sir.” Li Wang nodded.

The new book period is almost over, and there will be no recommendation next week either. To all readers who have supported this book, I hope you can add it to your favorites and give it a recommendation. Thank you.