In all the years Yu Yan had been living here, this was the first time Yu Jian had given up his facade of a genial father and really talked to her like the head of the family. The only time she had entered the study was once when she had been brought to the capital city and the second time when Yu Yue had left for oversees without a word. Both the experiences had made her realise that being called to the study wouldn"t mean anything good for her. Therefore, when he called her into the study a few hours after reaching home; she knew someone must have tattled to him about what she had done.Yu Yan had also slowly realised that though he gave her all the physical comforts a person could dream of, he didn"t pay much attention to her emotionally and his first instinctive concern was always for Yu Yue. This irked and grated on her nerves to no end but what could she do? Who asked her to be born and raised outside? Anyway she had already decided that if he made trouble for her for a mere under staff of Yu Yue, she would not stand for it.
She had already made plans for herself in the last few years so she wouldn"t mind breaking her own mask infront of him if he didn"t give her what she wanted. Thinking upto here, she entered the study.
"Father, evening." she greeted with a polite smile.
"Yanyan, do you know why I brought you here and gave you the Yu name when I found out about you?" he questioned her but before she could even phrase her words properly, he answered the question himself.
"In families like ours, people think a thousand times before bringing someone to the main residence because doing so implies that you did things you shouldn"t have done. It is like a tough stain on the patriarch"s life which can never be washed clean. When I read the Last Will and Testament of your mother, the first thought I had was that the mistakes of the older generation shouldn"t affect the next generation so I brought you here. I felt sympathetic and guilty towards the hard life you had gone through. I have tried to give you all the things you should recieve as a young miss of the family...."
Already she could envision the long lecture this would continue to be but she wasn"t in the mood to listen to these maudlin words so she cut - off his words.
"Father, I have always gone by the principle that anything anyone says to me before the word "but" are words I shouldn"t pay attention to. The words said after "but" are the real deal so please dispense with all the superficial talk and let"s come to the point."
Yu Jian had never thought that his very own flesh and blood would talk to him in such a brazen manner. He had always known that she wasn"t what she portrayed herself to be. How could that be? A person who had to take care of themselves in a dog eat dog world outside at such a young age wouldn"t be naive and pitiful like she showed herself to be. Nevertheless, she really exceeded his expectations. He had thought she had some brains and wouldn"t challenge his authority after all she had to go through after Yueyue left but it seemed she had forgotten her lesson.
"Yanyan, is this the way you talk to your father?"
"Father both of us know that you wouldn"t have called me here to reminiscence about the past so why waste time talking about unnecessary things? Am sure you have enough on your plate without an additional lecture for me."
"You, you, alright. If you want me to come to the point, I"ll come straight away to it. Remember I told you long back that there are people in this world that you can"t afford to touch? How dare you point your spear towards Zixi? You want to flex your muscles and show off in front of your sister? You want to send Zixi away? You think you have the power and means to accomplish everything you want? Take a good look at yourself. Whatever you have is what I have given you? Do you think without my surname others would even spare you a single glance? The only thing they want from you is a way to form a closer connection to the Yu family. Do you understand the principle that if I can give you the moon and the stars, I also have the power to drop you into the deep abyss of misery if I take away my name from you. You are the same age as Yueyue but what have you achieved on your own? Do you think am unaware of all your plots and machinations that you play outside? People laugh at you because you don"t have the brains to differentiate whether the person infront of you is really a friend or someone who"ll happily stick a knife in your back when turn your face away from them. I have become a laughing stock for the other families. They whisper that I didn"t even have the power or emotional connection to stop you from chasing away my first born within a few months of you stepping into the family. But I have never paid attention to their malicious words. Thinking that you"ll give up all of this pointless fight when you grow up, that you"ll understand my heart, that you"ll accept your own blood sister in your heart. All those years ago I had thought that my family would be different from others, that we wouldn"t have internal fights, that we will depict a united front for outsiders and lead by example but it"s really true that the more you live, the more things you regret. Ha! you, what abilities do you have to contend with Yueyue? I hadn"t realised that I had brought you back on the day of Yueyue"s eighteenth birthday that year but it was you who asked to stay there for a few days and we returned on the eve of her birthday. Had Zixi not reminded me of this fact after Yueyue went oversees I would have really forgotten all about it. So it seems even at that age you were eyeing her position. I should have realised sooner that I had brought a wolf instead of a new born ewe lamb(female newborn sheep) in to the house. Moreover, Zixi. What gave you the confidence that you could drive him away? Do you view him as a bunch of grapes. That since you couldn"t have the grapes so you decided that they are sour and throw them away. Don"t try to bite off more than you can chew. As long as am alive you will never be able to drive him away from the residence and even after am dead you still won"t have a say in the family since Yueyue will be the head. So keep your wishes to your self since they are unattainable for you."
Yu Yan was dumbstruck by his forceful words. She hadn"t thought he would mark such a clear line for her just because she tried to drive away a mere servant under Yu Yue. She was angered by his disregard for her and his thought that she shouldn"t get atleast half of the Yu property just because she wasn"t in the family genealogy book.
"Father, why is it that every word out of your mouth is for Yueyue. Am I not your daughter? Don"t I mean anything to you? Why is it that she can have everything handed to her on a silver platter and I have to even fight for some pitiful crumbs?"
"If you are so sure of your strength then why don"t you go out and try to make something out of yourself without the Yu family"s name and prestige. I"ll applaud you for that but all you know is to bring strife to the family."
"You want me to go out on my own? Aren"t you being a tad bit too ruthless father."
"It"s really true what Zixi told me all those years ago. You can"t bear it, can you? You don"t really want a bigger piece of the Yu business pie but want to gobble the whole cake, don"t you?" Yu Jian hadn"t thought the words said by Zixi to be so true and factual but it seemed his foresight wasn"t what it used to be. Otherwise, how could he have not foreseen Yayan"s inner thoughts and desires.
"The business has always been handed over to the eldest, legitimate child and you fall short on both criteria. Moreover, why do you have to keep an eye on the family business as a whole? I have already given you the shares, you can eat, drink and play to your heart"s content without worrying about money your whole life, why are you making things difficult for yourself and everyone involved."
"Father, give me a chance. I"ll prove to you that am better at it than Yu Yue."
"You, better than her, how could that be? She had been helping me in the business since she turned eighteen. She already has a complete network of spies and informants that even I don"t know about. Many times in the recent years she had helped me evade the pitfalls made by others for Yu Corporation but what have you done all these years except for your petty schemes and tricks. You don"t even have the courage to confront things head on and try to start your own business outside. So what makes you think that I"ll hand over the reigns of something that I and my ancestors have poured their sweat and blood into?"
"What? Do you think I can"t see your greediness for it and your urge to take away everything from Yueyue. Yanyan I maybe your father but am also an astute businessman and such things won"t escape my eyes for long even if I try to delude myself into thinking that you aren"t so unscrupulous and malicious."He drove the knife deeper into Yu Yan"s heart with those words.
Yu Yan chuckled bitterly. She couldn"t help but really cry for the first time in her life. She had never thought that the person who would bring her to her knees would be the very man who came to her orphanage all those years ago and said that he was her father and he would fulfill all her dreams and wishes and wouldn"t let anyone harm a single hair on her.
"Are you really my father?"
Yu Jian hadn"t thought she would even want a veracity of their blood - ties. Nevertheless, he answered, "Yes, I am"
"Then why can"t you love me the same way you love Yu Yue? Why can"t you show the same care towards me? Even if it was just a fraction of what you have for Yu Yue, I would be contend. But why can"t you? Answer me." Yu Yan had turned somewhat hysterical.
"I love you, I care for you, I will provide you all the materialistic comforts of this world but daughter there is a difference to our definitions of love. For me, love is something you show with your actions towards your family, you give every member of the family what they deserve and what they earn, when they earn it. Unfortunately for you love means to h.o.a.rd everything to yourself. I am sorry I can"t give you that kind of love. It"s impossible for me." Yu Jian himself laughed bitterly and even started to tear up somewhat. A sinister touch pa.s.sed his eyes.
" Yes, you are my daughter. But Yueyue is my first - born and Zixi is like the son I never had. That"s right, I am your father but your mother is not my wife. If you had been content with your lot in life, I wouldn"t have minded playing to your tune but since you dared to touch the both of them, I"ll never forgive you. Pack you bags, your further studies can be done oversees. Let"s give you a taste of your own medicine."
Yu Yan hadn"t expected him to make such a decision. The blow was too big for her and she even jerked back a few steps. Looking at the hard lines on her father"s face she knew nothing would change his decision so it was pointless to try to talk him out of it. She sighed to herself and left the study.