Chapter 383: Anger Clouds the Mind

"Guiyin, are you leaving now?"

"If not here, where else should I be? Am I an eyesore? I'm not eighteen anymore."

"Then where are you staying?"

"A hotel—I've got plenty of money, I could even stay in the sky."

Fu Guiyin left, driven away by Pei Wencong's anger.

She liked to be free-spirited, but she wasn't shameless—how could she handle such a mortifying scene?

Fu Zhiman shifted his steps, wanting to follow Fu Guiyin out, but Fu Guiyin turned back and gave him a look.

Fu Zhiman helplessly stopped, lips tightly pressed, staying behind.

After Fu Guiyin left, everyone turned to look at Fu Zhiman.

Fu Zhiman instantly felt like an outsider, but remembering what Fu Guiyin had told him, he still wore a hurt expression.

"Mom, can you give me a room?"

Fu Guiru sighed deeply, pointing to a door and saying to Fu Yiruo: "Yiruo, take Xiao Man in and help him settle."

Fu Zhiman blinked, incredulous: "Mom, there are so many sunny rooms on the south side—why am I stuck in this one?"

Earlier, Fu Zhiman had been inspecting the house, knowing this room wasn't the best—so he couldn't understand it.

After all, back in Malaysia, every best thing in the house had always belonged to Fu Zhiman.

But now Fu Guiru had no patience for Fu Zhiman's feelings—she simply said: "Stay here a few days first. I'll arrange something better for you."

But Fu Zhiman's emotions exploded: "There are so many rooms—why force me into this tiny one? Are we just separated for a few months, and now I'm a stranger?"

Fu Guiru froze. After raising him for over a decade, she truly didn't know how to handle this.

Pei Wencong understood the relationship between Fu Guiru and Fu Zhiman, so he wasn't surprised, but Pei Wenhui glanced between Fu Zhiman and Li Ye, deeply curious.

This made Fu Guiru even more embarrassed—beating her son in front of guests? That wasn't right.

"Xiao Man, stay in this room! I'll help you pack. There are guests here—don't throw a tantrum."

Finally, Fu Yiruo stepped forward, pulling Fu Zhiman into her room, easing Fu Guiru's embarrassment.

After Fu Zhiman entered the room, Pei Wencong whispered to Li Ye: "I truly didn't know they'd come—if I had, I'd have stopped them."

Pei Wencong had just lost his composure and angered Fu Guiyin because he feared Li Ye might think he was trying to become his elder.

If Pei Wencong truly became Li Ye's uncle-in-law or got entangled with Fu Guiyin, Li Ye would soon kick him out of his inner circle.

After all, now that Li Ye had Fu Guiru as an ally, Pei Wencong, once his key overseas partner, was no longer the only option.

And the relationship between Fu Guiru and Fu Guiyin was too complicated—he absolutely couldn't get involved.

"You couldn't have stopped this. It's none of your concern."

Li Ye gestured for Pei Wencong to sit, then said: "I called you here because I need your help. Pengcheng Red Bull needs to increase capital and expand shares—discuss the details with my mom and make sure it's done well."

Pei Wencong paused for a second, then chuckled: "Of course, of course—I'll fully cooperate with Madame Fu and guarantee this is handled properly. Also… congratulations to Mr. Li on reuniting with your family, congratulations to Madame Fu, congratulations!"

Li Ye smiled, then deliberately glanced at Fu Zhiman's door, raising a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Pei Wencong instantly understood—Li Ye wasn't ready to reveal his relationship with Fu Guiru, at least not to Fu Zhiman or Fu Guiyin.

Pei Wencong nodded politely at Fu Guiru and said: "Mr. Li, Madame Fu, shall we step outside and talk?"

Fu Guiru was about to speak, but Li Ye said: "No need. Today's just a brief overview—you two can discuss details later."

"I'll go to the restroom first."

Hearing Li Ye wanted to talk with her brother, Pei Wenhui immediately made an excuse to leave, obediently avoiding any suspicion.

After his sister left, Pei Wencong whispered: "So, Mr. Li, how much capital increase and share expansion does Pengcheng Red Bull need? Do you have any suggestions?"

Li Ye said: "I have no specific figures—I only require rapid coverage of the mainland market and an attempt to expand overseas."

"Coca-Cola and Pepsi are currently restricted in their mainland expansion—that's our opportunity, a precious one."

Li Ye wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could easily crush giants like Coca-Cola by just gathering a few people—that would be utterly disrespectful to world-class giants.

But Coca-Cola's development on the mainland is still far from its peak—in timing, location, attention, and investment, it's still lacking—so Pengcheng Red Bull has a window to grow. If another few years pass, the battle will be brutal.

Upon hearing Li Ye's words, Pei Wencong's expression turned grave—he knew exactly how formidable Coca-Cola was. Now Li Ye was treating it as a rival? That was a massive challenge.

Pei Wencong thought for a moment and asked Fu Guiru: "Madame Fu, how much additional funding do you estimate is needed to achieve Mr. Li's strategic goals?"

Fu Guiru replied: "I haven't calculated precisely yet, but it won't be small—maybe ten million, maybe… twenty million."

"Twenty million U. . dollars? No problem—available anytime."

Pei Wencong answered swiftly, as if discussing twenty dollars, not twenty million U. . dollars.

"Oh, good then."

Fu Guiru was stunned upon hearing Pei Wencong's reply—if not for her experience, she might have been speechless.

It wasn't just because of the RMB-to-dollar misunderstanding, nor merely because Pei Wencong treated money so casually—

It was because Pei Wencong fully obeyed Li Ye's opinion, without a hint of debate or deliberation.

Pengcheng Red Bull's current valuation is probably under ten million—now you're proposing a threefold capital increase, and you don't even need a second to think?

And Fu Guiru had been observing Li Ye and Pei Wencong all along, testing whether their relationship was truly "business cooperation."

Now it was clear: there was a dominant and a subordinate—her son looked unmistakably like the dominant one.

Fu Guiru had never pressed Li Ye for details—after all, they'd been separated for years, and she'd given birth but never raised him. To ask straight away how much wealth he had? What kind of mother would that make her?

Even a teenager hides his lucky money—if forced to hand it over, he might run away. How much more so for Li Ye, a fully independent adult?

Only mothers subsidize their sons—no mother ever pulls money from her son's pocket. That's what wives do.

If Li Ye wanted to tell her, she'd listen. If he didn't, she wouldn't ask.

Especially after Fu Yiruo told her about Wen Leyu, Fu Guiru became even more cautious—what if Li Ye was just a front man?

But Li Ye's later conversation with Pei Wencong made Fu Guiru feel Li Ye was entirely his own master.

Li Ye: "How's the profit from oil futures lately?"

Pei Wencong: "About twenty-eight percent."

Li Ye: "Only twenty-eight percent?"

Pei Wencong licked his lips and smiled awkwardly: "It's only been half a year, with market fluctuations—so that's all we've made. Still, we've outperformed most speculators; some have even lost money."

Li Ye frowned, twisting his neck in dissatisfaction: "Then stop wasting time on oil—look for opportunities in the U. . stock market. I'm very bullish on the U. . market over the next two years—the index will keep rising."

From 1984 to 1986, the U. . stock market surged continuously, rising 2. 6 times total—the Dow Jones Index climbed from under 1, 00 points to a staggering 2, 58 points.

Knowing this trend, with hundreds of millions in capital and a professional team, how could you possibly lose money? To earn less would be an insult to this "leaked divine insight."

If you really lost money under these conditions, Li Ye might as well believe in fate and never touch the stock market again.

Back in his past life, playing stocks made him cry buckets—he still felt the pain just thinking about it.

After talking with Li Ye and Fu Guiru, Pei Wencong called for Pei Wenhui to leave first, arranging dinner for the evening.

Li Ye also told Pei Wenhui that Fu Yiruo would be attending Peking University, asking her, as a fellow overseas student, to look after her.

Brother, don't worry—your sister is my sister too; I guarantee she won't suffer even the slightest injustice.

Pei Wenhui readily agreed. Since dating Li Dayong, her relationship with Li Ye had already reached the point where she called him "brother." Now another little sister, Yiruo, had fallen from the sky—how much better could it get? A close family bond was now cemented.

After Pei Wencong left, Li Ye smiled at Fu Guiru: "Mom, do you have anything you want to ask me?"

Fu Guiru looked at Li Ye for two seconds, then reached out to straighten his collar, whispering: "I don't need to ask. I know that when you need to tell me, you will."

Li Ye nodded, then said out of nowhere: "All the money is mine. If you need it, just say so."

This was Li Ye's bottom line—his mother could use money, but only with his approval.

A time-traveler keeps his own lifeline firmly in his own hands.

While Li Ye whispered with his mother and Pei Wencong, Fu Yiruo and Fu Zhiman were in the room, facing an entirely different scene.

Fu Zhiman repeatedly asked Fu Yiruo to leave, but she ignored him, silently packing her personal items.

Her brother and mother were handling big matters—she couldn't help with business, so if she didn't contribute now, was she just eating for free?

What could she contribute?

In twenty minutes, Fu Zhiman glanced at the door eleven times, and three times he couldn't resist approaching it, pressing his ear against it to eavesdrop on Li Ye's conversation.

But each time, Fu Yiruo gently said: "Xiao Man, didn't Mom teach you? Don't eavesdrop on adults—it's impolite."

Each time Fu Yiruo ruined his attempt, Fu Zhiman would throw tantrums inside the room, slamming things around.

But Fu Yiruo never got angry—she quietly picked up the fallen items and put them away.

This only emboldened Fu Zhiman—he thought his sister was easy to bully.

But after Pei Wencong left, Fu Zhiman was stunned.

Because Fu Yiruo opened the door and told Fu Guiru everything—every single time Fu Zhiman had tried to eavesdrop.

Fu Guiru's face darkened, her gaze toward Fu Zhiman filled with fury and suspicion.

And Fu Yiruo, who had snitched, exchanged a glance with her brother Li Ye—and both smiled.

Why hadn't Li Ye followed Pei Wencong's advice and stepped outside to talk?

Wasn't it just like Jiang Taigong fishing—with the hook ready, let the fish come?

Unfortunately, Fu Zhiman was too young, raised in luxury, arrogant and domineering—he was the king at home, second only to heaven itself. How could he have the discipline of a spy? How could he recognize such a trap?

And although Fu Yiruo hadn't received direct orders from Li Ye, she knew perfectly well what to do when an unwelcome person entered the household.

Fu Guiru had maternal affection for Fu Zhiman—but Fu Yiruo did not.

Long after, Fu Zhiman finally realized his situation was dire—he stared at Fu Yiruo, eyes blazing with fury.

Anger is a fire—it can make one fierce and fearless, or it can cloud one's mind.

Fu Zhiman's mind was clouded.

"I don't need to eavesdrop to know what you're talking about! That Pei Wencong likes eighteen-year-olds—my sister will turn eighteen in two months. You're going to give her to him, aren't you? Otherwise, why would he be so generous?"

Everyone fell silent for five seconds—then erupted.

"What did you brat just say?"

Li Ye reached out and grabbed Fu Zhiman's hair.

Fu Guiru moved just as quickly, turning to grab a handy weapon.

But Fu Yiruo moved faster, yanking Fu Zhiman into her room.

"Don't act rashly—I'll handle this!"

(End of chapter)