Chapter 460 Greed
"I didn't expect Chairman Li to be so old fashioned. He is a big name in the circle. But his thoughts are so narrow, "An Qinyan shared her thoughts with her husband as they were later alone with each other. The party was in full swing and the couple was sitting on their table, away from everyone. At this age, they did not feel the need to mingle with other people. They felt that they had achieved enough in their life. Making connections and thinking of making extra dollars all the time did not sit well with them.
Currently, their concerns were directed towards life and children. Most of their problems stem from the latter. Though there would be times when they would talk about life and their approach to it, after taking lessons from other people's stories. Today, Chairman Li turned out to be the person that they did not want to be like.
Gu Yanxi rubbed his wife's hand and said in a soft tone, "Yanyan, I know where you are coming from. However, he has only lived this kind of life. During his time, his father had certain expectations of him. Those expectations made him the man he is today. Now he wants his daughter to fulfil those expectations too. For him, it is very normal. He doesn't think how we do or other people do. This burden of parents that they get from their own parents has become so normalised that they don't see any problem with it. The children had to bear it. It is a vicious cycle and people stuck in it couldn't even see its viciousness. They just end up getting stuck in it."
What Gu Yanxi was saying was true. This vicious cycle of fulfilling the expectations of parents was so deep rooted that even if it was unreasonable, it made everyone question the person's filial piety. If a child in a family dared to break this vicious cycle, he or she would be deemed a bad person who had no respect for their parents or family. It would not be the case that the child was always bad. In some cases, it could be that the child is mature enough to understand that some expectations are not to be fulfilled at the cost of their own life.
Being filial to parents while still living one's life was easy and possible. All parents had to do was be open-minded and easier on children. While the children need to learn a line between reasonable and unreasonable expectations.
An Qinyan said, "I feel for his daughter. Either she will have her father or the man she loves. Either way, she is losing something very substantial."
Although she had never met Amanda Li in person or talked to her. She was feeling a lot about that girl. Choosing between the two men that you love would kill any person. She just hoped that she remained understanding and kind to her children. She would never want to create a situation for her children where they had to choose between their parents or partner.
Gu Yanxi, "You are right. In such cases, a person will always choose their partner because we had this expectation of our parents to understand us. When they don't understand us, it gets very hard. Whatever Miss Li will choose, she is bound to lose a very important man in her life."
In life we meet different kinds of people. Every person is very different from one another. Some people are good and some bad. Some right and some wrong. And there are some who are hard to categorise. In layman's terms, the last category of people are kept in the grey zone. Every kind of person imparts some sort of lesson to you. They might be anything but they teach you things that you either want to adopt in your life or you do not want.
Learning the lesson, she said, "Yanxi, let's not do this behaviour with our kids. As a parent, it is very difficult to be satisfied with someone they love. We love our kids endlessly and we would see their partner in a different light. Every parent wants their children's partner to be perfect but we know that a man and woman together can never be perfect. We both are not perfect to each other and they can't be either. I hope we can remember this and not cause any difficulty for our children."
"You are right, Yanyan, "Gu Yanxi said.
What An Qinyan said was not wrong. It was very hard to be satisfied with the people that our children chose. We will see a number of flaws in them. But as a parent, all they needed to do was have faith in their children's decision. Every person has flaws and to be accepting of those flaws is what love is.
The couple talked a bit more about the lessons that they were learning with each other. Although they had spent years with each other, learning new things about each other had never died. Half an hour later, she initiated a new topic.
"I want to invite Chairman Li for a meeting, "An Qinyan said.
Gu Yanxi said, "I know it's not because he is Xiulan's boss."
"Of course, "An Qinyan rolled her eyes. Why would she meet him for An Xiulan? Like any normal employee, her daughter works in that company. She didn't think she needed to meet the owner of the company to ask them to treat her daughter well.
Just how embarrassing would it be for An Xiulan?
Her daughter was a capable woman who could command everyone's respect with her hard work!
And if An Xiulan faced any problems in the office that she couldn't deal with, she had her father to help and support her there.
An Qinyan began telling him the actual reason for meeting Chairman Li, "Actually, there is a new project that Director Dong was discussing with me today and we need the help of a good law firm. The offer is peculiar. Let's see if he is up for a good challenge. If he takes this case, it will bring the firm not only great money but also new clients."
This project was very important for her company. It was the first project that they had taken and they would be working very closely with the central government to build residential buildings for the people living in slums. A company that builds hotels is now building something very different. An Qinyan didn't want to be a conventional businesswoman. She wanted to do something great and unforgettable. She was helping people to have houses while making profit for the company.
Their company needed a strong law firm behind this they would be facing a backlash from the rivals.
"If the deal is good, why wouldn't he cash it?" Gu Yanxi asked her. This was a great deal for any law firm. Any firm would be happy to be a part of such a big project. "Let's not forget he is a businessman too."
An Qinyan nodded her head. "Hmm, I will talk to him once the party ends."
Gu Yanxi nodded his head.
When the party ended, Chairman Li was nowhere to be seen. But An Qinyan recognised his assistant and informed him that she wanted to set a date for a meeting with Chairman Li. Since it was An Qinyan, a big shot, he immediately went to find Chairman Li.
The assistant found his boss and informed, "Chairman Li, President Li is asking to set a meeting with you."
Chairman Li smirked, listening about it. "I was thinking when will she ask me for it. Of course, any mother would be worried about her child's future. Let's use this opportunity well."
When he first saw the An Lady, he was wondering about when she would contact him. And see, how she didn't miss this opportunity. Didn't she come to this party with a mission of meeting him alone? Hmm, everything was going as he had planned.
The assistant smiled. "As always Chairman Li knows the best."
"What should I get from her for taking An Xiulan back to office?" Chairman Li wondered. He was seeing the whole matter as a transaction now that it hasn't worked in his favour from the beginning. Since he could cash the opportunity for good because of shareholders, he would do it now. An Qinyan could give him many advantages and he just had to play his cards right.
The assistant said, "Chairman could ask for anything. After all, the An family is at the downside here."
Chairman Li smirked. He was feeling happy after a long day. It felt so good to think that he had An Qinyan under his thumb because of a mistake made by his daughter.
"Set the meeting for tomorrow evening."
"Yes, Chairman Li. I will inform her."
Little did he know his greed was going to prepare his grave.
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