Best Young Master
Chapter 431 - 384: Volunteering to Take Responsibility, The Butterfly Effect

Chapter 431: Chapter 384: Volunteering to Take Responsibility, The Butterfly Effect

Night fell over the Southeast Asia Special Zone Government Office Building, only a few offices remained lit, including Ye Wenhao’s.

In his office, Ye Wenhao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing down at the brilliantly lit Bangkok City below. His brows were furrowed just as they had been in the afternoon meeting, betraying his helpless predicament.

"Knock-knock—"

The sound of knocking pulled Ye Wenhao back to reality, and without turning his head he said, "Come in."

Creak!

The door opened with a light sound, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses walked in.

"Old secretary, it’s almost nine o’clock, you should go eat something," the middle-aged man, Ye Wenhao’s secretary, reminded him, bowing slightly.

He had been Ye Wenhao’s secretary back in Jiangnan, and when Ye Wenhao took up his new role in the Southeast Asia Special Zone, he had brought him along.

Apart from him, Ye Wenhao’s personal driver had also come along, a member of the Yanhuang Organization.

"Mhm."

Ye Wenhao nodded. With his physical condition, he could manage without several meals, but if he did not eat, neither would his secretary or driver.

"Old secretary, it’s your birthday today. Why don’t we go out to a Chinese restaurant and have a few drinks with you?" the middle-aged man suggested.

"No need, you and Xiao Wang go eat. I’ll head back to my place," Ye Wenhao decided after thinking it over.

"Old secretary..." The secretary tried to say something else.

"That’s settled then, I don’t have much of an appetite today," Ye Wenhao said with a wry smile, waving his hand dismissively, then rose to walk towards the door.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but sigh quietly.

As Ye Wenhao’s secretary, he naturally knew about the difficulties Ye Wenhao was facing.

In his view, if Ye Wenhao had held a position on the mainland, would he be in such a sorry state?

Besides sighing, the secretary was also curious why Ye Wenhao, instead of choosing other places to ’gold-plate’ his career, opted to come to the notorious ’political Hell’ of Southeast Asia to serve as Special Chief.

Forty minutes later.

Ye Wenhao drove back alone to a Thai-style villa located in the suburbs of Bangkok.

Hm?

Ye Wenhao stopped the car and walked straight to the main building’s door, just as he was about to use the fingerprint lock, he paused, his gaze landing on two footprints in front of the door.

After a moment of contemplation, Ye Wenhao redirected his gaze, placed his hand on the scanner, and with a "beep," the door opened.

Ye Wenhao stepped into the hall to unexpectedly find a figure sitting on the sofa.

"Xiao Fan?"

Even through the dim light, Ye Wenhao could instantly recognize that it was Ye Fan; he stood frozen on the spot.

"Dad, happy birthday," Ye Fan stood up, smiling.

As the words fell, Ye Fan’s consciousness moved, and a golden light flashed between his eyebrows. Mind Power burst forth, acting upon the light switch, and the crystal chandelier in the hall lit up.

Click!

Hearing those words, Ye Wenhao felt his heart jolt violently!

That seemingly ordinary happy birthday from Ye Fan was like a sword of happiness striking the softest part of his heart, filling him with overwhelming emotion.

"Thank... thank you."

Moved, Ye Wenhao’s voice quivered with excitement.

"I wanted to call you, but I was afraid of disturbing your work so I didn’t," Ye Fan said, pointing to the dining area, "I bought some cold dishes, tonight I’ll drink a few more glasses with you."

"Okay."

Ye Wenhao smiled and nodded, his heart feeling warm as he walked towards the dining room.

"When did you get here?"

Soon, the father and son sat next to each other in the dining room, and as Ye Fan opened a bottle of Moutai for Ye Wenhao, he couldn’t help but ask.

"Around six o’clock," Ye Fan said, pouring himself a full glass as well.

"Bang—"

The next moment.

The sound of glasses clinking echoed as the two drank down their shots.

"Silly boy, I should be the one celebrating your birthday," Ye Wenhao said, his heart filling with guilt after the moment of emotion.

"It’s the same who celebrates for whom," Ye Fan smiled, clearly not minding.

"Ah..."

Ye Wenhao couldn’t help but sigh, wanting to say something but not knowing how to express it.

"By the way, Dad, how are things over here now?" Ye Fan topped up Ye Wenhao’s second glass and asked casually.

Ye Wenhao was slightly taken aback: "You know about it already?"

"Mhm," Ye Fan nodded: "I originally went back to Spirit Mountain to see my master, but my aunt told me about your situation when she returned to Spirit Mountain."

Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Ye Wenhao did not rush to reply.

Because... rationality told him that Ye Fan’s visit to Southeast Asia was not merely to celebrate his birthday.

Upon this realization, Ye Wenhao did not hide anything, but frankly shared the situation with Ye Fan.

"So you’re planning to confront the leaders of those underground forces one by one, to shatter and deter them from causing chaos?" Ye Fan quickly grasped Ye Wenhao’s plan.

Ye Wenhao nodded.

"Father, I’m afraid that won’t work."

Ye Fan pondered for a moment and said, "The Southeast Asia Special Zone is different from the inland areas. Not only are the underground forces much more rampant, but there are also powerful organizations such as the Qinghong Organization, the Dark Council, the Giant Axe Organization, and the Yakuza. The leaders of these organizations will not be scared off by a few threats. After all, Nanqinghong’s voluntary withdrawal has left a lot of territory and illicit businesses up for grabs."

Ye Wenhao fell silent.

He had thought of this point during the meeting that afternoon and had been considering the feasibility of this approach ever since, coming to the conclusion that the chances of success were very low.

"Father, you have a special identity and many things you can’t deal with in person. Let me handle this matter." Seeing Ye Wenhao remained silent, Ye Fan volunteered.

Ye Wenhao was taken aback and blurted out, "What do you plan to do?"

"Fight fire with fire," Ye Fan proposed, referencing Chu Ji’s suggestion, "I haven’t figured out the specifics yet. I plan to get a thorough grasp of the situation here before making any plans."

"No."

Ye Wenhao shook his head in objection, "As you just said, the Southeast Asia Special Zone is different from the inland areas, with many underground forces. Among those organizations, there are numerous experts. It would be dangerous for you to proceed like this."

"Father, don’t worry. With my current strength, martial artists below the Half-step Gang Qi realm can hardly harm me," Ye Fan said confidently.

"That still won’t do."

Ye Wenhao still disagreed, "Ever since you manipulated the rules to put Bai Luo in prison, the Bai Family has been looking for evidence of your crimes, trying to pin you down with the rules. If you use underhanded methods to deal with the current situation, you might very well give the Bai Family something to use against you."

"Father, as you said yourself, the Bai Family has always been trying to find evidence against me, even resorting to setting traps to fabricate evidence, but they have never succeeded," Ye Fan said confidently: "This time, I won’t let them succeed either!"

Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Ye Wenhao involuntarily recalled the turmoil Ye Fan had caused in Hanghu, Donghai, Yanjing, and Southwest.

Although each incident caused by Ye Fan seemed very dangerous, he always came out safely in the end, successfully abusing and avoiding the rules, leaving the Bai Family with no options.

"Still not possible."

Memories emerging, Ye Wenhao still shook his head and refused Ye Fan’s suggestion, "Even if you can perfectly manipulate the rules, you’re bound to clash with globally known underground forces like the Dark Council, the Giant Axe Organization, and the Yakuza. You are already in a deadly feud with the Qinghong Organization. If you establish three more powerful enemies, it will be very dangerous."

"Father, how about this: tell me the specific information about these underground forces and the current situation, and I’ll see if I can come up with a foolproof plan," Ye Fan offered, sensing Ye Wenhao’s concern for his safety, without insisting that Ye Wenhao agree immediately.

"Alright."

Seeing the determination on Ye Fan’s face, Ye Wenhao could not help but sigh, feeling a mix of emotions.

Originally, he had applied to serve as the Special Chief of Southeast Asia to help Ye Fan deal with Nanqinghong. Now, not only had he failed to assist Ye Fan, but he had also been outplayed by Nanqinghong, in a rather embarrassing situation, and moreover... he had to rely on Ye Fan to solve this problem!

...

Spirit Mountain.

Chu Ji, who had stayed to accompany Chu Xuanji, lingered outside his wooden hut for a long time before she finally couldn’t resist knocking on the door.

Creak!

As soon as Chu Ji stopped knocking, the door miraculously opened in response.

Inside the hut, Chu Xuanji lay on a wicker chair, holding an Ancient Book, and gazed at it intently without a break.

"Master, I have some forces overseas. Should I send them to Southeast Asia to assist Xiao Fan?" Chu Ji approached Chu Xuanji, slightly bowed, and asked for instructions.

"He doesn’t need your people right now," Chu Xuanji responded without lifting his head.

"Er..."

Chu Ji was taken aback by his response.

Her overseas forces were one of her trump cards, and because she had acted rashly and failed that thing she did when she left Spirit Mountain in a huff, she had always been hesitant to mention it to Chu Xuanji. Yet, to her surprise, Chu Xuanji already knew.

"Aren’t you worried about Xiao Fan being alone in Southeast Asia?" After a moment of surprise, Chu Ji voiced her concern with hesitation.

She knew that Chu Xuanji seemed indifferent to Ye Fan, but in reality, he was extremely concerned about Ye Fan’s safety.

If not, Chu Xuanji would not have sent her to secretly follow Ye Fan when he left the mountain for missions.

"Ye Wenhao is also in Southeast Asia, so his safety is not a big issue," Chu Xuanji said, setting down the Ancient Book and speaking earnestly, "Moreover, through the trials of the past six months, he has grown a lot and should be able to cope with all this."

"He might resort to extremes," Chu Ji warned.

"Extremes?" Chu Xuanji asked, puzzled.

"He once told me that if Nanqinghong were to affect Ye Wenhao’s career, he might annihilate Nanqinghong!" Chu Ji explained.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Chu Xuanji’s eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp light flickered in his eyes, and he simultaneously began to calculate something with his fingers.

Chu Ji, realizing what he was doing, did not dare to disturb him and stood quietly by the side.

"It seems the chess game of Huaxia is about to conclude prematurely." A short while later, Chu Xuanji stopped his calculations and looked somewhat expectant.

Chu Ji did not understand what Chu Xuanji had figured out and asked confusedly, "Master, what do you mean?"

"The Butterfly Effect—if nothing unexpected happens, the forthcoming storm in Southeast Asia will be the start of the endgame for Huaxia’s chess match," Chu Xuanji explained, answering indirectly with a smile, "That young man is about to decide the future landscape of Huaxia!"

...

...

PS: I would like to thank ’Wen Dao from Qingcheng’ brother for becoming the sixth Alliance Hierarch of ’Kuang Shao’ and also thank all brothers and sisters for their long-term support.

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