Fu Tianlai smiled faintly and glanced at Fu Meng and Yang Jie. Yang Jie looked up and became more attentive when her husband asked about their daughter.
"To be honest," Fu Tianlai sighed slightly, then said, "I used to think he was not good enough for Yingying, but now I think he is better and stronger than any other young man I have ever met. Moreover, he is good to Yingying. You have all seen it. He puts Yingying's life in the most important position."
Although Yang Jie had never spoken to Zhou Xuan, he had always treated her with great respect and care, and she had noticed his love and concern for her daughter, Fu Ying. However, in the large Fu family, her father-in-law, Fu Tianlai's, words were undoubtedly law, like imperial edicts. His words represented the Fu family, and as Fu Ying's biological parents, she and Fu Se had no say in the matter.
Fu Tianlai pondered for a moment before raising his head and saying in a deep voice, "It's settled then. Let's go back to New York and arrange a marriage between Yingying and Zhou Xuan. We must do everything we can to keep Zhou Xuan in the Fu family."
Fu Sun asked in surprise, "Dad, do we still need to find a way to keep him? Doesn't he like Yingying? Aren't our family's conditions attractive enough to him?"
Fu Tianlai snorted and said with a stern face, "Let me tell you something. Don't use any of your past experiences to judge Zhou Xuan. He is a special person who is different from everyone else in this world. I don't doubt his kindness to Yingying, but he will never be attracted by our wealth. Apart from Yingying, he will not be moved by any material things!"
Seeing that his father was speaking very solemnly and seriously, Fu Sun did not dare to answer and just looked at his father.
Because Gao Yuzhen, an outsider, was present, Fu Tianlai didn't say much. He waved his hand and said, "You've been detained for several days and you must be exhausted. Take a rest, and I need to think about something."
He then gave a cold snort and said angrily, "That bastard Johnny!"
Seeing that Fu Tianlai was both angry and furious, and that the topic had turned to his eldest sister Fu Feng, Fu Sun's father cursed Johnny. Although he didn't say his eldest sister's name, his face was full of anger.
On the deck of the fishing boat, Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying nestled together.
After a long silence, Fu Ying finally said, "I didn't want you to come, but you still came in the end."
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly and said in a low voice, "What's the point of my life if I don't have you?"
Fu Ying was excited, and her eyes reddened. After a while, she said, "Zhou Xuan, do you know? In our family, only my grandfather has the final say. You've met my parents. Although I'm their biological daughter, they can't make decisions about my affairs."
"Don't worry!" Zhou Xuan gently stroked Fu Ying's head and said, "I think I've already talked to your grandfather, everything should be fine, Yingying."
Hearing Zhou Xuan call out, Fu Ying raised her tear-streaked face and asked, "What is it?"
Zhou Xuan wiped away Fu Ying's tears and smiled, "Yingying, your mother is so beautiful. She looks like your older sister when she's with you, not like your mother at all!"
Fu Ying chuckled and retorted playfully, "My mom is beautiful to begin with, do you even need to tell me?"
Zhou Bin chuckled and said, "Yingying, you're even more entertaining than your mother!"
"That's unnecessary," Fu Ying blurted out, only realizing as she spoke that Zhou Xuan was praising her beauty, and immediately swallowed the rest of her words. The two lingered on the stern deck, talking about trivial things, but Fu Ying was happy to talk to Zhou Xuan about these things. Although she initially didn't want Zhou Xuan to step into this dangerous situation, he still came anyway, and this time, they were able to escape the pirates' clutches entirely thanks to her. Now that they were out of danger, their feelings were deep and tender, and they had so much to say to each other.
Inside the cockpit, Li Junjie and his bodyguard forced the pirate to take the shortest route back to the port on the coast of Kenya's Coastal Province.
It was past 8 p.m. when Fu Tianlai used the ship's communicator to contact the Kenyan police, handed over the pirate ship and guns to them, and then returned to the Nairobi military airport under the escort of the Nairobi police.
Without even lingering for a minute longer, Fu Tianlai ordered the two pilots to take the plane away from Nairobi.
Everyone boarded Fu Tianlai's poison plane, which was only piloted by the pilot. Before boarding, the pilot said to Fu Tianlai, "Mr. Fu, should we inform Young Master Johnny before we leave?"
Fu Tianlai coldly shouted, "From today onwards, no one is allowed to mention the name Johnny!"
On the plane, Fu Tianlai didn't speak to anyone and stayed by himself.
The two planes refueled in Monaco and returned to New York the following afternoon.
This time, Fu Tianlai didn't arrange for Zhou Xuan to stay at the villa in Queens. Instead, they returned to the Fu residence in Chinatown together. Fu Tianlai then wrote a check for $300,000 to Gao Yuzhen and instructed Li Junjie to take Gao Yuzhen to a hotel in New York. Since Gao Yuzhen's father had been redeemed and returned to South Korea, she had nothing to worry about. In this incident, she made $600,000 without any major incidents, and her father returned safely. It was a happy ending for everyone.
Fu Tianlai then summoned all the senior executives of the Fu Group to the Fu residence, including his eldest daughter, Fu Feng. Half an hour later, a total of seventeen people arrived.
In the Fu family's large living room, the seventeen people looked at Fu Tianlai's cold face and dared not speak. Fu Ben saw that Fu Tianlai didn't even glance at her, and noticed that her younger brother Fu Meng and his wife were sitting to his left. There was not a trace of a smile on his face. To her father's right sat Fu Ying and a young man she didn't recognize.
To be honest, Fu Ben was also very anxious. She knew about her brother's kidnapping. Her niece Fu Ying and Li Junjie's rescue attempt was also a scheme orchestrated by her brother, Johnny. Now that they were all safe and sound, it meant Johnny's plan had failed. But her son Johnny hadn't told her about their escape, leaving her both shocked and frightened. She didn't know if her father knew the truth!
In fact, Fu Ben didn't know this because Fu Tianlai was worried about the news leaking out, so he kept the news locked from his side and didn't let anyone know. Those who knew wouldn't leak it out either.
Meanwhile, Johnny himself was still negotiating with the pirates in Somalia. The pirates' negotiators kept it from Johnny while sending more people to search for Fu Tianlai and his group at sea. So Johnny himself didn't know that Fu Tianlai and his group had returned to New York. Because Johnny knew that his mother, Fu Feng, was not very mentally strong, she didn't tell Fu Ben everything that happened in Somalia, which caught Fu Mu off guard.
Fu Tianlai glanced at the crowd, and the dozen or so people fell silent in fear. Fu Tianlai's gaze was too cold and piercing.
After sitting for a few more minutes, Fu Tianlai addressed a white man in his forties sitting on the back left of the hall: "Mass, how much cash does Fu's Venture Capital Fund have in its account? How much has it invested?"
Mas, an American, opened his laptop and replied, "Mr. Fu, the total capital of Fu's Venture Capital Fund is US$1.17 billion. After deducting a few short-term international futures investments, the remaining cash on hand is US$720 million. Of this, US$50 million has already been transferred by Manager Johnny to the Somali account as initial ransom expenses. Because the company's articles of association stipulate that the movement of funds exceeding US$50 million requires the joint signature of the company's three senior executives, and the movement of funds exceeding US$100 million needs to be reported to you!"
Mas spoke in very standard Mandarin, which surprised Zhou Xuan. Little did he know that Fu Tianlai's first requirement for hiring senior executives was that they must be able to speak Mandarin.
After introducing himself, Mas added, "Mr. Fu, since you and General Manager Fu Meng are both involved in this Somali crisis, Manager Johnny informed us the day before yesterday that Mr. Fu, Ms. Fu Ying, and Mr. Li Junjie have all been kidnapped by pirates. As the direct heir of the Fu family, only Manager Johnny remains. He requested to invoke the company's crisis management regulations to temporarily assume Mr. Fu's duties and requested the use of the group's 1.5 billion US dollars in cash. Of course, this proposal required a vote by the Fu family's senior management. At the suggestion of Director Fu Feng, the senior management's vote was actually passed unanimously at this morning's meeting, and the company's finance department is also working on the transfer of 1.5 billion US dollars in cash!"
Fu Tianlai's expression turned even colder. After a moment's pause, he slowly said, "As the head of the Fu family, I sincerely thank everyone for their dedication to the Fu family. At the same time, I hereby announce that Johnny's proposed crisis management plan is officially cancelled from this moment on!"
Fu Feng's face turned as white as snow in an instant. His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word!
Fu Tianlai's cold gaze swept over the crowd again, and then he said, "I have two more things to announce. The first is that Fu Ben is officially removed from his position as executive director of the board of directors and Johnny is removed from his position as manager of venture capital fund. Furthermore, I am formally amending and announcing the distribution of my will, canceling any inheritance and distribution of Fu Ben and Johnny's Fu family property!"
Fu Feng's face turned pale, his hands trembled, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Dad, why...why?" When he said "why," Fu Ben's voice was clearly weak.
Fu Tianlai stared coldly at Fu Ben and said, "There's a saying that even a tiger won't eat its cubs. I think that saying should also apply to children, right? There are many outsiders here. I don't think you want me to talk about the Fu family's affairs right now, do you?"
Fu Ben collapsed instantly, his lips trembling, and he finally couldn't help but sob.
"Now, I will announce my second decision!" Fu Tianlai didn't even glance at Fu Ben, but instead turned his gaze to Zhou Xuan. "To all the senior executives of the Fu Group, I hereby formally announce that Zhou Xuan, my grandson-in-law, will officially join the Fu Group's board of directors. Regarding the distribution of my will's assets, I will now verbally announce that, in addition to the 20% of the group's shares held by my son Fu Se and his wife, and the 10% of shares held by my second daughter and grandson Li Junjie, I will also reclaim the 10% of shares held by my eldest daughter Fu Feng and grandson Johnny. These 10% of shares, along with the remaining 60% of shares, totaling 70% of the shares, will all be left to my grandson-in-law Zhou Xuan. However, there is a restriction: Zhou Xuan must marry Fu Ying before he can use these shares and the profits derived from them!"
Fu Tianlai's words surprised the vast majority of people!
Especially Zhou Xuan. To be honest, Zhou Xuan only needs money when he needs it; too much money doesn't appeal to him. He already has more money than he could ever spend in several lifetimes. Therefore, he feels no joy whatsoever regarding the distribution of Fu Tianlai's estate in his will. He only loves Fu Ying, not their family's wealth. This isn't just empty talk; it's what he truly feels!
Before Zhou Xuan could speak, Fu Tianlai waved his hand and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled everyone. Go back and rest. Do what you're supposed to do. The Fu family has not suffered any losses in this crisis, so I hope to see good news about the Fu family tomorrow!"
After a dozen or so executives left trembling, Fu Shuicai said in a trembling voice, tears streaming down his face, "Dad, how could you be so heartless? You can give so much property to an outsider, how could you be so heartless as to cancel the shares of me and Johnny?"
"An outsider?" Fu Tianlai said fiercely, "First, let me tell you, it's this very outsider you're talking about who risked his life to rescue our family from the pirates. Second, he's Fu Qie's fiancé, he's an outsider, so who is Johnny? And let me tell you, Fu Ben!"