Urban God of War: The Live-in Son-in-law

Chapter 220: Believe in This Era

Hong Qingyan, after all, wasn’t as composed as Ye Feng in the face of the many unusual gazes and derogatory comments. Her face turned shades of green and white, wanting to argue back but not knowing what to say. Thankfully, that strong hand in hers never left.

With him by her side, she feared no storm, no matter how great.

The lobby manager didn’t keep Ye Feng waiting for long. Two minutes later, a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle and carrying a briefcase hurried over.

"I’m sorry, Chairman, I had no idea it was you gracing us with your presence."

Lv Wenhe didn’t even bother to wipe the fine sweat from his neck, hastily bowing to Ye Feng and bending extremely low, almost to ninety degrees.

In the hall, the previously noisy crowd waiting to watch the drama fell into an eerie silence. The female attendant who had just introduced Hong Qingyan turned pale, her body going weak. Daoyi Chamber of Commerce’s reputation in the business world was infamous; its high profile also meant high entry thresholds for its recruitment, many college graduates couldn’t even get in.

The Chairman, the largest shareholder of the entire Daoyi Chamber of Commerce.

Inside the jewelry store, at that moment, the silence was almost terrifying. Those young masters and mistresses who had just sneered at Ye Feng and his companion all bowed their heads very low, afraid of being called out to settle accounts.

After all, the Chairman of Daoyi Chamber of Commerce, merely by his status, could be compared with the patriarchs of those big families in the empire’s capital; dealing with them was a trivial matter for someone like him.

Ye Feng didn’t speak; he just quietly observed the man in front of him. After a long time, he finally said, "Stand up. There’s no fault in ignorance."

As if granted amnesty, Lv Wenhe hurriedly said, "Thank you, Chairman."

After speaking, he lifted his head slightly, stealthily sizing up Ye Feng with the corner of his eye. To tell the truth, Lv Wenhe really didn’t know the origin of the Black Card; after all, he was just a branch manager of one of the jewelry outlets under the gigantic Daoyi Chamber of Commerce.

Yet, the response from the headquarters frightened Lv Wenhe. The holder of the Black Card was none other than the Great Chairman of the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce. In a moment of folly, he had asked: "The Chairman of which group?"

It was known that Daoyi Chamber of Commerce had developed into two major groups, domestic and overseas, until now, across the centuries. But the other side had only said, "The biggest Chairman."

"Find a quieter place."

Ye Feng commanded.

"Understood, please wait a moment, Chairman."

Seeing Ye Feng nod, Lv Wenhe instructed the woman in the cheongsam: "Ahui, package the necklace for the Chairman."

Then turning around, he addressed the crowd with an apologetic tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a small interruption in today’s exhibition. We had not anticipated the honor of our Daoyi Forest Society’s Chairman’s presence. As an apology to everyone and to welcome our Chairman, all jewelry in the store will be 20 percent off today."

Lv Wenhe thought he would earn some praise, but instead, he was met with a cold gaze.

"Please, follow me, Chairman."

For a moment, Lv Wenhe felt he might be outsmarting himself.

Little did he know, Ye Feng, though seeming indifferent, precisely approved of this action.

"Chairman, please have some tea!"

"This lady, please enjoy some tea."

Initially assuming Hong Qingyan was just a lover Ye Feng brought out for fun, he was soon corrected with a serious:

"My wife."

Hearing this, Lv Wenhe’s heart twitched, and he quickly corrected himself: "Please have some tea, Chairman’s wife!"

"Thank you!"

Hong Qingyan responded with a pleased smile; she was far more polite than Ye Feng.

"I dare not accept such honor."

Lv Wenhe quickly waved his hand to indicate it wasn’t necessary. Without a seat offered by Ye Feng, he could only stand aside, waiting to be questioned.

"It seems you’re quite good at enjoying yourself," Ye Feng casually remarked, surveying the layout of the office.

The entire office was divided by glass into three rooms. There was the front computer desk for work, followed by a reception box for entertaining guests, and to the right, a separate bedroom, not only with beds but also a bathroom.

The problem lay in the bedroom on the left. What normal office would have a bed set up inside it? Any man could guess what it was for.

"Chairman, this was all left to me by my predecessors, please understand."

Lv Wenhe immediately became anxious, nearly ready to kneel down.

"The Chairman doesn’t have the mood to bother with those trivial matters."

"I’m going to ask you a few questions. Who is the person in charge of the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce now?"

This question baffled Lv Wenhe as he thought, isn’t the real person in charge the great Chairman yourself?

"Chairman, are you asking about the President of the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce?"

Lv Wenhe tentatively asked, feeling there was something odd about being questioned by the largest shareholder of the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce like this.

"Yes!"

Ye Feng remained expressionless.

"Currently, there are two Presidents of the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce. The President of the domestic Daotian Group is Zhang Wenyu, and the President of the overseas Tianyi Group is Zhang Wenyuan. The two are brothers. May I ask why you inquire, Chairman?"

Lv Wenhe didn’t dare to raise his head, overwhelmed with confusion at this moment.

"You shouldn’t ask what you shouldn’t."

"Call Zhang Wenyu to Jiangdu to wait for me."

Although Ye Feng still had a few questions, considering that Lv Wenhe was just a slightly more significant employee who would only have limited knowledge, Ye Feng couldn’t be bothered to ask further. It was enough to know that the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce was still in the hands of those brothers.

Loyalty would be evident upon their arrival.

Ye Feng did not know that even before Lv Wenhe came to see him, at the headquarters building of the Daotian Group in the capital, there was also a meeting with only two participants.

"Big brother, why the rush to find me? Is there a matter?"

Within a luxurious lounge, a well-dressed man with a neat appearance lay relaxed on a couch.

Projected on the wall in front of him was a silver screen, displaying another middle-aged man sitting in an office chair, turning to face this way. The two men, different in demeanor and dress, shared a similar look in their eyes.

"The owner of the Black Card has appeared," the man on the couch spoke.

This man was none other than Zhang Wenyu, the president of Daotian Group. On the silver screen, naturally, was his own younger brother, Zhang Wenyuan, the president of the Overseas Tianyi Group.

"Isn’t this what was expected? What’s there to be surprised about?"

Zhang Wenyuan merely smiled slightly from across.

"Don’t you have anything you want to say? Now, not only the Eight Great Families from the capital, even the people from the Zhu Family have come looking for me."

Zhang Wenyu rubbed his forehead, wishing he had switched their identities from the start, letting Zhang Wenyuan deal with this headache.

"Of course, I have something!"

"Big brother, you’re the capable one, so you take on more work. It’s hard on you."

Zhang Wenyuan responded without a second thought.

"Be serious, and let’s talk about the important matters."

Zhang Wenyu urged sternly.

"During the battle at Dongyang Gate, Mountain Eagle mobilized the Eight Protectors, along with eighteen strong allies from several of the capital’s Great Families to ambush Ye Feng—or rather, the Northern Border King. Yet, he managed to escape from certain death. Didn’t you see through it all long ago?"

Zhang Wenyuan spun his ballpoint pen, still speaking indifferently.

"The games of the upper echelons."

Zhang Wenyu exhaled these six words, looking somewhat exhausted.

"Pitifully back then we didn’t even qualify as pawns. I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that. But at the time, I was quite saddened; after all, our Zhang Family owed today’s prosperity to the old marquis, yet we couldn’t look after the successor he chose."

"Now, it’s different!"

Zhang Wenyuan pressed down on his ballpoint pen with a "thud."

It was different indeed!

Now, the Daoyi Chamber of Commerce had the qualification to join the fray. Even if they chose not to join, those people would force them to, pushing them to pick a side in the conflict.

"Continue!"

Zhang Wenyuan nodded, acknowledging that his insight and strategies were never as good as Zhang Wenyu’s.

"Since ancient times, there’s been no affection in imperial families—pitiable is our young master."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Wenyuan suddenly sighed lightly.

"Did I ask you to reflect on this?"

Zhang Wenyu’s expression twitched. He understood the reasoning; compared to them, Ye Feng was just another piece on the chessboard, not the true mastermind behind the game.

But to treat a meritorious official this way, if not the ruthlessness of emperors, what is it?

"He’s not dead, is he?"

"Surviving is but a trial. It seems those big shots also want to give our young master a taste of hardship, to teach him the principle that being too rigid makes one easy to break. But they never really consider whether the master needs it. A bunch of scoundrels, not fearing that their actions might backfire."

Zhang Wenyuan’s eyes gradually deepened.

"The current question is, which side do you think will win this chess game?"

Zhang Wenyu began to close his eyes and rest.

"Haven’t you already made your choice in your heart?"

"I belong to this era and am willing to believe in it once more."

After a brief silence, Zhang Wenyuan voiced the thoughts closest to his heart.

"Father always liked to teach us that debts must be repaid. Do you think the old man had some kind of foresight?"

Hearing Zhang Wenyuan’s reply, Zhang Wenyu’s expression relaxed, and he even began to joke.

"I always thought that saying was quite annoying. Why should we brothers have to pay back the debts our old man owed?"

Zhang Wenyuan pursed his lips.

"Uh!"

Zhang Wenyu had no answer to that; the principle that the son must pay for the father’s debt didn’t align with his brother’s way of thinking. Just then, his phone rang.

"Chairman, the number you asked me to monitor has called again."

"Connect it to my phone."

In just a moment, the voice of a man came from the other end of the phone: "Hello!"

"This is Zhang Wenyuan."

The breathing on the other end of the phone clearly became heavier, "President, the chairman tasked me to relay a message to you: wait for him in Jiangdu."

"Tell him I’ll be there tomorrow." Experience more content on NovelBin.Côm

Zhang Wenyuan said immediately.

"President, the chairman has already left."

Beep, beep, Lv Wenhe had barely finished speaking when the call on the other side was disconnected.

"It seems our young master doesn’t quite trust us, hmm?"

Zhang Wenyu shook his head; he had been on speakerphone.

"As it should be. There’s a saying that one only becomes wise through adversity. Big brother, take some people with you to Jiangdu; there’s no need to hide anymore."

"Also, I will return to the country next week."

A serious expression finally appeared on Zhang Wenyuan’s face.

"Why are you coming back?"

Now it was Zhang Wenyu’s turn to be displeased.

Even after making a choice, the chessboard of power remained murky, with the outcome uncertain. The Overseas Tianyi Group was the fallback he had left for the Zhang Family.