Chapter 487: Chapter 487 - This Is What You Really Want

“I’ve always thought you were sensible.” Huo Mingguang’s tone wasn’t harsh, but anyone could easily sense his disappointment.

It was natural for Huo Jinyao to make a mistake while he was too young to know what was the right thing to do, but he was now an adult. Shouldn’t a man know that by the age of 30?

“Huo Jinyao, do you not trust anyone in this family? Do you think we’re all difficult to talk to?”

Huo Jinyao stayed silent. Huo Mingguang gave a cold smile as he continued, “I understand that your mother was a little too strict with you, but is that why you don’t respect us?”

“Dad, that’s not what I meant to do.” While Huo Jinyao sometimes argued with Liu Tongjia, he sincerely respected his father and grandfather.

“It’s not? If you do respect us, then why would you lie to your grandfather like that? You know that he’s been looking forward to you getting married and seeing his great-grandchildren for so long. Is this how you pay him back for all he’s done?”

After a few seconds of silence, Huo Jinyao said, “Dad, I’ve told you that I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Only you know whether or not you meant it like that. Now that you’ve grown up, you’re capable of making your own decisions. You don’t always have to listen to us anymore.”

Huo Jinyao pressed his lips tightly together. Su Qingsang looked at him with concern and placed a hand on his back to signal for him to stop talking.

“It appears that you’ve been very busy lately. I want you to hand the cooperative project with Ickes over to Yifan.”

Upon hearing that, Huo Jinyao immediately raised his head to look at Huo Mingguang. He said, “Dad, do you know what you’re saying?”

“Of course I do. Yifan is capable. I believe he can do it. While he works on the project, you should spend more time with your grandfather.”

Huo Jinyao clenched his fists and said with a trace of sarcasm crossing his eyes, “I’ll give the Ickes project to Yifan, but what about after that? Should I let him take my place as the president?”

His words angered Huo Mingguang. “Huo Jinyao, mind your attitude! Remember that the Huo Family doesn’t just belong to either you or me. As the current chairman, I have the right to make arrangements for you.”

Huo Mingguang was Old Master Huo’s oldest son, so it made sense for him to take control of Tianyu Group from Old Master Huo.

However, Tianyu Group didn’t belong to only him. Old Master Huo founded Tianyu Group; as his other son, Huo Mingliang also owned a part of it.

Su Qingsang wasn’t expecting this to happen. She and Huo Jinyao just didn’t want children so soon.

She was stunned for a moment before turning to look at Huo Jinyao with a worried expression.

Since both Liu Tongjia and Huo Mingguang were present, she wasn’t sure how to comfort Huo Jinyao.

Huo Jinyao stood straight, looking at Liu Tongjia and Huo Mingguang. At last, his eyes landed on Liu Tongjia.

“Mom, is this what you want?”

Letting Huo Yifan share his workload was the first step, but what would happen afterward? Would his power in the Tianyu Group be slowly weakened? Would they pass Tianyu Group over to Huo Yifan?

“Huo Jinyao, what are you talking about?” Liu Tongjia wasn’t happy to hear what he said. “You lied to your elders. You fooled us. Do you think that was the right thing to do?”

“Mom, you’re overreacting. Qingsang and I might not want children at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have children in the future.”

“Do you think this is just about whether or not you two want children? This is about how you shouldn’t be lying to us.” Liu Tongjia glared at Huo Jinyao and continued, “I never took part in running the company. That is your father’s decision, but now I see why he decided on this. You’ve been acting more ridiculous lately, so I think it’s time for you to calm down a little and wake up. I believe your grandfather will agree with your father’s decision.”

Huo Jinyao clenched his fists so tightly that his veins bulged on the backs of his hands. Seeing the fierce look on Liu Tongjia’s face, he abruptly grinned.

“You’re talking about the Ickes case, right? No problem. I’ll go to the company to hand it over to Huo Yifan the day after tomorrow. Dad, please tell me what else you want me to give him. I’ll give it to him all at once. It would be tedious to make several trips to hand things over to him.”

Huo Mingguang wasn’t upset before, but hearing what Huo Jinyao said truly angered him.

“Huo Jinyao, do you think I’m trying to take away your power and kick you out of Tianyu Group? All I’m saying is that I want you to spend more time with your grandfather. If you keep acting like this, I won’t mind giving you more free time.”

Huo Mingguang wasn’t expecting things between him and his son to turn out this way. He didn’t expect Huo Jinyao to think of him like that either.

That thought made him tremble with anger. “You broke your grandfather’s heart. Don’t you think that you should make it up to him and spend more time together?”

No one planned on forcing Su Qingsang into having children. The male members in the Huo Family always married late, so Huo Jinyao was never pressured into getting married in the first place.

He chose to get married and told his family that he wanted children. Now, he had no right to blame his family for being mad at him.

Huo Jinyao stood still, his body tight. Su Qingsang hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. She gently touched Huo Jinyao’s hand, then turned to look at Huo Mingguang.

“Dad, I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’m the one who doesn’t want children. Jinyao is just...”

“That’s enough.” Liu Tongjia felt annoyed by Su Qingsang. “Stop talking. Do you think I don’t know this is your fault? It makes me wonder how you coaxed Jinyao into marrying you. On top of that, you’ve now managed to make him not want to have children. It seems your parents taught you well, Su Qingsang.”

Su Qingsang was willing to admit that what she did was wrong, but she didn’t understand why Liu Tongjia felt the need to mention her parents.

Before she could ask Liu Tongjia what she meant, Huo Jinyao pulled her toward himself.

“Mom, you should stop talking too. Qingsang didn’t need to coax me. I decided for myself that I don’t want children either.”

“Aw, isn’t that nice? I didn’t realize that our family raised such an affectionate man.” Liu Tongjia was so angry that she abruptly stood up and said, “Since you both know what you want, why don’t you just go and live life the way you want? We won’t tell you what to do anymore.”

Liu Tongjia usually talked sourly but never meant any of the harsh things she said. This time, however, she was genuinely angry.

She turned and left. After coldly glancing at Huo Jinyao, Huo Mingguang stood up and left as well. Faint disappointment could be detected in his eyes.

Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao were left alone in the living room. Su Qingsang never thought that things would suddenly go awry. She turned to Huo Jinyao with a slightly worried expression.

“Jinyao, this...”

“It’s okay.” Huo Jinyao wasn’t expecting the elders to react so strongly either. He patted Su Qingsang on the shoulder and said, “Relax. I’ll just explain the whole thing to Grandpa.”

Old Master Huo was a reasonable person. As long as Huo Jinyao told him the truth, he would understand.

Su Qingsang bit her lip, feeling as if the problem wouldn’t be solved so easily. Huo Jinyao raised a hand to flick her forehead gently as he said, “Alright, stop thinking about it. Just let me handle it.”

“Huo Jinyao, maybe I should talk to Grandpa myself.”

“Why would you talk to him? Do you want children now?”

Su Qingsang blinked. At last, she firmly shook her head.

“See? Don’t worry about it. Leave it to me. I’ll handle this.”

After hearing what he said, Su Qingsang couldn’t say anything else about it. She and Huo Jinyao had breakfast alone. That morning, the dining room was quieter than usual.

After breakfast, Huo Jinyao went upstairs to talk to Old Master Huo. Su Qingsang didn’t know what he said to his grandfather, but Old Master Huo came downstairs for lunch anyway. He still looked unhappy, but at least he wasn’t as upset as he was that morning.

There were several times that Su Qingsang wanted to say something to Old Master Huo, but she ultimately decided against it.

That weekend, the atmosphere in the Huo Family remained a little depressing. Su Qingsang spent a day struggling, then decided to stop thinking about what had happened.

She decided to let things run their course. As for children, she wouldn’t have them until she was ready.

...

In Huo Jinyao’s office, a small team under his leadership stood on one side and worked on the Ickes project.

Huo Yifan stood on the other side. He looked at Huo Jinyao who was sitting behind the desk, the bland look on his face failing to conceal his excitement and delight.

“Cousin.” He referred to Huo Jinyao as his cousin instead of the President on purpose. “I heard from my uncle that you’re going to hand the Ickes project to me. Is that true?”

“Yes.” Huo Jinyao easily detected the gloat in Huo Yifan’s eyes. He didn’t mind the latter’s attitude, but he turned and glanced at the team.

“This is the team working on that project. They have prepared all the materials you’ll need. The rest will be left to you. If you aren’t happy working with them, feel free to replace them.”

Huo Yifan smiled as he said, “Thank you, cousin. Since you taught these people, I believe they are all good at their jobs. I fully trust them.”

Huo Jinyao silently turned and glanced at the project manager. The project manager nodded, then looked at Huo Yifan and said, “Mr. Huo, let’s go to your office to go over some details.”

“Sure,” Huo Yifan nodded. The smile on his face slowly faded away as he turned back to Huo Jinyao and said, “Cousin, I’ll take my leave then. I’ll tell you about anything I’m unsure of.”

“My father has given the project to you, so you now have full control over it. You don’t need to talk to me about it anymore.”

“Alright, I understand,” Huo Yifan said, then left Huo Jinyao’s office with the team.

Yang Wenchang came in once they left. He looked at Huo Jinyao with worry and said, “President Huo, this is...”

Huo Jinyao had been keeping track of the Ickes project for a long time now. They were only a breath away from coming to a full agreement with the partner and officially starting the project.

Now that Huo Yifan stepped in, he would be the one receiving the credit.