The night lights flickered on.
Deng Shangwei stepped off the plane.
He made a call and, following directions, found the car Boss Qin had sent waiting in the airport parking lot. Opening the door, he saw Boss Qin inside.
July heat aside, a closer look revealed Deng Shangwei trembling slightly.
Boss Qin sighed inwardly, lighting a cigarette for him.
For men, smoking wasn’t always about addiction—sometimes it was a way to exhale stress, steady the nerves.
Deng Shangwei took half before stubbing it out, forcing a smile at Boss Qin. “Brother Qin, sorry you had to see that.”
Boss Qin’s expression stayed grave. “I’m not laughing. A man’s grit is for outsiders. Holding steady in business but crumbling for family? Normal. When Qin Jiao fell into the lake, I had it handled, but hearing it still scared me witless!”
After getting the news, Deng Shangwei had called Chen Li to explain, then told Boss Qin he needed to head back to Rongcheng.
This trip was to escort Yu Wei to meet “suppliers” out of town. The plan was to stick around a few days, letting Yu Wei cozy up to them and slip into the trap.
But when Pan Li confronted Chen Li and spouted nonsense to Deng Jie and Deng Hao, fury and fear gripped him.
He didn’t fear Pan Li—her moves were all Yu Wenhao’s strings. He feared Yu Wenhao’s next play.
Spilling his worries to Boss Qin, he’d found understanding. Qin not only sent protection for Chen Li and the kids but agreed to let him ditch Yu Wei and rush home.
Qin called it playing along—leaving Yu Wei solo with the “suppliers” made him more vulnerable.
Likely what Yu Wenhao wanted.
“Yu Wenhao’s after your spot. Every time business heats up, your family erupts. A few more rounds, I’d sour on you, trust fading,” Boss Qin dissected.
Without Wen Ying stumbling onto Yu Wenhao’s scheme, it might’ve worked.
One side: Deng Shangwei, bogged down by family chaos, distracted from business. The other: Yu Wei, young, eager, saving Qin Jiao, always on call.
Even Boss Qin couldn’t swear his favor wouldn’t tilt.
Especially since Deng Shangwei’s slip-up—family drama—was Qin’s pet peeve. With Yu Wenhao scheming, replacing Deng Shangwei wouldn’t take long. But Yu Wenhao’s sights weren’t just on Deng’s slice—his real prize was Boss Qin.
Deng Shangwei clenched his fist. “If I didn’t want this snake gone for good, I’d have lost it today!”
Boss Qin laughed heartily. “You can’t go beat Yu Wenhao up yet—he thinks you’re clueless. Your niece, though? Young, unpredictable—Yu Wenhao won’t suspect her. Let her stir the pot. The more she rattles him, the easier Yu Wei falls!”
Qin had heard of Wen Ying’s exploits today.
Storming the music college and walking away clean—bold and sharp for her age!
He’d seen precocious kids, but Wen Ying had something rarer than smarts—a fierce loyalty to family Qin admired deeply.
Deng Shangwei, hearing her “heroics” from Qin, was at a loss for words.
She’d dragged Xie Qian to the college, kept parents out of it, and got Pan Li expelled?
He suspected the school staff still didn’t know their names!
“What about their night market stall…?”
Deng Shangwei fretted, but Qin waved it off. “No issue—let her keep at it. She’s with Jiao Jiao and Wang Shuang. Yu Wenhao hit a wall last time—he won’t touch the kids now. We’ve got eyes on it. It’s fine.”
Yu Wenhao craved Qin’s billion-yuan empire, not petty squabbles with a teen—unless she crossed his interests. Qin added a warning: “Tell Wen Ying to watch herself. She can trash Yu Wenhao’s pawn, Pan Li, for your wife’s sake—Yu Wenhao’d love your family messier. But don’t let her take on Yu Wenhao himself. He’s no naive co-ed!”
Deng Shangwei nodded hard.
…
While Qin cautioned Deng Shangwei, Pan Li sobbed before Yu Wenhao.
Today was her most humiliating day.
Sure, Yu Wenhao promised a house and 300,000 yuan, but she’d still lost big.
Wen Ying’s stunt branded her a pariah—girls shunned her, and most fawning boys vanished.
A few diehard simps stayed, consoling her, swearing faith—but what use were they? If they were worth it, she’d have locked them down already!
Worst was losing the provincial TV gig. Post-Wen Ying, she’d tried Fang Professor, who brushed her off with “busy.”
Her tears to Yu Wenhao were three parts real, seven parts play—expulsion sealed, job gone, she’d squeeze him for more or at least goad him to punish that brat Wen Ying!
“Brother Wen, I thought she was dumb, but today she outplayed me. What if she knows the baby…”
She hit Yu Wenhao’s sore spot on purpose.
He wasn’t annoyed at Wen Ying most—Pan Li was the headache.
If Deng Shangwei’s niece knew something, it wasn’t her brilliance—it was Pan Li’s stupidity!
“She threatened cops? You should’ve let her call! I doubt she’d dare connect to 110. A kid with a sharp tongue wouldn’t risk jailing Deng Shangwei—her family’d stop her. She bluffed to spook your school. Police would’ve blown it bigger, forcing them to cave. You shouldn’t have blocked her!”
A seasoned adult would’ve smelled the baby wasn’t Deng Shangwei’s.
Pan Li shrank under his tirade, sniffling.
Yu Wenhao snapped, “Enough crying. You’re expelled—Deng Shangwei’s mad you hit his home, but he shouldn’t doubt your ‘devotion.’ Forget his niece. Focus on him—call him now, demand answers. Don’t let him off easy!”
He didn’t think Wen Ying pulled this alone—suspected Chen Li puppeteered her niece.
If it flopped, “kids being kids.”
Yu Wenhao, a seasoned player, saw through women’s games!
