Chapter 67

"Then, dear father, do you think... I should lift my chin and say with disdain, 'It's nothing much.' Or should I grab your hand and say with deep emotion, 'Now I finally understand how hard it is to be a father.'?" Li Xu looked at his father's outstretched hand.

"Although I would like to say the latter, however..." His father laughed and shook his head, "It's too sappy."

"Even if you wanted to, I wouldn't say it." Li Xu snorted.

"Then, Second Son, do you plan to keep that girl by your side?" His father changed the topic, "Have you told her that you can't marry her?"

"Yes, I have told her." Li Xu nodded.

"French women are not easy to deal with," His father sighed immediately, "It was hard enough to keep Catherine for a few years, but she still left in the end, truly regrettable."

"Alright, Dad, don't tell me about your romantic affairs with Catherine Deneuve," Li Xu interrupted rudely, "Besides, every time you go to France, you meet her."

"Alright, alright." Old Edward raised his hands, "Next, you know where we're going, right?"

"Peace Manor, I'm taking Daina with me." Li Xu shrugged, "Don't worry, Isabelle will stay in London with Anna. I told her we have business matters to attend to in Switzerland."

Old Edward looked at him for a while: "Alright, call your lover to the study. I want to have a private chat with her."

Isabelle Adjani soon came to the study, still with a stern face, expressionless. In fact, when Li Xu first brought her here and introduced her to his father, she only said a stiff "Hello."

"First, I must apologize to you, Miss Adjani," After sitting down, Old Edward spoke formally and politely, "For his rough methods."

"Is that all?" Isabelle was quite impolite.

Old Edward, of course, knew what she was thinking: "I won't interfere with Second Son. You two need to resolve your issues. After all, Anna is Second Son's child, that's a fact."

"Are you saying you won't take sides?" Isabelle fell silent for a moment, her bright blue eyes flashing with defiance.

Old Edward smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying.

"I suddenly remember a little story Edward told me," Isabelle continued, "He said, when you see someone bullying another, you only have two stances. First, help the one being bullied; second, help the bully; third, leave indifferently; fourth, condemn the violence and say both sides are at fault."

Her beautiful eyes stared unblinkingly at Old Edward: "The last three are all on the bully's side."

"So?" Old Edward remained unmoved.

"Can't you people be less hypocritical?" Isabelle said sarcastically.

"What you see as hypocrisy, I and we see as etiquette. Life isn't always straightforward," Old Edward was completely unfazed.

"So, you just watch me and your son fight?" Isabelle took a deep breath, "Even if we might both perish?"

"Sorry, I don't quite understand..." Old Edward finally frowned.

"Your son, Edward Li, threatened me. If I don't become his mistress, he will use every means to attack those close to me. If I dare to use myself or Anna to threaten him, he will go after my parents, and—" Isabelle bit her lip, "And he doesn't care if we both perish."

Old Edward's eyes narrowed.

---

"In the afternoon, I have to go to Switzerland with my father. You and Anna stay here. After things are settled, I'll come back and take you to Japan to meet my mother." Li Xu said this to Isabelle after staying in London for two days.

During these two days, Isabelle didn't go anywhere, just stayed in the suburban estate. Besides playing with her daughter, she quietly read books. The villa's study had all kinds of books, enough to pass the time.

"I know," Isabelle replied coldly, then looked at him without speaking.

Li Xu, who understood her meaning, shrugged: "Didn't you already talk to your family? They won't cause trouble for your family anymore."

"…What about 'Obsession'?" Isabelle asked with an unfriendly tone.

"I don't like Zulawski," Li Xu answered calmly.

"So, are you going to interfere with every movie I take on?" Isabelle huffed.

"Didn't I tell you not to refuse 'Quartet'?" Li Xu spread his hands.

"But you said I can't take off my clothes!" Isabelle raised her voice.

"You are already a mother," Li Xu's tone turned cold.

"Is that so? What about 'The Tenant'?" Isabelle's voice was provocative and mocking.

"If necessary, I will buy all the film copies and videotapes and destroy them," Li Xu said bluntly, "If it's still necessary, I'll buy the film company. Besides, I believe Polanski will see the situation."

"Even if it's for the sake of art?" Isabelle glared at him.

"There is no art that requires taking off clothes to complete," Li Xu stared back unyieldingly, "The ultimate goal of all art is to stir the audience's emotions and evoke their resonance. Taking off clothes is undoubtedly… the simplest way."

Isabelle's eyes widened, her bright blue eyes flashing with anger. She clearly understood that the word Li Xu initially wanted to say was "vulgar."

"You're a bastard, Edward!" If not for the presence of others and her daughter in the next room, she would have shouted, "Everything you said in Provence was a lie! You're a liar!"

"I love art, and I respect true artists, but that doesn't mean I agree with their methods, or their worldview and values," Li Xu's tone remained cold, "And you are Isabelle Adjani, not Adèle Hugo, nor Stella!"

Before she could retort, he continued: "I'm not in the mood to argue with you now, Isabelle! We can discuss it later, but for now, think about how you will respond to me!"

Isabelle was immediately speechless, her raised body falling back into the chair.

"I'm leaving. Take good care of Anna, don't take your anger out on her." Li Xu said as he walked out.

"Don't compare me to you!" Isabelle finally shouted, but the only response was the sound of the door slamming shut.

With a thud, Isabelle, unable to contain herself any longer, grabbed something and threw it at the door, then swept everything else off the table.

After venting, she finally calmed down, sat back in the chair, and hung her head in dejection.

---

"Do you often argue like this?" Old Edward asked after they left the estate in the limousine.

"No, never in Provence," Li Xu, looking outside, turned his gaze back, "We always discussed topics of mutual interest, and it was never enough."

He looked at him: "I remember telling you, Dad, that these arguments are just a strategy."

"Yes, I know," Old Edward nodded, "But that's the beauty and the drawback of a chance encounter. Without any entanglements, you only focus on discovering each other's good points. But once there's a conflict and you start living together, the other person's flaws will keep surfacing, dominating your vision until they drive away all the good things."

Li Xu frowned, feeling that his father had become a bit strange, more inquisitive than before. Specifically, since the day he and Isabelle had a private talk, his father had shown more interest in him.

"So, is it the same with you and Mom?" Li Xu raised an eyebrow.

"That's different. We had no feelings at first and gradually understood each other through constant cooperation. This is different from a chance encounter, even opposite," Old Edward explained seriously.

"Then what is your current situation?" Li Xu asked curiously.

"How can I explain it clearly," Old Edward laughed, "Even if economics can establish detailed models in the future and shed the label of a post-hoc discipline, the changes in human emotions may still not be fully understood."

Li Xu narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his father, feeling something was off. But he couldn't pinpoint what exactly. Although he didn't think it was because of meeting his granddaughter, it seemed to be the only explanation.

Forget it, he decided to ignore it for now. No matter what his father was thinking, as long as he didn't stop, he would eventually slip up.

The car drove to Kensington in Greater London, picked up the long-awaited Diana, and then headed south to Gatwick Airport, the second largest airport in Greater London—Heathrow was too busy, and parking a private plane there was troublesome.

Then they flew to Geneva for over an hour, and took a prepared vehicle to the town of Morges.

Old Edward had three main things to do in Europe. The first was to handle business here. Hayes Holdings had significant investments here, which helped his grandfather and father expand their network in the UK.

Even if it wasn't the era of globalization, the economies of NATO countries were still closely linked.

The second was to lay the groundwork for the plan. Yes, the plan proposed by Li Xu and refined by his father and grandfather: to first push Morgan Stanley to acquire Morgan Grenfell, and then, in the near future, to push the merged Morgan Stanley to merge with J.P. Morgan, ultimately rebuilding the Morgan banking empire.

They were really going to do it, and Li Xu had no objections, as long as his grandfather and father didn't mess it up.

As for the third thing, it was purely personal. He was going to visit Peace Manor in Morges.

Yes, Audrey Hepburn's Peace Manor.