Chapter 26: The Strange Letter

By the time the two finished drinking, it was already midnight. They left the Nightfall Bar, and Ye Chen drove Li Ruo home, only to realize he didn’t know her address. Helpless, he had no choice but to wake her up.

"Hey, where do you live?" Ye Chen asked, resignation in his voice.

"At..." Li Ruo suddenly awakened, glanced at Ye Chen, and her face reverted to its usual icy expression. With a slight frown, she said, "I... I'll go back on my own. You can get out here."

Ye Chen was speechless. This girl’s mood changes were truly something else. After he got out, Li Ruo handed him ten bills. "Thanks for tonight. Take a taxi home yourself."

With that, her fiery red sports car sped into the night, leaving Ye Chen standing with a fistful of cash, shaking his head in exasperation. "Are all rich people so fond of playing these games?"

Still, who could turn their nose up at cash? Ye Chen pocketed the money, hailed a taxi, and hurried back to Xinhai Apartments. After a quick wash, he fell straight into bed. When he woke, it was already six in the morning. Keeping to his routine, he jogged around the neighborhood and bought two buns for breakfast.

At Tianya Group, Ye Chen had just stepped into the company when he was stopped by Xiao Mei, the receptionist.

"Mr. Ye!"

"Uh... is something the matter?" Ye Chen was a bit taken aback.

"Oh, you have a delivery!" Xiao Mei hurriedly handed him an envelope. "It arrived yesterday afternoon!"

"Alright, got it. Thank you," Ye Chen nodded.

"No need to thank me!" Xiao Mei replied with a sweet smile.

Ye Chen opened the package. Inside were several photos and a letter. He quickly opened the letter—it was from that little rascal Yao Yue. She’d hurried back to the Golden Triangle and uncovered something: there were others behind the attempt on Ye Chen’s life. The general was nothing more than a pawn, a weapon in someone else’s hand. The photos showed a young man in a black cloak, about Ye Chen’s age, but Ye Chen had no recollection of him at all.

"Strange—I don’t remember him at all," Ye Chen muttered, brow furrowed.

"What are you looking at?" a voice came from behind. Ye Chen turned to see Lin Ziwen, Li Ruo’s top assistant, standing there with a file in her arms, smiling. Lin Ziwen was one of Tianya Group’s beauties, but always trailing in Li Ruo’s shadow, her own glow was all but eclipsed.

"Heh, a friend sent me his latest photo," Ye Chen replied with a smile.

"He must be a close friend, then!" Lin Ziwen grinned, glancing at the photo. Her eyes lit up. "He’s handsome!"

"Well, he’s alright," Ye Chen nodded.

The two made their way to the twentieth floor, entering Li Ruo’s office together.

"President Li, Mr. Ye is here to report for duty," Lin Ziwen announced. She’d already heard on the way that Ye Chen was returning to work at Tianya Group.

"Oh," Li Ruo replied without looking up, continuing to review documents. Her attitude towards Ye Chen was tepid, as if nothing from the previous night had ever happened. After a long while, she finally looked up at him. "Planning to stay?"

Ye Chen paused—wasn’t she the one who’d begged him yesterday?

"Yes," he replied, understanding her mindset. After all, she was the company president and had to save face, while he was just a regular guy—sacrificing a bit of pride was no big deal.

"If you’re staying, then work hard. The company’s rules must be followed," Li Ruo said, pulling out an appointment letter, scrawling Ye Chen’s name in bold strokes, and stamping it with the president’s seal. "Ten thousand a month, annual contract. Take this to HR."

"Alright," Ye Chen nodded.

Li Ruo’s cold demeanor made Ye Chen wonder if she had a twin—how could one person have two entirely different personalities, one by day, another by night? In the end, he decided not to ask.

With his job finally settled, Ye Chen relaxed. He took the letter to HR, then reported to the Security Department. The chubby boss was still there, plus a new face he didn’t recognize. When Ye Chen entered, the others clustered together.

"Captain Cao, this is the guy!"

"Yeah, last time he beat up a few of our guys, and I heard your wife was bullied by him too!"

Ye Chen’s sharp ears caught the murmured gossip from across the room. Captain Cao was a burly, bearded man—apparently the husband of the deputy director he’d clashed with before. What a pair—one as fat as a pig, the other as strong as an ox.

"Kid, don’t say I didn’t warn you—turn around and leave," the chubby boss warned, striding over and murmuring in Ye Chen’s ear, "This Captain Cao is tough. If you’re not confident, you’d better slip out now."

"Heh, with you backing me, how could I let you down?" Ye Chen chuckled.

Sure enough, Captain Cao strode over, face grim. His presence was naturally intimidating, and now, with his expression dark, he looked downright menacing.

"You’re Ye Chen?" Captain Cao squinted at him.

"That’s right," Ye Chen replied.

"I heard you injured some of my men? And you dared humiliate Deputy Director Qian in the lobby?"

"I don’t know who your men are, but I only taught a lesson to a few reckless punks," Ye Chen answered coldly. "And as for that so-called Deputy Director Qian—I don’t know who you mean. The one I humiliated was a fat woman who didn’t know how to respect her staff."

Smack!

Captain Cao swung a punch at Ye Chen, but Ye Chen caught it with one hand. One-on-one, Ye Chen was confident; as long as the others didn’t pile on, taking down this guy was no problem. Captain Cao’s face darkened further. He hated hearing his wife called fat—every time someone said it, he wanted to beat them up. Now this newcomer dared insult her to his face—he was furious.

"My turn!" Ye Chen showed no mercy, his five fingers clamping down hard. Captain Cao felt as though his fist were caught in an iron vise, his face turning pale from the pain. This move, Ye Chen’s "Five-Finger Stone Crusher," could shatter a cobblestone with one hand.

"Damn it!" Captain Cao gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and kicking at Ye Chen. Ye Chen released his grip, raising his leg to meet the attack. Their shins collided with a sickening crack.

With a cry, Captain Cao dropped to his knees, clutching his leg in agony. Li Cheng, watching from the side, gaped and adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. "Damn, kid, you’re tough!"

"Heh, it’s all thanks to our boss here," Ye Chen replied, flattering the chubby man who grinned back. "Don’t say that, your fighting skills have nothing to do with me. But since you floored Captain Cao, I’ll recommend you for deputy captain!"

"What?!" Vice-captain Jin was immediately nervous. This guy had only been here three days and was already becoming deputy captain, while he’d worked over a year for that spot. It was unbelievable.

"What do you mean ‘what’? If you’ve got the guts, go take down Captain Cao yourself!" Li Cheng snapped. "Last time President Li was shot at in the factory, you were the main culprit. If you were as capable as Ye Chen, the criminals wouldn’t have escaped!"

Li Cheng’s sharp words silenced Vice-captain Jin, who shrank back.

"Well, hurry up and get Captain Cao to the infirmary!" the chubby boss barked.

"Yes, sir!" Several guards hastily carried Captain Cao away, not daring to meet Ye Chen’s eyes.

News of Captain Cao being beaten by the new guy quickly spread through the security office. The bodyguards were in uproar—Captain Cao was their idol, but the regular security guards loathed him. Though they were in the same department, guards and bodyguards were treated very differently. The guards did all the hard, thankless work, while the bodyguards enjoyed all the perks and were rarely needed except for important personnel. In the guards’ eyes, the bodyguards were just freeloaders.

"Kid, you really went overboard today," the chubby boss said, giving Ye Chen a look.

"It wasn’t me—he started it," Ye Chen shrugged helplessly.

"Forget it, I’ll take care of it," the boss replied, flashing two fingers. Before he could even gesture, Ye Chen slipped him two large bills, grinning. "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t forget your share."

The boss took the cash, felt it, pocketed it, and patted Ye Chen encouragingly on the shoulder. "Work hard. I’ve got high hopes for you."