Beg Me to Remarry
Chapter 462: Unexpected Harvest

Chapter 462: Chapter 462: Unexpected Harvest

"You?" Xia Guoxiong was dumbfounded, so shocked that his mind turned to mush, he had never considered this possibility.

But now that the possibility had arisen, he felt that it was not entirely impossible.

A bolt of lightning struck Xia Guoxiong’s heart, and he violently shook his head, realizing that it was very likely, extremely likely, that He Xing had done this.

Doing business is not the same as running a charitable organization, and the fact that He Xing had taken He Group up a notch in just a few years proved that He Xing was no ordinary man or that he did not treat the He Group as a charitable organization to be managed.

A merchant always repays debts of gratitude and vengeance, which is only natural.

A three-billion project is a juicy steak anywhere, and for He Group, this steak was already at their lips, yet someone had used some means to snatch it away.

Speaking objectively and fairly, what would others think of He Group if He Xing did nothing in response? Everyone would probably think that He Group was a dying lion, that just about anyone could take a bite from.

He Xing’s calm voice rang out like a musical movement in the dead of winter, clear as a phoenix’s cry, "Why? If Huangpu Group dares to make a move on me, and I don’t teach them a lesson, He Group will become a joke when we walk out the door."

"But... but..." Xia Guoxiong stammered, unwilling to give up, "He Xing, is there still room for negotiation? Even if you don’t deal with Huangpu Group, you can’t just ignoring Xia Group.

Even without the chill of the wind, Xia Guoxiong could feel his back drenched in sweat. He refused to admit that he was scared, convinced that it was simply the heating in He Xing’s office being too high.

The wait for He Xing’s response felt as long as a century, but in reality, less than two minutes had passed since Xia Guoxiong finished speaking.

After two minutes, He Xing spoke words that chilled Xia Guoxiong to the bone, "Uncle Xia, I know that Auntie Du Wanting saved my life. Even though she was already terminally ill and her time was short, I still feel indebted to the Xia family. Over the years, I have been responsive to any request from the Xia family. While the life-saving debt may not be fully repaid, I have done my duty towards you, haven’t I?"

"You... you’ve been very... very kind to our Xia family." Xia Guoxiong’s tongue seemed to be tied in a knot, unable to articulate a simple sentence.

Mainly because he was too shocked. It had been over a decade since Du Wanting saved He Xing, enough to be considered part of a bygone era.

In the years before, Xia Guoxiong had started his business venture, and not everyone who ’went to sea’ was successful. At least at that time, the four people in the Xia family lived a challenging life.

Du Wanting had to support Xia Guoxiong in his business and be a good wife and mother, taking care of the young Xia Cheng and Xia Ning, until she eventually fell ill from overwork.

At that time, medical resources were limited, or perhaps there were means to treat Du Wanting’s illness, but Xia Guoxiong had no money as he had invested it all into his startup.

The couple acted as if by mutual agreement, neither brought up the matter of treatment, silently awaiting the inevitable end the doctor had predicted.

Then, before that inevitable end came, Du Wanting inadvertently saved He Xing’s life.

In truth, Xia Guoxiong was not as heartbroken by Du Wanting’s death as his children seemed to be. Not that he didn’t love her, but he had long been prepared for her departure. So when he found out that the person Du Wanting saved was the sole heir of the He family of that generation, his sorrow felt like a spark thrown into the ocean, lacking even the desire to flounder.

But Xia Guoxiong’s display of grief was still intense; every time the He family spoke to him about Du Wanting, he would weep bitterly to enhance the He family’s sense of guilt, thereby increasing their support for Xia Group.

At the same time, Xia Guoxiong was clever; he concealed the fact that Du Wanting had been terminally ill. Actually, there seemed no need to hide it, because who would check the natural lifespan of a corpse at that time? Besides, there wasn’t the technology for that kind of examination anyway.

Yet Xia Guoxiong was scheming; he not only destroyed every piece of evidence related to Du Wanting’s illness at home but also went out of his way to instruct every person in the know never to divulge this to anyone, especially He Xing.

As for Xia Cheng and Xia Ning, he had no need to warn them. They were young, and their memories were limited, all the more since Du Wanting and Xia Guoxiong never discussed her condition in front of the children. So all Xia Guoxiong needed to do was to reinforce in the children the pain of losing their mother; he didn’t need to do anything else.

One clever trick can conquer all challenges.

Xia Guoxiong’s ritual of mourning his late wife on any occasion had worked countless times over the past decade, and it still worked.

He had thought that Du Wanting’s secret would stay buried forever, but to his surprise, He Xing had just casually mentioned it.

"He Xing, how... how did you know?" Xia Guoxiong hated himself for speaking out as if he had confirmed the truth of He Xing’s words.

Indeed, upon hearing his words, He Xing’s smile deepened, but unfortunately for Xia Guoxiong, there was no warmth in that smile, "You insisted that I watch Xia Ning while she took her afternoon nap at the hospital yesterday. It was something she said in her sleep. I merely asked her about it casually today; I didn’t expect it to be true."

There’s a difference between being indebted for a life to someone who ought to have lived to a ripe old age and to someone who was fated to lose her life. At least with the latter, your feelings of guilt wouldn’t be as intense.

Honestly speaking, when He Xing heard Xia Ning, in her dream, say, "Mom, you must take your medicine on time... Mom, don’t leave me," he felt incredibly mixed emotions, countless thoughts interwoven in his heart.

But it was too difficult to verify events from over a decade ago. The main issue for He Xing was that seeking such verification felt immoral, a hurdle in his heart.

He hadn’t expected that without even provoking Xia Guoxiong, the man would deliver himself to his doorstep, so he bluffed, never anticipating it would turn out to be true.

After thinking for a while, He Xing added, "Uncle Xia, even though Auntie Du Wanting was indeed at death’s door at that time, she did save me, and that’s a fact. I will not forget her kindness. I will surely help the Xia family if I can, but as for today’s matter, I’m sorry, I cannot help."

"But..." Xia Guoxiong, not receiving the response he wanted, naturally refused to give up. He hesitantly began, "But He Xing, this project is very important to Xia Group. We’ve already invested the initial funds. Now that we are being pulled from the project, what... what about the invested funds?"