Worth It

In the brief silence, Chiba Ryuji did not reply. He looked to the side. "Miss Izaki, I'll leave things outside to you."

"Nothing will go wrong."

Izaki did not mind being sent away. She calmly departed, not forgetting to take the bottle of Yamazaki from the table.

Once the door closed, only Chiba and Huai Shi remained in the silent, luxurious private room.

"Come to think of it, we've never had such an intimate conversation before, Young Master Huai."

Chiba Ryuji brought out another fine bottle of liquor. After pouring Huai Shi a drink, he sighed. "Originally, I wanted to recruit you under my wing. I thought we would surely have much in common. Who would have thought that old Satenme would get there first?"

Huai Shi frowned in confusion, unable to understand what he meant.

Chiba Ryuji raised his glass in a toast, tipped his head back, and drained it. He wiped the liquor caught in his beard with his sleeve, then said bluntly, "I admire you. Even now, I still admire you, because you are different from the others."

"You flatter me, Mr. Chiba."

Huai Shi replied, "Then let us dispense with any talk of recruitment. For the time being, I have no intention of changing sides."

"Haha, no need, no need. I don't like taking what others hold dear. This sort of thing is like a relationship between a man and a woman—it has to be mutual. Besides, I don't have a daughter as beautiful as Lihua."

Chiba burst into laughter, rose to his feet, and gestured for Huai Shi to follow.

He walked to the window and pointed at the dazzling neon lights below.

They looked down from the highest point of the Tanba Inner Circle.

"Do you see it, Young Master Huai? This is the