Trapped on the Same Day for a Thousand Years: Usurping Her Father's Power?

Welcome to Trapped on the Same Day for a Thousand Years, an exclusive production of Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He.

Li Ruobing sat up straight and looked at Wu Chen without expression. Su Qingying also sat upright in Wu Chen's arms. Wu Chen patted her back, and she stood, her face just as impassive.

Both women had heard Wu Chen's call. They knew what he and the other person had said. Six sentences in all, and then it was over.

Neither of them could tell what the conversation meant. There was too little to go on.

He had mentioned two names and a warehouse. What was any of it about?

Wu Chen's second option was supposed to put Su Qingying in charge. Then he had made that call and said only a few words. As far as Li Ruobing could tell, he intended to help Su Qingying take charge both at work and at home: assume control of the Su Family early and become president of Jinfu Group.

That meant his way in had to be through Jinfu Group. He might help Su Qingying seize power outright.

If Su Qingying successfully seized control within Jinfu Group, she would not be waiting to succeed her father. She would be taking over by force. That was an entirely different matter.

In the process, she would gain leverage over her family. Succeeding would mean the Su Family could no longer control her, and her say at home would change completely.

It was the simplest, most direct approach—and by far the hardest.

Li Ruobing had a sense of what Wu Chen was doing with that call. She guessed he had something on the man and had arranged a time and place to meet. The man would probably come. But who was he?

Wu Chen meant to threaten him.

Even if Wu Chen succeeded, what influence could that man have that would let Su Qingying take control of the company?

Someone with that kind of influence could not be controlled with a few words.

Besides, putting Su Qingying in charge ahead of time was immensely complicated. It involved every part of the company. Most importantly, its largest shareholder was Su Qingying's father, Su Ruiwen.

Su Qingying did own shares. Su Ruiwen had given her some long ago so she could join the company's decision-makers.

But even after giving her those shares, Su Ruiwen remained Jinfu Group's largest shareholder. The biggest stake was still firmly in his hands.

How could she usurp her father's power under those circumstances?

What was Wu Chen thinking?

"Can't figure it out?"

Seeing both women lost in thought, Wu Chen took Su Qingying's hand and gave it a squeeze. Then he smiled at Li Ruobing and asked, "Are you thinking I'll start from inside Jinfu Company?"

Li Ruobing froze. "How did you—"

"Mm-hmm." Wu Chen nodded before she could finish. He already knew what she was thinking.

With Li Ruobing's intelligence, it was no surprise she had worked out the beginning. But she could never work out what came next. She did not know enough.

She had no idea what the marriage between Su Ruiwen and Madam Su was really like, or what either parent's relationship with Su Qingying was like. Nor did she know what was happening inside Jinfu Group right now.

Without that knowledge, she had nowhere to take her reasoning.

Wu Chen, though, had spent a thousand years reliving the same day. The greatest wealth he had amassed was not just his memory or the secrets he had learned. It was his understanding of people.

There was a saying that people who knew too many secrets did not live long. But if someone who knew those secrets also understood the human heart, he could live a long, comfortable life—and control everything around him.

This was nowhere near as difficult as Li Ruobing imagined. Only for Wu Chen, though. For anyone else, it was not a question of difficulty. It was impossible. Only Wu Chen could do it.

"Let's go."

Wu Chen stood.

"Wu Chen, I think you should consider this a little longer," Li Ruobing said suddenly. Something felt wrong. If nothing else, Wu Chen seemed ready to threaten someone, and that could cause serious trouble.

"Want to bet?" Wu Chen asked, turning to her.

"No." Li Ruobing answered without hesitation. She had learned her lesson.

Wu Chen knew she had. After winning their two previous bets, he only brought up another one to tease her. "Then shall we go straight to Qinyuan Teahouse?"

"Shouldn't we go to Ruobing's company first?" Su Qingying asked.

"Not enough time," Wu Chen said.

Su Qingying checked her watch. It normally took half an hour to reach Qinyuan Teahouse in Central District from here, but it was rush hour. If they went straight there, they might arrive right on time.

"What's the hurry? It doesn't matter. Let him wait." Wu Chen gave an unconcerned smile and headed for the door, signaling the others to follow. Su Qingying did, but Li Ruobing stayed where she was.

Wu Chen turned back to look at Li Ruobing. There was one important detail: Li Ruobing had to be the one to take Su Qingying out of Golden Fortune Teahouse, not Wu Chen.

The arrangement was that Su Qingying was accompanying Li Ruobing. Li Ruobing still had to provide cover.

If Wu Chen took Su Qingying out himself, that changed everything.

Li Ruobing had not moved. Clearly, she did not want to cooperate.

"Not coming?" Wu Chen asked with a smile. Li Ruobing said nothing.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. "Then we're leaving."

He smiled and turned away. "Wait," Li Ruobing said at once. She could not let Wu Chen leave with Su Qingying alone. Someone would probably inform Madam Su the moment they stepped out of Golden Fortune Teahouse. Madam Su would call Li Ruobing immediately, and she would have no way to explain. Too much would come undone.

The moment her bet with Wu Chen dragged her into this, she had been destined to cover for the two of them. She could not get out of it, and she could not afford one wrong step. Wu Chen was exhausting.

"How about this? I'll help you take Miss Su there, but you have to agree to let me come to Qinyuan Teahouse afterward. I want to see what you're doing."

Li Ruobing raised an eyebrow at Wu Chen. She truly hated backing down. With her stubborn nature, simply cooperating now would feel like giving him too much ground.

So even though she had no choice but to help, she still tried to set a condition. That way, she would not have lost. It was a matter of pride.

"Sure. If you want to watch, I don't mind," Wu Chen said with a smile. A strange note crept into it. "But don't regret it. Don't say later that I dragged you into this. You're choosing to come."

Li Ruobing's expression changed. She felt as though she was still playing into Wu Chen's hands—as though even her decision to follow him had been part of his plan.

She regretted it a little, but she would not take it back. She genuinely wanted to know how Wu Chen intended to handle something this big. Who was he meeting at Qinyuan Teahouse?

The three of them went downstairs. Li Ruobing took Su Qingying in the Bentley, Wu Chen drove the Lamborghini, and the bodyguards followed in another car.

They went to Illusion Fashion first, then set out again by car.

On the way to Illusion Fashion, neither Li Ruobing nor Su Qingying knew what Wu Chen was doing as he drove alone.

He made several more calls. Each was brief, over in just a few sentences.

After reaching Illusion Fashion, they took a short break. Then the three of them changed cars and set off again, shaking off the Su Family's covert tail along the way.

By the time they arrived at Qinyuan Teahouse, it was nearly seven in the evening. If the person Wu Chen had called had arrived on time, he had already been waiting almost an hour.

So many cars. Before they even entered, Li Ruobing sensed something odd. At this hour, an unusual number of luxury cars were parked outside the teahouse.

Wu Chen smiled but said nothing.

Of course there were a lot. He had invited more than one person. Once inside, he asked the receptionist, "Do you have any private rooms?"

"We do, sir. Do you have a reservation?" the receptionist asked with a smile. She looked a little puzzled. It was strange: the sky was already dark, yet customers had suddenly started arriving in numbers.

In just the last hour or two, several groups had come in, and every one of them had requested a large private room.

Golden Fortune Teahouse and Qinyuan Teahouse were both among East Sea's finest teahouses, upscale places where people met to discuss business.

Qinyuan Teahouse was even a little more prestigious than Golden Fortune Teahouse. It aimed higher, charged more for its tea, and had a stronger reputation.

High-end teahouses like these had one thing in common: most of their business came in the afternoon. They had some customers in the morning, but the busiest period began after lunch, when people came to drink tea. Once it got past four, business dropped sharply as customers left in droves.

That matched people's daily routines, as well as the etiquette of entertaining guests.

People had to eat dinner. In business, whether or not a deal had been settled over tea, it was only proper to take one's guests out for a meal when dinnertime came. They could hardly keep drinking tea together while everyone went hungry.

That was why Wu Chen had dared to name a specific room when he arranged his meeting by phone.

He was not worried it would be taken. Even without checking ahead, a large private room was extremely unlikely to be occupied at this hour. A smaller room might have been.

Two friends having tea together, unconcerned with appearances or ceremony, might stay for any length of time.

Li Ruobing glanced at Wu Chen. Strange. He had arranged to meet someone here, yet he had come in asking whether there were any private rooms.

Was he planning to get another room just to drink tea?

"Is Mountain-and-River Oolong available?" Wu Chen asked.

Mountain-and-River Oolong was the name of a private room on the fourth floor.

"One moment, sir." The receptionist took them to the front desk and asked her colleague to check. Mountain-and-River Oolong was empty and had not been reserved.

It was one of the largest private rooms in Qinyuan Teahouse. More than a dozen people could discuss business there without feeling cramped. But because it was so large, few people booked it.

"Please follow me, sir."

The receptionist led the way. There was no need to register or pay first; they could go straight upstairs.

She escorted the three of them to the fourth floor. Near Mountain-and-River Oolong, she glanced back, took a few more steps, and stopped at its door. "Here we are, sir. What tea would you like?"

"Rock tea," Wu Chen said, meaning Wuyi Rock Tea, a type of oolong.

The private room really was huge, almost cavernous.

Wu Chen gave Su Qingying a few instructions. Soon the same receptionist brought in the tea and tea set herself. As she arranged them on the table, she took a closer look at Su Qingying. Then she smiled in surprise. "Are you Miss Su Qingying?"

"I am." Su Qingying nodded with a polite, well-mannered smile. "It really is you! When I went downstairs just now, my colleague said you looked familiar. I thought so too. I can't believe it's actually you. You're even prettier than on TV," the receptionist said, sounding a little excited. She had met East Sea's Number One Heiress—East Sea's Top Beauty—in person.

"Thank you," Su Qingying said politely.

Listening, Wu Chen glanced at Li Ruobing. She sat on the other side without expression. She did not seem to mind Su Qingying drawing all the attention, which suited her preference for keeping a low profile in private.

Li Ruobing was not the one conducting business today, so she had even reined in her usual commanding presence.

A minute after the receptionist left, Wu Chen rose. "You two have some tea. I'll head over first."

He showed Su Qingying his phone, then went out.

He left the private room.

Wu Chen went down from the fourth floor to the third. He looked both ways, straightened his suit, and headed west along the corridor until he reached the end.

A small wooden plaque hung on the last private room's antique-style door. It read High Mountain Flowing Water.

Inside, a short, somewhat overweight man of about forty-five or forty-six sat at a table drinking tea.

He looked agitated. He drank quickly and almost without thinking, refilling his cup as soon as he emptied it.

Wu Chen had once arranged to meet Lei Cheng here too. Lei Cheng was greasy as well, but it showed on the outside. This man was dressed respectably; his bearing was what gave him away.

The door opened, and Wu Chen walked in. "You haven't left yet?" he said with a smile. The middle-aged man whipped his head toward the door. Seeing only a young man in his early twenties, he paused. "Were you the one who called?"

"Yes," Wu Chen said as he walked in.

"You've been living comfortably all these years, haven't you? Bai Kaifeng asked me to give you her regards."

The middle-aged man sprang up. He was not moving to attack; he hurried toward the door.

By the time Wu Chen sat down across the table, the man had reached the door and shut it.

That was all he had gone over to do. He was afraid someone might overhear them.

Wu Chen turned an unused teacup upright, picked up the teapot, and poured himself some tea.

The middle-aged man returned and stood opposite him, staring straight at him.

Wu Chen was not looking at him, so he did not see the fear—and the murderous intent—in the man's eyes.

"Sit down. Why are you standing?" Wu Chen lifted his cup and smiled up at him.

"Who are you?" The middle-aged man's face darkened. He pulled out a chair and sat, regaining some of his imposing air.

"Wu Chen. Boss Yao probably hasn't heard of me." Wu Chen smiled.

The middle-aged man frowned. The name Wu Chen sounded familiar, but he could not remember where he had heard it.

"Where's Bai Kaifeng? How much did she pay you? What do you want?" His questions came faster and faster. That incident had haunted his dreams for years. It was serious enough to earn him a death sentence.

"What's the rush? You've waited this long for me. A little longer won't hurt." Wu Chen smiled faintly and raised his cup toward him. "Have some tea first."

The middle-aged man's face darkened. He could tell the young man had been trying to keep him off balance from the moment he arrived.

"Listen here, kid!" he growled, lowering his voice. "Don't think knowing a little dirt on me means you can threaten me. I'm no pushover. Think carefully. Push me too far, and I'll kill you." He sounded as vicious as he could.

But as soon as he finished, his tone softened. "Tell me where Bai Kaifeng is, though, and not only will I leave you alone, I'll give you more money than you can spend in a lifetime." His attempt at threats and bribes was clumsy.

Wu Chen's smile faded a little. He reached into his pocket, took out his phone, and set it on the table. Then he smiled at the man again. "What was that you just said? Could you say it again?"

The middle-aged man saw Wu Chen's phone, and his face changed drastically. The call was still connected.

This concludes the episode. Please keep listening!