The Riyao Group

Xia City, top floor of the Dihao Building.

"Young master, I'm sorry. The operation failed. Chu Xiaoxiao has returned to the Chu Group, and security around her has been raised by more than one level. If we try again, ordinary methods probably won't work." Feng Ge, who had been so imposing earlier, now stood respectfully before a young man.

The young man had strikingly handsome features. He sat lazily on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand as he groped the alluring woman in his arms, making her giggle.

"What happened? Ah Feng, I've always trusted you to handle things, but this time you've really disappointed me." The young man's brow furrowed slightly, and his hand paused.

The young man was Han Yi, the only son of Han Xiangshang, chairman of the Riyao Group.

Feng Ge's forehead began to glisten with sweat. He quickly glanced up at his young master's expression, then lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, young master. This time was an accident. The Pinming Sanlang we hired had already succeeded, but they turned on each other. It seems some mysterious person rescued the target..."

"Don't tell me all that. I don't care whether you hired Pinming Sanlang or Useless Sanlang. I don't care about the process, only the result!"

"Yes, yes, young master!" Feng Ge didn't dare say another word.

"What are you planning to do next?" Han Yi watched the crimson wine swirl in his glass and asked through narrowed eyes.

"Young master, given the situation, the local underworld isn't up to the job. I know the leader of a group of Annamese mercenaries, but they'll cost more, and the operation might make quite a commotion."

"Then do it. Money's no object. No matter how much of a scene they make, the Riyao Group will find someone to clean up the mess in public. Just make sure you cover our tracks behind the scenes!"

"Yes, young master! I understand!"

"Good. The Chu Group has already extended its reach into overseas trade, and that's our territory. Thanks to them, the Riyao Group's financial report this year is looking pretty grim!

"We're losing staggering amounts of profit every day, so this has to be taken care of as soon as possible. You know what'll happen if you fail again!"

"Yes, I understand. I'll go personally this time and make sure I don't disappoint you!" Feng Ge bowed.

"Good. Oh, and make sure she's captured without a scratch. Afterward, I want to meet this business prodigy of ours. Hahaha!" Thinking of Chu Xiaoxiao's exquisite features, Han Yi's eyes gleamed with lust.

"Heh, no problem. You can count on me, young master!" Feng Ge gave him a knowing, lecherous grin.

Thinking of Chu Xiaoxiao, Han Yi glanced at the starlet in his arms and suddenly lost interest. Compared to a woman like that, these others were nothing but common trash.

"Fine. Do your job well. The Han Family doesn't forget those who serve it. I'm tired of this starlet, so you can have her!"

The woman in Han Yi's arms stiffened at his words and looked up at him in terror.

Feng Ge eyed her long legs and ample chest, swallowed hard, and said delightedly, "Thank you, young master!"

Before long, a woman's scream rang out from the room next door...

The Riyao Group was a vast conglomerate operating across several provinces, including Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangsu. Its main businesses were ocean shipping and steel trade in Southeast Asia. It had been established at the founding of the country and had grown into a behemoth.

Its owner, the Han Family, was Xia City's most powerful clan, with a sprawling network of connections in politics, business, and both the underworld and the legitimate world.

However, the rise of the Chu Group, a new power, had already threatened the Riyao Group's core interests. What frustrated Riyao was that Chu Feng was highly skilled, and she also had a daughter who was a business prodigy. In a conventional business war, Riyao had been beaten so badly it couldn't fight back, and its market share kept shrinking.

As a result, Han Yi's actions had the tacit approval of Han Xiangshang and even the entire Han Family.

It was easy to dodge an attack in plain sight, but hard to defend against one in the dark. Since they couldn't beat the Chu Group openly, they would resort to underhanded tactics. The Han Family had done plenty of that before.

Meanwhile, at the Chu Group's office building.

Chu Feng looked at Chu Xiaoxiao, seated across from her on the sofa and browsing through documents on a tablet, with a puzzled expression.

"Xiaoxiao, as soon as you got back, you started selling antiques and looking for a ship. Those are little things the staff can handle. Was there any need to do them yourself? This isn't like you." Chu Feng probed discreetly.

After returning, Chu Xiaoxiao had only told the police the general details of her rescue. She hadn't said a word about who had saved her, leaving Liu Guodong, the Public Security Bureau chief, beside himself with frustration. But he couldn't force the young lady to tell the truth, so in the end he had no choice but to issue a wanted notice for Pinming Sanlang.

As her mother, Chu Feng had noticed that something was up from Chu Xiaoxiao's unusual behavior.

"It's nothing. I'm just helping a friend."

"What friend? Could it be the person who rescued you?" Chu Feng's heart stirred.

"Um... yes." Chu Xiaoxiao thought it over and decided not to hide it from her mother. The two of them depended on each other, and there were no secrets between them.

So Chu Xiaoxiao told Chu Feng how Nie Yun had rescued her.

"You mean that fellow's adopted son was the one who saved you?" Chu Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Mm!"

"But wasn't that young man just a fisherman?"

"I was surprised too. He has quite a few secrets, and he seems to be very lucky as well. He asked me to sell that silver coin for him!"

"Well, in that case, sending you to pick him up did put you in danger, but it also led to him getting out of danger. Things really do come full circle." Chu Feng gave a wry smile.

"Yeah, you never know what life will bring." Chu Xiaoxiao smiled.

"Even though you returned safely this time, we're not going to let this go. The mastermind is still at large, and the Chu Group won't let them off!" Chu Feng spoke with an imposing air.

She had built her business from scratch all on her own. She was no pushover.

"Who exactly wanted to kidnap me? Do we have any leads?"

"Hmph, it's not hard to guess. Someone's getting desperate and resorted to such despicable methods. Whoever we've recently taken a piece of the pie from is the most suspicious. The Riyao Group is the prime suspect."

"Mm, I thought so too. Then let's shift even more of the group's focus toward the Riyao Group. I'll go back and put together a few proposals. There's still room to take more of their market share. If they dare to plot against us, they'd better be ready to pay the price!" Chu Xiaoxiao bared her little canine teeth and said fiercely.

"Good. We need to raise the security level around you. I'll hire the best security company in the country to protect you around the clock!"

"Mm. Mom, you need to be careful too!"

"By the way, Mom, I... wanted to ask you something." A complicated look appeared in Chu Xiaoxiao's eyes.

"What is it?"

"About that person. Could you... tell me about him?"

Chu Feng froze and looked at Chu Xiaoxiao. Ever since she was little, Xiaoxiao had hated the man who abandoned them. She had never brought him up and had even been strongly opposed to discussing him. Why was she asking now?

"All right. It's time I told you."

A distant look came into Chu Feng's eyes. "He..."