SAG -Chapter 37 Kangshilan Belongs to Zhang Ran Too?

Originally, Zhang Sicheng had planned to treat Zhao Yu to dinner today and swallow his pride.

But now he had no interest in doing that.

Just like Liu Lu, his entire mind was occupied with the new house.

Compared to Liu Lu, Zhang Sicheng’s attachment to owning a home in Shanghai ran even deeper.

That evening, just as Liu Lu and her colleagues finished touring the house and were about to leave, Zhang Sicheng arrived.

After exchanging greetings and chatting briefly, Zhang Sicheng took the keys and went into the house alone.

The moment he stepped inside, he was stunned.

He had never imagined that Zhang Ran would buy such a large home for them.

Afterward, he wandered through the house by himself.

He never stopped walking.

No one knew how many times he circled every room.

He wasn’t really looking at anything in particular—he simply couldn’t bring himself to leave.

It wasn’t until ten o’clock that night, when Liu Lu called after finishing dinner with her coworkers, that Zhang Sicheng finally snapped out of his trance.

When the couple returned home, they found Zhang Ran playing with Taotao and Susu.

With no one urging them to sleep tonight, Susu was still relatively well-behaved.

Taotao, however, had completely lost himself in play.

Liu Lu first carried both children into their room to sleep before she and Zhang Sicheng sat down across from Zhang Ran.

“Thank you.”

Although Zhang Sicheng still couldn’t bring himself to call him “Dad,” his gratitude was completely sincere.

Zhang Ran shook his head.

“There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“This is what I should have done as your father.”

“And over all these years… if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

It was true.

If Zhang Ran hadn’t disappeared aboard the Goddess of Destiny twenty-eight years ago, Zhang Sicheng and Zhang Siyan’s lives would have been completely different.

Although the tragedy had been caused by circumstances beyond anyone’s control, how could Zhang Ran, as their father, not feel guilty?

“Please don’t say that.”

Zhang Sicheng replied.

“Back then, there was nothing you could do.”

“Mom, Siyan, and I… we’ve never blamed you.”

“But everything still happened because of me…”

Zhang Ran murmured.

Before his eyes appeared Yu Qingwan’s bright, innocent smile.

He couldn’t even imagine how that kind-hearted young woman had managed to raise two children all by herself over the past twenty-eight years.

How many hardships had she endured?

He, Zhang Ran, had failed Yu Qingwan.

Seeing the look in Zhang Ran’s eyes, Zhang Sicheng guessed exactly whom he was thinking about.

He sighed inwardly.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something…

But in the end, no words came.

The family sank into shared memories because of the house.

For the first time, Zhang Ran and Zhang Sicheng truly opened up to one another.

They didn’t discuss anything particularly important.

Whatever came to mind, they talked about.

Yet somehow, those casual conversations made Zhang Ran feel exceptionally comfortable.

By the time they finally went to bed, it was already three in the morning.

Since there wasn’t much work left at the company anyway, Zhang Sicheng decided to take the day off.

Liu Lu didn’t even bother making breakfast.

She quietly woke the two children, took them to school herself, and bought breakfast on the way.

Liu Lu hadn’t really slept all night.

Even when she managed to fall asleep, she’d wake almost immediately, instinctively reaching toward the keys resting beside her pillow.

She was afraid…afraid it had all been a dream.

Yet despite staying awake the entire night, she didn’t feel sleepy at all the next morning.

Huo Zhiyuan’s Villa

Meng Zixuan came downstairs yawning.

She saw Huo Zhiyuan already awake while Zhao Jingyu stood nearby reporting company matters.

For the past few days, Meng Zixuan had stayed at the villa, following Huo Zhiyuan around and learning from her.

“Good morning, Aunt Huo.”

“Morning, Jingyu.”

She greeted them before collapsing onto the sofa, looking completely exhausted.

After business was finished, Huo Zhiyuan smiled.

“Didn’t sleep well last night?”

Meng Zixuan replied weakly, “Don’t even mention it.”

“Meng Mingxuan kept bothering me all night.”

“You two siblings really are close.”

There was a trace of envy hidden deep within Huo Zhiyuan’s voice.

Meng Zixuan curled her lips.

“Close? Hardly.”

“He spent the whole night crying to me about being broke.”

“He even tried squeezing money out of me.”

Huo Zhiyuan was surprised.

“What? Did your father finally start restricting his spending?”

She knew very well how much Meng He doted on both children.

Unless they crossed some major principle, he’d rarely interfere with their lives.

And despite growing up spoiled, both Meng Mingxuan and Meng Zixuan had turned out well enough.

Huo Zhiyuan genuinely liked both of them.

“It’s not my dad.”

Meng Zixuan laughed.

“It’s Uncle Zhang.”

“Uncle Zhang cut off his spending.”

Huo Zhiyuan’s interest was immediately piqued.

Knowing she’d be interested, Meng Zixuan recounted everything that had happened during yesterday’s house negotiation.

After listening for a long while, Huo Zhiyuan thoughtfully remarked, “Looks like your father has finally decided to train Mingxuan as his successor.”

In truth, Meng He had hesitated for years.

Or rather—he had hesitated because of Meng Zixuan.

If Meng Zixuan had been willing to marry into the family and keep the family name alive, Meng He would have given her the opportunity to inherit.

But she had no such intention.

She wanted a normal marriage and children.

Under those circumstances, Meng He could never accept letting his life’s work eventually pass to someone outside the Meng family.

Call him old-fashioned.

Call him stubborn.

That was simply how he thought.

Meng Zixuan understood this perfectly well.

Although she felt a little uncomfortable, she accepted it.

After all, it had been her own decision.

She sighed.

“Honestly, Dad really didn’t need to struggle over this for so many years.”

“I truly never minded.”

Huo Zhiyuan suddenly said something that completely caught her off guard.

“Actually… your father never needed to worry about dividing the inheritance between you and your brother.”

“What do you mean?”

Meng Zixuan looked confused.

Huo Zhiyuan replied calmly, “If your parents had let you take the Zhang surname…”

“…and formally adopted you into Uncle Zhang’s family…”

“…then today, you would already be the heir to Kangshilan.”

The words struck both Meng Zixuan and Zhao Jingyu like a bolt of lightning.

Meng Zixuan instantly remembered what Meng He had once said—that most of their family’s company actually belonged to Zhang Ran.

She immediately realized what Huo Zhiyuan was implying.

As for Zhao Jingyu…

She was thinking about something else entirely.

She was astonished that Huo Zhiyuan would willingly give away hundreds of billions in assets merely because of an adoption issue.

Meng Zixuan stammered, “A-Aunt Huo…”

“Don’t tell me… Kangshilan also belongs to…”

She couldn’t finish the sentence.

She didn’t dare.

She couldn’t believe it.

If her own family’s company belonged to Uncle Zhang, she could barely accept it.

But if Kangshilan Group was also Zhang Ran’s…

The combined value of those two companies would be utterly staggering.

Huo Zhiyuan suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

It wasn’t clear whom she was mocking.

Then she said, “Why would you think that a little girl who was once sold by her own family just because they wanted money to marry off their son…”

“…could somehow afford to buy a prestigious British cosmetics brand?”

The amount of information packed into that single sentence was overwhelming.

Meng Zixuan and Zhao Jingyu, who hadn’t even recovered from the previous revelation, froze once again.

Perhaps because Huo Zhiyuan had deliberately kept her past hidden, very little information about her family background could be found online.

Most of what was available was false.

Even Meng He had rarely spoken about Huo Zhiyuan’s past in front of Meng Mingxuan or Meng Zixuan.