Long Jian straightened to his full height. He was taller than either his father Long Tengfei or his older brother Long Hui. He walked to the living room and sat on the couch beside his mother.
Zhu Ning poured hot tea for her son.
"There is no need to remind me, Uncle Xiaopeng. I already received information from my business insiders that Father is planning on promoting me to work at the main company soon. Maybe within this year. When that happens, everyone will soon know that I'm more capable than Long Hui. I'll make it into a situation that Father will have no choice but to appoint me as his successor because it will be for the company's best interests to do so."
"That's my son!"
Zhu Ning looked very proud. An almost maniacal ambition danced in her eyes. She couldn't wait for the moment when her son succeeded as the next head of the Longs. Wouldn't that make her the Long family's Old Madam? She felt absolutely gleeful at the thought.
"Mother, I would like to talk with Uncle Xiaopeng alone," Long Jian told her.
"Fine, fine. I'll leave the two of you with your manly talk, then." She chuckled. "It's time for my beauty sleep anyway. Goodnight!"
The two men waited until she was gone before they began talking once again.
"I asked my mother to go because she has a tendency to become too caught up in her emotions whenever we talk about the Longs."
Long Xiaopeng nodded in agreement.
Long Xiaopeng cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable by the younger man's heavy gaze. He sighed. "You're right. The elders' way of thinking are too old-fashioned. You already know this. To them, only Young Master Hui is the one fit to succeed by virtue of him being the eldest legitimate son."
Despite hating the words "legitimate" and "illegitimate", Long Jian still nodded and encouraged the older man to continue talking. His steepled fingers, however, were now clasped together so hard that his hands shook a little and veins popped on the surface of his arms.
"Even if Young Master Hui isn't in the picture, if given the choice between you, your other sister, and the Young Miss Xiulan, the elders will most likely choose Young Miss Xiulan over the two of you just because she's a legitimate child and you are not. Even when they hate her guts, they'll grudgingly let her succeed the head position. That's just how backward the elders' minds work."
Long Hui's face contorted in fury, but he was able to quickly control his expression. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. This was to prevent himself from flipping the low table in front of him or from punching the wall.
When he calmed down enough, he opened his eyes and spoke in a much calmer voice. "Let's stay focused. Long Hui is the biggest block in my way. Xiulan is a good-for-nothing spoiled brat. She's a pathetic excuse for a Long heiress. She'll never be a threat to me."
"Don't underestimate her, Jian'er," Long Xiaopeng cautioned him. "She has grown more sensible ever since she woke up from her coma. Your father is very pleased with the improvements in her attitude. He and Madam Yang Jiahui are growing increasingly close to her right now. Young Master Hui, too. If Young Miss Xiulan and Young Master Hui team up, they'll definitely have the advantage compared to you."
Long Jian laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Then he sneered. "Go ahead. Let them team up. What good does it do for Long Hui to team up with a good-for-nothing like Xiulan? Isn't he just dragging himself down? Sure, she has achieved some little successes recently but she's still nothing but a showgirl. What does she know other than singing and dancing and selling her pretty face to the public? What does she know when it comes to working in the business industry? Nothing! By teaming up with her, Long Hui will just obtain a useless burden for himself."
"You're right," Long Xiapeng nodded. "But it's still better to be cautious. I hear that Young Miss Xiulan is like a completely different person now. She doesn't act like a spoiled brat anymore."
Long Jian scoffed. "A leopard cannot change its spots. Don't forget that Xiulan works in showbiz. People of her kind excel in acting. She's probably just acting to be more mature and sensible to butter up our father. Let's see how long she can maintain her act. She'll revert back to her usual b*tchy and bratty self again one day."
Long Xiaopeng sank into deep thought. He agreed with Long Jian's opinions, but there was a niggling feeling inside him, warning him to be cautious of Young Miss Xiulan. He had not personally met with her yet since she woke up from coma, but he had heard many things about her from his informants within the Long ancestral residence.
He just hoped that it was just as Long Jian suspected, that she was just acting and would eventually revert to her previous unpleasant personality. If not, she would be a tough adversary to beat especially if she started gaining the elders' good graces.
"Regardless of whether Young Miss Xiulan is a threat or not, I think we should still have some plans in place for when she and Young Master Hui really decide to team up together," Long Xiaopeng insisted. "What about you team up with your other sister? Both of you are in a similar situation of being ostracized by the elders just because of your illegitimacy. If you unite, you'll have a higher chance of succeeding. Especially since your sister is also a high-achiever like you. The two of you can show everyone that despite being illegitimate, you're more capable than the legitimate children."
"Stop calling us illegitimate!" Long Jian finally couldn't stop himself from exploding.
"I..." Long Xiaopeng was shocked at his outburst.
Long Jian sat back down and sighed heavily. "Sorry for raising my voice at you, Uncle. Anyway, about my other sister. Yes, she's a high-achiever but she has no ambitious bones in her body at all. I already tried pulling her to my side before but she's already content of her own position. It's beyond my comprehension how she can tolerate being treated like sh*t by the elders and the other members of the Longs. She's definitely so much better than that good-for-nothing Xiulan, yet she doesn't complain when our father shows obvious favouritism to that spoiled brat."
"Is that so? How unfortunate. And here I thought we can use her…"
"Let's forget about her." Long Jian waved a dismissive hand. "Besides, my mother will be upset if I team up with any of my siblings. She hates the guts of Father's other women and their children."
The two men continued to talk about their plans. As the night grew deeper, their ambitions also grew bigger and hungrier.