Rui Yue was in disbelieve state as he looked at the diary that had fallen on the floor. After a while, he wiped off his tears and scrambled to his feet. He rushed to the living room and grabbed the car key before went out. He drove to a high-end luxury housing area. He stopped in front of a gated Italian styled house and got down from the car. He walked toward the intercom and pressed it.
He spoke to the intercom and slowly the enormous gate opened and Rui Yue drove his car into the house. He was greeted by the butler of the house upon arrival at the main door.
"Uncle Shen..."
"Young Master Xie, old master is already waiting at the study room, please follow me."
The butler who was in his fifties bowed to Rui Yue slightly as he greeted him. The butler brought Rui Yue to the second floor of the house and they walked a few steps before stopped in front of a door. The butler knocked the door twice.
"Come in"
Upon hearing the occupant of the room had granted the permission to enter the room, the butler opened the door and greeted the master of the house. The master of the house was in his early fifties, same age as his own father. He looked at Rui Yue and smiled kindly. When he smiled the crowfeet appeared making him look slightly older.
"Uncle Teng."
"Rui Yue, you're here? Come and have a seat"
Teng Yi Liang got up from the swivel chair and walked away from his oak desk. He sat at the leather sofa and gestured him to sit down. Rui Yue then took a seat across him and took a look at the room. Teng Yi Liang was a book lover and it seems that he renovated the study room to expand the room so that he can keep more books. All the books were arranged neatly in the shelves.
"It had been a while since you last came. So how are you lately?"
Teng Yi Liang started the conversation. The butler came in bearing a tray of teas. Once he set the tea down, he bowed slightly and left.
"Uncle Teng, let's set that aside for a while. I... have something to ask you..."
Rui Yue started to speak slowly. Teng Yi Liang smiled. He knew this child will not come and visit him without reason.
"Do ask." Teng Yi Liang said as he picked up the tea cup and took a sip of the tea.
"It was about... father..." Rui Yue said softy. Teng Yi Liang looked at Rui Yue, the tea cup remained in his hand.
"About Yuan Ting?" Teng Yi Liang was astonished.
'Why would Rui Yue want to ask about his own father?'
He thought silently as he put the tea cup down on the tempered glass table slowly.
"Uncle Teng... you're my father best friend and was working together with him since he first established his own company, so you must have known how Qi Tian was established too, don't you?"
Teng Yi Liang's face turned taut and serious when he heard the question asked by Rui Yue. But he quickly recomposed himself and asked in a leisure manner.
"Why are you asking that now? I've left Qi Tian more than 10 years ago, a lot of things I've forgotten. I may not be able to answer you on what you want to know..."
He picked up the tea cup, gripping it slightly and took a sip.
"No, Uncle Teng, please tell me..." Rui Yue trailed off
"My father... My father, he... he really did underhanded things to get Feng Long Group?" Rui Yue asked.
Teng Yi Liang remained silent. 'So, it was about this... He knew...'
Seeing Teng Yi Liang remained quiet, Rui Yue tried again and begged Teng Yi Liang to tell him.
"Uncle Teng, is that right? Please tell me, I begged you..."
"Does it really matter? Yuan Ting already passed on... Does it really matter to know about it?" Teng Yi Liang asked softly.
Few years ago, he was cornered by someone, asking the same question and now, he was once again cornered again by the same question. He knew this child have a kind heart and loves Yuan Ting dearly. Telling him the truth will only made him sad, feeling guilty and probably hated his own father that he admired since he was a child. It might also cause the friendship between this child and that Yan child to end. But does he have a choice to remain silence? He sighed softly.
Rui Yue was still begging him. He had wanted to keep quiet but he knew that Rui Yue won't let him off that easily. This child is sure persistent that at the end he relented.
"No matter what, you still want to know?"
Teng Yi Liang asked. Before Rui Yue could answer, he already posted the second question.
"Even if it will leave a scar on you? Causing changes on your life, you still want to know?"
Rui Yue was hesitating but after a while he nodded his head.
"Yes... Uncle Teng, my father... he really did used an underhand method to get the company owned by Uncle Yan right? Please tell me in details how he did it..." Rui Yue bowed his head slightly, silently begging Teng Yi Liang.
Teng Yi Liang sighed as he looked at the tea cup. "At the end, this incident still cannot be kept a secret anymore..." He murmured softly.
"You probably already knew that I met your father during my study in university time. At that time, I joined the same club as your father and later on I was introduced to Yi Zhen by your father. Three of us were in the same course and your father and Yi Zhen both were my seniors. During the university time, I was always been told by your father and Yi Zhen that they're going to establish their own company right after they graduated.
And right after they graduated, they tried to establish their own company. Yi Zhen's parents passed away early and left a small fortune for Yi Zhen. So, he used the money left by his parents to establish a small construction company, selling raw materials to the developers. Your father was not so lucky, he has to work hard to save for realising his dream.
Seeing your father worked hard and toiled around the clock, so vigorously that it affected his health, Yi Zhen feel bad for your father and he offered your father to join his company as his assistant to relieve his burden. Yi Zhen wanted your father to work with him so your father could save enough to establish his own company in the future.
They work hard together and in three years' time, they gained popularities, as the company that provide the best raw material and cheapest in price. Many developers start to do businesses with them. Because of this they managed to list the company in the share market and they changed the name to Feng Long group. They even managed to establish their own factory to produce their own brand of raw materials.
Yi Zhen treated your father well. Right after the company was listed, Yi Zhen took the Chairman position and he gave the Vice Chairman position to your father. Soon after that, your father had earned more than enough, he too, established his own company as the company that sells food products. Even though your father had established his own company and it was thriving, he still remained working for Yi Zhen.
At that time, I was working in a small firm, and I coincidentally met your father in a restaurant. We have a small chat and he told me that he was establishing his own company and wanted me to help him. And I did..."
Teng Yi Liang paused and he took another sip of his tea.
"And then..." Rui Yue trailed off.
"Three of us get back together like in our old times, going for meals and sometimes golfing... That was one of the best times we had." Teng Yi Liang smiled as he remembered the past.
"Everything was good for them, they got married with the person they love and had a child, which are Qi Hua and you. Everything still remains great, their friendship remained strong and good. But..." Teng Yi Liang trailed off.
His eyes turned sorrow. "Good things do not last long. When you're about five, your mother contracted an incurable illness, and your father has to run on three sides. Your mother, his company and Feng Long group. At that time, Feng Long group was thriving and won many awards. Just mentioned Feng Long group to anyone in the business world, no one wouldn't not know about this company. At first, your father was happy with the achievement that Feng Long gained. He was proud of Yi Zhen.
But it all changed about a year later. I'm not sure why, maybe because of your mother passing, and it gave him a big shock, or maybe he wished that his company can be like Feng Long group. I really don't know the reason. All I know is that, after your mother passed away, he was immersed and drowned himself with work, obsessively hoping to get the same achievement as Yi Zhen had."
"And so... My father used an underhand method..." Rui Yue asked.
Teng Yi Liang nodded slowly. "Yes..."
Rui Yue gripped his hand tightly. But Teng Yi Liang took no mind to Rui Yue's reaction and he continued to speak.
"Probably Yuan Ting started to feel that he unable to beat Yi Zhen no matter how hard he tried, he then used underhand methods to bring Feng Long group down. He was still the Vice Chairman in Feng Long group at that time, so it was easy for him to destroy Feng Long from within and he did it four years later..."
"Just when Feng Long group was at its peak, rumors begun to surge up, claiming that the materials produced by Feng Long group was not made from the high-quality raw materials. That they used cheap materials to cut cost and sell them in high price. At first, they ignored the rumors. But it got out of hand after a while. "
"To make it worst, the ongoing construction owned by a famous developer suddenly collapsed and the materials that they used for the construction were produced by Feng Long Group. The root cause for the collapse were due to the materials used in the construction. Because of that Feng Long group suffered a major blow. Yi Zhen had sent people to check for the materials but their main factory for producing the materials suddenly caught on a fire and got burned. The police had investigated that it was due to the wiring.
At this time, the high and mighty Feng Long Group, fall into the devastated state. Feng Long Group was sued by the developer, and the rest of the people who procure from Feng Long Group suddenly withdrawn and demanded for compensation..."
Rui Yue looked at Teng Yi Liang in disbelieve. Teng Yi Liang looked at Rui Yue.
"Feng Long Group was on the verge of collapsing and at that time, Yi Zhen's wife got into accident and passed away. All of this caused Yi Zhen to collapse and bedridden, unable to get up and perform duties as the Chairman of Feng Long Group. At that time, Yi Zhen then decided to sell of the group to pay off the whatever compensations and debt that the group owed."
Teng Yi Liang sighed again. "Seeing high and mighty Feng Long Group had almost fallen, I thought your father will stop there. "
"But... Your father... didn't stop, even though Feng Long Group already almost collapsed, he had..." Teng Yi Liang's eyes show pain as he spoke.
"He had Yi Zhen signed the contract to leave Feng Long Group to him... without any compensation."
"Without any compensation...." Rui Yue said in disbelieved.
"Yes... He managed to trick Yi Zhen to sign it on pretense that he was helping Yi Zhen to sell off the group. He then later took over the Feng Long Group as the Chairman and had his company merged together. Whatever problem Feng Long Group had, he solved and paid the compensation. After that, he established Qi Tian..."
"Un-Uncle Yan... Then... then uncle Yan..." Rui Yue asked. His fist tightened on his shirt.
"When Yi Zhen knew about it, it was already too late and it made him so sad that he passed away in despair." Teng Yi Liang said with a low voice and he pressed his finger against his closed eyes, getting rid of the tears that had just submerged.
"All these while I've been feeling remorse and guilty, when I know what Yuan Ting did and yet unable to help Yi Zhen... So not long after that, I resigned from Qi Tian..." Teng Yi Liang ended his story.
Rui Yue's hand was shaking. He couldn't believe. The person whom he respected, he admired, he loves actually done such despicable thing. His father was willing to use such underhanded method to his own best friend. Just how cruel was his father could be? Because of that Qi Hua had to lose his father at the age of fifteen.
What's more, his father actually has the gall to pretend as a saint and brought Qi Hua to stay with them and paid for his tuition fees and gave him a high position in Qi Tian. Knowing all these, how can he face Qi Hua in the future? His father was a murderer. Someone who drove Uncle Yan to death. Rui Yue fisted his hand tightly.
Rui Yue looked at Teng Yi Liang. "Uncle Teng... One last question."
"Say it." Teng Yi Liang who felt that he had nothing to hide anymore, had Rui Yue asked the question he want to know the answer of. He could guess, what is the next question that child wanted to ask and he prepared his answer well in advance. There is no point in hiding anymore.
"Do-Does... Does... Qi Hua knew about this?" Rui Yue asked in a low voice.
All of this... if Qi Hua were to know... If Qi Hua were to know... Then what will Qi Hua do? He looked down to his shoes, afraid of the answer that he was going to receive.
Teng Yi Liang did not delayed any further and answered him. "Yes... He knew..."