When You Hate Someone, Even Their Breathing Is Wrong

"Father, how did it go?"

Simon had just returned home when he was met with questions from his second son. Simon had two sons, one of whom was his eldest son, born to his legal wife in his own country.

In this era, people often refer to businessmen who like to venture abroad as "adventurous speculators," and some even call themselves "descendants of adventurers," but only they themselves know the truth.

Apart from a few who want to take their careers to the next level, most businessmen who "wander" outside their hometowns do not intend to venture out into the world.

The world is not safe enough, and transportation is inconvenient. This is no longer an era where you can reach most corners of the world in a day or two. This place is still quite backward.

If it weren't necessary, no one would be willing to take the huge risk of leaving a familiar environment to fight for their life in a completely unfamiliar one.

But they had no choice but to do so, because they were all losers, including Simon.

He was also a failure. He used to run a processing plant, but it went bankrupt due to poor management. After going bankrupt, he took his meager savings and went out to make a living.

Because it was fraught with danger, his wife and children stayed in the country, while he left alone.

He has been working abroad for over twenty years, traveling to many countries, and finally got his chance in Nagaril.

To better integrate into the local community, he married a local woman and was fortunate enough to have a son. Building a local family helped him gain acceptance among the locals and also provided some assistance to his career.

His ex-wife and children knew about these things, and although they sometimes complained, they mostly remained indifferent.

The long separation was one problem, and secondly, their lives depended entirely on Simon's monthly remittances, even though they felt it was excessive for Simon to do so, they wouldn't say anything.

His wife and children in Nagaril knew he had another wife, and they had no objections. That's how the local culture is; it's normal for capable men to want to take care of more girls and have more outstanding offspring.

Everyone knows each other, but apart from a few encounters, they basically have no contact with each other.

Simon glanced at his son, who was standing by the door to greet him. His expression hadn't improved much. He casually handed his briefcase to his younger son, didn't answer, changed his shoes, and went straight into his study.

The second son followed closely behind, and after they entered the study, Simon shook his head. "You don't need to know these things. How are your studies going?"

His second son's jaw twitched, and he smiled slightly with his head bowed. "My teacher told me I should be able to get into Nagaril National University!" he said, his tone tinged with pride.

Nagaril National University is the top-ranked university in Nagaril, and many children of the country's Ruling Class study here. To ensure these children receive the best education, many of its teachers come from abroad.

The locals, including the Ruling Class, are conflicted, being wary of foreign affairs while simultaneously envying certain things from abroad, especially regarding education.

Teachers from abroad are definitely better than teachers from China... Well, that makes a lot of sense, which is why national universities hold a prestigious position in people's minds.

Simon's second son was a good student and worked very hard. In addition, his family was very wealthy, so the teachers treated him more patiently than others and sometimes even gave them extra help. His studies were much better than those of his classmates.

Over the years, he had been trying to prove his excellence to Simon through some means, and he had been studying diligently because of his father's expectations for his academic performance.

Because his father spoke somewhat harshly about fat people, even though he himself was fat, he maintained a healthy physique.

He didn't date early, didn't drink, didn't smoke, and even religion had little influence on him. He just wanted to prove that he was his father's best child, nothing more.

Unfortunately, sometimes even when people try their best, it's hard to change anything because effort can't overcome prejudice.

Simon frowned. "In my eyes, the National University is just a third-rate school. If you're this happy to attend a third-rate university, then your future is limited to that!"

He paused, then said somewhat impatiently, "Alright, go do your work, I need to get back to work!"

His second son forced a smile, placed his briefcase on the table, bowed in farewell, and left the room.

Simon had always seen his second son's efforts, but he was a "bastard." Saying that seemed somewhat offensive to himself, but it also accurately described the situation: he was a mixed-race person, a bastard.

No matter how hard the second son tries, he cannot change the fact that his birth and existence are a manifestation of Simon's sincerity in order to cater to the local forces in Nagaril.

He was not a product of nature, nor the fruit of love, but merely a tool. Therefore, no matter how hard he tried, he could not change these things. From the very beginning, Simon never truly regarded him as his own son.

His skin was a bit darker Simon's, and even darker than Simon's eldest son's. His features were also different, as was his body language when he spoke...

When someone fundamentally rejects another person, even the smallest things will be magnified and they will be disliked.

The door closed slowly. The second son, who was bent over, clenched his fist. The moment he looked up, some of the negative emotions on his face instantly turned into a smile. He would continue to work hard. He believed that one day, his father would look at him with respect.

Inside the room, Simon was unaware of his second son's changing feelings; he didn't care about that, he was concerned about Lin Qi's attitude.

Lin Qi's attitude gave him a headache. To be honest, once Lin Qi reached an agreement with the Provincial Governor, it would mean that he would not only lose his business, but he might also encounter some trouble.

International businessmen are not as easily fooled as the locals in Nagaril. The locals have not seen much of the world, and their contracts are very loose.

In some international trade transactions, delivery time is often accurate to the minute. If it is more than a minute late, a claim can be made according to the contract. Lin Qi cut off his source of goods, and not only did he lose a profit, he also had to face a claim.

He cannot sit idly by and wait for his death.

He picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Preton's number. Nagaril already had a rudimentary communications network, but no international lines.

The call was quickly connected, and Mr. Preton's magnetic voice rang out from the receiver. He asked a question that Simon's second son had just asked, "Was the communication with Lin Qi going smoothly?"

In Mr. Preton's view, there was really no such thing as smooth sailing or not smooth sailing; Lin Qi didn't have many options, so he spoke in a very relaxed tone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Preton, Mr. Lin Qi said he'll have to think about it..." Simon wiped the sweat from his brow, narrowed his eyes slightly, and added with a rather subjective remark, "He seems quite indifferent to our proposal."

"Don't care?" Mr. Preton's tone changed slightly. Just when Simon thought this was a good thing, he was ultimately disappointed.

Mr. Preton actually laughed at this moment, and even laughed out loud. "He's an interesting young man, you know, he's only twenty-one years old. You can't communicate with him the way we do. We're not on the same 'frequency'."

"But don't worry, Simon. Young people are unwilling to follow the rules and like to challenge authority. That's their nature. After he hits a few walls, he'll know how to choose."

"Please contact me anytime if there are any new developments..."

Mr. Preton was a very busy man; he didn't have time to chat with a provincial agent for some of the goods. He had a lot more to do.

Staring blankly at the now-silent phone in his hand, Simon paused for a moment before putting it back on the phone stand. Perhaps Mr. Preton was right; things would eventually be resolved.

Sitting behind his desk, Simon's mind began to race. He thought about the envy and jealousy in the eyes of some friends when he sometimes chatted with them back home.

Thinking of his eldest son and the distant relationship between them, it seemed that only when the boy, who looked a lot like him when he was young, saw the check would he show a smile.

He recalled his private investigator telling him that his wife back home seemed to be having an affair, but he chose to ignore it.

He thought of his young wife here and his second son, who was unlike him and often made him impatient.

In his dazed state, he didn't even realize he had fallen asleep...

Starting the day after Lin Qi returned, local merchants came to Lin Qi every day with their goods, showing Lin Qi their wares.

Mishe Haye and Lin Qi's words not only alarmed prominent business figures like Mr. Preton, but also gave local merchants a glimmer of hope.

Preton Merchant House sets a standard purchase price each year, buying large quantities of goods from local merchants at prices they can barely afford, and then reselling them at higher prices all over the world.

Even if local merchants knew they were buying low and selling high, there was nothing they could do. Whether it was Preton Merchant House or other large merchants, they all tacitly abided by this pricing rule, which allowed them to make more money.

But this also makes things even more difficult for local business owners, who can only watch helplessly as these people sell their goods for several times or even dozens of times the price.

Even now, they seem to have seen new hope!