A few days had passed since Long Hui left the hospital and returned to his wing at the ancestral residence. He took a leave from the company to recover from his injuries. However, he continued working from home.
He hadn't seen his father since the day Long Tengfei scolded him. He also hadn't made up with Iris yet, nor apologized to her.
At the moment, a physiotherapist was treating his leg in the living room. It still hurt a bit and felt tender, causing him to walk with a limp. As for his other injuries, they looked worse than they felt. The bruises and cuts looked ugly, but they were already healing and didn't hurt as much as before.
When the physiotherapist left, a servant entered carrying a basket filled with fruits and pastries. They were sent by Long Meng.
Not long after, Long Hui received a call from the elder. He felt paranoid for a moment, thinking that Long Meng was calling to tell him that she would no longer continue supporting him. He was able to catch himself in time before his negative thoughts spiralled out of control again.
Long Meng heard that he had returned to the eastern wing and that he was recovering from some injuries. However, she didn't know anything about what kind of injuries he had or how he got them. It seemed that Long Tengfei locked down the information from leaking out of the ancestral compound.
Long Hui didn't tell her either.
After wishing him to get well soon, Long Meng finally moved on to the purpose of her call. Unsurprisingly, it was about Iris owning 5% shares of Long Industries and how she now owned more than any of them.
"The rightful heir is you, Young Master Hui. You should be owning more shares in the company than any of your siblings," she told him. "That being said, I'll sell you my 3% shares so you can add it to the 2.5% that you currently own for a total of 5.5%. This way, you'll own a bit more than the Young Miss Xiulan."
Of course, he was immediately tempted. There was just one big problem, however.
"Don't worry about it for now. You can pay me back in installments in the next few years, maybe even decades. If I'm dead by then, you can continue the payments to my children or grandchildren."
His eyes lit up. "Really? You're willing to let me do that?"
"Yes. I'll even help you purchase some more shares if any were put up for sale. My branch family and several others are willing to loan you money to buy them."
He was about to accept the offer, but his father's harsh scolding a few days ago played inside his mind. Guilt filled him once again. He had been contemplating of whether to apologize to his youngest sister or not.
His pause saved him because Long Meng added, "But on one condition."
"Condition?" He frowned. Although he already expected it, he still didn't like that her help came with conditions.
"Yes. I'll help you and do all of these for you if you break up with that woman and marry a nice, suitable lady we approve of who also matches your status as an heir."
Long Hui didn't answer. He was completely silent.
"Please think about my offer carefully, Young Master Hui. Our allies and I will do everything in our power to help you become the next head. But of course, you also need to do your part and do this for us. Actually, this is for your own good. That's all what I want to say for now," Long Meng told him before bidding goodbye.
When the phone call ended, Long Hui felt even more torn than ever before.
###
The summer season would be officially ending soon, but the weather still remained hot. Despite the uncooperative weather, the promotions for upcoming TV shows that would soon be released in fall season were already well under way.
One such promotion for a particular romance TV drama was currently trending all over. It was a live-action adaptation based on a popular romance ReadNovelFull. Although the TV drama adaptation casted young, not-so-popular actress and actor as the main leads, many still looked forward to watching it because of the original ReadNovelFull. The fans eagerly waited for its premiere to judge whether the drama would do justice to the original work.
As a result, "Our Love, Our Destiny" was one of the most anticipated TV dramas in the fall season. Its teaser previews were watched numerous times both on TV and on the internet.
Netizens couldn't stop talking about it.
"I can't wait for summer to end so that we can finally watch 'Our Love, Our Destiny'!"
"Me too! Although I'm disappointed with their choice of actress to play the female lead, I'm quite happy about the actor playing the male lead. OMG! He's so hot!"
"As a diehard fan of the original ReadNovelFull, I also can't wait to watch the live-action TV drama adaptation! But putting that aside for now, who else is loving the theme song?"
"But that few seconds are already enough for me to love the theme song. I wonder who's going to sing it."
Some of them made a few guesses, but the topic of conversation quickly changed into something else. Nobody was really that interested in the theme song at the moment. They were more focused about the drama itself and the choice of cast.
That was until someone began freaking out online.
"Holy shit! The full trailer was just uploaded. Watch it right now! I'm freaking out! OMG!"
"Relax, buddy. I'm watching it right now. Although I'm feeling excited, I don't think it's enough to make me freak out."
"Relax?! How can I relax?! Do you not freaking recognize the voices singing the freaking theme song?!!!"
"Huh?"
"!!!"
"WHAT THE HELL?!!!"
"Jin Chonglin and Iris Long are singing the theme song of 'Our Love, Our Destiny' together?!!!"