When Lao Qiao asked Huayan about her plans for the National Day holiday, he immediately suggested that she join the Esper Warrior team to ensure the safety of these individuals. He would arrange special training for them, including combat, grappling techniques, counter-grappling techniques, firearm disassembly and assembly, marksmanship, high-intensity physical training, climbing, and more. This extensive training regimen followed the pattern of special forces training. Huayan felt both excited and uneasy, but ultimately did not refuse Lao Qiao's arrangement for the National Day holiday training.
Huayan instructed Lao Qiao not to tell her father and others about her joining the Esper Warrior team, declined invitations to dine with them, and returned home to enjoy a meal of fried sauce noodles prepared by her father. The side dishes included a small plate of pickled cabbage, a small plate of dried beef slices, and a bowl of bitter gourd, corn, and water chestnut chicken soup. Huayan felt the greatest happiness in life was having a warm sanctuary: food, drink, and someone to care for her.
After dinner, she sorted through the month's accounts for the shop, but her eyelids began to droop. Seeing this, her father quickly ushered her upstairs.
As Huayan drifted into a peaceful sleep, drama unfolded in another location.
Upon learning about Cheng Yunqi's situation, Shangguan Liu found an opportunity to convince Shangguan Ning to postpone his return to Changle City and accompany him to a specially arranged restaurant. Just as Shangguan Ning was about to inquire about the purpose of the outing, he suddenly heard the voices of Cheng Jie and Li Meier.
Shangguan Liu instructed him to remain quiet and continue listening, as the real drama was yet to come. Li Meier had arranged to meet Cheng Jie at the restaurant that day, and Shangguan Liu had planted a listening device in their private room.
"I've given you the severance pay. Why are you still coming to see me today? And what's this about telling Shangguan Ning about Yunqi's situation?" If it wasn't for the fear that Li Meier might tell Shangguan Ning about Cheng Yunqi's infatuation with a stranger in the United States, he wouldn't bother seeing this woman who had played enough games.
"Oh, I found out about Cheng Yunqi, your dear sister, shamelessly asking around for a stranger in the United States. I also know that Cheng Yunqi tried to keep Shangguan Ning from interfering with her pursuit of the man, asking your family not to tell Shangguan Ning about her being hurt..." The more Cheng Jie listened, the more alarmed he became. He couldn't understand how this woman knew so much. He couldn't help but worry that if Shangguan Ning found out, their plan to firmly grasp Cheng Yunqi's heart would be in jeopardy. "Only my parents and I know about these matters. Where did you hear them from? Did you tell Shangguan Ning? Speak up..."
As Cheng Jie's hand tightened around her delicate neck, Li Meier, in pain and unable to breathe, tears streaming down her face.
In the adjacent room, Shangguan Ning's handsome face darkened, his trembling hand clutching the teacup. If he couldn't understand what had just happened, he would truly be an idiot. Cheng Yunqi had deceived him, and he had returned home for her with joy in vain.
Looking up, Shangguan Liu saw that Shangguan Ning's eyes were bloodshot. He knew Shangguan Ning was extremely angry, but he still didn't want his younger brother to confront Cheng Jie face to face. Such a woman wasn't worth him setting aside his male pride to do so.
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"Little Ning, I can only help you up to this point. Your future choices are yours alone to make. But if you are still a man, don't lose face in front of the Cheng family. My brother, Shangguan Liu, should not be someone else's puppet!" Shangguan Ning was decisive, and Shangguan Liu didn't want to interfere with his brother's decision. However, these words would surely wake him up.
"I understand... I'll leave first." Overwhelmed with sorrow and anger, Shangguan Ning needed an outlet, a release...
Shangguan Liu didn't intervene, but quietly followed Shangguan Ning's car as they raced out of the city. Several times, he watched as Shangguan Ning's car nearly collided with oncoming vehicles, his heart gripped with fear as if someone had seized it. Despite being extremely worried, he knew he couldn't intervene. Only now, when Shangguan Ning's emotions were finally laid bare, could he release everything without reservation. If he were to stop him now, the pain in his heart would linger, possibly affecting his entire life.
After two hours of reckless driving, Shangguan Ning had driven the car to the outskirts of Changle City. The moment he stopped the car, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out. Shangguan Ning, out of breath from the brief outburst, coughed violently. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes from the intense coughing. He couldn't tell if those tears were a physiological reaction or a lament for his love for Cheng Yunqi over the years. He had never doubted that Cheng Yunqi, seemingly angelic, could be a cold-blooded snake disguised as an angel.
Their long-standing love couldn't withstand the allure of a stranger. What kind of man could drive the noble Cheng Yunqi to search desperately, obsessively pursuing him to the point of disregarding her family's interests and even familial ties?
When Shangguan Liu saw the black bloodstains on Shangguan Ning's white shirt through the car window, he was terrified. Without hesitation, he took Shangguan Ning to the hospital. Upon hearing from the best doctor that he needed to receive two bottles of fluid and avoid stimulating his liver for a while, Shangguan Liu was relieved. The doctor also expressed gratitude that Shangguan Ning had expelled the accumulated black blood from his body, as otherwise his condition could have worsened. If stagnant blood couldn't be purged from the body, no amount of medication would help.
Shangguan Liu was also secretly relieved that Shangguan Ning had finally vented his pent-up frustration.
To prevent Cheng Yunqi's situation from being exposed, Cheng Jie had no choice but to coax Li Meier with kind words. Despite knowing Cheng Jie was just trying to appease her, Li Meier, deeply in love with Cheng Jie, felt a twinge of happiness after feeling a pang of sorrow. She pretended to be comforted by him, preferring his insincere gestures over being ignored.
After soothing Li Meier, Cheng Jie, unaware that Shangguan Ning had already learned about Cheng Yunqi's situation, focused all his energy on the stone gambling banquet three days later.
Gao Ruqing decided to confront Fatty head-on by scheduling the stone gambling event on the same day and at the same time as Fatty's company. Their rivalry intensified, causing the upper-class elite to agonize over which stone gambling event to attend, or whether to send representatives from both families, thus avoiding favoritism.
Gao Ruqing was a highly respected figure in the stone gambling world and had been a prominent figure in the jewelry and jade industry for decades. No one dared to offend him. Moreover, before entering the business world, Gao Ruqing had been a **.
But Fatty was also a rising star, with his company's development potential far surpassing that of the Feise Jewelry Company in its heyday. No one in the upper echelons wanted to provoke him, as everyone owed him a bit of face.
The media also deployed two suitable teams to attend the stone gambling banquets on that day, ensuring that neither event would be overlooked. Their keen journalistic instincts sensed that regardless of the outcome of the stone gambling, there would be endless news coverage, making it a historic showdown between Gao Ruqing, the billion-dollar king of raw materials, and the gambling god with a billion-dollar raw material.