บท 6: At What Price?

In a darkened room with floor to ceiling window, a man stood with his back straight as a pencil.

His eyes were looking down, watching the people that looked like needles from a room, on the 52nd floor of the building.

'Knock'

The door to his office opened and a man wearing an eyeglass entered.

"Did you find them?" The man cloaked with mystery asked the man who entered the room.

Liu Yin nodded even when his boss' back was toward him as he seriously said, "Yes. They're currently having lunch in a restaurant in City A."

"I see." The man turned around, "Monitor them."

Liu Yin nodded his head, "Yes, sir."

…

Yan Xiaoran opened the folder and pulled out the papers inside it.

As she read each word on the paper, she couldn't help herself from gasping in shock and look at Robert Qu with uncertainty.

"This…" She softly said.

She couldn't finish her words after seeing Robert Qu holding a finger over his mouth, to silence her from saying what was written on the paper.

However, how could Yan Xiaoran not say a word after seeing the large sum of money that was written on the transfer of shares and money that she will get once Robert Qu stepped down from his position.

Not only that, on another paper was a test result.

Yan Xiaoran knew that Robert Qu was no longer young and was over 70 years old, however, seeing his hospital result that he had been battling a brain tumor for three years now ultimately shocked her.

She raised her head and glanced at Robert Qu, "Is this real?"

Robert Qu smiled as if the result didn't matter to him, "I already checked it a couple of times to make sure but every result was the same."

After knowing that he had a brain tumor, Robert Qu didn't believe it. As a man who was the top in the Business World, his pride didn't let him believe that a brain tumor would eat his life away sooner than he expected.

Without letting his family know, Robert Qu secretly went to every hospital in the country to test if he really had a brain tumor. He even went to America and Korea to see if there was any cure to his terminal disease.

Unfortunately, the doctor told him the same thing every time he asked them:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Qu. Due to your old age, we can't perform any operation without letting you face great risks that might result in your death."

"Mr. Qu, your body is too weak to carry out an operation to take out the tumor , I'm sorry we can't do anything about it."

"The tumor is too big for an operation. It's too late to remove it but we can delay the progress of the tumor spreading in your brain."

At that time, Robert Qu lost all hope and wasted his time on work despite the pain in his head growing. Even though he has regrets in his life and wanted to correct things, Heaven won't allow him to do that anymore.

And Robert Qu chose to not tell this to his family.

It's not because he was worried that they would be sad about him suffering from a brain tumor. But because they will be the first one who will jump in joy and dance in anticipation of his death.

As a man that has built an empire for himself, Robert Qu knew exactly what was going on inside his family's head. They couldn't simply wait for him to die and hog all of his wealth.

Even when he was still alive, his Qu family continued to waste away his money and colluded with his enemy to gain more connections and shares in the company. They were preparing for the time when the inheritance would be divided among them and see who will replace Robert Qu as the new chairman of MC Group.

However, how could Robert Qu let his family become monsters who didn't even recognize their blood and family that they could tear themselves up just for the money?

Yan Xiaoran put the papers on the table and frowned, "But what's the connection of the Qu family tearing themselves up for your money and my sentence being reduced from 10 to 3 years?"

That's right. What was the connection between them?

To Robert Qu, she was just a stranger. A villain that was reported on the news as a criminal. A monster. Then, why would he suddenly entitle her with a large sum of money and half os his shares in his inheritance without rhyme and reason?

"Because I know the truth."

Yan Xiaoran paused at his words.

Robert Qu laughed at her stiff reaction and said, "I know everything about you. Three years ago, you were accused of attempted murder against that woman from the Zhao family and your mother's involvement in that matter. "

"You were accused but all evidence was presented that it was you who did everything. You were pushed to become a murderer in everyone's eyes. Your horrible life in prison was also done by your enemies."

Yan Xiaoran listened to him and didn't butt in. She was slightly surprised that Robert Qu even knew about her mother's involvement in everything that has happened to her and what kind of life she lead inside the prison.

Remembering the times where she almost died inside the jail, Yan Xiaoran gripped the edge of the table cloth and looked down to hide the tears that started to fill her eyes.

The bitterness she felt was tremendous that it left a hole in her heart. She thought that no one will know about her story since Zhao Shuxin and her mother wouldn't let anyone know of it and hide it away, but Robert Qu proved her wrong.

Not only did he know of her innocence but he also helped her.

He helped her before she had the mind to take her life inside the prison.

Yan Xiaoran painfully gulped the bile in her throat and softly said, "But I still don't see why you should give me a hundred million dollars, properties, and 50-percent of shares in the MC group."

Robert Qu looked at the beautiful woman sitting in front of him. Her face didn't contain any sort of hint of excitement or joy when she saw that he would give her almost half of his wealth.

Instead, she was alarmed and shocked at his intention.

He knew that if someone else were to get the same amount as Yan Xiaoran, the corners of their mouth would twitch as they refuse to accept it and secretly harbor his wealth in their hearts.

With her genuine reaction, Robert Qu was very pleased with her and thought that his decision was right as he suddenly asked, "Don't you want to exact revenge to the people who hurt you and accused you? Don't you want to rise from the hell they pushed you from and make everyone pay for it? With these things I give you, won't your path be easier."

"You mean, you're going to help me exact revenge?" Yan Xiaoran asked if she was hit with a realization of his intention.

"Yes."

"But at what price?"

Robert Qu smiled and answered, "Be my grandson's wife and bear his child."