Chapter 13

Ye Xinran walked into Jiurong Prestige City full of apprehension. He had thought he did not belong in a place like this and expected the security guards to give him dirty looks.

Unexpectedly, the moment he entered, a driver invited him into a car and thoughtfully took him to the villa entrance.

Chi Ning had only been up for a short while. Yawning, he led Ye Xinran to his father, then listened to the entire conversation from the side while half-asleep.

Perhaps what he had said yesterday had worked. His father only asked about Ye Xinran's family circumstances, looked over some documents, then had someone bring over an ink pad for them to sign the contract.

The entire process took no more than half an hour.

"Whew—" Chi Ning let out a long breath and turned to Ye Xinran. "I forgot to remind you to bring evidence and information about the loan sharks yesterday. Sorry for the trouble."

Ye Xinran felt his ears itch and shifted slightly. "I should have brought it myself."

When Chi Ning's father looked up, cold sweat broke out on Ye Xinran's back. He truly was the head of a corporation who dominated the business world.

He wondered what Chi Ning's older brother, who often appeared in newspapers, was like. In any case, Chi Ning did not have the slightest bit of imposing presence.

He was like a piece of candy disguised as an ice cube.

Completely unaware of Ye Xinran's thoughts, Chi Ning asked, "It'll be lunchtime soon. Want to eat together?"

Ye Xinran said, "No, I need to go back and study. I'll be taking part in an overseas technology competition later."

Chi Ning said, "Oh."

Got it. He was one of those academic overachievers.

He saw Ye Xinran out and had the driver take him home.

After lunch, Chi Ning planned to go look at some properties.

It was time to put his little laboratory on the agenda.

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology had actually been his hobby. Although, after they became his career in his previous life, he had been worked numb from exploitation, he still liked them at heart.

As long as he did not work day and night, conducting experiments was practically the same as playing to him. At the very least, it was better than sitting around staring blankly all day and torturing himself.

Filled with hope, Chi Ning made a round of Yangcheng and looked at eleven developments. Not one of them was willing to rent to him. No one wanted to rent to a minor, afraid of getting even a trace of illegality or criminality involved.

He sighed.

He did not want to tell his family about setting up a laboratory. Given his father's personality, he might arrange a top-tier facility for him somewhere outside, but the family was short on money right now. They could not waste it like that.

It was more appropriate to handle it himself.

Chi Ning went to the billiards hall, opened a table, and played absentmindedly by himself. After a long time, he still could not think of a solution.

On weekends, Qin Heng and Zhang Qiuwen had to watch the place. They could not play whenever they wanted as they did from Monday to Friday, and Mo Yuanzhou was not around either.

Chi Ning found playing boring. Just as he was about to buy a bottle of water, the plastic curtain at the entrance was pulled aside.

The newcomer made quite a bit of noise, unlike the regular customers here, who moved quietly and lightly.

Chi Ning looked up and saw Jiang Shijie swaggering in with a cigarette in his mouth.

Jiang Shijie looked around, then clicked his tongue disdainfully. "This dump? You had the nerve to bring me here?"

"Brother Jiang, this is already the best billiards hall nearby." The person following behind him nodded and bowed. "The environment is very nice."

Jiang Shijie gave a derisive snort. Then his gaze suddenly fixed in place. "Well, well, Second Young Master Chi is here?"

Chi Ning did not respond. Jiang Shijie was being too loud, and Chi Ning found it embarrassing.

"Ignoring me?" Jiang Shijie walked over to Chi Ning's table, braced a hand on it, and sat down, completely disrupting the game Chi Ning had been playing.

"You can't sit on the billiards table," Chi Ning reminded him.

Who knew what medicine Jiang Shijie had taken? He had been clinging to Chi Yang's thigh not long ago, yet today he was exceptionally arrogant. "I'll sit wherever the hell I want. If I break it, I'll pay for another one."

He took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into Chi Ning's face. "It's not some valuable thing anyway. Can the Chi family not afford to pay?"

Chi Ning held his breath and stepped back.

For Jiang Shijie to be this fearless, he had likely latched onto a new powerful backer.

At present, the only family in Yangcheng that could contend with the Chi family was the Shen Family.

With that thought, Chi Ning's gaze at Jiang Shijie turned hostile.

Jiang Shijie's heart abruptly skipped a beat for no reason. "What are you glaring at?"

Chi Ning was speechless.

You interrupted my game, and I'm not even allowed to glare at you?

"Sir." Qin Heng came over from the side and imperceptibly stepped in front of Chi Ning. "Smoking is not allowed here. Heavy objects may not be placed on billiards tables, and loud noises that affect other guests' games are also prohibited. Please be mindful."

Qin Heng was wearing a suit. Jiang Shijie was momentarily intimidated, but he did not recognize Qin Heng's face. He was probably just an ordinary person, not someone from their circle.

Jiang Shijie became arrogant again. "So what? At worst, I'll book the entire place."

"We do not offer private bookings here," Qin Heng said calmly and politely. "If you insist on not extinguishing your cigarette, I will ask you to leave."

Chi Ning blinked slowly.

Although Qin Heng's manners and refinement might have been an act at this moment, Chi Ning still could not help wanting to applaud him.

Not only did Jiang Shijie refuse to put out his cigarette, he even flicked the ash onto the floor. "The Shen Family and I are going to discuss business here later. Can you afford to compensate for it if you delay us?"

Chi Ning lowered his eyes.

The Shen Family, the owner of Jiu Pharmaceutical.

Jiang Shijie really had gotten involved with the Shen Family.

He just did not know how many of his brother's friends had already been bought by the Shen Family.

Chi Ning tugged at Qin Heng's clothes, signaling for him not to argue with Jiang Shijie.

After all, Qin Heng had no real backing right now.

Qin Heng pushed Chi Ning's fingers away with the back of his hand, then lightly held them for a brief moment. Without turning around, he gave Jiang Shijie a faint laugh. "Please wait a moment. I'll call the boss."

Jiang Shijie said arrogantly, "Call him. And remember to apologize to me after."

Qin Heng rubbed his fingertips together and turned toward the counter.

He did not know why he had held Chi Ning's fingers, but now was not the time to think about that.

Chi Ning watched Jiang Shijie finish the rest of his cigarette. The falling ash burned a small black hole into the billiards hall's carpet.

He no longer felt like playing and wanted to dismantle his cue and put it back where it belonged.

Now that Jiang Shijie had a backer, his courage had grown. His petty thoughts began stirring again as his gaze traveled over Chi Ning's slender waist. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. When President Shen gets here, why not play with us? We're all in the same line of work. Maybe we'll have a common language. President Shen really likes dealing with young boys."

Before Chi Ning could even feel disgusted, he saw that Qin Heng had somehow already finished his call and was standing behind Jiang Shijie.

He had taken off his suit jacket, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Qin Heng reached out and patted Jiang Shijie's shoulder. "Sir, are you sure you won't leave?"

Jiang Shijie turned back and cursed, "Motherfucker, you—"

Qin Heng clenched his fist and viciously punched Jiang Shijie in the side of the face.

No one had time to react. The underling who had brought Jiang Shijie was completely dumbfounded.

Qin Heng grabbed Jiang Shijie by the collar with both hands, dragged him off the billiards table, then drove his knee into Jiang Shijie's abdomen.

Jiang Shijie choked and retched.

Before Chi Ning's stunned gaze, Qin Heng viciously pressed Jiang Shijie's cheek against the small hole in the carpet burned by the cigarette ash.

His tone was calm, his eyes lowered, and he was not even out of breath. "The boss asked me to tell you this: pass a message to President Shen, who likes young boys. Xu Jiahao does not welcome him, because Mr. Jiang smoked in his billiards hall."

Chapter 13

In his terror, Jiang Shijie inhaled and exhaled too sharply, accidentally choking on the cigarette ash scattered across the floor. He began struggling violently.

The brain corroded by indulgence in wine and women suddenly cleared for a moment.

Fuck, how did this little bastard know my surname is Jiang?

When he had spoken with Chi Ning just now, he had never revealed his name!

The Jiang Family was not particularly large, and its heir rarely appeared in print media. An ordinary person could not possibly recognize him so quickly.

Either this guy watching the place was from Chi Ning's social circle, or someone had shown him photographs and taught him to recognize people.

Fuck, neither possibility was something he could afford to provoke.

Jiang Shijie looked up at Chi Ning.

Seeing Jiang Shijie bite his teeth and remain silent, Chi Ning knew that he had caught on as well.

Fortunately, he was not hopelessly stupid.

From the moment Qin Heng decisively made a move after finishing the call, Chi Ning had guessed that Xu Jiahao was definitely not simple.

Although the Shen Family was a rising power, it could already stand on equal footing with the Chi family. Xu Jiahao had Qin Heng beat up Jiang Shijie, who had come to discuss business with President Shen. That was undoubtedly a slap in President Shen's face.

Boss Xu was an adult. Since he was not wary of President Shen, he must have sufficient confidence. If something really happened, President Shen might even have to show him some respect.

Qin Heng's ability to build Qin Corporation in his previous life was very likely because he had seized the opportunity presented by Xu Jiahao.

Chi Ning glanced at Qin Heng, who was dragging Jiang Shijie out and throwing him through the door.

Hmph. Some people were not only full of lies, but also deeply calculating.

He had picked a truly excellent place to work.

"Brother Qin, what about the carpet?" Zhang Qiuwen asked with some distress. "Should we count it as our oversight? Do we have to pay for it?"

Curled up on the sofa, Chi Ning rested his cheek on his hand and looked at Qin Heng with leisurely interest.

He had already figured it out. Young Qin and older Qin had almost completely opposite personalities.

The more generous older Qin was, the stingier young Qin was.

Qin Heng could not possibly pay compensation.

Sure enough, Qin Heng opened the phone book and flicked through it with his fingertips until he found President Shen's business card. He picked up the landline receiver and dialed. "Hello, is this President Shen's secretary? I'm an employee at Xu Jiahao's establishment. Was Mr. Jiang Shijie planning to meet Mr. Shen here today?"

"...Here's the situation. Mr. Jiang smoked inside the establishment, sat on a billiards table without permission, and provoked other guests. Our boss asked him to leave the billiards hall, but the carpet was still burned, and the billiards table may also have been damaged. Would President Shen be responsible for the compensation, or will Mr. Jiang pay it?"

Polite and refined, with wording that could not be faulted.

Zhang Qiuwen rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. He had not expected Brother Qin to look so convincing when pretending to be cultured.

Chi Ning said, "Mm."

Qin Heng's move was practically sowing discord.

If Jiang Shijie went to report what had happened today himself, it would be very easy for him to twist the truth. Boss Xu might end up taking the blame for him.