Chapter 109: The Nobility Like the Sea

Zhang Qiyang was reluctant to return home to celebrate his wealthy new father’s birthday, partly because he felt awkward about it. When his own father turned fifty, he hadn’t rushed back to the hometown to celebrate. Now, having arrived in this new dimension, eagerly rushing to celebrate his new father’s birthday seemed to him a bit too sycophantic.

Of course, on the other hand, he had already transmigrated, acquired a new body and a new identity. He was no longer his former self. In this new realm, if not for a certain little spirit of his new father’s bravely venturing forward back then, he wouldn’t have obtained this new body.

Everything he now possessed was a gift from his new father. He must never forget the source of his blessings. He couldn’t be so ungrateful, so lacking in filial piety.

Moreover, his current life was still that of a newly minted underdog. Although he lived in a mansion and drove a supercar, his lifestyle was far from that of high society. Only by smoothing relations with his wealthy new father and reintegrating into the family could he hope to live the truly lavish life of an elite scion.

The allure of genuine high society was indeed strong for Zhang Qiyang. Yet, as the saying goes, once you enter the world of the rich, it’s as deep and turbulent as the sea. Zhang Qiyang harbored a strong aversion to returning to this family whose intricate relationships ran deeper than the ocean.

This resistance stemmed not only from the lingering will of the original owner but also from Zhang Qiyang himself. He was reluctant to wade into this bottomless, murky pond—at least not for the time being.

In wealthy families, there were often many unspeakable relationships and covert dealings. The Zhang family, the richest clan, was no exception. The complexity within the family far exceeded Zhang Qiyang’s imagination.

From the fragmented memories of the original owner, Zhang Qiyang could roughly piece together the true state of the family. To outsiders, Zhang Zhenhua, the patriarch, appeared as a harmonious and accomplished scholar-businessman crowned with honor. But few knew that Zhang Zhenhua’s love life was deeply complicated.

He had a secret affair with Li Xiaoxiao, the only granddaughter of the equally powerful Li family, whose influence spanned the political and business worlds. The spectacular rise of the Oriental Group owed much to the assistance of the Li family.

Since returning from studying abroad, Li Xiaoxiao had worked at Oriental Group, and through her exceptional business acumen and talents, she had become Zhang Zhenhua’s most trusted right hand.

During the years when she was his assistant in the guise of a student, their cooperation was seamless, their minds attuned, and over time their relationship evolved from that of CEO and assistant, teacher and student, into confidantes, and eventually into secret lovers.

Li Xiaoxiao, a generation younger than Zhang Zhenhua, bore him an illegitimate son, Zhang Qihang, twelve years ago. Though born out of wedlock, the boy bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Zhenhua and was dearly cherished by him.

Fed up with being the other woman, Li Xiaoxiao leveraged this child to coerce Zhang Zhenhua into a palace coup. At that time, Li Xiaoxiao was in her prime at twenty-six, surpassing Zhang Zhenhua’s official wife, Xu Youyun—who had given birth to two children—in personal charm, family background, and business talent.

Xu Youyun also hailed from a wealthy family, but could not compare to Li Xiaoxiao’s pedigree. She knew all too well that if a conflict erupted, both sides would suffer, but she and her children would be the ultimate losers, cast aside and deeply wounded.

Unable to compete with Li Xiaoxiao’s youth, beauty, and formidable background, Xu Youyun chose to yield for the sake of her children. Using the excuse of accompanying the original owner to study abroad in the UK, she left the country that had broken her heart and devoted herself to the original owner’s life overseas.

As for Zhang Zhenhua and Li Xiaoxiao, they could do as they pleased. Xu Youyun had reached a secret agreement with Zhang Zhenhua: once the original owner came of age, she would quietly divorce Zhang Zhenhua, relinquishing her position to Li Xiaoxiao. She had resolved to spend the rest of her life abroad with the original owner.

The original owner had been completely unaware of these sordid family affairs. He had thought his mother came to the UK simply out of affection for him. He had always regarded his father as a respectable and honorable scholar-businessman, holding him as a role model. Li Xiaoxiao, in his heart, was a capable and charming elder sister figure.

Although his mother forbade him from associating too closely with Li Xiaoxiao, the original owner liked her very much.

It wasn’t until his mother died in a car accident and he returned to attend the funeral in China that he accidentally overheard a conversation between Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Zhenhua. Only then did he discover the affair between his father and Li Xiaoxiao.

In that moment, his worldview shattered completely. His inner world, already collapsing from the loss of his mother, was utterly destroyed.

He even suspected that Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Zhenhua had conspired to cause his mother’s accident. He hired no fewer than ten private detectives in the UK to investigate, but all efforts ended in vain.

His mother’s accident was likely just that—an accident. By the time he received his acceptance letter from Cambridge, Zhang Zhenhua and his mother had already signed their divorce agreement. There was no need for Zhang Zhenhua and Li Xiaoxiao to create any further trouble.

Yet the original owner could not move past this hurdle in his heart. He was convinced his father and Li Xiaoxiao had joined forces to drive his mother to her death.

After his mother’s passing, he drifted aimlessly for two years in the UK. Upon hearing that Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Zhenhua planned to marry, the original owner decided to drop out and return to China, intent on making life miserable for the pair—to ensure they would never wed.

What followed was a well-known family schism. The Zhang family, weighing the situation, all sided with Li Xiaoxiao, tacitly accepting this new matriarch’s arrival. Even Zhang Qiyuan, reluctantly, had to accept her as the stepmother along with an undisclosed younger brother moving into the family.

But the original owner refused to submit. He threatened Zhang Zhenhua and Li Xiaoxiao with his life: should they dare marry, he would livestream the most sensational suicide the world had ever seen, ruining their reputations utterly.

On that fateful night of estrangement, Zhang Zhenhua was so enraged he severed all ties with his son. Except for Zhang Qiyuan, the rest of the family and associates aligned with Zhang Zhenhua and Li Xiaoxiao, distancing themselves from the original owner.

Li Xiaoxiao, ever “understanding,” recognized that the original owner blamed her for his mother’s death. She feared that if he truly went mad, the decades of painstakingly cultivated love between her and Zhang Zhenhua might be destroyed, and the reputations of three great families sullied.

If matters escalated, all disgrace would fall on her—after all, she had been the other woman. Reluctantly, she chose to compromise.

She agreed with the original owner that she would not marry Zhang Zhenhua within three years. She hoped he would consider the family’s honor and their feelings and show some leniency towards her and his father.

She did not ask him to accept her, only that he refrain from causing trouble. Surely his mother, watching from heaven, would not want the family torn apart beyond repair. Otherwise, she would never have agreed to the secret divorce with Zhang Zhenhua but would have made a scene instead.

Li Xiaoxiao gave the original owner three years, hoping he would calm down and think carefully about the right path—the path his mother would have wanted.

The original owner loathed Li Xiaoxiao for ruining his family. He knew the three-year agreement was a stalling tactic. During this period, Li Xiaoxiao would use every means to establish herself as the legitimate new matriarch, silencing all criticism of her past as a mistress.

After three years, no matter how much he resisted, he would be powerless. Faced with the formidable Li Xiaoxiao, he had no choice but to accept the temporary truce: as long as she and Zhang Zhenhua did not marry within those three years, he would not make a fuss.

Once the agreement was made, to sabotage Li Xiaoxiao’s scheme and to spite the pair, the original owner decided to break into the entertainment industry. He would channel his suppressed and destructive emotions into music.

He also sought to draw public attention to himself, accumulate influence, and gain platforms to speak out. That way, when the time came to confront Li Xiaoxiao, he would not be left voiceless.

In truth, no domestic media dared expose the secrets of a family as powerful as theirs. Without the original owner’s own revelation, most of the country would remain unaware that the richest family had such an eccentric son.

Even now, most people did not know that the former matriarch had died in a car accident in the UK. Only a few ordinary folks had caught wind of it through overseas media whispers, while local media never dared report on it.

Ordinary people would never know that the soon-to-be new richest family matriarch was the only granddaughter of the powerful Li family.

Such a melodramatic saga was not even common knowledge among the upper echelons.

It was only after Li Xiaoxiao’s three-year plan that high society gradually came to accept that Zhang Zhenhua and Li Xiaoxiao were truly together.

Li Xiaoxiao even cleverly ensured that those who should know were aware that Zhang Qiyang, the disowned prodigal son estranged from the family, was her adversary, constantly undermining the precious relationship she had with Zhang Zhenhua.

On one side stood Li Xiaoxiao, the formidable heiress of the Li family and head of investment at Oriental Group, controlling half the company’s resources.

On the other stood the cast-off son, Zhang Qiyang, whose only hope, if he ever reformed, would be to submit to the authority of his stepmother, Li Xiaoxiao.

In such a choice, the wise knew exactly where to place their allegiance; Li Xiaoxiao needed not lift a finger.

From the moment the original owner chose to enter the entertainment world to spite his family and enhance his influence, he had already lost.

He lost not only his image and future but also the last remnants of hope his father held for him.

During these three years, Li Xiaoxiao watched his foolish antics with amusement, as if watching a play.

She had no need to pave the way for her son; the original owner had done it all by preparing the path for him to inherit Oriental Group.

What Li Xiaoxiao had failed to foresee, however, was that after countless trials and tribulations, a truly formidable transmigrator had arrived.