"Explanation?" Zhang Tianyi began to smirk slightly, "You're coming at me with such ambiguity now, saying I'm too selfish, how will you explain yourself to me? Will it be easy to explain to Yurong?"

Li Yan looked at him, "Then have a sip of tea first, don't get upset."

"I'm not upset! I'm a grown man; if I got upset every time you said a few words, wouldn't I have died of anger long ago?" Zhang Tianyi snorted.

Although he said he wasn't upset, it was clear he was, but since he put it that way, Li Yan was more courteous to him. Some words need to be direct; dragging on wouldn't solve anything.

"Then let me ask you, why when you were seriously ill did you think about arranging for me to marry Yurong? You must know, Yurong and I had never met before, we didn't know each other, and we grew up in completely different environments. Forcing us together, do you think that's fair to Yurong?" Li Yan asked calmly.

Actually, he himself wasn't clear about this, and neither was Zhang Yurong. It was only known to be due to Zhang Tianyi and Li Yan's father, but they never explained in detail. When Zhang Tianyi's health was poor, Zhang Yurong agreed without fuss, and naturally, she wouldn't care too much. Because, to her, no matter the reason, in the end, she was marrying a stranger. As for Li Yan, he felt that being away from home so many years, he owed his parents too much, and since his father asked, he agreed.

Upon hearing Li Yan's inquiry, Zhang Tianyi, who had been a bit angry and dissatisfied, suddenly calmed down. He looked at Li Yan and smiled bitterly, "It seems... this question has been bottled up in your hearts for a long time, hasn't it? Then let me tell you a bit!"

Li Yan was taken aback; this was just an introduction. He originally intended to convey the persuasion he offered Yurong in the car to Zhang Tianyi, to make him understand that enforcing happiness on children may not truly be what they want. Without revealing the fact that their marriage was nominal, he wanted them to understand Yurong's difficulties as much as possible.

But unexpectedly, Zhang Tianyi wanted to tell a story from the previous generation. Li Yan, being human, was curious, especially since it was related to him, Yurong, and even his father.

He nodded and listened quietly.

"Your father's name was Li Tang. He was a close friend of mine back then, which you should know a bit about. But you don't know what we did in our youth to make our fortunes..."

At this point in the story, Zhang Tianyi stood up and asked Li Yan to accompany him to the study, "Let's talk in a different place!"

Li Yan understood that he didn't want Yurong or Jiang Xueyin to hear, so he helped him to the study.

Sitting in the study, Zhang Tianyi looked much more spirited than before, as if recounting the stories from those days made him young again, completely healed.

These words surprised Li Yan as well; he didn't expect such a deliberate reason. Zhang Tianyi aside, he especially didn't expect that his father had such a past.

Seeing Li Yan's astonishment, Zhang Tianyi was not surprised and smiled, "Your father certainly never told you. You've always thought of him as a very ordinary, honest, and straightforward person, right?"

"Indeed!" Li Yan smiled wryly, taking out a cigarette and tossing one to Zhang Tianyi, which they both lit.

After smoking for a while, Zhang Tianyi continued, "You're not a child; some things you should know a bit from TV or movies. I don't need to elaborate. Back then, we were young and had no money to do what we wanted, thinking about where to earn our first pot of gold and then return to the right path..."

He seemed to fall into reminiscence, recalling the days of his youthful ambition. Then he laughed again, "Look at me, I shouldn't just reminisce. Let's talk about things related to your father and you. Once, in the place we were mixing in, we had a conflict and confrontation with people from Star Country, mainly a conflict of interest. It turned into a gunfight!"

Zhang Tianyi noticed Li Yan's calm demeanor while listening and sighed softly. If it had been a teenage boy listening, he would likely be very surprised and intrigued, right?

"That time, your father took a bullet for me! Because of him, my life was spared, but he was seriously injured. After his injury, your father saw things differently, and realized that compared to life and health, money wasn't that important. Later, he returned to the country before I did. Meanwhile, I persisted and finally earned my first fortune, bringing back the capital I had risked my life to earn, to start a business."

Li Yan remained silent, realizing that success wasn't easily attained for anyone. At least, every fortune had been won with a great price, giving them a day of success. Most people saw only the successful side, rarely understanding the sacrifices and struggles behind it.

Of course, there was also a very important factor—luck. If not for luck, perhaps his father would have also secured some funds, caught the tide of good opportunities in those days, successfully started a business, and become a wealthy person by now.

If that were the case, perhaps Li Yan's life path would have been entirely different, vastly divergent.

"Your father is my brother in life and death. After returning to the country, I have been searching for him. We didn't agree on a specific place or time to meet because, back then, I couldn't predict when I would earn my first fortune, or if I'd even survive to return. So, after returning home, I couldn't locate him. Back then, communication wasn't as advanced, and my resources were limited.

Therefore, I could only inquire through possible channels while dedicating myself to entrepreneurship. In the early stages of starting a business, I was always extremely busy, and for this money earned through life and death, I once again worked desperately hard. Later, as I aged, it was time for romance, marriage, and so forth."

At this point, Zhang Tianyi sighed, "Looking back now, even though I persisted in inquiring about your father's whereabouts, I didn't devote my full energy to it. Later, Yurong was born, and my business grew larger. You know, I owed your father my life, and as my life improved and my business expanded, I became increasingly grateful to him wanting to repay him. Without him, none of this would be possible. Now you understand the origin of the Paradise Group's name, right? Zhang Tianyi, Li Tang!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan basically understood, unable to help but chuckle quietly. So that's how it was, not so strange, after all! It seems that some things are better left unknown, allowing for more imagination, making them more intriguing. However, he didn't expect the bond between his father and father-in-law to have begun this way, nor that his father-in-law, after finding wealth, would still be so humane.

"Many years passed, and my business grew countless times, as did my network of relationships, while the development of society underwent changes beyond measure. With so much time having passed, finally, I reunited with your father as brothers. I saw my brother, who once thrived with me, now an ordinary middle-aged man living a simple life. He was content with the world, simply living a modest life with his wife.

I wanted to compensate him, whether through work, money, a house…any form you can imagine. But your father wanted none of my help; he believed his life was going well. He no longer had the sharp ambition, instead placing all his hopes on his son. But his son, reportedly, dropped out of high school and went to work alone, with no fixed abode, not returning home for years."

Listening to this, Li Yan subconsciously lowered his head, feeling as if his father was right in front of him, feeling sorry for his father!

And it was because of this guilt that, when his father made this request, he agreed.

"I know Li Tang would never accept my help. In truth, he left early that year, not because he truly saw through everything, but because he didn't want to be a burden to his brother! Because in that environment, even strong people could face danger at any moment, let alone someone severely injured by a gunshot? He didn't want to burden me, so he claimed to have seen through it all, leaving the gold-dream land he once aspired to.

I can no longer fulfill his dreams. But I know he now has new dreams, those placed on his son! For the son, who is working somewhere unknown, I wanted to do my utmost to find him and nurture him without letting Li Tang know. If suitable, I would even marry my only daughter, Yurong, to him, letting them inherit my legacy!"

Li Yan finally understood why, even though he seemed to be like hopeless mud, Zhang Tianyi was still happy to push him toward the company's upper echelons. Turns out, even without the marriage relationship with Yurong, he would have done the same! When he was in the business department, could the chairman really have not known anything? Just playing dumb!

"But…" Zhang Tianyi looked at Li Yan, "With all my resources, I still couldn't find you!"

"Haha, I used to be just an ordinary, bottom-rung laborer, so it's normal you couldn't find me." Li Yan laughed, showing his bright white teeth, his smile natural and sincere.

"Perhaps…" Zhang Tianyi gave him a meaningful look and then continued, "Because I couldn't find you, the matter was delayed. Originally, I thought I still had plenty of time, and even if you never became a big figure, I could ensure you lived a carefree life in the latter half of your life, repaying your father. But last year's serious illness changed everything… haha, perhaps it was the root of illness left over from those years. Anyway, it felt like being near death then, and your father came to visit me. He suffered more severe gun wounds back then and certainly didn't want to see me die before him.

Seeing Yurong grow up, and this girl, while a genius in studies and work, is a mess in life, too passive, rejecting people from a distance. Helpless, I could only entrust her to you—I had never met you, but I trust your father!"

What happened next, Li Yan already knew.

(Phew, when the final three chapters updated continuously, there was a copying error; I sincerely apologize. It might be from typing all day into the night, my mind already muddled. Today has been rather frustrating, I worked hard typing, thinking that by October I could add three or four chapters, but in the end, only got a little over 20 votes. I earnestly ask brothers with monthly votes to help out; before midnight, still an additional chapter for every 10 votes. Please don't dampen the fervor of old Lai's brave effort. Please!)

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