Lai Yang was not deliberately being sentimental. Yuan Shengda had deliberately concealed the amount of investment because he didn't want him to worry about her.
So when he said this, a kind of sadness appeared in his eyes.
Old man Wu was a little dazed, then his shoulders relaxed and the domineering aura he had just displayed disappeared.
He sat back on the old sofa and murmured, "It's for her own good, not to prove that I am..."
The warm red light of the afternoon sun shone in, clearly outlining the wrinkles on his face.
The sofa cover he was sitting on had become a little white after being washed, and Old Man Wu sat on it motionless, looking like an old faded photo.
Behind him was the family photo with everyone’s smiling faces.
"Uncle Wu, are you having some conflicts with your daughter?"
LaiYang said softly, and he slowly turned his head.
The movement was very slow, just like an old man who had been sealed for a thousand years just waking up, with great confusion in his eyes.
After staring at each other for a while, he nodded slowly and said, "My daughter is very good, you know? When she was fifteen, she was on Shanghai Youth TV Station. She was a host. She is very good..."
Lai Yang didn't say anything and just listened quietly.
"She also went to study in the UK, but she didn't listen to me... She insisted on marrying Ming Tingchao. She had a bright future. Her hands should have been used for flipping through documents and signing documents, but she insisted on following him in the catering business. Her hands became... wrinkled and rough. I... My heart is broken... Ming Tingchao harmed her, and then the store went bankrupt. I... I could have given them financial support, but I didn't. I wanted her to get a divorce and live her own life, but... they just left like that."
Old Man Wu's eyes were red as he looked at the warm light outside the window and said in a trembling voice.
"On the day she left, it was just like now, very warm and sunny outside, so she wore her most common coat, but after she left... she never came back. Blame me... Blame me! I shouldn't have said those nasty words, shouldn't have forced her... I have been wanting to sell the shop for the past two years, to save money, to give it to her. I want to say that I was wrong... But... Where is she? Where is my daughter?"
Old man Wu cried, covering his face and sobbing.
He didn't care at all that there was a stranger in the room.
At this moment Lai Yang also thought of his father. He remembered that when he returned home last year, his father's hands had become swollen due to years of working as an electrician. There were many scars on his palms.
But it was those hands that supported my family and raised me up.
Perhaps the only difference between Old Man Wu and his father is the amount of money they have, but their love for their children is equally deep.
Lai Yang walked up to him, patted him on the back gently, handed him a tissue, and asked him if he couldn't contact his daughter
Old man Wu shook his head and wiped his tears again and again, but the tears continued to flow.
Lai Yang knew that he needed quiet time, so he put the leasing matter aside for the time being. After comforting the old man a few words, he walked lightly towards the door.
"Wait a minute..." Old Man Wu suddenly shouted.
Lai Yang glanced sideways, he bent his waist, did not turn his head to look, but spoke.
"If you can rent it for two years... I will rent it to you, but you have to pay an extra three months' deposit."
In an instant, a feeling of joy as if the clouds had parted to reveal the bright moon swept over Lai Yang's whole body!
But soon he fell into confusion again. Why would this old man, who seemed so stubborn to others, agree to rent the shop to him
Come to think of it... maybe I didn't really want to compete with him just now, and in my meditation, I resonated with him.
It seems that not fighting is sometimes the biggest fight!
Lai Yang thanked him heavily, then said he would give him a reply as soon as possible, and pushed the door open to leave.
Lai Yang was very excited when he went downstairs.
In the past few days, bad things have happened one after another, making him feel depressed. Now he finally let out some of his anger.
Once the contract is signed, Alu's milk tea shop will actually be cheated out of a year's rent, which is better than the entire store closing down!
Just when Lai Yang went downstairs to make a phone call, he saw Aru sitting on the bench downstairs, staring at him.
"Brother Yang".
"... When did you come?" Lai Yang was surprised.
"I came as soon as you stepped forward."
Aru's tone was very calm, completely different from a few days ago.
Lai Yang looked at him for a few seconds and said, "The landlord has agreed to renew the lease, but it must be at least two years, plus a four-month deposit, which will cost about 150,000 yuan."
At this point, Lai Yang sighed and said, "I still have 60,000 here. You have to figure out a way to get the remaining 90,000 by yourself. Don't take any more money from Shengda."
Aru lowered his head and twirled a small flower that he had picked from somewhere with his fingertips. After a while, he
Jiao smiled faintly.
"Brother Yang, I've been thinking a lot these past two days, but it wasn't until just now that I figured it out."
"Understand what?" Lai Yang asked.
Alu looked up and pursed his lips.
"I understand why you were able to start a business from scratch when everyone else was starting one. Although it was hard, you won't fail completely with your own abilities... I don't think it's because of your professional skills, but because you are more sincere than me and are more willing to consider others."
Lai Yang was stunned and continued listening.
"This is something that is innate and cannot be faked. That's why the people around you are willing to do their best to help you... Even someone like Uncle Wu, who has only met you once, is willing to help you. This... is the top entrepreneurial skill."
"Not entirely. Everything takes a process. I used to get angry with people around me all the time. I got angry when Li Dian wanted to take a part-time job." Lai Yang responded.
Alu shook his head. "It's different. You may be angry, but you never really blamed him. And when his mother came to Shanghai, you tried your best to help him get money. If you were a rich second-generation, I wouldn't say anything, but you are not. This is what I think... your biggest shining point. I can't compare with you in this aspect. Maybe this is why... Shengda likes you."
Aru stood up and put the small flower in his hand on the chair, walked into Laiyang, and clenched his hanging hands again and again.
"Brother Yang... I... I shouldn't have said those words. I... I'm sorry for you and for Shengda. You're not trying to prove that you're right. You... you just want the best for us. Why would I... just..."
As he spoke, Alu's eyes turned red and his voice began to tremble.
Lai Yang quickly patted his shoulder and interrupted him, "Come on, stop crying. Old man Wu just finished crying and you come again? How about I take you up there and you two can cry together? I'll be the judge and see who cries better, and then give them a prize?"
Aru coughed and looked at Laiyang. After looking at each other for a few seconds, they both smiled.
Alu wiped his tears and said, "Brother Yang, you don't have to pay for help anymore. I have asked my family for more than 100,000 yuan, which is enough."
"Wow~ So you are here to show off your wealth today?"
Lai Yang said this with a smile, and Alu's expression became even more gloomy.
"But Brother Yang... there's something I need your help with. Shengda's brother also called me. I was mentally unstable at the time and said too much. Then... Shengda sent me a message this morning saying... that she had canceled her engagement with me. Is she planning to... break up with me?"