Chapter 4: Beauty Rest

"Good! Very Good! It will happen." The old man clapped his hands and beamed, his previous smugness was replaced with warmth and something unidentifiable that only made everyone more confused.

"This is madness!" Huang Li Duo clenched his hands. He glared at his younger brother as he cursed inwardly. Growing up, this Huang Sheng Hong never competed with anyone else! He was laid back— too laid back and relaxed that not one of them even considered him as competition.

His daughter's personality was almost identical to his cool and lazy disposition. Who would have thought that these two would come out victorious after all these years? "Father how could you have someone like this as your heir?" He gritted his teeth. He could feel anger flowing inside him like a lava, threatening to erupt anytime. "Someone who is lazy and values appearance above experience and knowledge?"

"Do you think you can just insult my daughter like that?" Huang Sheng Hong's voice echoed inside the study. "Who do you think is more qualified to handle the family business? Your lecherous son who has been sleeping with models and actresses? He doesn't even have the guts to accept that he got someone pregnant at the age of eighteen. A man like that— " Huang Sheng Hong made a deliberate pause as he narrowed his eyes at his elder brother. "A man who does not have any principles is a good-for-nothing!"

"You! Do you dare fight with me, Sheng Hong? How dare you! My son is— "

"So you can insult my daughter, but I cannot insult your son?" Huang Sheng Hong sneered. "I am but a silent man, elder brother. But don't you dare insult my daughter in front of me."

"Sheng Hong… Li Duo… this is enough." The old man's voice echoed. "I understand the concern, but only one person can inherit the company and that is Lyca." The authority in the old man's voice was apparent. It contained the finality and decisiveness that the old man had always shown over the years.

"What if I can prove that Lyca does not deserve this position?" Huang Ying met her father's sharp eyes. "What if… she doesn't perform as expected? What if she does not deliver? What will happen then?"

"Then, she will be challenged," The old man said. "By anyone." His gaze swept over his four children. "This has always been the rule in the family."

"Can we issue a challenge now?" Huang Li Dou asked.

"You can."

"Then, I will have my daughter, Huang Xiaoxuan fight against Lyca," Huang Li Duo declared. He raised his chin, his gaze full of confidence as he looked at Lyca. "Do you accept?"

"What kind of challenge are we talking about?" Lyca asked. Was it her fault that she was unfamiliar with the rules in this family? In the past, this Huang Family did not have such rules, ah.

"Intelligence and martial talents." Huang Li Duo eyed the old man before he observed his younger brother's reaction. Surely, Huang Sheng Hong would not be this confident when it came to the ability of his daughter, right? After all, Huang Xiaoxuan had a blackbelt in karate and was an expert in judo and taekwondo. There was no way that Lyca would be able to defeat her cousin.

"Then, no problem." Lyca yawned. She eyed the large wall clock behind her grandfather's seat and wondered when they would finish this meeting. It was already half past nine in the evening. That was half an hour past her bedtime! She expected that once she decided to agree, these people would just stop talking and end the meeting.

She was wrong.

These people would never let her have her beauty rest!

Lyca started to feel enraged. She could feel her pulse quicken as she started eyeing her uncle's neck. Killing this man now would surely silence him, no?

She shook her head inwardly. All she wanted was to have a languid life yet these people were disturbing her peace!

"What arrogance!" Huang Ying sneered. This Lyca might be smart and rich, but wasn't she nothing but a lazy woman who did not know what the real world looked like? All her life, this Lyca was pampered by her doting father and loving mother. She lived in luxury all her life with her servants always following her orders.

"But we should make it fair," the old man said. "I don't want you to think that I am favoring Lyca more than Huang Xiaoxuan. So, each will have their own trainer. Each will study martial arts and business management. Each will have equal opportunity to beat the other." He pursed his lips.

"The winner will become the heir to Huang Security. The loser will spend the next three months in the ancestral house repenting and praying. Do you have any more suggestions?" he asked.

"I want the loser to abandon the family name and leave the Huang Family. The loser will be removed from our ancestral book. No questions asked," Huang Li Duo said. "The contest will be in a month." He then looked at Huang Sheng Dong. "What do you say brother?"

Lyca's father pursed his lips. He didn't miss the mockery in his brother's eyes. "I have no problem," he uttered. His daughter was someone who could even beat him in hand to hand combat. Lyca was a woman that not even he wanted to mess with. Of course, he would never tell this secret to his brother. "But are you sure you can handle it? Your daughter, losing the family name? She already has nothing but our family name. Once she loses it— "

"Shut it!" Huang Li Duo hissed, irritation flashing in his eyes. "Think about your own daughter!"

"Alright. It seems that we already have something that we can agree upon," the old man said, interrupting the turmoil that was brewing in front of him. "Let's seal the challenge with our blood," he uttered as a sinister smile dangled on his lips.