Chapter 163 — So It Was Her
Years of Heartflutter · Page 4 of 4
"Thank you, Dad!" Zha Ce was overjoyed. He had never expected his father to personally arrange a match for him.
In a VIP ward of the National Hospital in Singapore, Huang Rongtian, Huang Lin, and Huang Yan stood around the bed of an old man—their father, Huang Ce.
"Dad, you're awake?" Huang Rongtian was the first to speak. The doctor had just notified him that his father had regained consciousness, so he had hastily gathered his younger brother and sister and rushed to the hospital.
"Rongtian." Huang Ce smiled bitterly, two thin syllables escaping his lips. It was plain to see how weak he was now, and how much older he had grown.
"Dad, it's good that you're all right." Huang Lin breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "You don't need to blame yourself anymore. Little Sister said she doesn't hold it against you. Isn't that right, Lele?"
"Yes, Dad, don't dwell on it." Huang Yan had once harbored plenty of resentment over her father's deception, but Huang Ce was still her father, and that bond of blood could not be erased. So after he fell ill, swayed by her two brothers' persuasion, she had come around and decided not to hold him to account anymore.
A faint bitter smile touched Huang Ce's lips. "Lele, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you."
"Dad, don't talk about that now. The important thing is that you get well as soon as possible—the company needs you." Huang Yan spoke comfortingly. What she did not say was that the bank was already knocking at their door, that her eldest and second brothers spent every day frantically fending off the creditors, and that the company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
"That's right, Dad. Rongjin and the rest of us are all waiting for you to recover," Huang Rongtian said.
"Thank you for forgiving me." Huang Ce's color improved a little. This had been his greatest burden, and now that his children had forgiven him, his heart was at ease. "How is the company?"
"Not bad. Rongjin and I are holding things up." Huang Rongtian made it sound easy, but only he and his brother knew the pressure they had been under these past days.
"You and Rongjin. Heh—to think even Rongjin could come help at the company." Huang Ce smiled with some pleasure. "That you brothers stand united makes me very happy."
Huang Rongtian and Huang Lin exchanged a glance, and a bitter smile rose on both their faces unbidden. Both knew in their hearts that even with brothers united, the company would be hard pressed to survive.
Knock, knock, knock. A knock came at the door of the ward. Huang Yan, thinking it was a nurse, said, "Come in."
The door was pushed open, and in came none other than Li Shu and Li Tianjia.
"Old Huang! I heard you'd woken up." It was Li Shu who spoke, his voice rather shrill and grating. "My, how did your health get so bad? Hospitalized just like that? Tsk tsk. That's not a good sign at all."
"What are you doing here?" Huang Rongtian glared furiously at the Li father and son and demanded.
"Why, I've come to visit an old friend, naturally," Li Shu cackled. "We've been friends for so many years—you fall ill, of course I have to come see you. But I've brought you some bad news. I hear the bank people have been filling up your company lately. Ah, all of them there for money."
"You—" Huang Ce gasped for breath. "If not for you, would my company be like this? I won't let you get away with it."
"Heh heh, what does it have to do with me?" Li Shu looked utterly uninvolved and twisted his mouth. "Oh my, don't tell me the cerebral hemorrhage has left you muddled, blaming anyone you see."
"Get out! Get out, all of you!" Huang Ce roared, one hand pressed to his heart, the other pointing at Li Shu.
"Uncle Huang, what's the meaning of this?" Li Tianjia spoke up. "My father came to see you out of the goodness of his heart, and this is how you treat him. You really are a piece of work—no wonder you're always getting taken in."
"You—you—" Huang Ce's breathing grew rapid and shallow.
To be continued.