SAG -Chapter 7 Meng He’s Decision

“Dad! Dad!”

Just as Meng He and his family were chatting, the villa’s front door burst open and a young man hurried inside.

The moment Meng He saw him, his face darkened.

“Look at yourself! What kind of appearance is that?”

“You’re always rushing around without a shred of composure. When are you ever going to grow up?”

Normally, Meng Mingxuan would immediately apologize whenever his father started scolding him.

But today was different.

“Dad, forget about lecturing me for a second. I have something important to ask.”

Meng He frowned. Seeing that his son was genuinely serious, he held back his criticism.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Uncle Zhang…”

“The Uncle Zhang you two are always talking about.”

“The one you keep joking is my real father.”

Meng Mingxuan stumbled over his words, unsure how to explain himself.

Meng He frowned even more.

“We know who you’re talking about.”

“So what about him?”

“What was the name of the cruise ship Uncle Zhang boarded back then?”

Meng Mingxuan swallowed nervously.

Without hesitation, Lin Meizhi answered, “The Goddess of Fate.”

“Mom…”

“Are you sure?”

His voice had begun to tremble.

“Of course I’m sure.”

“I might forget you before I’d ever forget that name.”

“Now stop beating around the bush.”

“What happened?”

By now, Lin Meizhi had already sensed something.

Her voice became urgent.

“Dad… Mom…”

“Look at this.”

Meng Mingxuan handed them his phone.

Meng He accepted it.

After reading only a few lines, his eyes widened into perfect circles.

Even his hands began to shake.

“What is it?”

“Give it to me!”

Lin Meizhi snatched the phone from his hands.

The moment she saw the headline…

She froze.

Beside her, Meng Zixuan also saw the screen and stood there in stunned silence.

Only moments earlier, they had been talking about Zhang Ran.

Now…

News about him had appeared.

“Is this…”

“Is this real?”

Lin Meizhi suddenly sprang to her feet, looking at her son with desperate hope.

Knowing exactly what Uncle Zhang meant to their family, Meng Mingxuan nodded firmly.

“It’s real.”

“It’s already been officially confirmed.”

“Wonderful…”

“Wonderful…”

“Brother Zhang has come back…”

“I knew it…”

“I always knew he’d be alright…”

Tears immediately streamed down Lin Meizhi’s face.

Perhaps she no longer loved Zhang Ran with the youthful affection she’d once felt.

But there was no denying that he still occupied an irreplaceable place in her heart.

“We’re going to Shanghai.”

Meng He abruptly stood up.

His voice sounded steady, but only on the surface.

“I’ll book the tickets right now!”

Meng Mingxuan immediately took out his phone.

“Dad, wait.”

Meng Zixuan hurriedly stopped him.

“Even if you go now, you won’t be able to see him.”

“With everything happening, who knows where he is?”

“We should wait for the official announcements.”

“Right… right…”

Meng He nodded repeatedly.

“No rush…”

“It’s good…”

“It’s good that he’s back…”

“Oh, right…”

“The phone…”

“My phone…”

By now, he was completely flustered.

Joy.

Excitement.

Relief.

They had overwhelmed him entirely.

Yet beneath those emotions lurked another feeling.

Fear.

Fear that the news might somehow turn out to be false.

Although he appeared calm, his heart had long since descended into chaos.

His earlier impulse to leave immediately was proof enough.

Seeing this, Meng Mingxuan silently handed him his phone.

Meng He opened his contacts.

After searching for a moment, he found a number and pressed Call.

The phone connected almost immediately.

He laughed excitedly.

“Did you see the news?”

“Hahaha!”

“Brother Zhang is back!”

“I knew it!”

“I knew Brother Zhang couldn’t possibly have died!”

“Hahaha!”

Both Meng Mingxuan and Meng Zixuan stared blankly at their father.

Neither of them had ever seen him lose his composure like this.

But gradually…

The excitement disappeared from Meng He’s face.

His brow slowly furrowed.

On the other end of the line, silence lingered.

Meng He didn’t urge the caller to respond.

He simply waited.

After what felt like an eternity…

A calm voice finally spoke.

“I know.”

Then…

Nothing.

Meng He quietly ended the call.

His expression turned lonely.

“…Things have changed.”

“They changed a long time ago.”

“Heh…”

He sank back onto the sofa, all the energy drained from him.

A deep sadness settled over his heart.

If Brother Zhang saw how things had become…

How heartbroken would he be?

“Dad…”

After a long silence, Meng Mingxuan cautiously asked, “Are you alright?”

“Should we call a doctor?”

Meng He slowly came back to himself.

He took a deep breath and sat upright.

It seemed he had finally made up his mind.

Looking directly at his son, he spoke with unprecedented seriousness.

Meng Mingxuan instinctively straightened.

He had never seen his father look at him this way.

“Mingxuan.”

“Zixuan.”

“There are some things your mother and I need to tell you.”

His expression was grave.

Lin Meizhi already seemed to know what he intended to say.

A trace of satisfaction appeared in her eyes.

Back then…

She truly hadn’t chosen the wrong man.

Among Zhang Ran’s circle of friends in those days, Meng He had been one of the least remarkable.

Meanwhile, Lin Meizhi had been beautiful, educated, elegant, and admired by many.

Countless people had wondered why she ultimately chose Meng He.

Even now…

They still didn’t understand.

“Dad…”

Meng Mingxuan also became unusually serious.

“We’re listening.”

After a moment’s silence, Meng He asked, “Do you think your father is a capable businessman?”

Both siblings blinked.

What kind of question was that?

Although Meng He wasn’t China’s richest man, he was still listed among the country’s wealthiest entrepreneurs.

That alone proved he was widely regarded as a business genius.

Seeing their confusion, Meng He smiled bitterly.

“The truth is…”

“I’ve never really known how to do business.”

“Every major decision…”

“Every long-term strategy…”

“Everything I’ve accomplished…”

“Was based on the future development directions Brother Zhang told me about all those years ago.”

“I simply followed the path he laid out.”

“If you call me a competent executor…”

“I’ll gladly accept that.”

“But the real strategist…”

“Was never me.”

Meng Mingxuan rarely involved himself in company affairs and had little interest in succeeding his father.

Nevertheless, he knew one thing.

His father’s prestige within the company was unquestionable.

The business had survived repeated financial crises.

It had overcome technological revolutions.

It had broken through multiple development bottlenecks.

Every time disaster struck, Meng He had always made the right decision and guided the company safely forward.

Everyone admired his vision.

His foresight.

His strategic planning.

Yet now…

His father was telling them those decisions had actually originated from someone who had lived twenty-eight years earlier.

Both siblings were stunned.

Was Uncle Zhang really that incredible?

Before they could recover…

Meng He dropped another bombshell.

“Do either of you know our company’s original ownership structure?”

“I do.”

Meng Mingxuan answered immediately.

“You and Mom currently hold fifty-one percent.”

“Galaxy Capital owns eleven percent.”

“Hemlock Capital owns eight…”

Meng He smiled faintly.

“That’s the current ownership.”

“But originally…”

“Brother Zhang owned eighty percent.”

“I owned only twenty percent.”

The siblings were speechless.

At the same time, they finally realized where this conversation was heading.

Meng He looked into the distance, memories filling his eyes.

“Even that twenty percent…”

“Brother Zhang gave it to me.”

“In the early days of the company…”

“Every cent of startup capital came from him.”

“He provided the funding.”

“He provided the direction.”

“To put it simply…”

“He handed me twenty percent of the company for free…”

“…and asked me to help him look after it.”

What Meng He didn’t say aloud was that this wasn’t unique to his company.

Many of Zhang Ran’s investments had been structured similarly.

“When Brother Zhang disappeared…”

“Those shares weren’t registered directly under his own name.”

“They belonged to an overseas shell company.”

“So the government never confiscated them.”

“At the time…”

“I didn’t have enough money to buy them back.”

“So…”

“I used certain methods…”

“…to transfer those shares into my own name.”

Back then, after Zhang Ran vanished, the overseas shell company had effectively become ownerless.

No one came to manage it.

No one exercised control.

Which made those transfers surprisingly easy.

Many people had done exactly the same thing.

At first, everyone promised themselves—

If Brother Zhang ever came back…

We’d return everything.

But twenty-eight years later…

Who still remembered those promises?

Neither Meng Mingxuan nor Meng Zixuan interrupted.

They simply watched their father quietly.

They already knew what he was about to say.

Sure enough—

“Now that Brother Zhang has returned…”

“We should return what belongs to him.”

He paused.

“Your mother and I have worked hard all these years.”

“So we’ll allow ourselves one final selfish act.”

“We’re going to transfer half of the shares we currently own back to Brother Zhang.”

He corrected himself immediately.

“No…”

“Not transfer.”

“Return.”

Silence filled the room.

This wasn’t a trivial amount.

Once those shares were returned…

Their family would lose absolute control of the company.

For decades, maintaining that control had been Meng He’s unwavering bottom line.

After saying everything, he looked mainly at Meng Mingxuan.

No matter how much he loved his daughter, his son remained the principal heir to the family’s fortune.

Both parents had expected fierce resistance.

After all…

His inheritance would instantly be cut in half.

Very few people could accept that.

Instead—

Meng Mingxuan smiled easily.

“Dad…”

“I thought it was something serious.”

“Isn’t this perfectly reasonable?”

“Everything our family owns was earned by you and Mom.”

“How you divide it is your decision.”

“I don’t have the slightest objection.”

“And besides…”

“As you said…”

“We’re only returning what already belonged to Uncle Zhang.”

“If anything…”

“Our family has been the one benefiting all these years.”

Meng He stared blankly at his son.

For the first time…

It felt as though he were seeing him with entirely new eyes.

“…You really mean that?”

He asked quietly.

“Of course.”

“I’m not going to lie about something like this.”

“And honestly…”

“I’ve never wanted to take over the company anyway.”

“I’ve always dreamed of being nothing more than a carefree rich second-generation heir.”

“Even if half the family’s wealth is gone…”

“My sister and I splitting what’s left is still more than enough for me to enjoy life.”

The words had barely left his mouth before—

“Hahahaha!”

Meng He burst into hearty laughter.

It was genuine.

Relieved.

Filled with pride.

Lin Meizhi looked at her son with deep satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Meng Zixuan gazed at her younger brother with complicated emotions.

For the first time in her life…

She felt as though she had truly come to know him.