Best Young Master
Chapter 184 - 163 [The Black Tide Finally Appears]

Chapter 184: Chapter 163 [The Black Tide Finally Appears]

"Where’s Ruoshui?"

Ye Fan returned to the villa and found that Situ Ruoshui was not there, only Su Liuli was idly browsing the internet in the bedroom. He asked with some confusion.

"Aunt Feng picked her up, the woman who’s always with her dad," Su Liuli replied.

Picked up by Feng Jing?

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan was first taken aback and then felt something was off. Although Situ Ruoshui respected Feng Jing greatly, it was only because of her simple and kind nature, not because she truly accepted Feng Jing as a replacement for her mother in her heart.

In such a situation, Ye Fan believed there was no reason for Feng Jing to seek out Situ Ruoshui unnecessarily.

"What’s wrong?"

Seeing Ye Fan’s expression change, Su Liuli couldn’t help but ask.

"Did Ruoshui tell you what Feng Jing took her for?" Ye Fan countered.

"It seems like her dad wanted to see her and specifically sent Aunt Feng to pick her up," Su Liuli recalled.

Hearing Su Liuli’s words, Ye Fan felt even more uneasy. In his view, there was no need for Feng Jing to personally pick up Situ Ruoshui if Situ Chen wanted to see her.

With this thought, Ye Fan hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to take out his mobile phone and dialed Situ Chen’s number.

"Xiao Fan, I’m about to start a meeting, is there something you need?" Situ Chen spoke first after the call connected following a fifteen-second delay, his tone slightly puzzled.

"I’m sorry for disturbing you, Uncle Situ," Ye Fan apologized, and then got straight to the point, "Aunt Feng just came over and took Ruoshui away. Are you aware of this?"

"Yes," replied Situ Chen. "Xiao Jing is worried about Ruoshui feeling down and wanted to take her out shopping to loosen up."

Shopping to loosen up?

Upon hearing these four words, Ye Fan’s unease soared and he frowned, "Uncle Situ, as far as I know, Aunt Feng said that you wanted to see Ruoshui and specifically had her come to pick Ruoshui up."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing that, Situ Chen was first taken aback, then after pondering he said, "Xiao Jing probably said that to ensure Ruoshui would go, knowing how Ruoshui deeply resists her."

"I see."

Ye Fan thought for a moment and felt that Situ Chen made a lot of sense. He couldn’t help thinking he was being overly suspicious. To avoid causing any further concern to Situ Chen, he added, "I was thinking, if you wanted to see Ruoshui, if you called me, I could have brought her over myself. There was no need for Aunt Feng to make the trip."

"No worries, it’s fine for Xiao Jing to go."

Situ Chen was intending to end the call, as all the elders of the Dong Hai Gang were waiting for him to preside over the meeting. "Xiao Fan, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go to the meeting now, and we can talk more later."

"Sure," Ye Fan concluded the call proactively.

"Hey, wolf in sheep’s clothing, seems like you want to have your cake and eat it too, eyeing Ruoshui while keeping Su Liuli. Planning to play the field, huh?" Su Liuli, noticing the concern that surfaced on Ye Fan’s face, felt somewhat envious and teasingly said this after Ye Fan hung up the call.

"You’re thinking too much."

Ye Fan, hearing this, pondered momentarily. He didn’t share his suspicions and concerns with Su Liuli but instead changed the subject, "I’m going to have dinner with your sister and my senior sister, Chu Ji. Do you want to come?"

"I appreciate the thought, but I’m not keen on being a third wheel. Besides, I have plans tonight," Su Liuli stood up, held her head high with confidence, and declined Ye Fan’s invitation.

Ye Fan couldn’t help but smile wryly, refrained from further conversation, quickly went upstairs to take a shower, and then drove to the restaurant Chu Ji had already booked.

Ao Xiang Villa.

After ending the call with Ye Fan, Situ Chen put away his phone and stepped into the meeting room.

The meeting room covered an area of two hundred square meters, with an oval conference table made of pear wood situated right in front of the entrance. There were resting areas on both sides of the entrance, furnished with several groups of sofas and coffee tables, as well as some potted plants.

Inside the meeting room, including Fei Si and Liu Tianjun, there were a total of eleven people seated. Fei Si sat in the position below and to the left of Situ Chen—as a Postnatal Perfection strong person and Situ Chen’s personal bodyguard, he held the highest prestige in the entire Dong Hai Gang next to Situ Chen.

Sitting to the right, below Situ Chen, was the helmsman of the Jiangnan Dong Hai Gang, Liu Tianjun. Although his status had fallen continually due to being suppressed by Qiao Bazhi for two years, causing his influence to gradually diminish, he was the most senior in terms of service and was considered the nominal third most important person.

Seated on the left side of the second row was an elder man wearing glasses and dressed in silk Tang attire, toying with a string of Buddha beads, exuding an aura of elegance and refinement.

His surname was Qi, given name Qi, known in the underworld as Mr. Qi. He was one of the veterans who supported Situ Chen in his rise to power, acting as a strategist during the conquest era. Now, he was responsible for the Nansu region within the Dong Hai Gang.

In terms of influence, he was second only to Situ Chen and Fei Si; in terms of control over manpower, financial resources, and networks, he was second only to Situ Chen, making him the true second or even third most important person in the Dong Hai Gang.

Sitting opposite Qi Qi was a middle-aged man dressed in designer brands, sporting gold-rimmed glasses, and exuding a businessman’s aura.

His last name was Jin, first name Ye, mainly responsible for the Dong Hai Gang’s legitimate businesses, as well as laundering the gang’s illicit income in secret, acting as the gang’s chief steward.

Compared to these four, the other six people had relatively lesser status within the Dong Hai Gang. Though also responsible for various businesses, none of them were core enterprises. They were leveraging their old qualifications from following Situ Chen in the early days, serving as shareholders of the Dong Hai Group’s industries, and receiving dividends annually.

And at the end of the conference table, one seat remained vacant.

That seat once belonged to Situ Haotian!

Although Situ Haotian’s seat was at the very end, he was in charge of the Dong Hai Gang’s most critical gray income business—smuggling!

Meanwhile, because he had once been Situ Chen’s adopted son, the Crown Prince of the Dong hai Gang, his status in the gang was extraordinary, even surpassing Fei Si and Qi Qi!

After sitting back down at the conference table, Situ Chen cast an unintentional glance at the empty seat, then leaned slightly forward, hands pressed on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone’s faces as he slowly said, "The third quarter has already passed. In the past quarter, the gang went through a lot and encountered a number of problems. The main reason for convening this meeting today is to discuss solutions."

"Boss, I think before we discuss solutions, you should give us an explanation."

No sooner had Situ Chen’s voice faded than a discordant voice rose in the meeting room. The speaker was Qi Qi, the person in charge of the Nan Su section of the Dong hai Gang, who leaned back lazily in his seat and played with his Buddha Beads, appearing somewhat detached.

Hmm?

Qi Qi’s statement caught everyone, including Situ Chen, by surprise, and they all turned their eyes to him. Situ Chen and Fei Si raised their eyebrows slightly, Liu Tianjun showed anger on his face, while the others appeared thoughtful.

"What do my brothers think of my proposal?"

Seeing himself become the focus of the meeting room, Qi Qi showed no sign of nervousness, instead he casually scanned the faces of the Dong hai Gang elders other than Situ Chen, Fei Si, and Liu Tianjun.

"I agree with Brother Qi’s suggestion."

"I agree too!"

...

Following Qi Qi’s remark, aside from Situ Chen, Fei Si, and Liu Tianjun, everyone else began voicing their agreement.

"What are you trying to do?"

Liu Tianjun had always been known for his fiery temper, and seeing this scene, he immediately got angry, "Are you trying to question the big brother?"

"Tianjun, the recent incidents concern the life and death of the gang. The boss made decisions without consulting us, and we would like an explanation from the big brother. That’s not too much to ask, is it?" Qi Qi straightened up, stopped playing with his Buddha Beads, and spoke nonchalantly yet with an undercurrent of assertiveness.

Upon hearing Qi Qi’s words for the second time, Situ Chen furrowed his brows even more deeply and asked gravely, "Brother Qi, may I ask what explanation you want?"

"Two explanations."

Qi Qi looked fearlessly into Situ Chen’s eyes and articulated clearly, "First, why did the boss offend Lv Canghai, and even break with him, over a kid named Ye Fan, causing us to lose the most important protection in the legitimate world? Secondly, Haotian may have done wrong, but over the years, he has made significant contributions to the gang. Wasn’t it a bit too much for the boss to kick him out of the gang outright?"

"Do the rest of you also want an explanation for these two issues?" Situ Chen asked, turning his gaze towards the others.

"Yes, boss!"

Feeling the pressure from Situ Chen’s gaze, each of the others avoided eye contact but expressed their support for Qi Qi’s stance.

"Since that is the case, before we move on to discussing solutions, let me explain to everyone."

Situ Chen, seeing the reaction, knitted his brows tightly and spoke with a somewhat deeper tone, "First off, you all must have heard of Xiao Fan’s deeds. It can be said that our ability to firmly establish our footing in Jiangnan and drive Nanqinghong out was all because of Xiao Fan’s merit—he sequentially eliminated Qiao Bazhi and Lin Ao Feng, preventing Nanqinghong from daring to step half into Jiangnan!"

"The affair between Xiao Fan and Lv Canghai’s son, Lu Wen, was brought on by Lu Wen himself."

At this point, Situ Chen deliberately slowed his speech and fixed his eyes on Qi Qi like a knife, "Under such circumstances, if I stood on Lv Canghai’s side, it would amount to repaying Xiao Fan’s kindness with ingratitude and be ridiculed by others in the underworld! Furthermore, Xiao Fan is the nephew of the Demon Queen Chu Ji, who is the mastermind behind the Tianshan Group. If we were to turn against Xiao Fan, we would offend Chu Ji, and our Dong hai Gang simply cannot afford the wrath of the Demon Queen! Lastly, Xiao Fan once saved my daughter Ruoshui; in making my choice, my personal feelings inevitably played a part."

"As for the second matter, I had sent Situ Haotian and Xiao Jiu to Hanghu to protect Ruoshui. When Ruoshui was kidnapped, Situ Haotian not only failed to rescue her but also prevented Xiao Jiu from doing so, insisting that Xiao Jiu protect him as they fled. To avoid my punishment afterward, he deliberately injured himself to create the illusion that he was hurt!"

Having provided his explanation, Situ Chen’s gaze swept over everyone again, "Any more objections?"

"Boss, we don’t dare offend Chu Ji, but are we willing to offend Lv Canghai? You know, Lv Canghai is the person in charge of the Yanhuang Organization in the Dong hai Region!" someone objected.

"Yeah, not to mention losing Lv Canghai’s protection, we couldn’t resist an invasion from Nanqinghong, and if Lv Canghai wanted to retaliate against us, it would be our nightmare!" another person agreed.

"You don’t need to remind me of these things!"

Although Situ Chen was unaware of why everyone was acting unusually today, his anger was somewhat aroused. He glared at the two speakers with a knife-like look and said word by word, "Lv Canghai’s master and my master were fellow disciples; he’s technically my elder martial brother, so of course, I understand his significance to our Dong hai Gang!"

"Heh heh... haven’t you guys figured it out yet?"

Upon hearing Situ Chen’s response, Qi Qi couldn’t help but laugh, "All your explanations boil down to the fact that when you did these two things, Situ Chen, you did not consider the bigger picture at all; rather, you were acting on selfish interests, prioritizing personal feelings! Or should I say, were you trying to preserve your ’noble’ reputation?"

"Smack!"

Liu Tianjun was already somewhat annoyed with Qi Qi today and seeing him addressing Situ Chen by name as well as mocking him, he immediately slammed the conference table, stood up, and roared in a low voice, "Qi Qi, do you bloody well want to start a rebellion?"

"Gentlemen, you can eat whatever you want, but words must not be spoken carelessly."

Fei Si, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. As he spoke, he looked expressionlessly at Qi Qi and the others, his tone chilly as a Siberian cold wave, sending shivers down their spines, "Breaking the rules means you will be punished by the family law!"

"Bang—"

Just as Fei Si finished speaking, a muffled sound rang out as the meeting room door was kicked open.

Swish!

At the sound, everyone, Situ Chen included, turned their attention to the doorway in unison.

"Uncle Four is so imposing."

With everyone watching, Situ Haotian walked into the meeting room with sarcasm on his face.