Chapter 48

"Good job, very convincing." After the two executives from Northrop left, Grandfather said to Li Xu.

Li Xu smiled slightly, not surprised by the result. He had already rehearsed this speech in his mind after deciding to leverage Northrop's influence.

This was the advantage of standing downstream in history and looking upstream.

Even so, he still asked, "What's next?"

"They will agree," Grandfather waved his hand, "Northrop has no better choice. I think it won't be long before they reach a decision."

"Alright, Grandfather, then I'll take my leave." Li Xu didn't ask further and stood up.

"Take this," Grandfather took out a folder from somewhere, "It's time you knew."

"Is this what you and Father have been hiding from me for two months?" Li Xu held the folder curiously, not opening it immediately.

"Be prepared," Grandfather said.

"Is it that serious?" Li Xu raised an eyebrow, "Alright, I'll read it very carefully, I promise."

Then, he left the Anneris Club and headed to the Bay Area.

The dignitaries in the club were people he had seen many times. He didn't have much of a relationship with them, but he was familiar with their faces. Although he now had his own investment company, he didn't need their help.

So, he said hello to Gates, who was busy expanding his network, and exchanged a few words with a few people who were closest to his grandfather and father, then left.

"Really makes me curious, almost don't want to open it," Li Xu muttered in the car, stroking the cover of the folder.

Two months ago, at Grandfather's estate, just before he was about to leave for Japan, Grandfather suddenly called him back. He first asked Li Xu to understand his concerns as an elder, then told him that he had someone trace his movements and discovered something important.

Li Xu wasn't surprised at all. He had grown up with his parents watching everything he did, so he was used to it.

But when he asked what it was, Grandfather said that it still needed to be verified and that he would tell him when the time was right, hoping he would be prepared.

What the heck, what are you doing? First, you say there's something important, then you tell me it needs verification, so you can't tell me yet... Can't you just verify it and then tell me? Do you really think you're writing a novel?

Despite his complaints, Li Xu still showed understanding on the surface and waited, but he didn't expect to wait for almost two months. Every time he asked his father, he was told to wait a bit longer.

What was even more frustrating was that the whole family seemed to know, except for him—well, at least Eleanor probably didn't know.

"Alright, it's time to reveal the mystery," Li Xu rubbed his hands, "Next is the moment of truth."

But just as he was about to open the folder, he pulled his hand back and went to the small box in the car to get a bottle of water.

"Kept me in suspense for two months, and now you tell me to be prepared... Fine, I'll drink water while reading, see if you can make me spit it out." Li Xu took a sip of water and then opened the folder.

Two seconds later, he spat out the water, luckily turning his head in time to avoid spilling it on the papers.

Then, he hurriedly put down the water bottle, wiped his mouth, and couldn't believe what he saw in the folder. He opened his eyes wide and read carefully.

"What the... FUCK!" Li Xu couldn't help but exclaim.

He put it down, picked it up again, put it down, picked it up again, and finally stared straight ahead, taking a deep breath after a while. He looked outside and called, "Stop the car, Eric!"

"Yes, sir," the driver responded, immediately slowing down and stopping by the roadside.

Li Xu hurriedly got out of the car and ran to a phone booth, but quickly ran back.

"Do you have any change, Eric?" he asked.

"Of course!" The driver quickly found a handful of coins.

"Thanks." Li Xu sighed and ran back to the phone booth. Life without a mobile phone was really tough.

After inserting enough coins, he finally made the call. After a few seconds, a woman's voice came through: "Hello, this is..."

"Mary, it's me. Tell my father I need to talk to him urgently," Li Xu interrupted.

"Sure, please wait, Mr. Li," the secretary quickly responded.

A few minutes later, after counting to over 300 in his head, his father's voice finally came through: "What's so urgent, Second?"

"Can you confirm it?" he asked directly.

"Confirm what?" Old Edward was still confused but quickly realized and laughed, "Oh, you already know? How does it feel? Is it like when I saw you born?"

"How would I know how you felt when you saw me born?!" Li Xu rolled his eyes, "I'm telling you, I just found out that I have a few-month-old daughter! Please understand!"

"If you're worried about the authenticity, you can rest assured. This is what your grandfather found out. You know his character; he wouldn't lie about something like this." His father said calmly on the other end.

Alright, Li Xu knew the chances of a mistake were small. Since Grandfather had taken two months to tell him, it was clearly after a thorough investigation with solid evidence.

In fact, the blood type comparison and the timeline of the pregnancy and birth were all in the folder.

But... without a DNA test, can it really be confirmed? Li Xu thought, continuing to insert coins into the phone and cursing the era without mobile phones.

"What do you plan to do?" he asked after taking a deep breath.

"Oh, are you planning to leave the decision to us, Second?" His father teased, "I thought, since you're an adult now, you should have your own plans."

"So, I can handle it myself?" Li Xu asked, not letting himself be provoked.

"Of course, but if I or your grandfather find anything inappropriate, we will intervene," his father said.

"Understood," Li Xu grunted, "That's all, I won't disturb you."

By "inappropriate," it probably meant something like getting married. Not to mention, he definitely wouldn't do that, and even if he wanted to, it was uncertain whether the other party would agree. After all...

Hanging up, Li Xu returned to the car and instructed the driver, "Get back as fast as possible."

He originally wanted to call his mother, but thinking about what she said on the night of his coming-of-age ceremony, he knew she would tease him for a long time on the phone, so he decided against it. This was his own business.

Thinking about this, he sighed, opened the folder, and looked at the beautiful baby in the photo. Her eyes were as beautiful as her mother's, and he felt a bit of a toothache.

The car quickly returned to the villa in the Bay Area. Li Xu rushed to his room and started rummaging through his things.

Fortunately, he had a good habit of organizing his things, and he quickly found the phone number in a small notebook at the bottom of a drawer. But when he was about to call, he realized it was not yet 5 PM, and it was only 3 AM in Paris. Calling at this time wouldn't lead to any productive conversation.

Alright, he could only wait. After a tasteless dinner, he waited until 10 PM, then, regardless of the time difference, picked up the phone and dialed.

After a moment, the call connected, and Li Xu felt a bit relieved, fearing she might be filming and not at home, which would have been troublesome.

"Who is it?" came a lazy female voice.

"Is the child mine?" Li Xu asked in French.

He should have started with a greeting and some small talk to build rapport before asking, as they hadn't seen each other in a while. But when the image of her beautiful face came to mind, he decided to get straight to the point.

The other side was clearly confused and asked uncertainly after a moment, "Eddy?"

"You didn't tell me, Isabelle, that's really too much," Li Xu said in an accusatory tone.

"That's my business, and it has nothing to do with you," the female voice returned to its lazy tone.

"So, you admit it's mine?" Li Xu pressed.

"Don't talk to me like that. We were just a fling, and my daughter is just my daughter," the voice turned cold and hung up.

What the heck! Li Xu took a while to react. Alright, I know you have a strong personality, but isn't it a bit too strong? And we had more than one fling, right?

Taking a deep breath, he dialed again. This time, it rang twice before she picked up, but he only managed to say, "I'm not finished," before she hung up again.

This time, Li Xu was stunned for two minutes before dialing again. As soon as she picked up, he started firing off, "Isabelle, if you hang up again, I'll make the whole of France know about this..."

But he didn't finish before she hung up again. He immediately dialed again, but this time, she picked up and hung up immediately.

"Great, Isabelle, very great." Li Xu took another deep breath, quickly found a pager number, and called it. About fifteen minutes later, the call came back.

"Hello, Mr. Li," a mature male voice came through the receiver, "I apologize, I was at a bar."

"No, I should apologize for calling so late, Mr. Smith," Li Xu said with a light laugh, "I need your help with something, it's my business, not my father's."

"I'm happy to assist," the other side said calmly, "Of course, I need to inform Mr. Li, you know."

"No problem, I need you to go to France," Li Xu said immediately.

You brought this on yourself, Isabelle. No one can take away what's mine, hah!