Tuesday, continued …

Anna was shocked that this man sitting beside her was also targeted by Lu Jinhu and Yang Lin.

Hou Yi, decided she needed to know his story, to understand exactly how they both had been betrayed. “I run the family business. My Father and Grandfather have been pressuring me for some time to get married, even though I am only 29 years old. Most marriages at the time they married were arranged marriages, however they both married for love.”

“My grandfather walked into a shop and spotted my shop-assistant grandmother. They fell in love instantly. My grandfather took her away from her life and wrapped her in luxury that he could provide.”

Hou Yi took a breath and continued, “My mother was the daughter of the Lu family’s former housekeeper. They met when my father attended the Lu home for a business meeting, and witnessed my mother being bullied. My father fell in love on sight with her and got her out of there along with my grandmother.”

“They both knew that I wanted the same opportunity as them to find the love of my life, marry and start a family. However, they reached a point where they decided that the needed to force my hand, as they believed I had sufficient time to do so. By my age they had both been married and had a child.”

“To get me to comply, they set a deadline that I had to be married by today and present my bride to them by tonight. The sting was that if I failed, they would sell the family business to the Lu’s for almost nothing. However, If I did, they agreed to let me run the family company without their interference.”

“The failure threat was how they knew I would comply with their demand. Given how the Lu family treated my mother, there was no way that I would let them get their hands on the family company. I did not want to force them out of the family company, but I knew that unless I did something like that, the next time they wanted to force me to do something they would hold the same threat over me.”

“Yang Lin and her parents are family friends. Yang Lin told me that she was unable to marry the person she wanted. As the deadline for me came closer, and I had not complied she suggested that we marry for mutual convenience as we could help each other out. Me to help her deal with her broken heart and she to help me meet the deadline set. Our deal was that if things were not working out in the future we would simply divorce.”

“We both agreed however I found the person I wanted to marry before today she would walk away, and if the love of her life became free to marry her, I would let her go, and she would help me find one of her friends that would step in for a marriage of convenience.”

“Yang Lin, even this morning was reassuring me on the telephone that she wanted to marry me, however it appears that she never intended to go through with the marriage. She was simply stringing me along like Lu Jinhu did to you, but for me it is too late to do anything to prevent the Lu’s getting control over Hou Enterprises, given the deadline.”

“What!” a shocked Anna stated, getting louder.

“I’m guessing that the plan, for a long time, has been to achieve certain goals, and Yang Lin and Lu Jinhu planned to ruin both of us today. I am guessing that this plan has been in place for a while.”

Anna simply could not believe what she was hearing. She thought that she was the only target today of Lu Jinhu and Yang Lin, but it turns out that she was not. There appears that there is a much wider plan in place by Lu Jinhu, Yang Lin and their families. They were out to take what they could and ruin as many lives as possible.

Anna realised that she was targeted, as was Hou Yi and his family. It was all about money, and this made her wonder was there anyone else impacted by today’s acts by them. All she wanted to do at this time was to do something to get her revenge. She wished that she could help Hou Yi, but the only help she could offer, which was marrying him was impossible. She knew the paperwork from the Australian Embassy to enable her to marry here was for a specific individual sho she could not step in and marry him.

“At this point in time I do not care about control of the company. My concern is for the company employees, as I know Lu Jinhu and his family will fire them, simply to take additional revenge against my family. They know it will break, in particular, my parents’ hearts as they treat all the company staff like extended family members.”

Hou Yi then continued, “There is little time, and the deadline is tonight. I have no options, and I need to think.” With that he stood up, to turned slightly away from Anna, but did not leave.