"We’ve never fought before."
Veronica nodded repeatedly, her eyes slightly moist, and continued, "Then you have to promise, you can’t hit him for no reason in the future."
"Mother, say something!"
"I’m afraid that’s not going to work."
Hefei looked slightly troubled, but seeing her daughter’s disappointed face, she hurriedly comforted, "The reason is hard to explain, but you’ll understand someday. There will come a day when you’ll realize that when an especially loathsome face appears before you, you won’t be able to resist punching it."
Veronica didn’t understand but thought about it and indeed there was such a face.
Without dwelling on it, she asked, "Father and Wayne were acting strange today, I suspect that there is something between them..."
Unable to find the right adjective, she gestured with her hands a few times and said seriously, "They must have some unspeakable secret, they must have struck some agreement, and they are going to join forces to do something bad in the future."
"That’s not entirely incorrect."
Hefei laughed out loud, then corrected again, "But it’s not about joining forces to do bad things; it’s about Wayne having to learn how to do bad things for the sake of this family."
What a laugh, does he even need to learn?
"Mother, you haven’t seen his di..."
Veronica stopped mid-sentence, realizing something was off, her heart skipped a beat: "Mother, what do you mean by Wayne having to do this for the sake of our family? What agreement exactly?"
Veronica felt she had missed a lot, everyone knew but she was the only one left out.
Hefei stroked Veronica’s blonde hair: "Your father has chosen Wayne as his heir; he will be the man of the Randao Family in the future."
"Why him? He doesn’t even have the Randao surname!"
Veronica’s face was full of confusion, and suddenly her expression changed dramatically: "Mother, could it, could it be..."
"Exactly, it’s what you’re thinking."
Hefei blinked, her smile ambiguous. Good, the reaction wasn’t slow, there’s some shrewdness to her—a trait she took after her.
"Wayne is really Father’s son..."
Veronica felt as if the sky had fallen, her eyes empty and lifeless, she muttered, "Although I’ve always felt they were alike, in every way, I never thought Wayne could be my brother... I won’t allow it, I don’t want a brother like that."
"Don’t spout nonsense, how could Wayne possibly be your brother? That scoundrel wouldn’t dare fool around outside!"
Hefei punched Veronica on the head, retracting her previous statement. The child didn’t take after her in shrewdness or insight at all.
Indeed, her scoundrel husband was right—it would have to be Wayne to rely on in the future.
"Then what’s the deal? Why should he become the heir of the Randao Family, and I’m being pushed aside?" Veronica pouted, clearly unhappy.
"Is there a possibility that his children might inherit the bloodline of the Randao Family?" Hefei hinted.
"There might be such a pos..."
Megan closed the door and quietly stood outside.
Wayne glanced at the slowly closing door, puzzled as he thought he heard something.
That shouldn’t be right; the Randao house is well soundproofed.
Austin sat on the couch, toying with an ancient silver coin, and when he noticed Monica, who blended into the black couch, he snapped his fingers.
Megan pushed the door and walked in to carry the black cat out of the room.
Wayne inwardly regretted being just a step too slow to lift her up high.
"At the end of the month, there’s a bidding conference in Capital Luzerne City of the Grand Duchy of Lucerneburg to decide on new partners..."
Austin played with the ancient silver coin, explaining the content of the bidding conference.
The Grand Duchy of Lucerneburg spans 2,500 square kilometers, surrounded by Frank and Prussia, and despite being a landlocked microstate, it is also known as a "pocket kingdom."
Small though it may be, it possesses resources. With abundant iron ore reserves within its borders, its economy has surged in the last fifty years. Its iron and steel industries are top-notch, with a sizable industrial scale, making it a world-class steel powerhouse.
"The Randao Family has a partner in Frank who can supply a large amount of high-quality coal, and next door in Prussia, there is a coal mining area as well. You will represent the Randao Family at the bidding conference. Our partner may fail, but Prussia absolutely cannot win!" Austin stated.
Wayne’s brow lifted as he sensed the whiff of big-state politics in commercial activities, a constant play of moves behind the scenes while maintaining a front of appeasement.
"Is this a test for me?"
"Think of it what you will, it might be or might not be, don’t feel pressured. One failure means nothing, consider it as paying your tuition." Austin said nonchalantly.
Wayne didn’t know if he was genuinely unconcerned or just pretending, but in any case, this was a task set by the Royal Family. The Tulip Family, as the Royal Family’s prominent Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive!
"By the way, the Boswell Family will also attend. They too have a partner in Frank..."
Austin looked at Wayne with a smile: "You don’t want them to win, do you?"
Wayne’s brows lifted, ready to thump his chest and swear an oath on the spot. He could lose, but the Boswell Family had to go bankrupt.
To snatch the meat from his bowl; this family was doomed!
Just as he was about to speak, Wayne caught on to Austin’s manipulation. He wasn’t sure if the Boswell Family had ever proposed such a marriage.
Even the possibility was unacceptable; this family was doomed!
"I’ll be in Luzerne City at the end of the month to nail down this deal. Prussia won’t win, and neither will the Boswell Family." Wayne took on the task, not trusting anyone else for the job.
He felt uneasy just at the thought of the Boswell Family possibly winning.
It was aggravating to even consider it; he would be infuriated if it became reality!