Pei Yiyan pressed his lips together without speaking.
Listening as his uncle recounted the matter once more, he finally sighed. “Yiyan, among your generation, you have the most talent and decisiveness in this area. If you had been the one to attend the bidding, such a problem would never have occurred.”
“You flatter me, Uncle. Right now, I’m just a disabled man,” Pei Yiyan replied calmly.
He had already vaguely guessed the purpose of his uncle’s visit today.
He still held five percent of the company’s shares in his name shares that originally belonged to his father and were far more substantial. However, during the years of his injury, his uncles and cousins had already carved out a significant portion for themselves.
The remaining five percent had only been preserved because the old patriarch, unable to bear the injustice, had issued a strict order forbidding any further encroachment on those shares. Only then had they relented.
After all, with those five percent, as long as the Pei Corporation remained standing, he would receive a considerable income the greatest protection the patriarch could offer him.
Currently, the Pei Corporation’s shares were highly fragmented, with the largest portions held by his two uncles. His youngest uncle seemed to possess only ten percent.
“I won’t keep you from resting,” his uncle said bluntly. “I’ll get straight to the point I want the five percent of shares in your possession.”
He pulled a contract from his briefcase. “Don’t worry, I won’t shortchange you. I’m offering three times the market price. However, as you know, my liquid assets are limited at the moment. I’ll pay you in installments over three years, transferring a portion annually. The full amount will be settled within that time.”
Anyone hearing this would have laughed.
Three-year installments? Why not just ask for them outright?
Pei Yiyan did laugh. He met his uncle’s gaze and said, “Uncle, your calculations are truly impressive.”
His uncle smiled. “Yiyan, this arrangement benefits you just as much.”
His eyes drifted to the bandages on Pei Yiyan’s head. What a pitiful sight.
Yet inwardly, he felt nothing but satisfaction.
He had never particularly liked his second elder brother the most capable among them, whose son had also turned out to be a double-S-grade Alpha. Meanwhile, he himself was just an ordinary Alpha, always overshadowed in praise.
His uncle admitted he might not be outstanding, but why should he accept this?
And now, these juniors, one after another, dared to trample over him.
It was unbearable.
Pei Yiyan said, “At present, I have no intention of selling my shares. Uncle, you’d best look elsewhere. With your generosity, someone will surely agree.”
But that someone wouldn’t be him.
Though Pei Yiyan no longer wished to be entangled with the Pei Corporation, he wasn’t about to walk away before reclaiming what was rightfully his.
“Please leave,” he said.
His uncle merely sneered. “Dear nephew, the answer I came for today isn’t the one you’re giving me now.”
Pei Yiyan saw him exchange a glance with the two men beside him so they intended to resort to force.
He wore a wrist communicator, and for his safety, Wu Yi had previously activated an emergency alert function. Pressing the side button would send a distress signal to Wu Yi’s device. Even if Wu Yi wasn’t present, their people in the hospital would respond immediately.
Pei Yiyan decisively pressed the button. Noticing this, Uncle Pei coldly ordered, “Hold him down.”
The two alpha bodyguards stationed like door gods immediately stepped forward, seizing Pei Yiyan’s hands and pinning him firmly to the hospital bed.
Pei Yiyan struggled briefly, the chill in his eyes growing more pronounced. These men were clearly trained professionals there was no breaking free from their grip.
At this point, stalling for time seemed the only viable option rather than direct confrontation.
Pei Yiyan said, “What’s the point of this? Even if you take my 5% stake, it won’t make any difference for you.”
“Whether it makes a difference isn’t your concern,” Uncle Pei replied. “My dear nephew, I know you can’t see and don’t know where to sign. Just press your fingerprint here your uncle will handle the rest.”
Uncle Pei stood up and forcibly removed the smartwatch from Pei Yiyan’s wrist. “Let’s keep this family matter between us. Don’t worry, I’ve stationed guards outside no one will disturb us.”
No sooner had he spoken than loud banging erupted at the door.
Frowning, Uncle Pei turned just as the hospital room door was kicked open.
“Who dares?!” he roared.
“Uncle, have you forgotten me after just a few days apart?”
The intruder was Shen Yuqing.
Shen Yuqing stood at the doorway, faint sweat glistening on his forehead. His gaze locked onto Pei Yiyan on the bed, their eyes meeting directly. A strange feeling flickered through him, but he quickly suppressed it.
Behind him stood Uncle Pei’s bodyguards, frozen in place without daring to speak. As professionals, they recognized Shen Yuqing immediately this young troublemaker wasn’t someone to cross.
Shen Yuqing strode forward, glaring at the two alphas. “Get out.”
The bodyguards hesitated. While they didn’t know Shen Yuqing personally, the way he’d kicked the door open signaled he wasn’t to be trifled with. Yet Uncle Pei was their employer they found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
Turning to Uncle Pei, Shen Yuqing’s expression turned icy. “What’s this about, Uncle? Showing off your authority at the Shen family’s expense?”
Uncle Pei hadn’t anticipated Shen Yuqing’s sudden appearance these complicated matters. Determined, he abruptly grabbed Pei Yiyan’s finger, attempting to press it onto the red inkpad for an unexpected signature.
But Shen Yuqing seemed to have predicted this move. Just before the finger touched paper, he delivered a powerful kick that sent Uncle Pei sprawling sideways, documents scattering everywhere.
“How dare you kick me, Shen Yuqing?!” Uncle Pei exclaimed in disbelief as he looked up.
Shen Yuqing smirked coldly. “Indeed, I did. Why so surprised, Uncle?” The arrogance was palpable.
The two alphas immediately released Pei Yiyan and retreated hastily. This was clearly the more dangerous party.
Regaining his footing, Uncle Pei stared grimly at the footprint staining his clothes a glaring testament to being humiliated by a junior in front of his own guards. That single kick had shattered his composure completely.
He rushed over intending to confront Shen Yuqing, only to hear the man say lightly, “So the Pei family has already decided never to cooperate with the Shen family again.”
These words brought a sliver of rationality back to Pei’s uncle.
He glared at Shen Yuqing with gritted teeth, the man really knew how to exploit weaknesses.
Shen Yuqing was now leaning against the hospital bed. He glanced down at Pei Yiyan’s body, confirming there were no injuries before letting out a relieved sigh. Thankfully, he’d made it in time.
The system in his head had been screeching like a toy chicken since he left home, forcing him to sprint from the car in fear of arriving too late.
Pei Yiyan observed the other man’s appearance and felt a slight stir in his heart Shen Yuqing had run here.
Why would he come? Shouldn’t he be at school right now?
Unless… he knew Pei’s uncle would visit today?
Shen Yuqing bent down to pick up the documents scattered on the floor. After scanning them, he realized the contract was even more infuriating than what the plot had revealed. Three-year installment payments?
Why not just wait until Pei Yiyan dies of old age and burn it for him then?
Without finishing his reading, Shen Yuqing decisively tore the documents to shreds in front of everyone.
The paper fragments scattered through the air before fluttering down.
Shen Yuqing said coldly, “If I remember correctly, Pei Yiyan belongs to me now.”
