Standing Next To You-Chapter 398: The Condition

"I heard they came offering a negotiation. But you never told us what they were negotiating about," the First Elder asked.

"First Elder, there’s no need to negotiate with those bastards. They are the perpetrators; how dare they mock us even more after what their member did to us?"

"Right, First Elder. There’s no need to mention the negotiation. I’m sure they are just making ridiculous demands, such as letting the matter go and forgetting it happened. We are not pushovers for them to bully us like this."

"That’s right. The Lin family should pay. We should not accept any of their demands!" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

The others chimed in, showing their disgust and hatred towards the Lin family’s attempt to send a peacemaker.

"I understand that you are all angry. I am angry as well. The Lin family humiliated us deeply. But, I still want to know: what do they want from us? Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."

The First Elder was able to convince the crowd. He turned to Head Master Fei again.

Head Master Fei frowned. As much as possible, he did not want to reveal to everyone the condition Bei Sangyun demanded. After all, even though Fei Chuan betrayed the family, he was still his grandson.

"Please tell us, Head Master Fei. We understand you have qualms about it, but the situation is getting out of hand. The longer we drag this out, the worse it will be for us. If there is a better method to solve this, we must know." The First Elder urged him again.

Head Master Fei looked at his sons’ faces, then his gaze landed at Fei Hua Jiang.

His outstanding grandson should have been at the peak of his career, showing his full potential and amassing influence, yet because of this situation, everything went downhill for him. He was most sorry for this child.

Head Master Fei closed his eyes. "...They want us to give Fei Chuan his freedom, away from the family."

"...Away from the family? Do they mean they want him removed from the family’s responsibilities?"

"Isn’t that the same as asking us to expel him from the family?"

The people around him began to murmur. They felt this condition wasn’t bad. After all, they had no lingering feelings toward Fei Chuan and had already wanted to expel him from the family. That was until the First Elder laid out the meaning behind it.

"...But we need him tied to the family. He knows our secrets. If we want to know where he got that information, then we should have him by the collar. Giving him freedom means we would not be able to discover who has been digging into our secrets."

"The First Elder is right. We can’t just let Fei Chuan go. He has to take responsibility for what he has done!"

"I agree. Fei Chuan caused us tremendous loss. I can’t sit still knowing he would walk away from this situation without receiving any punishment."

"We are his family. We should be the ones to discipline him!"

Their stances changed immediately. The majority wanted to keep Fei Chuan in the family to make him pay for all the damage he had done and to extract the truth from him.

Head Master Fei turned silent.

He hadn’t mentioned the second condition yet...

Well, talking about that now would only rile up the crowd and hate Fei Chuan even more.

"I have no intention of giving my grandson to them. Even though Fei Chuan committed a great mistake, I still want to give him a chance to come back to us and repent. After all, this happened because of my negligence. As for the losses everyone has incurred so far, the headquarters will temporarily cover the funds so you can continue with the important projects you are currently working on. For now, keep calm and don’t waver. If you show weakness right now, the people under you will see it and will lose trust in our family."

The people in the room were not satisfied with Head Master Fei’s decision. But since they were promised support from the headquarters, they swallowed their complaints.

The meeting continued. With the pre-trial happening in seven days, the Fei family gathered evidence with everyone’s help. Since they weren’t able to convince the guests, they used the staff as witnesses. Fearing they might be bribed or influenced by the other party, all the staff from that day stayed with the Fei family.

After the meeting, everyone started to leave, but the First Elder and Head Master Fei remained.

"...The situation at headquarters is not good either, Fei Yangguang. You know that headquarters is the most heavily impacted by this scandal. How will you support the other companies with our stocks plummeting and our business supporters gone?" The First Elder finally voiced the concern in his heart.

"Brother, I know this is only temporary. But, we can’t show our weakness to the younger generation. Once we win the trial, things will get better."

"Fei Yangguang, I don’t believe this is only the work of the Lin family. Someone powerful, with stronger connections and a deep-rooted scheme, is working against us. Is it William James?" The First Elder was also aware that after William James called that night, his brother suddenly let go of that rude intruder.

The Fei family was not easily shaken. Even though they weren’t at their peak like in the past, something like the Lin family shouldn’t be able to bring them to this point.

In just an instant, many of their business partners, investors, and shareholders suddenly pulled out, abandoning them. These were loyal allies for years, yet they suddenly left as if they had received orders from above.

"...He is related. But I am sure there is another person," Head Master Fei replied.

The First Elder thought for a long time and then spoke again, "...What if we consider their condition?"

Head Master Fei glared. "Didn’t you just say that we need him back? I don’t plan on selling my grandson."

"Don’t be hypocritical right now, Fei Yangguang. We are in a situation where we need to make sacrifices. Besides, I am not saying we should let go of Fei Chuan."

Head Master Fei raised his brow. His older brother, who did not fight for the heir position in his younger days but rather supported him until now, always had a belly full of schemes. That was how his older brother, the First Elder, managed to survive.

"What do you have in mind?"