Everyone walked to the living room in silence. Jacob knew that it would not be appropriate to fight with
Jonathan, so he remained patient and controlled his anger.
He knew that his father's funeral was the priority, and that, he could not lose control of his emotions at a
time like that.
"We came here to discuss the way in which you will be handling your father's funeral." Saying that,
Jonathan sat down on the sofa next to him, as though he was the one in charge of the situation.
Upon hearing his offensive and insensitive words, Sara cast a scornful glance at him. Although the
others present there did not agree with the way he said it, they did not do anything about it as they too
had personal grudges against Jacob. Everyone knew that Jonathan was hell-bent on causing trouble
for Jacob, but they remained silent.
Considering the situation, Jacob decided to bite the bullet and not speak in haste. However, it was
obvious that Jacob was more successful and capable than Jonathan. In fact, he was being calm even
though Jonathan had pissed him off, which showed that he was the better man, and not Jonathan.
For some strange reason, Jacob felt as though he could listen to everyone's hurtful words, and yet not
react to it. But then, he felt as though he had swallowed a fly when he heard those words from
Jonathan.
Perhaps it was because of the fact that Jacob disliked him, and his disgust towards Jonathan was the
reason he found his words particularly hurtful.
"I will discuss the matter with everyone present here today. My father has done a lot for our family as
well as the company, and I think that we owe it to him to give him a remarkably grand funeral."
As he said those words, Jacob glanced at everyone present in the room, who nodded in reply to let him
know that they had understood him. However, a few people including Jonathan gave him a smug
expression and scoffed.
According to Jonathan, Michael's contributions had not just benefitted the Shi Group, but also Jacob,
which annoyed him. Although the Shi Group was a family-run business, it was ultimately Michael's son
who had become the CEO.
Hence, he thought that it was ridiculous to say that Michael had done a lot for their family. Jonathan
thought that it was absurd as well as angering. He had heard a lot of silly excuses from Jacob before,
but he had never seen him stoop that low.
"Your words are beautiful, and I am moved, but I think that you're just saying such things to get on the
good side of those who are present here." Jonathan's voice was dripping with sarcasm, but no one said
a word against him.
Ever since the moment that Jonathan had walked into Jacob's house that day, Jacob had been itching
to slap him. Although it would not solve the problem, it would at least make him feel good.
However, Jacob had no choice but to remain calm as he did not want to risk losing his good reputation.
Besides, his father had just passed away, and he could not bring himself to disrespect him by acting
recklessly.
Hence, even though Jonathan was being cold and ruthless towards him, he was left with no choice but
to grit his teeth while he listened to him.
But then, that did not mean that everyone else present there also had to endure his indifference. At
last, someone in the crowd spoke up.
"Our family has achieved its status today because of Michael. Sadly, he has passed away and we owe
it to him to give him a beautiful funeral," an older man expressed himself, looking at Jonathan in
confusion.
He knew that if it weren't for Jacob or Michael, Shi Group would not have existed in the first place.
"What do you know? Don't think that you can school me just because I am younger than you! Who
became the CEO of the company? Was it any of us? And who is to say that being the CEO of a
company is such a hard job? You guys are a bunch of fools."
Jonathan narrowed his eyes at Jacob. It was rare for someone to speak up for Jacob.
He glared at the old man, and wanted to remember his face. Because the moment he would be
promoted to a more authoritative position, he was determined to take revenge on all those who had
opposed him.
The man seemed to be righteous, so he scoffed and stopped arguing with Jonathan.
Since Jonathan was willing to even disrespect Michael, who was dead, it became clear that he only
wanted to irritate Jacob. That was the reason the old man felt the need to stand up to him.
However, no one could be changed by just a few words, so the old man knew that Jonathan would not
change.
James glared at Jonathan, wanting to rip his heart out. Although his older brother had passed away,
Jonathan continued to be disrespectful to him. James could tell that Jonathan was happy on the inside.
"I am warning you... You need to watch your mouth!" Jacob cast a cold glance at Jonathan. He could
see that Jonathan had gone too far with his words, but he did not want to stir up trouble at that time, so
he kept quiet.
"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?" Jonathan asked with a laugh. He knew that he had hurt
Jacob, but he felt that he deserved it.
James stood up from the couch and quickly walked to Jonathan. Jacob tried to stop him, but James
grabbed Jonathan's wrist and twisted it behind his back.
Although it seemed harmless to those who saw it, Jonathan was about to cry out in pain. Everything
happened within a flash. Until that moment, no one stood up to Jonathan, so he was always haughty
and felt entitled.
"You'd better learn to be nice, or else I am going to slit your mouth open." Upon hearing James'
fearsome threat, everyone gasped.
They had always seen him as a sweet and caring man. Even Sara had never seen him get so angry. It
became obvious that Jonathan had taken things too far and pissed off James.
If had been able to, Sara would have slapped Jonathan hard. However, she did not have the strength
to slap a man, otherwise she would not have watched as Jonathan said those terrible things.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Jonathan groaned in pain. He never thought that James would
physically attack him.
Only then did Jonathan realize that there was no way for him to win a fight against James, so he
decided not to go up against him. Although he did not want to get hurt, he still could not let go.
Moreover, there were so many people there that Jonathan thought that James would not hurt him.
"Are you testing my patience?" James asked as he tightened his grip on Jonathan's wrist. He did not
want to hurt him, he was just trying to warn him, but Jonathan was unwilling to obey.
If it had been twenty years ago, James would have killed him for speaking such things. Jonathan was
lucky to have met him after he had changed into a rational, reasonable man.
Although he was a different person now, he could not bear to be insulted by Jonathan. Besides, it
seemed as though Jonathan did not want things to end peacefully. In fact, he only wanted to provoke
him more.
Seeing that no one stepped in to help him, Jonathan's expression paled and he was left with no choice
but to give up. "All right, all right! Just forget what I said, okay?"
Jonathan said flatly. Although it had seemed like James was just holding his wrist lightly, his grip
caused Jonathan to sweat even in the cold winter.
"Do you really want me to forget what you said? How are you going to make everyone forget what you
said? Can you really take back your words that easily?" James roared, feeling that he had reached the
limits of his patience. He would tolerate anything, except for someone insulting Michael.
"So... Please... I am sorry, I was wrong to say that," Jonathan replied. He wanted to insult them even
more, but James pressed his wrist so hard that he could not. He had no choice but to apologize to
everyone.
Jonathan considered himself as a hero, who only cared about using every opportunity to his benefit.
Some people looked at him with contempt. He had been so arrogant just a while ago, and now, he was
groveling at James' feet. It was embarrassing to watch him act so shamelessly.
James loosened his grip on Jonathan's hand and said, "Consider this a warning... If you say those
words ever again, things won't end well for you." He could not help but be fierce. After all, it was the
first time that he felt furious after so many years.
James had never seen a shameless, spineless man like Jonathan. Even looking at him made him feel
disgusted.
However, there was nothing he could do to him at that moment.
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