Chapter 336 The Paternity Test

Chapter 336 The Paternity Test

"No rush," Li Zhishen said. "We'll talk about it after we finish eating."

Jiang Ruan hummed in agreement.

Because Huo Zhizhou was there, the meal was enjoyed with extra freedom.

There were no messy questions, no gossip or curiosity.

Everyone was intimidated by Huo Zhizhou's aura and didn't dare to say much. Even if there were one or two questions, Huo Zhizhou would step in front of her and solve them, giving her no chance to speak.

So much so that the meal changed from a "family dinner" to an ordinary meal.

Most of the time, you could hear the Li family members saying nice things to Huo Zhizhou, it was a whole business of mutual flattery.

Halfway through dinner, Jiang Ruan glanced at Huo Zhizhou, who possessed an air of nobility and an indifferent expression. As if noticing her gaze, he ended his conversation with others and looked over, his eyes revealing a tenderness and concern that he himself was unaware of: "What's wrong?"

"No." Jiang Ruan looked away.

"If you want to leave, just tell me." Huo Zhizhou said these words in a low voice in her ear, "I'll handle it."

Jiang Ruan appeared momentarily dazed.

He always said the same thing to her at dinner parties, and sometimes he would even take her away without her having to say anything.

"Splash."

"Clang."

The wine glass in front of Huo Zhizhou suddenly tipped over.

The wine in the glass spilled all over him.

"Mr. Huo, I'm sorry."

"Mr. Huo, are you alright?"

The person offering the toast suddenly seemed a little flustered.

Although this was a family banquet of the Li family, everyone knew Huo Zhizhou's status in the circle. Now that he had accidentally spilled wine on someone while toasting, everyone was a little worried that he would take it as a provocation from the Li family.

"It's nothing." Huo Zhizhou stood up, brushing off some of the wine stains. "I'll go change my clothes."

Everyone quickly echoed, "Yes, yes, yes."

"I'm not very familiar with this place. Would you be willing to show me the way, Ruan Ruan?" Huo Zhizhou's gaze fell on Jiang Ruan, his voice low and slow, and Jiang Ruan understood the meaning in his eyes.

She looked around.

Old Master Li nodded slightly: "Go ahead."

The way others looked at her changed from unfamiliar to more polite.

Jiang Ruan nodded and left with Huo Zhizhou.

Li Zhishen's eyes darkened. Having lived for so many years, he knew all too well that Huo Zhizhou had deliberately knocked over that cup, yet the people at the table seemed completely unaware and even looked lingering fear.

"Zhi Shen, Huo Zhizhou won't be angry, will he?"

"Does he think I dislike him and that I'm doing it on purpose?"

"I really didn't mean to, I don't know how I knocked over his wine glass."

Everyone chimed in with their own comments.

No one wanted to offend Huo Zhizhou.

The Li family members were no exception.

"I don't know." Li Zhishen wasn't about to let them off easy; his words were icy. "When he gets back, you can ask him yourselves."

"Didn't your daughter go with them? Message her and ask her to sound out their intentions." They coughed lightly and offered advice. "If she's angry, I'll say nice things to her later."

Li Zhishen looked over.

The group hesitated, asking, "What's wrong?"

Taking the opportunity, Li Zhishen asked, "I've heard that some people have objections to me giving the shares to Ruan Ruan?"

"Is there?"

"How come I didn't know?"

"I've never heard of it either."

“Jiang Ruan is your child, isn’t it perfectly normal for you to give her the shares?”

Everyone chimed in with their own comments.

Li Zhishen didn't say a word. He knew these people's tempers all too well. They were saying this now out of fear of offending Huo Zhizhou, but they would change their tune after a while due to Li Chengxuan's threats.

A fence-sitter or something.

It's the most annoying thing.

"Jiang Ruan is Zhi Shen's child?" Li Chengxuan finally spoke up, saying slowly, "How come I didn't know? When did this happen?"

"This..." The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Has everyone seen the paternity test results?" Li Chengxuan asked.

These words were spoken.

No one knew how to begin.

Li Zhishen is the major shareholder of the Li Group, but Li Chengxuan also holds a considerable number of shares; at least among the people at this table, he ranks second.

"From what I've heard, Jiang Ruan is Qin An's child with someone else in Jingzhou." Li Chengxuan wanted to make a big deal out of this. He couldn't say anything when Huo Zhizhou was around, but now that Huo Zhizhou was gone, he had no qualms about it.

What he said was half true and half false.

Even if Li Zhishen wanted to refute something, he didn't know where to begin.

"Really?"

"Zhishen, have you done a paternity test?"

"Speaking of which, you haven't been in contact with Qin An for over twenty years. How do you know Jiang Ruan is your child?"

"The Qin family and our Li family have never gotten along. Could Jiang Ruan be a tool used by the Qin family to retaliate against our Li family? I remember she's been getting very close to the Qin family lately."

The discussion then began.

Li Zhishen glanced at Li Chengxuan.

He didn't believe a word of what Li Chengxuan had done, that these people weren't acting on his behalf.

"Why isn't Zhi Shen saying anything?" Li Chengxuan asked. "Could it be that you didn't do a paternity test? Are you just saying that her child is yours because you liked Qin An?"

“Jiang Ruan is my child, believe it or not.” Li Zhishen always did things this way, his imposing gaze sweeping around the room. “Anyone with a brain can see the relationship between her and me.”

The group exchanged glances.

That's true. They had doubts about it at first, but after seeing Jiang Ruan's face today, which looked seven or eight parts like Li Zhishen's, they believed it.

However, believing is one thing.

It's impossible for Li Chengxuan's side to just stand by and watch Li Zhishen transfer his shares to an outsider who has never lived in the Li family.

"That being said, we should still be very cautious about matters concerning shares."

“Jiang Ruan has close ties with the Qin family, so it wouldn’t be good to transfer the property to her.”

"If we don't transfer it to her, are we going to transfer it to that good-for-nothing son of Li Chengxuan?" Li Zhishen directly exposed them, saying something particularly harsh. "Or is it that one of your descendants is capable of taking on such a great responsibility?"

Everyone fell silent instantly.

Among the younger generation of the Li family, no one has been particularly outstanding; otherwise, Li Zhishen would not have entrusted the management of the Li Group to outsiders he had trained.

Li Chengxuan's eyes suddenly darkened: "Li Zhishen."

Li Zhishen, true to his nature, said, "Something's up."

“I am your uncle.” Li Chengxuan’s composure vanished completely in front of Li Zhishen. “How can you be so disrespectful to your elders?”

Li Zhishen: "In what way did I disrespect you?"

He deliberately pronounced the word "you" more clearly.

Li Chengxuan wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to say it.

His son has indeed not achieved anything over the years; every project he was given either lost money or turned into a complete mess.

“I’ve said what I needed to say.” Li Zhishen returned to the topic, his gaze sweeping over everyone. “You are all people who have experienced countless ups and downs, and you know better than I how to make a choice.”

"Zhishen, let's eat," Old Master Li said, stopping them from arguing any further.

Li Zhishen had said everything he needed to say and showed no intention of speaking further.

Seeing Li Chengxuan's unpleasant expression, the others wisely stopped talking.

“What they said just now wasn’t entirely unreasonable. If you want your little girl to inherit your shares in the future, a kinship test is essential,” said Old Master Li. “Get your kinship test done in a while, so that everyone won’t be suspicious.”

Li Zhishen looked over.

Which side are we on?