Chapter 569 - Eloquent Bulls.h.i.+
Although Iris" tone was pleasant when she greeted him, Long Hui could see that her eyes were cold. His eyes also hardened. He felt that she didn"t give him any face when he already lowered himself and addressed her as "little sister". Instead of following his example, she insisted on this distant way of addressing him as "Deputy CFO". He wasn"t making peace by calling her "little sister". It was only to put up an appearance of a harmonious sibling relations.h.i.+p to the public.
All of the executives of Long Industries were watching and judging. He couldn"t afford to make any mistakes, especially right now that he was working hard to regain his footing after his work performance suffered because of the stress caused by Jiang Ying Yue. It also didn"t help that there was Long Jian, an overachiever, to compare him with when it came to work performance.
Iris refused to follow his example of putting up an appearance, but at least she was maintaining the pretense of politeness. The two smiled at each other but their eyes were cold and hard.
While Iris and Long Hui were having a stare-down, their self-proclaimed partners in crime Long Jufang and Long Meng also followed suit. The two elders had been on good terms for many years, both supporting Long Hui, but ever since Iris rose to prominence and Long Jufang jumped s.h.i.+p, the relations.h.i.+p between the two elders soured.
"A brand amba.s.sador is nothing more than a hired hand. No matter how integrated you feel, you still won"t really belong with the company," Long Hui said in a low voice to prevent the others around them from overhearing. His words were mocking her but also served as a warning that she shouldn"t get too far ahead of herself.
"I agree with the first part of what you said," Iris replied. "As for the second part, we"ll see. It will depend on my performance as brand amba.s.sador."
Long Hui clenched his hands but kept smiling. To the people watching them, their group looked like they were having a pleasant chat.
"You already have your own company. Be satisfied with it. Leave Long Industries alone," he said.
"You mean leave it to you?" she retorted.
"It"s my birthright."
"How boring," Iris drawled. "We live in the modern times. It"s hard to understand people who insist on living backwards in the ancient times. I know that you believe that since you"re the firstborn, you automatically inherit leaders.h.i.+p of the clan and the company. But have you realized that I"m also a firstborn? That our other brother and sister are also firstborns? Father technically has four firstborns because all of us are born from different mothers. So if we"re talking about firstborn birthrights, then technically speaking, all four of us siblings have the right to succeed Father."
"Presumptuous!" Long Meng huffed.
Long Jufang didn"t look like he agreed with Iris either. However, he remained silent and even moved closer to her, silently indicating that he was on her side even though he didn"t agree with her point of view.
Iris ignored the elders as if they didn"t exist, focusing instead on Long Hui. Beside her, Dom was nodding so much and so quickly that it was a wonder he wasn"t dizzy by the vigorous way he was moving his head just to show his agreement to her words.
"Father has already mentioned before that he"ll leave the clan and the company to whoever among us deserves it the most based on our individual abilities and performance, not on who was born first," she continued. "So, Deputy CFO Long, may the best sibling win."
"You!" Long Hui finally dropped his smile.
But before he could argue, she gave a brief, dismissive nod.
"Excuse me, Deputy CFO Long," she said, grabbing Dom and walking away.
Long Jufang smirked at Long Meng before following after them. Both Long Hui and Long Meng wore dark expressions.
"Young Master Hui, don"t take that spoiled brat"s words to heart," Long Meng tried to soothe Long Hui. "You"ve been trained since you were born to be the heir and the successor after Master Tengfei. You were born to be the next head of our clan and the company."
Long Hui didn"t respond, continuing to watch Iris, Dom and Long Jufang as they greeted other people along the way. His frustration at Iris could be seen by the tight clenching and unclenching of his hands into fists and his tense jaw caused by the gritting of his teeth. When he noticed that some people were looking at him, he smoothed out his expression and forced on a smile.
Not far behind them, Long Jian was standing beside his current mentor, the COO of Long Industries. They were chatting with a couple of other important guests. However, Long Jian wasn"t focused on the conversation at all because he was doing his best to eavesdrop on the confrontation between Iris and Long Hui. He was unable to hear everything they said to each other but still heard enough to know that Long Hui lost to Iris in that battle of words.
"Father technically has four firstborns because all of us are born from different mothers. So if we"re talking about firstborn birthrights, then technically speaking, all four of us siblings have the right to inherit leaders.h.i.+p," Iris" words resonated to Long Jian.
His lips subconsciously curved upwards in amus.e.m.e.nt.
"What an eloquent way of bulls.h.i.+tting," he thought.
Long Jian had the least interactions with Iris since she woke up from coma compared to their other siblings. He had always looked down on her but he couldn"t help but praise the way she twisted her words in order to humiliate Long Hui. She was clearly bulls.h.i.+tting yet the confidence of her tone and the delivery of her words gave the impression that everything she said was true and made logical sense.
A chuckle escaped from his lips before he realized what he was doing.
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