Best Young Master
Chapter 198 - 176 [Father and Son, A Game Within a Game]

Chapter 198: Chapter 176 [Father and Son, A Game Within a Game]

Stunned.

He was stunned once again.

Under the lights.

He saw a rare unease surfacing on Ye Wenhao’s ordinarily commanding face.

He also saw that Ye Wenhao’s once proud stature seemed to become slightly hunched in an instant.

He further saw Ye Wenhao’s mouth slightly open, as though he had a thousand words to tell him, yet he was unable to utter a single one.

Memories of his encounters with Ye Wenhao began flooding his mind.

At the Jiangnan Investment Promotion Summit, Ye Wenhao was like an unsharpened heavy sword, edgeless, yet emanating a majestic aura.

On that day, Ye Wenhao made him feel that the reality matched the legend, that he was indeed a dragon among men!

On that day, Ye Wenhao also gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

After that, he kept wondering why he felt a sense of familiarity with Ye Wenhao, until this moment he understood it was the feeling of blood ties.

His bones carried Ye Wenhao’s blood!

"When he looked at me that day, did he already know about our relationship, or was he suspicious?"

As the memories of that day flooded back, Ye Fan couldn’t help but silently question himself.

There was no answer.

His thoughts then shifted to the Yunshan Racing Track.

That day, he had crippled Quick Blade Wang Dong and dueled with Lin Ao Feng to defend Su Jindi. Just as Lin Ao Feng was about to use a "Forbidden Technique," a powerful presence emerged, startling both him and Lin Ao Feng.

And that familiar presence was identical to the one Ye Wenhao exuded when he saved him just now!

"Could it be that he already knew I was his son at that time, and fearing Lin Ao Feng’s Forbidden Technique might harm me, he timely released his energy to frighten Lin Ao Feng away?"

Ye Fan questioned himself once again, and a certain answer emerged in his heart.

Later, he recalled Lin Ao Feng’s engagement to Su Yuxin.

If he hadn’t intervened in secret that day, could his senior sister alone have made Su Hongyuan turn his sails with the wind?

Yes.

He didn’t show up that day because he was worried it would adversely affect his reputation, or because he didn’t know how to face me?

It must have been the latter.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed here to save me today and destroyed Lv Canghai’s Dantian, going against the rules of the Yanhuang Organization.

Ye Fan also remembered his second encounter with Ye Wenhao at the Azure Dragon Villa.

On that day, Ye Wenhao seemed like a different person, no longer carrying the aura of commanding presence, but rather amiable, even making him feel especially close.

On that day, he thought he was hallucinating.

Now, he knew it was not a hallucination.

It was the genuine emotions of a father shedding his façade, his identity, his status, and laying bare everything in front of his son.

Just like at this moment.

It seemed, he had done quite a lot for him.

But why couldn’t he feel happy? Instead, why did his heart ache so much?

Was it because he hated him??

He should hate him.

He brought him into this world, yet ruthlessly abandoned him, not caring for twenty years.

But why couldn’t he bring himself to hate?

Why??

There was no answer.

He turned around and slowly squatted down, presenting a solitary figure to everyone present.

The evening breeze blew, and he resembled a homeless child in the cold night, arms wrapped around himself, shivering slightly.

Unbeknownst to him, his eyes reddened.

He bit his lip, stubbornly holding back the tears.

But—

The tears, breaking free from the constraints of his will, spilled over, sliding down his delicate and resolute face, into his mouth, and onto the ground.

Those tears, filled with bitterness, yet also a hint of sweetness.

"Xiao Fan..."

Seeing Ye Fan’s slightly trembling figure, Chu Ji felt as if someone had stabbed her in the heart, causing her immense pain. She couldn’t help but call out to Ye Fan, taking steps forward, wanting to embrace Ye Fan and provide him warmth.

To warm his shivering frame, to warm his heart that had been lonely for twenty years.

Yet—

Someone was faster than her!

As she took a step into the air,

under Guan Yi and the others’ watchful eyes, Ye Wenhao took a deep breath, moved forward two steps, approached Ye Fan from behind, leaned down, and placed a hand on Ye Fan’s shoulder.

A gentle touch, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, causing Ye Fan’s shoulders to dip slightly.

Then, his body tensed up like a fully drawn bow, instantly rigid.

He bit his lips, determined not to let the tears flow!

"Son, I know that no matter what I say or do, I can’t make up for my past mistakes."

Ye Wenhao began to speak, his eyes faintly rimmed with red, his voice soft: "I don’t dare to hope for your forgiveness, nor do I dare to expect you to acknowledge me as your father right now. All I want is to say to you one more time: I’m sorry."

I’m sorry.

Those soft three words, as if carrying some sort of magic, instantly shattered Ye Fan’s willpower and resistance, and the tears flowed once more.

He buried his face in his arms, tears streaming down.

Seeing this, Ye Wenhao’s vision blurred slightly.

He bit his teeth, held back his tears, and did not say anything more to comfort Ye Fan. He just patted Ye Fan on the shoulder.

Just once.

Not heavily.

But it represented a myriad of feelings he couldn’t express!

"Sigh!"

Having done all that, he retracted his hand, took a deep breath, and suddenly straightened his spine!

In an instant, an oppressive and dangerous aura emerged from Ye Wenhao’s upright figure, causing Guan Yi and the others to feel suffocated!

They felt as if they were suddenly dragged to the coldest place in the world, a chill rising from their very bones.

Shortly after.

While Guan Yi and his company were feeling restless, Ye Wenhao slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, locking onto them.

"Guan Yi, my son can go with your people, but until there’s an official result for this case, I hope not a single hair on his head is harmed!"

Ye Wenhao stared at Guan Yi coldly, speaking again, his tone no longer filled with self-reproach or guilt, his voice no longer trembling, but instead, was resolute and forceful, "If even one is missing, I’ll break one of your legs!"

Swish!

As Ye Wenhao’s undeniable words echoed in their ears, the faces of the heavyweights behind Guan Yi changed dramatically!

They had heard of Ye Wenhao’s various deeds and knew he was an extremely dominant person!

But—

In his wildest dreams, he had not expected Ye Wenhao to dare to make such a killer statement in front of so many people, directly to Guan Yi, the Vice Flag Bearer of the Bai Group!

Even they had not anticipated it, let alone Guan Yi himself.

Could it be... he’s lost his mind?

Guan Yi stared at Ye Wenhao in dismay, speechless.

Gone mad?

"Child, I owe you and your mother far too much, so much that I don’t know how to repay it, but since I’ve found you, I will do everything I can to make up for the past mistakes!"

"Even if it costs me everything I have, and I bear a lifetime of infamy, I will not hesitate!!"

Chu Ji remembered the oath once made by Ye Wenhao.

She knew Ye Wenhao hadn’t gone mad.

In her eyes, Ye Wenhao was simply proving in action that it was an oath, not a lie.

"Sss~"

After the shock, even Guan Yi, whose schemes were deep enough to be described as terrifying, couldn’t help but take a cold breath and said coldly, "Governor Ye, what do you mean by this?"

"There’s no need to play the fool in front of me anymore."

Ye Wenhao’s face was expressionless; if he couldn’t see that this was a conspiracy, then he wouldn’t deserve the identity of the Ye Family’s third generation’s most promising successor, nor would he be qualified to compete with Bai Guotao for the Red Peak.

"You..."

Perhaps because of a guilty conscience, or perhaps because Ye Wenhao was too assertive at the moment, Guan Yi was left at a loss for words.

"I, Ye Wenhao, accept this generous gift."

Ye Wenhao looked at Guan Yi with a cold voice, "You tell those people that plotting against me, Ye Wenhao, is fine, and using my son as a weakness is not a problem either, but they’d better pray to God that my son remains unharmed like this time!"

"Snap—"

As his voice fell, a sharp crack sounded, and the marble floor beneath Ye Wenhao instantly turned into powder!

Clack!

This sudden turn of events sent a severe quiver through the hearts of Guan Yi and the others!

Although Ye Wenhao had not made another ruthless remark, their intuition and reason told them that if anything happened to Ye Fan this time, there would undoubtedly be a significant upheaval in Huaxia!

While realizing all this, the expressions on the faces of the heavyweights behind Guan Yi were extremely grave.

The fate of a pawn is to survive in the cracks; the more intense and fervent the struggle of the game becomes, the more unpredictable the pawn’s fate is.

As pawns themselves, they always had that looming sense of being abandoned!

They hoped for a ’stable’ game.

The more stable the game, the more they could hold their fate in their own hands!

Not just them, even Guan Yi’s expression was a bit more solemn.

Because.

Even though he was the player in today’s game, he was still a pawn in the grander scheme behind the scenes!

He overestimated the intelligence of the mastermind behind him, and underestimated Ye Wenhao’s intelligence and resolve!

This ensured that his future path would not be smooth.

Ignoring the shock and trepidation on the faces of Guan Yi and others, Ye Wenhao said to Chu Ji, "Ji, accompany Xiao Fan to the police station to make a statement following normal procedures."

"Okay."

Chu Ji nodded her agreement, her heart filled with turmoil.

She knew that the real battle of this hidden game had just begun!

While some killed with a soft knife without drawing blood, Ye Wenhao resorted to breaking the game with brute force!

She couldn’t predict the final trend of this game, but she was sure that today’s events would spread through the entire Huaxia officialdom in the shortest time possible, having an immeasurable impact on Ye Wenhao’s future trajectory.

And this impact could even affect the future pattern of Huaxia!

Seeing Chu Ji agree, Ye Wenhao couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Ye Fan once more.

After a glance, he no longer lingered, taking steps to leave with great strides.

Rustle—

Guan Yi and others quickly made way.

"Tug on one thing and you find it connected to everything else, Master, your game has been set in motion entirely."

Watching Ye Wenhao’s retreating lonely figure, Chu Ji thought to herself with a complex expression.

Meanwhile.

The young man, for whom Ye Wenhao was willing to give up everything, raised his head that had been buried in his arms, turning to look at the departing Ye Wenhao.

Watching him go, he couldn’t help but open his mouth, yet he never managed to call out that unfamiliar term.

Dad.

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)