Mr. Su's Love Investigation Report
Chapter 226 Conditions

Chapter 226: Chapter 226 Conditions

"Qingmei!" Su Zhen finally got a bit angry.

Shang Qingmei, intimidated by Su Zhen’s rebuke, did not dare to speak, yet her expression remained cold and arrogant.

"If there’s anything else, say it all in one breath!" Su Zhen commanded Su Ronggui solemnly.

"Hiring thugs to threaten a female reporter, harassment on the subway, following along the way, intent to rape!"

As soon as Su Ronggui finished speaking, Su Zhen’s entire face changed color.

Shang Qingmei also knew that this matter was not easy to explain to Su Zhen, so she quickly said, "There was a threat, but it wasn’t actually carried out!"

"To what extent must it go to be considered actually done?" Su Ronggui’s face also looked extremely unpleasant, "Mom, that person is your daughter-in-law! Being molested on the subway! Does it have to result in an irreparable consequence to be considered actually done?"

"I’ve never admitted she’s my daughter-in-law..." Shang Qingmei screeched.

"Enough!" Su Zhen’s voice stopped the flood of words behind her, "This is not the most important matter at hand!"

The room fell into a brief silence.

In the silence, Shang Qingmei’s gaze was as sharp as a needle, piercing her son who was now beyond her control. Su Ronggui also looked at her, only feeling that gaze stab into his heart, leaving it cold and painfully numb.

In this brief silence, Su Zhen made a decision, first addressing Su Ronggui, "Ronggui, today marks the eighteenth year and four months plus eighteen days since you came to the Su family, correct?"

Su Ronggui felt a slight heaviness in his heart, expected yet unexpected; he had to calculate carefully. After calculating, he nodded, "Yes, Dad."

"In these eighteen years, I, Su Zhen, have asked myself and can say I’ve been fair to you. How do you feel about it?"

"Yes, you’ve treated me as your own child." He came to the Su family, though he always felt out of place with this family, Su Zhen indeed never treated him unfairly. In terms of food, clothing, and use, he had what Su Rongcheng had; for education and development, he grew up in the same school with Su Rongcheng and was provided for college. For this, he had always been grateful. As a stepfather, Su Zhen was already quite good.

Su Zhen was very satisfied with this answer, nodding, "Ronggui, you’ve been excellent since you were a child, better than Rongcheng and Rongyu."

Su Ronggui remained silent. This was the beginning of negotiations.

Su Zhen pondered for a moment and then asked, "Tu Hengsha? Is that the name?"

"Yes."

"If I’m not mistaken, she’s the photojournalist who came from your news agency to interview me, correct?"

"Yes, it’s her," he said.

"Hmm... I have an impression, a lively girl," Su Zhen smiled, "You’ve been calling me ’Dad’ for eighteen years, so I imagine I have some say in your lifelong matters? Since you truly like her and the girl is nice, when the time is right, you should bring her home to meet us!"

"No..." Upon hearing this, Shang Qingmei became agitated.

Su Zhen’s face turned cold, "Qingmei!"

The remaining words from Shang Qingmei were blocked by Su Zhen’s cold gaze. Still unwilling to relent, her angry open mouth made her lose the grace of Mrs. Su.

"Regarding this incident..." Su Zhen continued, "Once the girl marries in, she’s family. Since she’s family, it’s best to live in harmony. If the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don’t get along, the one who suffers most will be you, yourself. This is a man’s secret told to you by me, as her father. And this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, where is the most crucial point? It’s right here with the man!"

Su Ronggui remained silent. Harmony was indeed the goal, so eventually, this matter must end harmoniously. But what kind of peaceful resolution was feasible? Agreeing to let him and Tu Hengsha be together as a condition and then forcing them to make a big concession was unlikely. Su Zhen was a businessman proficient in negotiation, and he shouldn’t be so bad at it himself, right?

"Ronggui," Su Zhen called his name earnestly, "The Su family grew from nothing to its current stature, and only I know how difficult that was. Now, it’s flourishing, allowing your generation to enjoy the benefits, sparing you from the hardships I endured. In my heart, I feel some comfort. That’s also the reason for my indulgence and spoiling. Though with indulgence, we got Rongxing too arrogant and Rongyu the Demon Lord of Mayhem, I’ve privately felt gratified, at least sparing you from fighting like I did. However, in prosperity, one must always be wary. I’ve never dared to be careless. There’s a saying that goes, you see him building a tall building, you see him hosting guests, you see his building collapse... Sometimes rise and fall happen in an instant. Therefore, I cherish the reputation of the Su family dearly, never allowing anything that harms the Su family’s reputation and interests. No matter how much mischief Rongxing and Rongyu cause, if one day they endanger the Su family, I will just as severely punish them without lenience."

Su Ronggui listened silently, thus understood that this matter must absolutely not be exposed, or even if exposed, it could not be linked to the Su family.

However, this was something he anticipated.

"Who was the first to spread the rumor?" Su Zhen asked.

"A self-media," Su Ronggui mentioned the name of the self-media.

Su Zhen looked at Shang Qingmei.

No matter how much frustration Shang Qingmei felt in her heart, she could only admit it honestly, "It’s someone on my side."

Su Zhen tapped the table, "I don’t want the daughter-in-law married into the Su family to have any blemishes. What must be returned to Tu Hengsha’s reputation must be returned! Apologize where needed, send lawyer’s notices where needed, compensate for losses where needed, and let the law handle legal responsibilities where needed."

Shang Qingmei was clearly unwilling, her neck stiffened and she said nothing.

"Qingmei?" Su Zhen directly called her name, "Since it’s your people, and it’s you who initiated this, then you go handle it yourself, and it must be done beautifully without any flaw."

Having said that, he no longer cared about Shang Qingmei’s attitude and turned to ask Su Ronggui, "Ronggui, what do you think? Dad can only do this much. As Su Zhen, being in this position, Dad also has many helplessness, and after all, she is your mother, your biological mother, you can’t push her too much."

Su Ronggui had initially prepared for a fierce negotiation, but Su Zhen’s reaction was better than he expected. After thinking it over, this should be the maximum concession he could strive for from Su Zhen. What he cared most about was Tu Hengsha’s reputation, and since Su Zhen was willing to grant it, he could accept this resolution. As for Su Zhen’s promise of approval for his marriage with Tu Hengsha as an exchange condition, he didn’t care about it at all, since no matter whether people in this family agreed or disagreed, it would not change his decision.

He nodded, agreeing just to end this farce.

Su Zhen patted him on the shoulder, again expressing his satisfaction, "Good child, I knew you wouldn’t let Dad down."

"Dad, I’ll be heading out now," he said.

"Go ahead, since you’re back today, why not stay at home?" Su Zhen laughed.

"Alright," after a slight hesitation, he agreed.

"Hmm, go ahead, leave the rest to your mom and me!"

After Su Ronggui left, Su Zhen’s gaze toward Shang Qingmei was not so pleasant.