Chapter 18

"What? He said that?" Zhang Heying shouted and burst into tears. Li Qianye gathered her into his arms and patted her softly. He could understand his wife's sadness.

They had poured heart and soul into loving Li Chuanmo, so it was very painful for them to hear how he felt about love, even though they knew it wasn't because of them he had such feelings.

Still, he felt they hadn't done enough. If only they had loved him a little more, talked more with him, nurtured him at home instead of sending him to the dormitory and later abroad, maybe he would have had a better experience of love.

They were in their bedroom, waiting for the press conference to be uploaded on the net. Zhang Heying was sitting on the bed, holding her phone. Li Qianye was sitting on the love seat in the room, holding his laptop and pretending to work.

In reality, he had secretly opened the company forum on one tab, waiting for the press conference release. It was Li Chuanmo's first appearance to the public as the new chairman, and they wanted all to go well.

Zhang Heying's phone rang, but it was not the call she was expecting. It was from Fu Yinuo, her childhood friend and the Madam of the Fu family.

While they were talking, Li Qianye received a call. He quickly signalled to his wife that it was the call they were waiting for. It was from Ting Haoyu, head of the protocol team.

Zhang Heying hurriedly greeted her childhood friend goodbye and cut the call. Li Qianye put the phone on loudspeaker.

"Retired Chairman, Chairman Li caused an uproar at the press conference today!", Ting Haoyu said, slightly out of breath. It was obvious he had been busy dealing with the chaos that occurred.

"What happened?"

"Chairman Li said he doesn't believe in love."

Li Qianye wanted to ask how the matter of love came about when they were supposed to be discussing the company matters at the press conference, but Zhang Heying's focus was totally different.

"What? He said that? oh no!"

"Make sure you control what the media says and take down every unsavory post immediately!" Li Qianye said and went to hold his wife.

It took Li Qianye a while to calm her down.

"The first time I saw Chuanmo, I fell in love completely. He looked so adorable yet alone. Do you remember he had a black eye? "

"Yes, it fit perfectly with his dark hair", Li Qianye said. Zhang Heying glared at him and he shut up. She continued, "He didn't even want to talk to us, but something in his eyes was screaming that he needed help, needed us."

Li Chuanmo was been bullied at the orphanage, and the day they saw him was one of the days he had been beaten black and blue. They had gone there to try and adopt an infant or a newborn, but Zhang Heying insisted on the 13-year old Chuanmo after seeing him.

They were on their way to the room for infants when sounds of fighting drew their attention.

It was a five-on-one fight. Although he managed to land a few punches, judging on the bruises on the faces of the other boys, he was beaten up badly, sporting a black right eye, burst lip and a dislocated hip.

He was taken to the hospital immediately, where he spent almost two weeks. The management of the orphanage was changed soon after, courtesy of the Li couple, and the boys were sent to juvenile detention.

It was not their first offence. The adoption procedures were completed after Li Chuanmo was discharged from the hospital.

When he came home, he was very quiet. He hardly spoke, except when spoken to. Li Qianye and Zhang Heying were very patient with him. They lavished time and attention, as much as they could, on him.

Zhang Heying would take him personally to the mall, restaurants and cinemas for "dates", and whenever Li Qianye had time, he would talk to him about business and everything else. They also went on trips occasionally as a family.

Even when Zhang Heying became pregnant, they never neglected him.

It was around that time that the paparazzi got a whiff of the news and started hounding Li Chuanmo and the Li family, so much so that Zhang Heying almost had a miscarriage.

Because of this, Li Chuanmo requested to be sent to the dormitory. At first they didn't agree, but the doctor said Zhang Heying needed bedrest in the hospital for observation due to the accident and her advanced age, and Li Qianye —being the wife-lover that he was, spent most of his time shuttling between the company and the hospital.

Eventually, he had no choice but to agree, sending Li Chuanmo to an elite school. From there, he went abroad for his MBA, which was where he met his ex-wife, Xie Weiwan.

Zhang Heying gave birth to a pair of Dragon and Phoenix twins, Li Junmo and Li Lianmo. They were twenty-one years old currently. Li Junmo was a bro-con, practically worshipping the ground his brother walked on. He was currently doing his degree in the same school Li Chuanmo attended abroad. Li Lianmo was studying to be a medical doctor in the Capital University.

"It's okay. He's back now and he has Yuchen with him. He will find what we have, done worry." Li Qianye said, consoling his wife. He resolved to set their plan in motion.

Tomorrow, Pei Yueran will come.

******

"He really said that?" Fu Mengyao asked again to confirm. She was in her room speaking to someone on the phone.

"Yes he did. It was captured on many recorders, but the Li Conglomerate has strictly blocked the news, so it wouldn't be released to the public."

"I see. You did a good job. I'll wire the rest of the money now."

"Thank you Young Miss."

Fu Mengyao was the first daughter of the Fu family, family friends of the Li's. She had known Li Qianye and Zhang Heying since she was little, as they often visited each other. She was 10 years old when Li Chuanmo was adopted, and although she was drawn to his handsome looks and indifferent aura as she grew up, she didn't believe him to be in her "class".

He was just an adopted son after all.

So when his parents proposed that they get engaged at the time he was about to go abroad, she was very adamant. She went on a hunger strike and even threatened to kill herself to force her parents to reject the proposal.

But before her parents could do so, Li Chuanmo personally went to her house and told her parents that he was not interested in getting engaged. He apologized for the inconvenience and the matter died there.