Best Young Master
Chapter 530 - 472: The Thief’s Ambition Never Dies

Chapter 530: Chapter 472: The Thief’s Ambition Never Dies

At 8:58 a.m., the magnates of Dong hai’s officialdom were seated in the municipal committee office building meeting room, preparing for the Secretary’s tête-à-tête meeting.

Among them, there was no Bai Guotao.

"Gentlemen, Secretary Bai is unwell and will not attend today’s meeting, therefore, I will preside over it," announced Dong hai’s second-in-command, casting a slow glance around the room as the clock struck nine.

Hmm?!

In the meeting room, upon hearing this, the other magnates were first taken aback, then they understood the situation as clear as day.

Bai Guotao being unwell was a pretext; his actual distress was real!

As magnates of Dong hai, they had learned through special channels that the investigation against Ye Wenhao had been withdrawn, and he would continue to serve in the Southeast Asia Special Zone.

To the average person, this news might seem trivial, but to them, with their keen political insight, it meant a great deal.

Considering Old Sir Ye, Ye Yuanshan’s discharge from the hospital after recovering from his illness, they could almost be certain that this was a signal!

In this context, it was no wonder that Bai Guotao, as the biggest rival of Ye Wenhao, was in a poor mood!

Just as the magnates had predicted, Bai Guotao indeed felt terrible.

He had received the news of Ye Wenhao resuming his duty in the Southeast Asia Special Zone the previous evening.

Although Bai Guotao had long anticipated this outcome, he still found it somewhat unbearable when it actually happened, so much so that he didn’t close his eyes all night—he had sat in the study, smoking away three boxes of specially supplied cigarettes.

The study in the villa was filled with smoke, the ashtray crammed with cigarette butts, and Bai Guotao, haggard and with dark circles under his eyes, leaned back in the leather chair, looking years older overnight.

"Ding-a-ling-ling——"

Suddenly, the urgent ring of the telephone broke the silence in the study.

Bai Guotao was startled awake by the ring but didn’t answer the phone; instead, he remained slumped weakly in his chair.

After about a dozen seconds, the ringing stopped, only to start again quickly, persistent like a death knell that added to Bai Guotao’s already agitated state.

He abruptly sat up, considering pulling the plug on the phone line, but then he noticed the caller ID showing his father Bai Yuan’s private cellphone number.

This realization caused his pupils to dilate slightly, and after taking a deep breath to compose himself, he picked up the phone: "Dad."

"Your cell phone is off, I tried your office phone, and your secretary said you weren’t coming in today. I called your study and got no answer. I thought you couldn’t handle the setback and might have sought to end it all!" Bai Yuan spoke in a stern voice, clearly discontent with Bai Guotao’s behavior.

"I’m sorry, Dad..."

"I don’t want to hear ’sorry.’ I just want to know whether you’ve given up hope," Bai Yuan coldly interrupted Bai Guotao before he could finish.

Silence followed.

Bai Yuan’s words seemed to plunge like a sharp dagger into the softest part of Bai Guotao’s heart, causing him to shudder violently, his just-straightened body collapsing back into the chair.

"Heh... It seems you truly have given up hope."

As if having received an answer, anger turned to mockery in Bai Yuan’s voice, "Fine, consider all the years I’ve spent cultivating you wasted. Pretend I never made this call; continue wallowing in your despair!"

"Dad, I..." Bai Guotao hurriedly tried to speak.

"What about you?" Bai Yuan’s cold voice cut him off again.

"I... I’m a bit downhearted, not hopeless," lied Bai Guotao.

"Downhearted? Does that look like downhearted to you? Do downhearted people skip work? Do downhearted people shut off their phones??" Bai Yuan’s barrage of rapid-fire questions felt like a machine-gun spray.

"..."

Bai Guotao was speechless.

"I’m not hopeless, but I am disappointed in you—this is not how the future successor of the Bai Family should behave!" Bai Yuan said gravely.

Facing another reprimand from Bai Yuan, Bai Guotao hesitated before asking, "Dad, do you really believe there’s still hope now?"

"A game of power is like a gamble; no one knows who the final winner is until the very last moment—it’s the one who can laugh last that truly wins!"

Bai Yuan said irritably, "Even Ye Wenhao, that bastard, understands this principle. Don’t you?"

"I haven’t forgotten, I’m just..." Bai Guotao attempted to explain.

Bai Yuan didn’t give him the chance: "You think the overall situation is set in stone, don’t you?"

"..."

Once again speechless, Bai Guotao knew that, based on the usual process of high-level adjustments, the current situation was at most a preliminary tone-setting, and the true settling of affairs was still two or three years away.

"Although I still haven’t figured out what trump card that bastard Ye Wenhao relied on to change the results of the last game, Wu Mu has scoured the Ancient Books of cultivation and found out that the Heaven-defying Skill the boy used can at most extend the Old Bastard of the Ye Family’s life by one more year!" Bai Yuan revealed the mystery, stating the purpose of his call.

One year?!

"Huff! Huff!"

These two words, when they reached Bai Guotao’s ears, sounded more delightful than the music of immortals, clearing away the despair and disheartenment on his face, even making his breathing quicken, "Dad, is this true?"

"What do you think?" Bai Yuan countered.

"Sorry, Dad, I’ve lost my balance," Bai Guotao quickly apologized. If Bai Yuan wasn’t certain about this point, he would not have mentioned it on the phone.

"I’ve said it before, I don’t want to hear ’sorry’—that’s what cowards say!" Bai Yuan growled, as if trying to awaken Bai Guotao’s ambition and fighting spirit through his words.

"Dad, since that old bastard of the Ye Family can only live for one more year, then Ye Wenhao doesn’t stand a chance against me!" Bai Guotao enunciated each word, his speech regaining the confidence of old.

"Now that’s more like the successor of the Bai Family."

Bai Yuan continued, his tone less harsh this time, "As long as we endure the coming year, and once the Ye Family’s old bastard kicks the bucket, we’ll pull back the tides and turn the situation around. In terms of time and the situation at hand, it’s totally feasible."

"Mm."

Bai Guotao nodded. If Ye Yuanshan could live until the conference three years later, he’d indeed be desperate, but with just one year, he wasn’t afraid at all.

"Just like I said before, don’t think about anything else and fully commit to doing your job well. Show results that make those above take notice, laying the groundwork for the final battle."

Bai Yuan instructed, "As long as you do well, with Ye Wenhao being such an incompetent, how could he possibly compete with you?"

"Without that old bastard Ye’s support, Ye Wenhao wouldn’t even qualify to be my rival!"

Bai Guotao regained his spirited posture, feeling as if he, not Ye Wenhao, were the victor of their last encounter.

It’s just—

At this moment.

Neither he nor Bai Yuan realized that there was something different about their conversation from before—they had forgotten someone.

Ye Fan.

Clearly... subconsciously, they had changed their view of Ye Fan—they no longer considered him a liability to Ye Wenhao, becoming the bane of the entire Ye Family.

But—

They had not yet fully realized that the once-dominant Ye Family of Huaxia was not truly supported by Ye Yuanshan, the stabilizer, but by the first heir of Huaxia who made the military, political, business, and underworld realms tremble with fear!

Even they failed to realize this, so what about Young Master Chen Feilian of Qinghong, ignorant of the detailed ins and outs of the defeat?

In the early morning of Dong hai, Los Angeles was already welcoming the night.

The Qinghong Villa was silent under the night sky, seeming calm and all the more oppressive.

Inside Villa No. 2’s study, all the facilities destroyed by Chen Feilian, like the wall-mounted screen and the desk, had been replaced.

Sitting at his desk, Chen Feilian turned on the wall-mounted screen and initiated a video call.

"The honored Mr. Chen."

Soon, Luo Yi, Qinghong’s chief intelligence officer in Huaxia, appeared on the video, bowing and greeting Chen Feilian.

Chen Feilian remained indifferent, merely frowning at him.

Seeing this, Luo Yi knew Chen Feilian was in a bad mood and didn’t dare to waste words, getting straight to the point, "Mr. Chen, the latest intelligence reports that Huaxia’s higher-ups have concluded the suspension investigation of Ye Wenhao, restoring his position and allowing him to continue governing the Southeast Asia Special Zone—although this news has not yet been officially announced or reported by major media, it has already spread in upper circles, so it’s unlikely to be false."

"Remember, I want intelligence that is firm, not maybe, likely, or almost. It is either yes or no!" Chen Feilian spoke coldly.

"Uh... Sorry, Mr. Chen, I..." Startled by Chen Feilian’s anger, Luo Yi’s voice trembled.

"If this information is wrong, I’ll twist your head off!" Chen Feilian cut off Luo Yi coldly.

Luo Yi, drenched in cold sweat, dared not respond and remained in a deep bow to Chen Feilian.

"Did you find out the inside story I asked for?" Chen Feilian asked coldly.

"So far, it’s only what I reported last time—that old man Chu Xuanji performed the Heaven-defying Fate Changing Technique for Ye Yuanshan and successfully extended his life."

Luo Yi replied nervously, and seeing Chen Feilian’s sullen face, hesitated for a moment but still braved to say, "This information came from a member of the Bai Family Faction. According to this official, after Chu Xuanji revived Ye Yuanshan, he got the Ye Family to secure Ye Fan, that son of a bitch, while he himself used his past Savior contribution to force Yan to compromise!"

Not knowing if it was because he approved of Luo Yi’s judgment or hearing Luo Yi insult Ye Fan pleased him, Chen Feilian did not flare up but said, "Continue to stay in Huaxia and keep an eye on that bastard and everything involving the Ye Family. Report to me immediately if there is anything unusual!"

"Yes, Mr. Chen!" Luo Yi respectfully took the order.

Chen Feilian ended the call and stood up, walking towards the window and gazing in the direction of the African Union.

"Ever since the destroy virus broke out in Africa, my father went to the African Union’s secret base, and it’s been almost six years now."

As he gazed, Chen Feilian murmured to himself, "Given that my father has not reappeared, the medicine he is trying to develop must not yet be successful. However... surely my father has achieved the Great Perfection Realm of Gang Qi by now?"

"Heh, as long as my father breaks through the Peak of Gang Qi and successfully develops the medicine, not just the Ye Family, but the entire world will be trampled under my father’s feet!"

By the end, Chen Feilian couldn’t help but sneer, "Son of a bitch, I hope you can live peacefully until that time. When that moment comes, I want you to kneel before me like a dog, begging for mercy, and then I’ll skin you alive to vent the hatred in my heart!!"

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation ticket and Monthly Ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)