Entangled: Crisscross - Chapter 56

“Mother take this tea…”

Zhang Xin accepted the cup of tea that her daughter gave her before she massaged her chest. Her face was pale, hands shaking. She tried to give back the cup to her daughter only to end up letting go of the teacup. Good thing, her daughter’s reflexes were fast enough. Zhang Ying caught the cup and immediately helped her mother. “Mother…”

“Do not tell your father about this.” Despite everything, Zhang Xin didn’t want to make her husband worry.

“Mother, let me take you to the hospital.”

“And tell your father what? That I became like this because I knew that the old man talked to that woman?”

“But mother you are— ”

“Stop it Yingying. I cannot let your father find out that I am really affected by everything. It’s just… ” Zhang Xin started crying. She tried to stop the old man and even volunteered to see Sera just so she could prevent this from happening. But in the end….

“Mother, please stop crying. Seeing you like this is just— ”

“Please, mother, stop crying. I just can’t…” Seeing her mother cry also made Zhang Ying cry. She felt her heart broke for her mother, who had been bullied by her own grandfather for as long as she could remember. Zhang Ying immediately pulled her mother for a hug, stroking her back, consoling her. “Shhh… mother, please calm down. We don’t really know what they talked about. The old man might have called her to confirm the disrespect that she did to you. Please stop crying because of this matter. I think that woman does not deserve that at all.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zhang Xin asked. “Do you understand what you are talking about? Sera… is your aunt’s daughter. The golden child of the Zhang Family. The old man already declared her as the heir. What do you think would happen to us?”

“But mother… how could she manage the company? She doesn’t have any background or any experience in the business. Even if she is the biggest shareholder, she wouldn’t be able to manage the company and would be bullied by the board members into giving up the CEO seat. In the end, father would surely become the CEO and would slowly take everything away from her.”

For some reason, her daughter’s words made her a little more comfortable. Right now, Sera is indeed useless in business. She doesn’t have any experience or knowledge in that aspect. This means that she would become the next laughingstock in the region. However, Zhang Xin still couldn’t stop herself from crying. She wondered what did Sera told the old man about the incident.

Did she tell him the truth?

But she doesn’t have the proof! The old man is not going to be that dumb to listen to her words, right?

At the end of the day, Zhang Xin was crying because of two reasons. First, there is a possibility that Sera told the old man that she was just framed by Zhang Xin and her people, and second, the whole society now knows that Sera is the heir and not Yingying. What about the people who are praising Yingying because of her brilliance? Are they going to laugh at her daughter now that the old man suddenly declared Sera as his long-lost granddaughter?

“So, he is planning to have a conference? Without even consulting us? or your father? The least he could do is talk to his own son!” Zhang Xin said, as her shoulders shook.

How hateful!

It seems that the old man never put her in his eyes at all!

Why was he trying to act as if she was nothing?

Hasn’t she done enough for this family?

Unbeknownst to Zhang Xin, her husband was actually having a meeting with the old man at that very moment.

“You wanted her to become the next CEO of the company?” Nick Zhang snorted. Since he was a child, the prodigy was always his sister. The star, the brilliant one, the golden child of the family. Who would have thought that even when she is already dead, her daughter would once again outshine him? “Father… I have been working with your company for more than thirty years. Have you heard me complain or say anything that hurt you?”

“Nick…” Arman Zhang sigh. “Even if I tell you… you wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what?” he straightened his back as he glared at his father, who was calmly having his herbal tea. He rested his clenched hand on the table and tried to compose himself. “That I am always the second best?”

“I don’t think you are the second-best. To me… you and Alyssa were— ”

“Please don’t tell me you are not going to say we are equal in your eyes.”

“Nick…”

“What father? Did I say something wrong again? I remember when that woman is still alive, all she did was cause you pain and heartache! And you still gave her everything. Why can’t you treat me like that now that she is dead?” Nick’s face reddened. “Was it because I am not brilliant enough? Was it because I like soccer while she likes scrabble and chess and Go? Was It because I eat meat while she eats all of your favorite vegetable dishes?”

The Old Man stared at Nick Zhang. For a few seconds, he wondered if one day his son would forgive him for what he did in the past. “You have always been a brilliant business executive. You are hardworking and never caused any issues in the company. You did what I told you to do without asking questions or raising your own concerns.” Right now, the old man was just being an entrepreneur instead of being a father. “From a father’s perspective, you are the best son in the world. But as a businessman, you lack a lot of things that would help you manage the company. You have no opinions and just do everything that I told you to do. What would happen after my death?”

“You— ”

The old man stood and turned his back on his son as he walked towards his bed. “The company had been stagnant for more than ten years now. I believe this is the best time that we switched leadership and open our eyes to a newer perspective.”

“How… how could you be so cruel?”