As soon as Chu Shangluo stepped down from the ring, he was suddenly embraced by Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi, terrified, held onto him with trembling shoulders, his eyes red.

Heaven knew, the moment he saw Chen Ran pull out a knife in the ring, it terrified him so much that his blood seemed to freeze. Chu Shangluo hadn’t expected Lin Zhi to see that. Lin Zhi was a good person, but he was always a little too timid. Chu Shangluo wrapped his arm around Lin Zhi’s shoulder and led him out of the underground boxing ring. The deafening cheers and blood-pumping sounds from the crowd faded away, replaced by the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Only then did Lin Zhi’s tense emotions begin to calm down. He glanced at Chu Shangluo, whose lip was swollen, hair messy, and who was slowly smoking a cigarette in the sea breeze. Lin Zhi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

He didn’t want Chu Shangluo to avenge him. Right now, Chu Shangluo’s power was not what it used to be, and he was no match for Chen Ran. A man like Chen Ran would dare to do anything, and if Chu Shangluo had really broken his leg today, Chen Ran wouldn’t let him off. Lin Zhi didn’t want Chu Shangluo to take such a risk. He slowly lowered his head. Ren Jiaoming’s actions today were undoubtedly to protect Chu Shangluo, and he suddenly felt ashamed. Chu Shangluo had stepped into the ring for him, while he had been unable to do anything to help. Compared to Ren Jiaoming, Lin Zhi realized he was really outclassed.

Chu Shangluo puffed out smoke, occasionally glancing at Lin Zhi, probably guessing what he was thinking. He patted Lin Zhi on the shoulder and smiled, “It’s fine, didn’t I tell you I’m okay?”

Lin Zhi sighed heavily again. “Next time, don’t be so impulsive. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t have enough heads to pay for it.”

“Lin Zhi, you’ve been with me for so long. You know I never do anything I’m not sure about.” Chu Shangluo’s eyes shimmered with confidence as he enjoyed exhaling the smoke. Amidst the swirling mist, his face seemed to glow with the light of the silver moon, looking both beautiful and heroic, so captivating that it was hard for anyone to look away. Lin Zhi couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

Chu Shangluo held the cigarette between his lips, his mind brooding. He understood Ren Jiaoming’s intention behind crippling Chen Ran’s leg, but he wouldn’t accept that favor. He and Ren Jiaoming had already cut ties, and whatever the consequences were for breaking Chen Ran’s leg—good or bad—he would face them. He would rather have personally done it, so at least he would feel satisfied, without the discomfort he felt now. As for revenge, he only recognized what he did himself; only then would he feel a sense of relief.

The two of them arrived at Yu’s grand office building. In ten minutes, Chu Shangluo would meet with the young master of Yu Family. As soon as the capable female assistant saw Chu Shangluo, she immediately walked up to him and said, “Mr. Chu, I’ll take you upstairs. Assistant Lin can wait here. Our young master only meets with one person at a time.”

Chu Shangluo flicked the ash from his cigarette, visibly annoyed by the pretentiousness. “Your young master sure has a lot of rules. I’ve met plenty of important figures, but no one’s like your young master.”

The female assistant smiled and remained silent.

Lin Zhi quickly shoved the documents into Chu Shangluo’s hands. He knew his boss was annoyed again and couldn’t help but remind him, “We’re here to do business, so don’t get into an argument with him.”

“Am I the kind of person who doesn’t know when to hold back?” Chu Shangluo patted Lin Zhi’s shoulder. “Alright, you wait here. I’ll go upstairs.”

Chu Shangluo was led into a spacious office. As soon as he sat down on the sofa, the female assistant brought him a glass of red wine and said, “The young master is busy right now, but he’ll be here soon. Please enjoy some of our island’s specialty wine in the meantime.” After speaking, she politely left the room.

Chu Shangluo took a sip of the wine, thinking about how Yu Family was not only mysterious but also enjoyed putting on airs and keeping people on edge. He just wanted to conduct business without all these unnecessary flourishes. As he sipped the wine, he observed the office décor, which gave him a sense of the young master’s personality. Every little item on the desk was placed with precision, hinting at some obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Without realizing it, he finished his glass of wine. His body gradually relaxed, and the exhaustion from his earlier fight with Chen Ran drained his energy. Now, besides feeling tired, he felt sore all over. He moved his swollen hand joints and realized that he must have sustained some serious injuries. Bruising on his skin was inevitable. He yawned, leaned back on the sofa, and unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

After a while, the office door opened. Someone came up to Chu Shangluo, silently observing him as he slept, utterly exhausted. Their gaze fell on Chu Shangluo’s swollen lip, and they reached out, gently touching the injured area with the pad of their finger, filled with pity.

In his sleep, Chu Shangluo frowned in pain, causing the person to freeze for a moment before quickly retracting their hand.

When Chu Shangluo woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. He immediately became alert and sat up. The muscle soreness made him grunt in pain. Although he didn’t feel it much during the fight, after a night’s rest, he felt like his old bones were falling apart.

He then noticed that his hand was wrapped in bandages. Not only that, but even the injuries on his face had been treated with medication.

Confused, Chu Shangluo walked out of the bedroom and saw a steaming breakfast laid out on the dining table. Standing beside it, the female assistant, upon seeing him, said, “Mr. Chu, would you like to wash up first or have breakfast?”

Chu Shangluo was a little confused about what was going on. Just as he was about to ask, the female assistant proactively explained, “Mr. Chu, last night when you were with the young master, you fell asleep. No matter how we called you, you wouldn’t wake up, so we had to let you stay overnight.”

“Please convey my apologies to your young master,” Chu Shangluo said, feeling embarrassed. This was really awkward; he hadn’t managed to talk business, and now he had fallen asleep in someone’s office. This kind of thing had never happened to him in his years in the industry. “I’ll head back now and not trouble you any further. Please help me arrange the next meeting with your young master.”

Chu Shangluo felt too embarrassed to stay and wash up or have breakfast. He just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

“Mr. Chu, please stay for breakfast.” The door to the dining room opened, and Shen Mingyu walked in with elegant steps, sitting down at the table. Behind him was Song Yuchu. When Song Yuchu saw Chu Shangluo, he also spoke up, “Mr. Chu, the boss has already spoken. Please stay.”

Since the boss had spoken, Chu Shangluo had no choice but to sit down with some reluctance. Shen Mingyu also gestured for Song Yuchu to sit and smiled at Chu Shangluo. “I happened to see Mr. Chu on stage last night. You young people are full of energy and passion.”

Chu Shangluo smiled faintly, “What young people? I’m almost thirty.”

“Thirty is the prime age, isn’t it?” She picked up her coffee and took a sip. “In any case, I really admire your style, Mr. Chu. I’ve agreed to cooperate with Chu Group, and we can sign the contract at any time.”

Chu Shangluo had already guessed that Yu Family would agree to the cooperation, so he smiled calmly. However, the next words from Shen Mingyu surprised him. She said, “I heard Mr. Chu is looking for housing. We have many vacant residences on the island. If you live here, it will also be convenient for Chu Group employees to work at Yu Family Corporation.”

She smiled, “However, you can’t live here for free. Mr. Chu has an old city district to renovate, and Yu Family wants to be the supplier for the renovation materials.”

Chu Shangluo thought quickly. This deal was mutually beneficial for both Chu Group and Yu Family. Even if it was a win-win, the island was a private area, and for Shen Mingyu to offer it to Chu Family to live on, it was a huge favor she was doing for him. He had a feeling he would have to repay this favor one day, but that was something for the future. For now, he needed to focus on the immediate priority.

This time, Chu Shangluo had made a huge bet on the future of Chu Group, and it seemed like he had made the right call. Song Yuchu placed a peeled egg in front of Chu Shangluo, but Chu Shangluo didn’t even glance at it. He stood up and said, “I’ll go back to prepare the contract. Ms. Shen, let’s arrange a time for the signing later.”

Song Yuchu gazed at the egg in his bowl, sighing softly.

That afternoon, Chu Shangluo signed the contract with Shen Mingyu. He had invested all the experience, core technologies, and talents of Chu Group into Yu Family. In return, Yu Corporation gave Chu Shangluo a large sum of venture capital and ensured that the Chu family members who came to work at Yu Corporation would not be treated unfairly. They were also allowed to live on Yu’s private island. Shen Mingyu even intended to hire Chu Shangluo as a supervisor at Yu Corporation, but Chu Shangluo refused. He now had a large piece of land, and once the Chu family moved out of the old city district, the renovation rights would belong to him. With the demolition compensation he was about to receive, he was finally able to move forward without hesitation and make a big move.

When Yu Corporation announced the final list of partners, Chu Shangluo was among them. Although the Wen family was also included, Wen Yan, seeing how Chu Shangluo carried himself with a smug expression and recalling how Ren Jiaoming had protected him the previous night, felt his hatred for Chu Shangluo grow even more.

Chu Shangluo was someone who would never keep a low profile, and he certainly wouldn’t make things easy for his competitors. As he passed by Wen Yan, he tilted his head arrogantly and sneered, “Shouldn’t you call me ‘father’ now, young master Wen?”

Wen Yan trembled in anger, “Chu Shangluo, if I made you fall once, I can make you fall again.”

Chu Shangluo sneered, “Alright, let’s wait and see, son.”

Wen Yan glared at Chu Shangluo’s back, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Three days later, everyone from the Chu family moved out of the old city district. Chu Shangluo left some people behind to build vegetable greenhouses on the land, and he also started a new company, which was once again named Chu Group. However, this time, they no longer sold seafood; instead, they focused on agricultural trade. With the current team too busy to manage everything, Chu Shangluo planned to hire a new secretary. Only a few candidates came to apply, and after waiting for an entire day, two people showed up, but none of them were suitable. Chu Shangluo, feeling frustrated from the wait, took a sip of iced tea and decided to step out for some fresh air. Just then, the door was pushed open again.

Lin Zhi looked up, surprised, and asked, “Are you here for the interview?”

He froze.

Ren Jiaoming walked straight up to Chu Shangluo. “I’m here to apply.”

Chu Shangluo put down his tea cup, looking at him coldly. “You’re not suitable for our company. I don’t need you.”

Ren Jiaoming showed no intention of leaving and said, “It doesn’t matter. You’ve never fired me. We still have a labor contract.”

Chu Shangluo frowned. “Ren Jiaoming, are you fucking shameless?”

Ren Jiaoming grabbed Chu Shangluo’s hand, trying to soothe the CEO’s emotions, and said softly, “Let me stay.”

Lin Zhi silently observed this scene, thinking to himself, ‘Well, this is what they mean by karma turning around’. In the past, Chu Shangluo had begged Secretary Ren to work for Chu Group, but Ren Jiaoming had rejected him, indifferent and cold toward him. Now, Ren Jiaoming was the one wanting to stay, but Chu Shangluo was the one rejecting him. He sighed, ‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done it in the first place.’

The office door opened, and Chu Shangluo pushed Ren Jiaoming out. “Go be a dog for the Wen family. I don’t need you here.”

Ren Jiaoming forced the office door open with one hand, his chest heaving. He took a deep breath and said, “Then I’ll be a dog for you.”

Chu Shangluo was momentarily stunned before he chuckled. “I don’t need a dog.”