Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 122: Chapter 119: Wang Junjin’s Conditions

「Half an hour later.」

Wang Junjin stood by the window, his gaze deep as he watched Gu Heng and the others leave the restaurant together.

"Are you going back to the company now?"

Su Lei slowly walked to Wang Junjin’s side and asked him softly.

"I have to make a trip back."

Wang Junjin nodded. "Chairman Gu’s audit and legal teams raised a few questions during their review. I need to go back to the company to handle them."

"Is it very tricky?"

Su Lei’s tone was tinged with concern.

"Minor issues."

"They can all be explained."

Wang Junjin didn’t want to discuss too many details about the Junyao Group with Su Lei. Instead, he turned and asked her, "What do you think of Chairman Gu as a person?"

"He’s dignified and handsome, humble and polite."

"He comes from a prominent family with a deep heritage."

"To have such an air about him at only eighteen is quite extraordinary."

Su Lei pondered for a moment before giving a very high evaluation.

Sometimes, the power of imagination is limitless.

At the dinner table, Gu Heng had clearly adhered to the principle of "listen more, speak less" to avoid revealing any weakness in front of Wang Junjin and the others.

However, in the eyes of Su Lei, Wang Junjin, and the others, Gu Heng’s behavior was seen as a sign of a humble and steady character.

On the other hand, Su Lei felt she had been a bit undignified at the table.

’With the kind of family background and wealth Gu Heng possesses...’

’How could he not know about all the sordid dealings in the entertainment industry?’

Putting herself in his shoes, Su Lei couldn’t help but feel even more favorably toward Gu Heng.

"Do you think Chairman Gu could take a liking to Wan Ning?"

Suddenly, Wang Junjin turned his head to look at Su Lei and asked.

"Well..."

Hearing this, Su Lei’s expression became hesitant.

Although her relationship with Wang Junjin had been a semi-public secret for years, and his wife had even tacitly accepted her and her daughter’s existence, when all was said and done, Wang Wan Ning still couldn’t escape her status as an illegitimate child.

’Among wealthy families, marriages between equals are paramount.’

’The legitimate heir of a powerful family marrying an illegitimate daughter?’

’That’s clearly an unequal match.’

’If their Wang Family were far more powerful than the Gu Family, it might be possible.’

’But based on the power Gu Heng had displayed, the Gu Family was clearly far superior to the Wang Family—that Bombardier Global 7500 alone was a testament to it.’

"What if marriage isn’t part of the equation?"

Seeing Su Lei hesitate, Wang Junjin knew what she was worried about and added with a smile.

As soon as Wang Junjin said this, Su Lei, who understood his unspoken meaning, couldn’t help but pale.

As a mother, Su Lei naturally didn’t want her daughter to follow in her footsteps.

Back then, she’d had no choice in order to climb the social ladder.

But Wang Wan Ning was different. Su Lei had worked hard all these years. Even if Wang Wan Ning had no claim to the inheritance of the Junyao Group, she could still live a comfortable and carefree life on what Su Lei herself had accumulated.

In Su Lei’s opinion, there was absolutely no need for her daughter to debase herself.

"Junjin..."

"I want Wan Ning to be happy."

Su Lei’s lips moved, her voice trembling slightly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Have you been unhappy all these years?"

Wang Junjin raised an eyebrow. "Have I ever mistreated you? Or Wan Ning?"

"I have been very happy!"

"I didn’t mean that!"

Su Lei quickly explained, "I just don’t want to interfere with Wan Ning’s freedom to love and marry who she chooses!"

Wang Junjin turned his head and stared directly into Su Lei’s eyes.

In contrast to the affable demeanor he’d shown when Gu Heng was present, he now looked stern and imposing, his gaze filled with intense pressure.

Facing those eyes, even after more than twenty years by his side, Su Lei still felt a sense of unease.

In the past, whenever she saw him with this expression, she couldn’t help but look away and quickly soften her stance.

Today, however, she seemed stubborn, showing no intention of backing down.

A woman may be weak, but a mother is strong.

Wang Wan Ning was Su Lei’s entire world, the very reason for her struggles.

She wouldn’t back down, not even for Wang Junjin.

Seeing this, a strange glint flashed in Wang Junjin’s eyes.

They stared at each other for a dozen or so seconds before Wang Junjin suddenly chuckled. "Leilei, do you really think you understand our daughter?"

"Of course!"

"She’s my daughter. Of course I understand her!"

Su Lei answered without the slightest hesitation, her reply exceptionally decisive.

Hearing this, Wang Junjin smiled and shook his head, his gaze turning back to the latticed window. "Since you say you understand Wan Ning, do you know that, deep down, she’s a very ambitious girl who refuses to be ordinary?"

"Ambitious?"

Hearing this, Su Lei’s dark brows furrowed slightly.

"Wan Ning must have been only fifteen at the time. She had just started high school."

"One evening, we had a father-daughter chat."

"You probably can’t imagine it, but even back then, she already had a very clear plan for her future."

Wang Junjin recounted the past. "Wan Ning is exceptionally beautiful, and with you as a gold-medal producer for a mother, her path would have been completely smooth if she had chosen to become an actress."

"But she didn’t choose that path. Instead, she gave up the advantage of her looks and chose the more difficult path of becoming a director. She knew very well that a director has a higher ceiling than an actor and that in the distant future, it would bring her a higher social status."

"She was only fifteen then, but she already had a comprehensive understanding of the social resources you and I possess, and she knew how to use them logically. Although her plans were a bit naive and childish in some respects, the underlying logic was sound."

As Su Lei listened to Wang Junjin’s story, she looked somewhat dazed.

Wang Wan Ning had never mentioned any of this to her.

Because she had always harbored a sense of guilt toward Wang Wan Ning, she had granted almost every single one of her daughter’s wishes since she was a child.

’If she wanted to be an actress, I’d pave the way for her!’

’If she wanted to be a director, I’d build the bridges for her!’

As for why Wang Wan Ning wanted to study directing back then, she recalled now that her daughter had never really explained it to her in detail.

"Being a director is just her springboard."

"Her target was never that small pond of the entertainment industry. Although she never said it outright, I could see in her eyes that she had powerful ambitions for her future."

At this, Wang Junjin looked at Su Lei again. "So, is the ’happiness’ you just spoke of really the happiness Wan Ning wants?"

Su Lei opened her mouth, but ultimately fell silent.

"Leilei, let Wan Ning choose her own happiness."

Wang Junjin paused slightly, then continued with a shocking statement: "If, one day, Wan Ning can bear a child for Gu Heng—be it a boy or a girl—I am willing to transfer 5% of my Junyao Group shares to her and appoint her to the Junyao Group’s board of directors."

Su Lei, who had been looking down, snapped her head up to stare at Wang Junjin, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Don’t be fooled by the mere 5% stake. Calculated against the Junyao Group’s massive market capitalization, even 5% of the shares were worth over a billion.

At the same time, appointing Wang Wan Ning to the board meant she would enter the Junyao Group’s executive decision-making circle.

Faced with the terms Wang Junjin offered, Su Lei’s breathing grew ragged.

"Oh..."

Wang Junjin added in a timely manner, "The prerequisite is that Chairman Gu must acknowledge the child. You can’t use some trick to have his child without his knowledge."

"Do you mean it?"

Su Lei was silent for a long time before speaking again.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Wang Junjin retorted, "Besides, if I were to lie to you, how could I possibly face Gu Heng in the future?"

"Then let Wan Ning decide for herself."

As soon as Su Lei said this, her expression inexplicably turned crestfallen.

She had thought her resolve on this matter was unshakable, yet she never imagined that with just a slight move, Wang Junjin had utterly crushed her defenses.

It was just...

Wang Junjin was offering far too much!

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