Chapter 319 - The Older, The Wiser (1)
Chapter 319: The Older, The Wiser (1)
A hint of frustration showed up on the former master’s face. He did not continue with the following words. Zhao Youlin knew it in her heart.
The old man had the intention to cultivate and train Zhao Youlin so that she could stay at home and be the heir of the Zhao family.
Unfortunately, Zhao Youlin met Mu Tingfeng, and she fell in love with him. In the end, she even went to the extent of drugging Mu Tingfeng, conceiving his child and marrying into the Mu family.
The previous Zhao Youlin had committed a series of actions that had led him to vast disappointment. She had dashed the former master’s hope of cultivating her to be his successor like pouring cold water on him.
Zhao Youlin heaved a sigh. She drowned her trailing voice out as she said, “Grandpa, you must have been very disappointed at that time, right? Therefore, you shifted your attention to Zhao Youming.”
The former master grinned and cast a glance at Zhao Youlin. He said in a businesslike manner, “When that kid took the initiative to make the bet with me in the beginning, I really admired him. He knew how to use his strengths to gamble in order to achieve things that he desired. A businessman should act like that. Unfortunately, later, I realized that he… was not fit for it.”
“Why? Is it because of this time…”
When she was watching the video clip and looking for clues, Xiao Jingyao was with her. The matter was something big, therefore, it was very unlikely for Xiao Jingyao not to make the matter known to Zhao Shunrong. Once Zhao Shunrong knew about it, it was equivalent to having informed the former master indirectly.
When the former master recalled receiving the news that day, his expression darkened. He shook his head, “No, something else happened much earlier.”
“Much earlier?”
“Yes. No sooner after that kid came to find me and make a bet with me, he got into Yorkshire’s college. Since I intended to cultivate and train him, I naturally assigned someone to keep an eye on him at all times.”
When Zhao Youlin heard this, she unwittingly cocked one of her eyebrows. She asked in a puzzle, “Grandpa, you had someone follow him?”
The former master fell silent for a brief moment before he nodded and said, “I had someone to watch over him and send weekly emails to me to inform me of his every move while abroad. However, this situation lasted only two weeks. Those people who kept an eye on him returned to their home country.”
“Why?”
“I was disillusioned.” The former master shot a glance at Zhao Youlin’s puzzled expression and he heaved a sigh, “No doubt, he is indeed a smart kid. He has the spirit and cunning that a businessman should have. However, he was so cunning that people were getting sick of him.”
Zhao Youlin furrowed her eyebrows. The incident piqued her interest. “Why is that so? Did he do something in his university days that let you down?”
There were some slight changes on the former master’s face. “That kid is very ambitious. He wants to climb to the top of the mountain. He refuses to be mediocre. Since he got into university, he strived very hard to keep moving forward. However, the foreign country is different from his home country. While he might be considered a top-notch talent in his domestic country, it might not be the same overseas. One has to know that there is always someone better than us out there. When he was overseas, he learned that many people were better and more talented than him. He could not become outstanding by relying on himself alone.”
“Therefore, he played some tricks in order to be able to overpower others?”
“You could say yes and no.”
Zhao Youlin frowned. What did he mean by yes and no? Was it a yes or a no?
The former master seemed to have read Zhao Youlin’s mind. The corners of his lips curled upward. He did not keep her in the dark for long, and he told her various things that Zhao Youming had done overseas in a low voice.
“That kid was still very young and inexperienced. Even though he is cleverer than most kids, he lacked experience. He wanted to achieve success in a short period of time. So, he took the initiative and joined the school’s laboratory. He decided to create something of his own inside the school’s laboratory. While he kept changing his way of doing things and working hard, he had not considered his own capabilities. At that time, he was participating in a research project in the laboratory. Everything was at its final stage. If they succeeded, it would produce an unimaginable impact on the country or even the world. However, his arrogance had led the project to an ultimate failure. And what terrified us the most was…”
The former master’s expression looked dark, and he said in a low voice, “The incident was in fact his own fault. He was afraid of being punished for that, so he put the blame on his senior, who was in the same group as him and had taken good care of him. As a result, that person had to withdraw from school.”
Businessmen were most concerned about integrity. The commercial world was likened to a battleground. There was never a long-standing rival nor ally. However, they still had to keep some bottom line to themselves. Zhao Youming’s unethical behavior had immediately lowered his own impression score in the former master’s heart.
Upon hearing the former master’s words, Zhao Youlin looked troubled. Nothing was wrong if a young man had the spirit and motivation to move up. However, if he made a mistake due to his own eagerness for quick success and let others pay the price for him, this was way too much.
“However, that was not what that had disappointed me the most. What disappointed me the most was that he participated in a big match since the incident as if nothing had happened. He had betrayed his best friend in order to win the competition. He handed over his friend’s work to the competitor and deliberately drove a wedge between the two. He fanned the flames so that his friend went over to the competitor and made a fuss out of it. In the end, the two were disqualified while he, who was slightly inferior to the two, won the prize as he wished. He became the top student in the school and created a sensational wave. Who would have thought that all this was but a stolen honor.”
When the first incident happened, it was understandable that he had done it out of his ignorance and young age. He had subconsciously done it due to fright. However, the second incident that happened was done on purpose.
When the former master recalled his initial thoughts upon hearing such incidents, he was disappointed.
He had desperately wanted to look for an heir who could inherit his foundation whom he had spent most of his life building up.
His successor must be a capable person. But first, he must know how to behave himself.
If he lacked moral values and often thought of using dirty tricks for personal gains, he would only cause trouble to the world regardless of how good he was. A person like that failed to meet his expectations.
Zhao Youlin fell silent. Should she say that Zhao Youming was worthy to be Li Hongyu’s son? No, that was not right. Instead, she sighed over the fact that only Li Hongyu and Zhao Shuncheng could give birth to a son who outdid the duo.
“Everything happens for a reason. There are many more things similar to this that happened later on. As such, I became completely disillusioned with him.” The former master heaved a sigh. He raised his head up to forty-five degrees, and was looking sorrowful.
“But, fortunately, I still have you, Youlin,” As the former master was speaking, his spirited gaze regained its sparkling at once. He stared at Zhao Youlin as if looking at a delicious piece of… meat pie.
“Grandpa…” Zhao Youlin felt a chill crept down her spine under the former master’s glare. She felt that she had been set up by this old fox once again.