“No. I will not accept your conditions.” Jiye said without even thinking.
Xiaodong said, “I knew you wouldn’t. But do you want Nala to die?”
“Xiaodong! You don’t lack self knowledge. You know our company is surly to fall if you are in charge, and the fame of our company will be forever gone.” Jiye scolded.
“Dad. You continue to underestimate me. How do you know that I’ll fail when you have never allowed me to manage it. What if I succeed? How am I supposed to make any progress when you consider me as a loser all the time?”
“You know your worth better than anyone else.”
“Dad, I find it necessary to remind you that this is not a discussion, but a negotiation. If you don’t accept, I’ll have to kill Nala.”
“Big Brother, you can have all my shares.”
“Wenbei! Don’t you obey him! You know the company is damned if he is in charge.”
“Dad, I need to make sure Nala is safe. Besides, we are all family, what difference does it make to give the shares to my own brother. Maybe he has the ability to make our company better.”
“Wenbei you are such a fool! You know perfectly what is his worth.”
Xiaodong got impatient. He said, “Dad! How come you are still belittling me? Do you take it or not? If you do, sign on the paper. If you don’t, I’ll kill Nala.”
“I don’t agree! And you will not hurt Nala. If she got hurt, I will destroy you!”
I was watching them the whole time and I got so nervous.
I didn’t blame Jiye. There was no need to make such a huge sacrifice for me. I was only wondering whether someone would burst in and kill me if Jiye disagreed.
I was afraid of death. I had not met my little Alex and I could not die. How sad he was gonna get when he learned I’m dead. He would be an infant then.
I was an infant and I knew perfectly what it was like to be alone and helpless, and I couldn’t let this happen to Alex.
But now my life is completely controlled by the others. What should I do?
“Dad, make your decision now. And you don’t need to concern yourself with the consequences. I have thought everything trough. I will say Nala accidentally jumped out of the window when she tried to run away from a pervert who tried to rape her. And of course you won’t call the police, because you give up someone’s life for the sake of money, and you don’t want other people to know it, do you?”
“Is it really that important to take charge of the company that you should degrade yourself by doing this?” Jiye asked.
“Isn’t it important to you as well? You would accept my conditions if it wasn’t important to you. You are willing to have a girl killed to keep your power, and you still think you are a good person? Wenbei is a good person, and dad, we are both evil.” Xiaodong said.
“I’m not doing it for myself. I’m doing it for the family. I’m not like you! You selfish bastard!”
Xiaodong laughed.
“Dad, quit pretending as there is no other people. A son knows as much about his father as his father knows about him. On the outside, you are the chairman, a big deal. But I know what kind of person you are deep inside. If you are a good man, give your shares to me like Wenbei, and then take Aunt Jiang to settle down in another country, and leave everything in Yang City to me. And if you can not let go of your little money, stop playing the big man here. You will watch Nala die, and her death will haunt you for the rest of your life. Because it was you who killed her! Hahahahaha….”
Xiaodong looked at his watch and said, “There are two minutes left. If you don’t change your idea, Nala will die. So make up our decision.”
Jiye was speechless, and the anger on his was gradually developed into anxiety, because he now realized Xiaodong was serious this time.
“I won’t give the shares and you can’t hurt Nala. Never.”Jiye said.
“Why? Are you going to convince me with crap like it is illegal or I’ll pay the price? Quit it! There is only one minute left. If you don’t agree, she will die. I’m not joking around here.” Xiaodong roared.
“You can’t kill her because she is your biological sister!”
My heart was beating violently. Did I hear it right? I believe I heard it right because he said it clearly.
“What?”Xiaodong couldn’t believe what he heard.
“I said you can’t hurt her, because she is your sister! She is Nan Su!!!” Jiye said.
What an awful shock! My fear of death was completely replaced by the shock this news brought me. I was so nervous. I stood up, and stared at the TV, because I didn’t want to miss a single thing Jiye was about to say.
Xiaodong was speechless, then he laughed hysterically, “Dad you are so cunning. You want to trick me into releasing that woman? What a terrible lie! Sister Nan Su! Sister Nan Su is dead! Many years ago! How could that woman be Sister Nan Su!”
“That is true. Don’t you think she looks a lot like us? She is your sister Nan Su, and she has suffered a lot all these years. A poor girl. You should stop treating her like that.” There was a lump in Jiye’s throat.
And tears were streaming down my face.