Chapter 19 Lin Yiran
"Eh! Jueyi? What the hell is Yipintang doing? Why is there only one 7D in such an important competition?"
"You are a newbie, how can you check your rank when playing chess online? Please go and check out other people's game records first, thank you."
"Ah ! It's true. This is a 7D with 35 wins and 0 losses. He first logged in 4 days ago. Is he a newbie? Although I haven't seen him beat any masters, since he can represent Yipintang in the competition, he must be quite capable."
"What a newbie! This guy must be a veteran. I've identified him."
"Why must it be an old bird?"
"The person above is talking without thinking. If he is not a veteran, why would he represent Yipintang in the battle? And why would Yipintang let him fight? However, judging from Yipintang's blatant actions, this person must be capable. At the very least, he is stronger than the evil gentleman just now. Maybe he is a landmine they invited."
"Haha, a mine? Yipintang asked for a mine to blow up Leimeng..."
It must be admitted that people who can play Go are of relatively high quality. When Li Xiangping appeared on the scene with the account "Jueyi", the majority of the onlookers figured out the truth of the matter in just a few words.
While the general public was discussing the matter, in a high-end residential area located on the North Third Ring Road in Beijing, a middle-aged man in his 40s was staring at his computer with great interest watching everyone swiping the screen.
"Yuanhu, stop playing chess. We have to go sign the contract with Mr. Guo and others tomorrow morning. Do you want to review all the documents again?"
The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "No need. Lao Guo is also an old friend, and the cooperation mode this time is the same as before, so there is nothing interesting to see. Okay, Yi Ran, if you want to read it, then you can help me go through it. The main thing is to see if there are any omissions and make sure there are no low-level mistakes."
"Okay, then would you like to review the guest list for the signing celebration reception tomorrow night?"
"What's there to review? Don't worry, I know what's going on. For a cocktail party like this, everyone who should come will come, and no one who shouldn't come will come. It's just a social event, and we just need to be polite."
"Haha, you are just aloof. By the way, Yuanhu, what should I wear to the cocktail party tomorrow?"
"Wear..." Hearing this, the middle-aged man finally lost his patience:
"You're asking me about what you're wearing? Stop bothering me. I'm watching Xiang Ping play chess."
"Oh, Xiang Ping is playing chess? Did you meet Xiang Ping playing chess online? Let me see where it is..."
That’s right, this middle-aged man is Li Xiangping’s father Li Yuanhu, and the person who just talked to him is naturally Li Xiangping’s “Aunt Lin”, her name is Lin Yiran.
Li Yuanhu is exactly 40 years old this year. Born in 1960, he was one of the earliest batch of college students in China after the college entrance examination was resumed in 1978.
College students were very valuable in those days. With a good family background and the status of a college student, Li Yuanhu made rapid progress after he started working. In less than 10 years, he became a middle-level manager of a large domestic state-owned enterprise.
After 1992, he followed the trend and went into business. As Li Yuanhu was born in the system, he was familiar with the various rules and regulations in the system, and he had certain resources and connections in the system after so many years. All these factors made him very successful in the business world. In just a few years, he became very wealthy and now owns a large construction company, becoming a standard winner in life in the eyes of others.
Especially 8 years ago, Li Yuanhu's first wife passed away, which was one of the so-called "three major joys of middle age" these days. Then he was not only a winner in life, but Li Yuanhu became a hot commodity, a hot commodity for all kinds of women. There were countless beautiful women who tried their best to surround him, hoping to win him over and make themselves a winner in life.
Lin Yiran is one of such beauties.
Lin Yiran is 28 years old this year. She was originally an ordinary white-collar worker in a company. She was spotted by Li Yuanhu three years ago and has been following him ever since.
To be honest, when Lin Yiran first followed Li Yuanhu, not many people thought she could rise to the top. Because compared with her competitors, Lin Yiran was just too ordinary. She was not the most beautiful, not the youngest, not the most charming, and not the most talented.
However, what surprised many people was that after a few years, Lin Yiran seemed to have really risen to the top. Everyone watched her defeat one opponent after another, and the number of beautiful women around Li Yuanhu has become fewer and fewer. Especially now, Li Yuanhu has become more and more respectful of her, and many private matters will be entrusted to her. It can be said that except for the fact that she has not been married in an official way, Lin Yiran has become the "Mrs. Li" in the eyes of many people.
Many people don't understand how Lin Yiran did it, only Lin Yiran herself knows it. She knows that the most correct thing she did was her attitude towards Li Yuanhu's son.
That’s right, it’s Li Xiangping, the 13-year-old boy born to Li Yuanhu’s ex-wife who is currently learning Go.
Lin Yiran knew that even though their relationship as father and son seemed to be quite bad, whenever Li Yuanhu mentioned his son to others, he would always look sad and sigh, with an expression that showed he was very disappointed with his son.
However, this is just an illusion. Lin Yiran knows in her heart that what Li Yuanhu cares about most is his son.
In his early years, due to the nature of his work, Li Yuanhu had to travel for business all year round, which made him rarely spend time with his son. After his ex-wife passed away, Li Xiangping had to be raised by his grandparents. Li Yuanhu, who worked hard outside, could hardly see his son a few times a year.
Because of this situation, Li Yuanhu has always felt guilty towards his son.
The love for his son and the feeling of guilt made Li Yuanhu care about his son especially much, and he valued him more than anything else. But for someone like Li Yuanhu, he would not easily show such emotions in front of outsiders.
In other words, Li Yuanhu's usual sighs and complaints are the correct way for him to express his emotions.
It was precisely because she understood Li Yuanhu's situation that Lin Yiran's mind was as clear as a mirror. She knew that if she wanted to defeat other beauties and succeed in getting promoted, she would rather please Li Xiangping than Li Yuanhu.
You have to know that Li Xiangping represents not just one person. Because he was raised by his grandparents since he was a child, although the two old people have more than one grandson, they have been closest to Li Xiangping since childhood - to please Li Xiangping alone is equivalent to pleasing two generations of Li Yuanhu.
Whether it was out of sincerity or insincerity, Lin Yiran had been following this line of thought in the past few years. She cared a lot about Li Xiangping, and in many cases seemed to care more about her than Li Yuanhu. Lin Yiran believed that this approach was the reason why she could get to where she is today.
"By the way, Yuanhu, speaking of Xiangping, I remembered something. Xiangping will be in the second grade next semester, right? Do you think we should bring him to Beijing to study? When we were discussing the contract yesterday, I happened to hear Mr. Guo mention that he has a relative who seems to be the deputy director of the district education bureau and can help transfer the child's enrollment."
"oh?"
Hearing about Li Xiangping, Li Yuanhu's eyes finally left the computer screen. He thought for a moment and then shook his head:
"That won't work, and there's no need to worry about Xiang Ping's studies."
"Why not? Aren't the conditions in the capital better in all aspects?"
"You have to know that not only can you not worry about this matter, but even I can't make the decision. If you want Xiangping to come to the capital to study, his grandparents must agree to it."
Li Yuanhu continued to say to Lin Yiran:
"And I think it's not appropriate to bring Xiang Ping to Beijing now. Are the teaching conditions in Beijing better? I don't think so at all. Apart from other things, at least the annual college entrance examination admission score is much lower than that in my hometown. You know the brat's grades. I'm worried that if I let him study here, he may not be able to get into any university in the future. Instead, it's best to let him study in his hometown, with his grandparents taking care of him, and get him a student status in Beijing before the college entrance examination. This may be the most appropriate way."
After hearing this, Lin Yiran stopped talking about it. She smiled and said to Li Yuanhu;
"You're the one who thinks ahead."
Li Yuanhu smiled with her, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, what did you say just now? Lao Guo has a relative in the District Education Bureau? Then find an opportunity, yes, you can speak to Lao Guo on my behalf, and ask him to invite his relative out someday, so that we can have a meal together and get to know each other and make friends."
"Why? Didn't you say that Xiangping doesn't need to come to the capital to study?"
"Plan ahead. It's still several years before Xiangping goes to college. Who can predict what will happen in the next few years? Now that I think about it, I don't really know anyone in the education system in Beijing. It would be better if I could have more options."
Hearing Li Yuanhu say this, Lin Yiran glared at him. Li Yuanhu was puzzled:
"Why are you glaring at me?"
"I know that you only have your precious son in your heart. Tomorrow's cocktail party is so important. I heard that Director Xu of the Development and Reform Commission will be there, right? But you are so different. You don't care about such a big thing at all. Instead, for the sake of your precious son, you rack your brains to get to know the deputy director of the Education Bureau."
Li Yuanhu chuckled: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Go and get busy first. I still want to watch Xiang Ping play chess."
"What chess game do you have to watch?"
Li Yuanhu turned his attention back to the computer screen while explaining to Lin Yiran casually, "Someone beat me in a game before and Xiang Ping saw it. Do you know what this brat said to me just now? He actually offered to help me get revenge. Haha, I've raised a son this big but I've never seen him show filial piety. Fine, let him show filial piety by playing chess today... Ha! Haha! This brat, this brat, what kind of chess is he playing..."
When he said this, Li Yuanhu could no longer care about anything else. He stared at the chess game intently.
