Chapter 312: Black Water
“Stop the car!”
Xu Youyou urgently told the driver to pull over.
But as if fate was intentionally working against her, just as she called to stop, the young man the system had pointed out hopped into a sports car.
Moments later, the roar of the sports car echoed through the streets, vanishing down the road. The car Xu Youyou was in couldn’t possibly catch up.
The driver hesitated for a moment and asked, “Miss Xu, do you want me to chase after that sports car?”
They were in a relatively remote part of the city, and the sports car was too fast. It would be impossible to catch up.
Beside her, Xu Fang softly said, “Boss, I’ve already snapped a photo of his license plate. I’ll immediately have someone look into his personal information.”
Xu Youyou nodded lightly. She hadn’t had time to do it herself, but fortunately, Xu Fang was now well-trained.
Next to them, Liu Xiangyi put on an admiring look and even pulled out her phone to take notes as if she was studying.
Lu Jingyao wasn’t surprised by Xu Youyou’s strange behavior. Seeing how anxious she was, he said, “That young man looks a little familiar. I’ll have Assistant Liu investigate him too.”
Xu Youyou gave him a grateful look but also felt a pang of guilt for hiding the truth about the system.
Lu Jingyao chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. If you’re not ready to talk, I won’t force you.”
Xu Youyou forced a smile, feeling even guiltier, because she knew she would probably hide the secret of the system from Lu Jingyao for the rest of her life.
Assistant Liu acted faster than Xu Fang—or rather, Lu Jingyao’s network was broader.
“That young man is the youngest grandson of the Heishui family. The Heishui family is a major conglomerate, much like the Anden family. But unlike the Andens, who are still led by the patriarch, the Heishui family is currently led by a matrilocal son-in-law.”
Hearing the explanation, Xu Youyou widened her eyes. “A matrilocal son-in-law can lead the family?”
Assistant Liu explained, “This country has a long tradition of taking sons-in-law into the family. If there’s no male heir, the family head often seeks an outstanding son-in-law for the daughter. After a year of marriage, the son-in-law is adopted as the family’s son and changes his surname. Eventually, he becomes the heir.”
Xu Youyou still found the system a bit naïve. After all, back home, there were plenty of stories about sons-in-law turning against their adoptive families. It reminded her of the old tales of families being destroyed by ungrateful heirs.
“The son-in-law system here is highly developed. Once the man changes his surname, it’s almost impossible to revert it. Their children also inherit the mother’s surname. Even if someone wanted to revert the bloodline back after a few generations, the pressure from public opinion would be overwhelming,” Assistant Liu explained.
Xu Youyou raised her eyebrows. “So it seems the current Heishui family head, this matrilocal son-in-law, managed the family business quite successfully?”
Assistant Liu nodded. “Yes, he’s a very capable man. Under his leadership, the Heishui family rose to new heights. Twenty years ago, they couldn’t even compare to the Andens.”
Xu Youyou, seeing Assistant Liu wasn’t an outsider, asked straightforwardly, “Do you know if there’s been any major news about the Heishui family recently?”
Assistant Liu didn’t hide anything. “There’s been a big piece of news. The family head is aging and planning to retire. He had only one son, but both his son and daughter-in-law died in a car accident. Fortunately, they left behind five children—three boys and two girls. The Heishui family is now facing a succession crisis and needs to pick a new head.”
Xu Youyou raised her brows. “Since he himself was a matrilocal son-in-law, proving the success of the system, why not find an excellent grandson-in-law instead of picking from among the grandkids?”
Assistant Liu replied, “Aside from the son-in-law system, these conglomerates usually follow a single-heir tradition. All the family wealth goes to one heir, and the others get only scraps.”
This was news to Xu Youyou. Back home, rich families might favor sons, but they never put all their eggs in one basket. It sounded a lot like the ancient Chinese primogeniture system where the eldest legitimate son got the lion’s share and the others only a little.
“How much are the ‘scraps’ usually?” Xu Youyou asked curiously.
“If they’re ruthless, the heir takes 99%, and the rest fight over the leftovers. It’s unpredictable,” Assistant Liu patiently explained.
Xu Youyou immediately understood. Money could stir the heart; no one would just sit and watch all that wealth fall into one person’s hands. A battle was inevitable.
“Is the Heishui family about to fall into chaos?” Xu Youyou asked.
Assistant Liu said softly, “The five grandchildren are fighting fiercely. None of them wants to be left with scraps. One of the granddaughters has even publicly said she’s willing to marry into the family, and the grandsons are desperately trying to prove themselves too.”
Xu Youyou asked, “What about the young man we saw?”
Assistant Liu replied, “His name is Heishui Huiqi. He loves fast cars and beautiful women. His behavior looks wild and carefree, but he graduated from a prestigious university and joined the family business afterwards. His grandfather thinks highly of him, but he’s still very young—only twenty-four. It’ll be hard for him to outcompete his older siblings.”
Xu Youyou said, “Then tell me about his older siblings.”
“The eldest grandson is average—not as talented as Huiqi, but greatly favored by their grandmother. He holds an important position in the company. The second grandson isn’t favored by either grandparent, but his wife is from the Anden family, so he has powerful external support.”
“As for the two granddaughters: the elder one is very capable but often suppressed because of her gender. The younger granddaughter doesn’t have her sister’s ambition but is very popular among the high-society ladies. Both married very outstanding husbands, who have now been fully integrated into the Heishui family.”
Listening to the introduction, Xu Youyou thought the Heishui family’s succession battle was truly a case of “all the immortals showing their powers.”
Assistant Liu continued, “But judging by the current family head’s mood, he seems tired of the endless fighting. It looks like the succession will be settled soon.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou had a vague feeling—her current mission might get entangled with the Heishui family’s succession battle.
Just as she had this thought, she followed the system’s golden arrow all around Tokyo for half a day, but her target was not the young man she had seen yesterday.
It was a beautiful woman in her thirties.
