Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 181 Doubts
Li Xu arrived downstairs with the car keys and found the Mercedes-Benz S-Class that his father often drove in.

An Duoduo followed Li Xu into the passenger seat without saying a word. Although the car was an old one, Lao Liu took great care of it, keeping the interior in excellent condition and wiping it clean.

As soon as An Duoduo got into the car, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Your father's driver is really a clean person." She sniffed the air and smiled, "This diffuser smells like sandalwood. Does your dad like sandalwood?"

Li Xu nodded, a sense of感慨 (gan3 kai3, mixed feelings) stirring within him. He backed the car out of the parking space, turned the sandalwood diffuser to its highest setting, took a deep sniff, and said, "My dad has started paying more attention to health these past two years. I suspect this fainting spell wasn't an accident."

Hearing this, An Duoduo's expression turned very serious. From Li Xu's outburst, she had already discerned some clues. Although she didn't know why Li Xu had come to such a conclusion, based on her trust in him, An Duoduo believed that Li Xu wouldn't speak without reason.

If what Li Xu said was true, then what was it if not an accident? An Duoduo dared not think any further.

The car arrived at the company quickly. Since some people already recognized Li Xu from his last visit, he entered his father's office without much trouble.

Aside from business trips, my dad spends a lot of time in the office on weekdays. If there's anything fishy going on, there's a high chance we can find some clues in his office.

The current situation is somewhat troublesome. After all, whether in his previous life or this one, Li Xu's knowledge of his father's health is purely speculative, so calling the police is out of the question. You can't exactly tell the police, "I suspect someone is trying to poison my father, can you help me investigate?" Getting a case filed isn't that easy. So, until then, he can only try to investigate on his own.

Li Xu sat in his father's chair, leaning slightly back, silent. The office chair spun gently, and he casually turned on the computer—it was password protected. His father hadn't given him this information, so he couldn't open it. The drawers on the computer desktop were all locked.

Li Xu casually picked up the small items on the table, played with them for a while, and then put them down. Suddenly, he realized something, stood up, and said to An Duoduo, "Wrong, the direction is wrong."

An Duoduo blinked and asked, "What?"

Li Xu stroked his chin: "My thinking is wrong. I should find out more..." He muttered to himself as he took out his phone and called Ye Ruida: "Old Ye, do you know any big shots in the chemistry department? Or the biology department would be fine too."

With Ye Ruida's help, Li Xu quickly obtained several phone numbers.

Although An Duoduo was there, Li Xu didn't hide anything and made a phone call in front of her. After hesitating for a moment, he said to An Duoduo, "Duoduo, go and keep watch at the door for me. Don't let anyone in for now."

An Duoduo nodded.

Li Xu took the phone and went to the window. He was calling a graduate student in the Chemistry Department of Tsinghua or Peking University. After a brief self-introduction, the other person was quite enthusiastic.

Li Xu didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Senior, I want to ask you a question. Is there any chemical substance that could cause sudden death in a person after prolonged exposure?"

The other person clearly found it strange: "Why do you need to know this?"

Li Xu smiled and said, "A friend of mine is currently writing a web novel. He wants to design a plot like this, but he lacks knowledge in this area, so he thought of me and asked me to help him ask around."

The other party clearly did not doubt Li Xu's statement. After all, Li Xu is a very famous person at Tsinghua and Peking Universities now. You couldn't possibly think that Li Xu was asking this question because he wanted to harm someone, could you?

The senior student thought for a moment and said, "Of course such a substance exists, and there's a lot of it. After all, it's a chemical substance. However, most substances are easy to detect. If your friend is going to write an online novel, I think the most important thing is to be discreet enough for such a murder to seem plausible."

Li Xu was immediately delighted and quickly said, "That's right, that's right, I didn't even think of that."

The senior student was clearly pleased: "We science students tend to have more rigorous thinking, but this isn't my major. We'd prefer students with a medical background, as they might be more knowledgeable. How about this, I happen to know someone here, I'll ask them for you."

Li Xu quickly said, "Thank you so much, senior."

The other party chuckled: "No need to be so polite. We're alumni of Tsinghua and Peking Universities. It's just a small favor, isn't it? Hehe."

After hanging up the phone, Li Xu couldn't help but feel a little emotional. This was another potential benefit of attending a prestigious university. Often, connections can be built simply by sharing a degree from that school, creating a wonderful bond that allows people to help each other.

Li Xu didn't have to wait long before the senior called and said, "There's quite a lot of this substance. I've sorted it out. If it's convenient, I can add you on email and send it to you."

Li Xu opened the list sent by the other party on his phone, staring silently at the chemicals and their properties noted on it. Suddenly, Li Xu was drawn to one of the substances.

Li Xu slowly walked to the air conditioner.

He looked up at the air conditioner vent, then focused his gaze on the humidifier and aromatherapy diffuser on the table.

At this moment, An Duoduo was still standing at the door.

Li Xu called out to An Duoduo, "Duoduo, come and help me."

An Duoduo looked at Li Xu with a puzzled expression as he moved a chair over from the side.

His father's office had central air conditioning, with the air vents located along the lower edge of the ceiling. Although Li Xu was very tall, he still needed to stand on a stool to reach them.

All the chairs in the office had wheels. Li Xu asked An Duoduo to help secure the chair from below so he could step on it.

Then he used a calligraphy brush from his father's desk to sweep all the dust from the air vent into a cup.

Then I collected the contents of the aromatherapy diffuser and humidifier one by one.

An Duoduo looked at Li Xu's actions with a puzzled expression and asked, "Do you suspect there's something wrong with these things?"

Li Xu shook his head: "Here's what I'm thinking: if something is affecting my dad's health, and it's a long-term issue, then it has to be something he's frequently in contact with. I looked around, and the only things he's constantly in contact with in the office are the air conditioner, aromatherapy diffuser, and humidifier."

An Duoduo hesitated for a moment and asked, "Could it be something to eat?"

Li Xu shook his head: "To be honest, my dad can't even keep track of his meals every day. The possibility of him poisoning his food is too small. Anyway, I'll take these three things to be tested first to see if they contain that substance."

Li Xu restored his father's office to its original state and immediately contacted the laboratory in the capital.

There's no time to lose, let's get tested right away.

This matter was still somewhat unbelievable to An Duoduo, after all, she had only ever seen poisoning on TV and in novels.

But Li Xu's confident demeanor made An Duoduo somewhat believe him as well.

An Duoduo asked softly, "What if it's really as you guessed?"

Li Xu remained silent.

Li Xu carefully packaged the collected items and sent them over via express courier.

This matter involves very serious issues, so I can only ask someone I trust to do it.

After much deliberation, Li Xu decided that he had no choice but to ask Ye Ruida for help.

Although Ye Ruida didn't understand why Li Xu wanted him to test the samples he sent to see if they contained those substances, he didn't ask any further questions.

After sending the items out, Li Xu didn't rush back, but instead spent every day with his father.

His father was discharged from the hospital that same day, since the hospital hadn't found anything seriously wrong with his health.

The final conclusion was simply that it was hypoglycemia caused by overwork.

There was a slight issue with his electrocardiogram this time, but it doesn't seem to be a major problem at the moment. Li Xu stayed in Jinchuan City for a few more days.

An Duoduo always stayed by his side.

Of course, Li Xu didn't make the atmosphere too serious.

He only mentioned that speculation to An Duoduo, and didn't even tell his father.

After all, this matter is just too astonishing. Whether his father believes it or not is one thing, but he will probably get a scolding from his father when he reveals this speculation.

During his conversation with his father, Li Xu also learned in detail about the situation within his father's company.

Li Yuqian was somewhat pleased that Li Xu had suddenly become so attentive to company matters.

Li Xu's change can only be temporarily attributed to the fact that the kid has finally figured things out and seems to be ready to take over the company.

Li Yuqian naturally wouldn't hide this from anyone.

After gaining a general understanding of the group company's situation, the matter became even more perplexing.

Currently, the president is still Wei Qizheng. In addition, the company has three vice presidents, each in charge of different business areas.

The group also has three subsidiaries.

When it comes to power struggles and intrigues among interest groups, there are certainly quite a few within such large corporations.

However, his father surprisingly trusted Wei Qizheng, which surprised Li Xu.

The company's equity structure is also quite complex.

Currently, his three largest shareholders, besides his father, are Jinchuan Bank and Jinyuan Capital, one of the top PE firms in the province.

But to be fair, there was nothing unusual about the relationship between these two shareholders and his father, which made Li Xu even more confused.

Just then, test results came in from the capital.

The conclusion was that the sample he sent was normal.

This result undoubtedly surprised Li Xu.

He couldn't help but start to doubt himself. Was he really just overthinking things?

Before returning to the capital, Li Xu gave Uncle Liu some more earnest advice.

He instructed Uncle Liu to observe his father's daily life, especially the things he frequently came into contact with.

However, Li Xu did not explain in detail why he did this.

Uncle Liu has followed his father for so long, so he naturally has enough intelligence and emotional intelligence.

After being given such instructions by Li Xu, he naturally thought of some things, but did not ask any further questions.

On the way back, Li Xu was still thinking about this matter.

He was well aware that his actions were somewhat strange, but there was nothing he could do—he was a reincarnated person who had experienced his father's sudden death in his previous life.

If my father really died unexpectedly due to overwork, and all my guesses were wrong from the start, then what should I do?

He sighed slightly.

At that moment, he felt a gentle pinch on his shoulder.

Li Xu turned his head and saw An Duoduo massaging his shoulders.

Li Xu chuckled and said, "Thank you. Have I been acting a little strange lately?"

An Duoduo shook her head and said, "Don't overthink it. I believe Uncle will be fine."

……

Back in the capital, there are still many things to take care of.

Now he's starting to understand what some wealthy people mean when they say, "Once you reach a certain position, being richer doesn't necessarily make you happier." A certain internet celebrity surnamed Ma said that his happiest time was when he was earning ten or twenty thousand yuan a month. Li Xu used to scoff at this, but now he's starting to believe it a little.

Because when you have a group of people who depend on you for their livelihood, and those people even have families to support, the pressure of so many mouths counting on you is considerable. Of course, the company hasn't reached that point yet, but Li Xu can already begin to feel that sense.

In my previous life, I was a rich second-generation heir. Without this kind of pressure and awareness, it means that I could not represent their interests at all. Being kicked out of the game is only to be expected.

Upon returning to the capital, the first thing to deal with was the land that had been bid on.

Ye Jinhe's efficiency was even higher than he had imagined; this version of the materials would be praised even by the state-owned assets department. More importantly, while he was away from the capital, Ye Jinhe had already made his moves through the state-owned assets department. He had two meals with the head of the department responsible for the sale and had obtained some key information. Ye Jinhe appeared confident and composed about winning the bid.

Of course, there are some concerns as well.

On one hand, there's the internal issue of establishing a real factory. While the company has this need, the overall plan is somewhat rushed. Acquiring the land would become a necessity, significantly reducing the company's flexibility in its development direction.

On the other hand, concerns come from the outside. After all, Tonghuo Technology was the first to set its sights on that land, and Ye Jinhe competed in almost the exact same way, which was clearly a stab in the back for Tonghuo Technology.

Ye Jinhe was the one who did it, but ultimately the blame was pointed at Li Xu. Li Xu originally had no intention of making enemies with companies that didn't have much business competition with him, but now it seems he has no choice but to confront Zhang Ye.

Most of the matters have been dealt with.

Li Xu gradually sorted out his chaotic emotions.

However, she started calling her father more often, which brought comfort to her father on the other end of the line.

Li Xu could sense these things, and he found it somewhat amusing.

Although he is very young and his father is also young, his "premature maturity" has led his father to gradually become more indifferent to his own aging.

It's mainly a change in mindset; I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

November arrived in the blink of an eye.

One morning, something made Li Xu happy—Xia Xiaohe's younger brother, Xia Xiaomiao, was coming to the capital to participate in the national mathematics competition.

(End of this chapter)