Xue Jinxu, on the other hand, invited her parents at Four Seasons Hotel that same day, and at the same time.

The Chen couple was out to play a little, and to avenge their little brother Guangxi.

At the function room where Chen Linyun and Liu Huojin were at, the waitress were currently serving the food they ordered.

"Mr. Chen Linyun, I don't quite understand why you invited me today. Are you interested perhaps to invest or collaborate with our Xue s.h.i.+pping?" COO Liu Huojin asked the intention of the meeting.

Chen Linyun did not respond. Instead, he presented a sheets of paper to his guest. COO Liu Huojin's face paled from what he saw. They were articles about himself.

"You! What is the meaning of this?" COO Liu asked Chen Linyun.

"These articles will be published later today if our meeting does not go as intended."

The articles were about his background – of him being an illegitimate child, and of him having his own illegitimate child.

"This is slander!" COO Liu bellowed in anger. His was sweating profusely all over. His forehead was dense with sweat.

"We both know that it's not. It's the truth. Attached to the articles are copies of your birth certificate as well as your son's. Another article also has the picture of your son. How old is he? Around three, I reckon, based on the birth certificate." Chen Linyun was trying to play the game by his own method at his own pace.

COO Liu took his handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead and face. "What do you want from me?"

"These articles will not be published if you can keep two of my conditions. Just two. First, you'll tender your resignation from Xue s.h.i.+pping. Second, you'll spill the beans as to who's behind your oppression and mismanagement in Xue s.h.i.+pping. That's it. Isn't it too simple?"

"Of course, there are ways to validate if your answers to my two conditions are true. For all you know, I am affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence and Surveillance."

COO Liu gulped. His body was shaking terribly.

"So…" Chen Linyun squinted his eyes. "What do you say, COO Liu?" He checked the time. "It's currently ten minutes past three in the afternoon. I'll give you time to decide, just to be fair. Tell me your decision until thirty minutes past three." With that he dug into the food. "Let's eat." He even invited him.

"What is it for you? Why are you poking your nose into other people's business?" He could not stop trembling.

Chen Linyun shrugged. "The Xue's are not 'other people' to me." He continued eating.

After a few minutes he asked, "COO Liu, what's the development? Have you decided yet?"

COO Liu pounded his fist on the table. "This is blackmail!" No matter how much he argued back, Chen Linyun ignored him and went on into eating the sumptuous food served before them, unfazed.

The clock continued to tick, and with every tick, COO Liu's already pale face became even paler.

"Time's up! So what's your answer, COO Liu?" Chen Linyun sneered.

---

At the adjacent function room, Xue Jinxu was facing her parents. They just came back that same day from their business trip abroad. She made sure to meet them that day.

"Who's this kid?" Zhao Feiyan asked with too much curiosity.

Xue Jinxu was seated across her parents, and beside her, a cute little boy around three years old.

"You'll know later, Mother." Xue Jinxu smiled enigmatically.

"I invited you today not just to catch up, although I'm missing you terribly." Her tone becoming serious.

"Princess, does your husband treat you well? Can't you go home now? Who's this kid?" Father Xue was becoming more nervous by the second.

"My husband treats me well. In fact, I have never been so well. But…" She looked into her parents eyes. "Guangxi is not doing so well, Father… Mother… Have you heard about what's happening in the company lately? Butler Lee told me out of sheer concern."

Father and Mother Xue exchanged glances. Xue Jinxu had relayed what happened when they were away.

"!!!!" Both Father and Mother Xue were speechless and were fuming of rage. "How dare he! How dare them treat our Guangxi that way!" They said.

"I invited you today to make a proposal to you. I have three. First, I would like to go back to the company as the COO. You can treat me as an ordinary employee, a salaryman, without any special arrangements whatsoever. I can even accept it pro bono, for free. Just to ensure that everything's in order."

Father and Mother Xue exchanged glances again. "My second proposal is that if the first one is not amenable to you, here…" She pa.s.sed a piece of paper to Father Xue. "I have shortlisted qualified candidates for the COO position."

"Third is to promote Guangxi to the COO position. I personally prefer this one, although I would prefer the timing to be after he finished his studies, but it's still the same even if it has to be now."

"It both boils down to one end, and that is to terminate the interim COO!"

The waitress entered to inform them that their other guest had arrived.

Xue Jinxu stood up once the guest entered their function room. "Elder Liu…" Xue Jinxu bowed a little as greeting to the old man. "Please sit down. Join us." Xue Jinxu led him to the empty seat beside the child.

The Xue parents and the elders greeted each other. "What's the meeting about?"

The Xue parents only looked at Xue Jinxu since they also did not know what was happening.

Xue Jinxu presided the meeting. "Elder Liu, as we all know, your son Liu Huojin has been appointed the interim COO at Xue s.h.i.+pping. As part of the procedure, Xue s.h.i.+pping did a thorough investigation." She paused and took a deep breath. "Elder Liu, we found something important about your son and your lineage, which we thought could not be brushed off. So we invited you today. COO Liu will also join us shortly."

Xue Jinxu pa.s.sed a folder to Elder Liu. "Here are the credentials of the child. We found him at an orphanage. We're leaving the rest to your hands since it's a private family matter."