As soon as Ji Shang came in, An Yubei sprang to his feet and ran into his arms.
The familiar scent of woody incense soothed An Yubei's unease.
He nuzzled his fluffy little head against Ji Shang's chest and said coaxingly, "You're finally here."
With Ji Shang here, his pillar of support had arrived. He no longer had to live in fear or suffer any grievances.
Ji Shang wrapped an arm around An Yubei's waist and rubbed his head. "All right, how old are you, still acting spoiled? Everyone's watching!"
An Yubei gave a muffled whine, a little unhappy.
[Is Ji Shang getting fed up with me? Or does he think I've caused trouble?]
An Yubei had never had a family growing up, nor did he know how to get along with family.
He was afraid that if he did something wrong, he would lose everything.
He tugged at Ji Shang's sleeve and blinked, looking a little aggrieved.
"Brother Shang?"
His voice was soft and sweet, as though he had a mouthful of cotton candy.
Ji Shang felt he had spoken too harshly and hurried to coax his little brother. "All right, I was wrong. Xiao Bei can act spoiled forever."
"Mm-hmm." An Yubei smiled again.
Ji Shang took An Yubei's hand and sat him down. Lu Jinsheng looked over and greeted him.
Ji Shang merely gave a cool hum of acknowledgment, not wanting to say much.
The police officer, who had been so cold earlier, immediately changed his tune when he saw Ji Shang. "Mr. Ji, what brings you here?"
If the Wang family counted as prominent figures in the capital, then the Ji family stood above even those prominent figures.
He was someone who could make the capital quake three times with a single stamp of his foot.
"Someone bullied one of my own. I'm here to back him up."
Ji Shang tapped his fingertips rhythmically against the desk. A gentle smile rested on his face, yet his words carried an air of dominance.
The officer wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and took a breath. "So this is the Ji family's young master. I failed to recognize him."
"Rest assured, Mr. Ji. We'll enforce the law impartially and won't let a single wrongdoer off."
"This was entirely Wang Yu's fault. I'll have him come apologize to Young Master An right away."
An Yubei: "...!"
You change your tune faster than turning a page. That wasn't what you said earlier.
The officer's proposed resolution had favored Wang Yu earlier. Only after Ji Shang arrived did he switch to An Yubei's side.
A fence-sitter.
The officer went out and came back in. The man who had been so overbearing earlier, faking a headache and demanding compensation, now shrank into himself like a quail.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ji!" Wang Yu said, trembling.
He didn't know Ji Shang personally, but he had heard of him. Even his father had to show this man deference.
How could he afford to offend someone so important?
Had he known An Yubei had this kind of backing, he would never have dared covet him, even under threat of death.
Heaven was his witness: he really had thought An Yubei was just a pretty young man with neither power nor influence.
He had miscalculated!
Ji Shang snorted coldly. "Am I the one you should be apologizing to?"
As though waking from a dream, Wang Yu hurriedly said, "No, no. Young Master An, I'm sorry. Please be magnanimous and overlook my petty offense. Spare me this once."
Wang Yu's apology brought An Yubei no satisfaction. Instead, he felt a little disgusted.
Why did everyone bully the weak and fear the strong? Couldn't they just get along properly?
"I won't forgive you," An Yubei said angrily.
"I'll never forgive you for as long as I live."
Wrong is wrong. Just because you say sorry doesn't mean I have to politely tell you it's all right.
He wasn't going to forgive a bad person.
Ji Shang took An Yubei's hand. "Don't be angry, Xiao Bei. I'll make him pay for you."
An Yubei leaned back in his chair in a huff and nodded.
Ji Shang looked at Wang Yu. "Your father's name is Wang Guofu?"
Wang Yu nodded in confirmation.
Ji Shang said mildly, "From now on, none of my Ji family's businesses will work with your Wang family."
"That's the price you pay for bullying one of my own."
Wang Yu felt as though he had been struck by lightning. If the Ji family blacklisted them, wasn't that the same as being blacklisted by the entire industry?
How was his family supposed to survive?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ji. I really didn't know he was your little brother. It was a moment of foolishness. Could you give me another chance?"
"It hasn't been easy for my family to get where we are today. If we're blacklisted, how are we supposed to survive?"
Wang Yu couldn't imagine living without money. He wouldn't be able to drive luxury cars or spend his days drinking and idling around. He would even have to go out to work and get yelled at by other people.
Just imagining that miserable life was enough for him.
"Please, Mr. Ji, let me off!"
Ji Shang regarded Wang Yu coldly and said in a low voice, "If An Yubei weren't one of my own, would you have let him off?"
The answer was a definite no. He wouldn't have let An Yubei off. He would only have forced An Yubei to submit to him.
Wang Yu said nothing more, because he knew anything he said would be useless. He had already offended Ji Shang far too deeply.
Just two days ago, he had heard his father say that the Zhou family had fallen because of Ji Shang's machinations.
He hadn't expected it to be their Wang family's turn just a few days later.
Wang Yu truly regretted coming out drinking today. If he hadn't come out, none of this would have happened.
An Yubei felt wonderfully vindicated. Ji Shang had completely soothed the frustration in his heart.
Propping his chin in both hands, he couldn't help thinking, [Is this the legendary domineering CEO?]
[No wonder the heroines in novels fall so deeply in love with domineering CEOs. Those who are favored really do have nothing to fear.]
[Ji Shang is so handsome!]
[Still, I really want to hear Ji Shang say, "The weather's turned cold. Let the Wang Corporation go bankrupt!"]
It was a famous line from a novel. He had seen it before, but had never heard it spoken in person.
With the atmosphere just right, he wanted to experience the power of those words too.
Ji Shang: "...!"
Xiao Bei actually likes that line? Isn't it a little too chuuni?
What do I do if I can't bring myself to say it?
Ji Shang's gaze followed An Yubei. When he saw him frown, his heart ached terribly.
Fine, fine. What matters most is that Xiao Bei likes it. So what if it's chuuni? His Xiao Bei likes it, after all.
Ji Shang cleared his throat. "The weather's turned cold. Let the Wang Corporation go bankrupt!"
As soon as the words fell, the room went utterly silent.
Ji Shang swept an embarrassed glance over everyone, feeling that his aloof, unattainable persona had crumbled.
An Yubei cheered inwardly, [Wow, Ji Shang is so handsome!]
[Especially when he says that line. It's absolutely brimming with power!]
Ji Shang rubbed his temples. Fine. Let the persona crumble. What matters most is that Xiao Bei likes it.
When Lu Jinsheng returned home, his mind was filled with images of An Yubei relying on Ji Shang.
Ji Shang spoiled him greatly, even blindly.
Jealousy filled his heart. He was a little envious of Ji Shang.
Against Ji Shang, he had lost miserably. There was no comparison at all.
He wasn't even as good as Wang Yu!
That sense of defeat made Lu Jinsheng feel terrible, and he too desperately wanted power.
Lu Jinsheng narrowed his eyes slightly and clenched his fists. He told himself that he would return to the Lu family as soon as possible and claim everything that belonged to him. Then he would have a chance to stand beside An Yubei.
He would have An Yubei, no matter the cost!