Best Young Master
Chapter 144 - 131: [Atonement!]

Chapter 144: Chapter 131: [Atonement!]

"Tonight, you’re going to regret this to your guts!"

Su Hongyuan’s mood became unsettled as the teasing words of Chu Ji echoed in his ears, and Chu Ji’s mournful gaze appeared in his eyes.

Even though his intellect told him that partnering with Lin Ao Feng, the Crown Prince of Nanqinghong backed by the Bai Family, was the correct choice, he couldn’t shake off a sense of unease in his heart. On the contrary, that unease, like a seed watered by the rain, began to grow rapidly.

Could it really be that Ye Fan is part of the Ye Family?

Su Hongyuan asked himself, almost instinctively denying the thought.

For one thing, according to the investigations of both the Su Family and Nanqinghong, there was no Ye Fan in the Ye Family. Moreover, even if Ye Fan were some illegitimate child of a third-generation member of the Ye Family, Ye Wenhao, the most powerful contender for the head of the third generation, would not be oblivious.

After once again denying that Ye Fan was part of the Ye Family, Su Hongyuan was very curious about why Chu Ji said he would regret it, especially since the Bai Family is the most powerful and influential beside the Ye Family in all of Huaxia!

Driven by sheer curiosity, Su Hongyuan almost couldn’t resist asking Chu Ji, but seeing the bamboo forest close at hand, he abandoned the idea—the answer would be revealed once he entered the bamboo forest!

Hm?

Half a minute later, Su Hongyuan followed Chu Ji into the bamboo forest and vaguely saw a figure in the depths of the forest.

This discovery made Su Hongyuan puzzled and his eyes widened in an effort to discern who the person in the bamboo forest was.

"There’s no need to look any further, Ye Wenhao is waiting for you." Seeing Su Hongyuan’s actions, Chu Ji stopped and unveiled the mystery.

Ye Wenhao?!

Perhaps it was because of the unintended offense against Ye Wenhao some time ago or the decision to form an alliance through marriage with the Lin family and take shelter under the Bai family’s big tree, but upon hearing the name Ye Wenhao, Su Hongyuan felt like a mouse who had heard a cat, and his whole body shuddered with a surge of panic.

Not paying attention to Su Hongyuan’s terrified demeanor, nor thinking about the shock that the name Ye Wenhao brought to Su Hongyuan, Chu Ji turned around, closed her eyes slightly, let her consciousness expand, and sensed everything around, ensuring that no one approached the bamboo forest.

Meanwhile, cold sweat uncontrollably emerged from Su Hongyuan’s forehead. He felt as if his feet were filled with lead, utterly heavy, and as if Ye Wenhao, who was within the depths of the bamboo forest, was a devil from hell.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

After the shock had passed, Su Hongyuan took three deep breaths in quick succession, trying hard to calm himself down. He walked directly toward Ye Wenhao, pondering the purpose of Ye Wenhao’s secret summoning while he walked.

Although Su Hongyuan had weathered countless storms during his years in the business world and had experience beyond that of an ordinary businessman, and even though he was now a banner in the Jiangnan Business World, he still couldn’t figure out the trick as he stopped three meters behind Ye Wenhao.

"Gulp!"

Looking at Ye Wenhao’s solitary figure, Su Hongyuan’s Adam’s apple moved convulsively. He tried hard to calm himself, but the muscles at the corner of his eyes twitched uncontrollably, and there was a slight tremor in his voice, "Governor... Governor Ye."

Without answering, Ye Wenhao slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping towards Su Hongyuan.

In an instant.

Su Hongyuan felt as though his neck was being clenched by Death himself, unable to move or even breathe. Large beads of sweat continuously seeped from his forehead, sliding down his aged face.

He didn’t dare to wipe them away, but stood there shivering, bending over, without even the courage to look at Ye Wenhao again!

Because the aura of a superior and a martial arts master that emanated from Ye Wenhao was something he couldn’t withstand!

"Ye Fan is my son."

A few seconds later, just when Su Hongyuan was on the verge of collapse, Ye Wenhao spoke, his voice not loud, yet it exploded in Su Hongyuan’s ears like a clap of thunder!

Hum——

In that instant, Su Hongyuan was so shocked that his eyes bulged, his mouth gaped open, and his mind went blank!

He looked at Ye Wenhao with a dumbfounded face, as if to ask, "How... how is this possible?"

Possible??

Without answering, Ye Wenhao simply looked expressionlessly at Su Hongyuan.

Thump——

Su Hongyuan’s legs went soft, and he slumped to the ground.

Even though he felt that everything was absurd, as ridiculous as if heaven were playing a joke on him, the sliver of rationality that remained told him that Ye Wenhao, as the most powerful contender for the Ye Family’s third-generation leadership, wouldn’t waste his time running here to tease him!

"Huff... Huff..."

Realizing all this, Su Hongyuan’s breathing became rapid, his heartbeat accelerated to a rate that was almost unbearable for him, and sweat poured down like rain.

"Lin Ao Feng has approached the Su Family for a marriage alliance with two purposes in mind. One is to use the Su Family’s influence to meddle with my work in Jiangnan and affect my political achievements, thereby deepening cooperation with the Bai Family,"

Looking at Su Hongyuan, who had collapsed in fright on the ground, Ye Wenhao’s face showed no emotion as he said indifferently, "The second reason is that Lin Ao Feng wants to take this opportunity to retaliate against my son—he’s trying to provoke my son into taking action against him, so that he can kill my son under the guise of self-defense!"

"Bang... Bang... Bang..."

As Ye Wenhao’s words echoed in his ears, Su Hongyuan shivered as if he had just been fished out of an ice cellar. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t utter a single word; all that could be heard was the clacking of his upper and lower teeth.

"I might as well tell you, I never gave a second thought to Nanqinghong wanting to use the Su Family to disrupt my work—that family might count for something in Jiangnan, but in my eyes, you might not even amount to a leaf!" Ye Wenhao said from his commanding height.

No answer came.

On the day Lin Ao Feng proposed the marriage alliance, Su Hongyuan had considered approaching Ye Wenhao, but after much thought, he subconsciously believed that the Su Family might not even register in Ye Wenhao’s eyes, and even if he approached Ye Wenhao in a gesture of loyalty and begged for forgiveness, with Ye Wenhao’s arrogance and pride, he would likely be ignored.

It was because of this that he ultimately resolutely chose to stand on Lin Ao Feng’s side. Now hearing what Ye Wenhao had said, how could he dare to respond?

Ye Wenhao spoke again, his voice suddenly rising, and with it surged a hint of anger, "You should be aware that since I’ve guessed Nanqinghong’s intentions, your petty tricks naturally become meaningless. Tonight, I came here for the sake of my son—if it weren’t for the worry that my son might not be able to accept me as his father for the time being, I wouldn’t need to waste my words with you!"

Clang!

Hearing Ye Wenhao’s words and feeling his wrath, Su Hongyuan was greatly shocked, as if he had been scared senseless.

Because he knew that what Ye Wenhao was saying was the truth!

Since Ye Wenhao had come out for Ye Fan, if it weren’t for the concern he had just mentioned, he would have definitely stepped in personally to defend Ye Fan, rather than wasting his words here!

"Governor Ye... Governor Ye... Governor Ye, I had no idea about all this," Su pleaded, his voice verging on panic. "I was forced into agreeing to marry off Yuxin to Lin Ao Feng. Please, spare me, spare the Su Family!"

As understanding dawned, Su Hongyuan collapsed to the ground, groveling like a beaten dog. The wrath of Ye Wenhao was not something the Su Family could withstand, nor was it something Nanqinghong could withstand, and even the Bai Family would pay a heavy price should they face the fury of Ye Wenhao!

"I can spare you," Ye Wenhao said coldly. "But you must restore the honor my son has lost!"

"Please... rest assured, I know what to do," Su Hongyuan responded immediately.

After the initial terror had subsided, Su Hongyuan regained a measure of calm. Hearing Ye Wenhao’s words, an idea struck him, and he rapidly nodded his understanding like a chicken pecking at the ground.

"Remember, don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me, nor should you tell anyone that Ye Fan is my son." Seeing that Su Hongyuan had grasped his intention, Ye Wenhao added firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"Yes... Yes!"

Recalling Ye Wenhao’s previous statement, Su Hongyuan was well aware of its meaning and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Shortly after, as Su Hongyuan waited for further instructions from Ye Wenhao, he suddenly realized that Ye Wenhao had vanished without a trace, almost as if he’d never been there.

This eerie occurrence almost made Su Hongyuan believe he was hallucinating.

However...

When he turned around and saw the faint silhouette of Chu Ji behind him, he knew it was no illusion—Ye Wenhao had left in his moment of distraction.

"Huh!"

With this realization, Su Hongyuan took a deep breath and then forcefully exhaled, as if to expel all the fear and shock from his system.

Having done this, he slowly got to his feet, dusted himself off, steadied his nerves, and walked out of the bamboo forest.

"Lady Chu, I’m sorry..."

Soon, Su Hongyuan approached Chu Ji and bowed deeply by way of apology.

But—

Before he could finish, Chu Ji interrupted him coldly, "I’m not here to hear your apologies. What’s the value of your ’sorry’?"

"I will publicly cancel the engagement ceremony and do whatever it takes to provoke Lin Ao Feng," Su Hongyuan said after being rebuffed. Despite being shut down, he didn’t dare to utter even the smallest complaint but spoke with a face full of reverence.

Perhaps because of her full trust in Su Hongyuan’s profit-oriented and opportunistic nature, Chu Ji didn’t bother to overexplain or add anything further. Instead, she took the lead and walked out of the bamboo forest.

Seeing this, Su Hongyuan followed closely behind, feeling extremely fortunate. He was grateful that Ye Wenhao, out of concern for Ye Fan’s feelings, did not appear in person, otherwise how could he have had the chance to make amends for his wrongs?

Half a minute later, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Chu Ji and Su Hongyuan emerged from the bamboo forest, walking straight toward the event.

What exactly did Chu Ji and Su Hongyuan discuss?

Seeing the two of them appear, everyone, including Ye Fan, wondered—Trusting in Chu Ji, Ye Fan was only aware of the plan to counterattack that night and did not know the specifics—he was clueless about how Chu Ji intended to persuade Su Hongyuan to change his mind!

What exactly was discussed?

There was no answer.

Yet—

As Chu Ji and Su Hongyuan walked down the red carpet and into the engagement scene, everyone could clearly see Su Hongyuan following behind Chu Ji like a subservient dog, his face expressing nothing but reverence!

Could it be... Su Hongyuan had changed his mind?

This discovery made everyone, except Ye Fan, visibly surprised.

As if to clear up the doubts in everyone’s minds.

Suddenly.

Su Hongyuan quickened his pace.

He didn’t head towards Lin Ao Feng, whom he had previously humbled himself to please, but instead walked towards Ye Fan.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Under the lights.

His pace was so frantic that he nearly stumbled and fell.

Seconds later, under the gaze of all and amid Lin Ao Feng’s uneasy mood, Su Hongyuan stopped just one meter away from Ye Fan.

What was he going to do?

Witnessing this scene, many asked themselves.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Ye, please forgive my ignorance and foolishness!"

As if in answer to their questions, Su Hongyuan bowed deeply to Ye Fan, under the incredulous stares of all present.

A ninety-degree bow!

In that moment.

He cast aside the honor and pride of the Su Family Patriarch and the flag-bearer of the Jiangnan Business World, all in the name of seeking redemption!

...

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PS: Tonight’s update concludes with this Chapter at nine o’clock! This is the first Chapter!

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