Fan Mingzhi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his executive suite, gazing out over the majestic expanse of the Huangpu River. Sunlight glinted off the historic facades of The Bund, casting a dazzling shimmer across the water while the bustling crowds moved like currents below. He lifted his teacup, taking a slow sip as a faint, satisfied smirk touched his lips.
Click.
The heavy wooden door swung open. Lu Rong stepped inside, bringing his stride to a halt behind the old fox of a strategist.
“My daughter’s crisis management leaves much to be desired,” Mingzhi remarked casually, his eyes still fixed on the horizon before he turned to meet his visitor's gaze. “At this rate, it won't be long before the Chairman discards her entirely.”
Lu Rong’s lips curled into a cold, penetrating sneer.
“As if the horse you’re backing is performing any better,” he let out a low, raspy chuckle, casting a look of pure contempt. “You know full well in your heart that Wenjie lacks every single quality required to sit in the Chairman’s chair.”
Fan Mingzhi smiled subtly, placing his teacup onto the desk with delicate precision. “And if not him... who, then, possesses such credentials? Yourself?” the senior advisor taunted, his grin drenched in mockery.
Lu Rong locked eyes with him, his glare turning razor-sharp. “You... you’ve known all along how this would end, haven't you? Twenty years... You’ve spent the last twenty years setting up every single trap.”
Mingzhi burst into a rich, resonant laugh, his eyes gleaming like faceted glass.
“My goodness... Laying such a monstrous accusation at my doorstep?” The strategist took slow, deliberate steps forward, leaning in close until their faces were inches apart.
“As if you... never harbored the exact same thoughts...
Heh.
Stop playing the innocent fool. I know that all these years, you’ve been aching to strike back at the Chairman as well,” Mingzhi spat back, his voice dropping into a raspy, sinister purr.
Lu Rong clenched his jaw, his eyes blazing with fury. “It was you, wasn't it?! You are the origin of every catastrophic ruin that has plagued this empire!”
Mingzhi arched an eyebrow, letting out a soft, mocking chuckle. “Now, now... Don't slander me so recklessly. You saw it with your own eyes, didn't you? You knew exactly whose hands were stained.”
He lowered his voice further, leaning in closer. “You knew the absolute truth, yet you chose to keep one eye shut all this time. So why on earth are you putting on this pathetic display of repentance now?”
Lu Rong’s pupils trembled violently. Mingzhi’s deep chuckle vibrated in his chest, his gaze pinning his target like a predator.
“Don't pretend to feel guilty when it’s twenty years too late. Back then... weren't you trembling with desire to usurp Guan Yu’s place yourself?” Mingzhi grinned wide, his eyes expanding with sinister pleasure as he savored the sheer terror and shattered resolve on Lu Rong’s face.
“Don't give me that trashy melodramatic act of loving brothers... It’s nauseating,” Mingzhi sneered softly before taking a slow step back.
Lu Rong’s fists trembled at his sides, his eyes fixed on the floor in paralyzed shock. “It was your whispering in the Chairman’s ear, wasn't it?! You drove him to turn everything into this nightmare!”
Mingzhi’s expression smoothed over into a cold, tranquil smile. “Me...?
Heh.
” He let out a dry laugh, his gaze unyielding. “Why don't you consider the possibility that every decision made... stemmed from the primal, monstrous instincts hidden deep within him from the very beginning?”
Lu Rong froze, as though struck squarely in the face with a sledgehammer.
Mingzhi bared his teeth in a predatory smile. “Perhaps all of us—you, Wenbin, Guoqiang, and Guan Yu—were foolish enough to believe he was a good man. But the truth is... he was a demon from day one.” He peeled back the layers of buried history, piece by agonizing piece.
“Besides... deep down... didn't you want Guan Yu to vanish from this earth just as badly?!”
The words struck like a serrated blade, forcing Lu Rong’s eyes wide in absolute horror. A surge of suffocating emotion welled up in his eyes, hot tears threatening to spill over as he lunged forward, grabbing Mingzhi’s lapels in a desperate, violent grip.
“MINGZHI!” he roared, his voice echoing off the walls.
Yet Mingzhi merely smirked, thoroughly enjoying the violent breakdown before him.
“What’s the matter...? Did my words hit too close to home?” Mingzhi mocked, laughing with dark satisfaction. “Stop parading around as a man of virtue. You are just as rotten as I am.”
Lu Rong’s face quivered. The grip on Mingzhi’s collar loosened slowly, his hands sliding down to his sides, utterly drained of strength. Mingzhi casually adjusted his collar, smoothing the fabric with a cold, triumphant smile.
.....................................
Sunlight filtered through the sprawling canopy of ancient trees as a crisp autumn breeze swept past, carrying a flurry of pale cherry blossom petals fluttering through the air. The promenade bustled with passersby, while out on the Huangpu River, cargo vessels cleaved slowly through the sparkling waves.
Li Ming sat cross-legged on a bench along The Bund, dressed casually in a light blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He gazed across the water toward the towering Pudong skyline, his eyes glinting with a sharp, brilliant light.
A moment later, Adisorn approached. Dressed in a sleek shirt without his formal suit jacket, he offered a respectful bow to the titan of industry.
“Take a seat...” Li Ming invited warmly, gesturing to the spot beside him.
Adisorn bowed once more before stepping forward and sitting beside the Chairman.
“Yesterday... was quite a chaotic day, wouldn't you say?” Li Ming mused aloud, staring into the distance. Adisorn sat up straight, his hands resting naturally on his thighs.
“Yesterday’s stock market... undoubtedly left many investors weeping in ruin, while simultaneously bringing triumphant smiles to those celebrating extraordinary returns,” the young financier replied in a smooth, measured tone.
Li Ming glanced sideways at the young man, a subtle smile touching his lips. “Is that so...? And what about you? Are you smiling, or weeping inside?”
Adisorn met the formidable patriarch’s gaze, a faint, graceful smirk gracing his lips. “I hold no personal attachment to the victories or defeats of others, sir. To me... what transpired yesterday was merely a routine occurrence. Nothing particularly special.”
His direct, unembellished candor made Li Ming let out a hearty, satisfied laugh.
“Spoken like a true top-tier financial strategist... To you, daily market volatility is nothing more than background noise,” Li Ming remarked with amusement, turning his eyes back to the soaring skyscrapers across the river.
“Whenever I look at your face and the fire in your eyes... it reminds me so vividly of myself in my younger years.”
Li Ming’s voice dropped into a deep, gravelly resonance as he leaned back against the bench, crossing his legs comfortably. “Compassion for the world...? I discarded that burden the very moment I chose to step onto the path of absolute wealth.” A low chuckle escaped his chest.
“And what about you...? How did you enter the realm of high finance?” Li Ming inquired, casting a side glance at the sharp young fox beside him.
Adisorn’s gaze drifted into an empty void over the water. “Because... I desperately wished to escape my father’s shadow. I had to do whatever it took to stand on my own two feet.” He spoke in an even tone, yet an underlying fracture of deeply buried trauma resonated in his voice.
“My father was a selfish man who possessed immense power and wealth, yet used them solely to destroy others including his own family,” the young man recounted, his face entirely unreadable, as if time had rendered the old wounds completely numb.
“I despised him so intensely that I refused to live a life like his. So I strived with everything I had to achieve absolute success. But... the higher I climbed... the more I realized that I had transformed into the exact same monster he was. Until one day, I turned around and saw the countless lives crushed and ruined by my own hands.”
Adisorn’s lips twitched into a subtle, self-deprecating smirk. “And so I realized... today, I have become the very demon I spent my entire life hating.”
Li Ming listened in silence before a quiet grin spread across his face. “
Heh...
Human life is truly a dark comedy... Some days give us reasons to laugh, while others bring us to tears.”
He turned his head, locking eyes directly with Adisorn. “But in the end... as long as you laugh more than you cry, haven't you won the game?”
Adisorn met Li Ming’s gaze, letting out a soft laugh as he bowed his head slightly. “I shall humbly take your wisdom to heart, Chairman.”
Li Ming chuckled softly, his eyes steady and unwavering. “Please do... though I suspect you will execute it far better than my advice suggests.”
The two men looked up at the soaring skyline before them, listening to the hum of the passing crowds and the rhythmic lap of waves against the concrete shore, exhaling softly into the cool air.
Amidst the quiet lull of their conversation, Li Ming folded his arms loosely, his voice cutting smoothly through the silence.
“In your eyes... who do you believe... is truly worthy of sitting in this seat after me?”
The great dragon posed the question, turning to lock eyes with Adisorn in a masterstroke of psychological probing.
Adisorn turned back to face the formidable titan. His eyes were deep, serene, and fathomless his lips curving into a faint, enigmatic smile.