Chapter 145: Wang Man's Premeditation

In the Murong residence of Yanjing, Old Master Murong sat in his study, casting a gloomy and intimidating gaze over the family members gathered before him. Murong Wenwu and Murong Xue felt a chill run down their spines under his heavy scrutiny.

"Speak up," Old Master Murong said, his voice cold as he fixed his stern gaze on Murong Wenwu and his daughter, who sat stiffly nearby. "Didn't the two of you have plenty to say just a moment ago? Why have you both suddenly turned mute?"

"This..." Murong Wenwu stammered, unable to squeeze out a single coherent syllable after a long while, while Murong Xue did not dare to utter a single word.

Fortunately, Murong Wunjun, acting as the eldest brother, could no longer bear to watch and stepped forward to defuse the tension. "Father, do not be so angry. Second Brother will be more careful in the future!"

This time, Old Master Murong was truly disappointed in Murong Wenwu and Murong Xue. He remained silent for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh. Lifting his head, he looked at Murong Wenwu with a helpless expression and said, "Second Brother! In the future, the Murong family will inevitably have to be handed over to your elder brother, but you have disappointed me far too much!"

Before Murong Wenwu could reply, Old Master Murong turned his gaze to Murong Xue. The disappointment on his face deepened further. "Xue, girl, I once thought you were the smartest person in our family. Unfortunately, you have been blinded by the very title of cleverness. You are too self-righteous and look down on everyone else. I am deeply disappointed! Hand over all your responsibilities regarding the family's commercial enterprises; I will have someone else take them over."

"What? Old Master, how can you do this!" cried out everyone in the study, completely bewildered by this sudden decision.

"That's enough. You don't need to say anything more, my mind is made up! Xue, girl, you should just take some time off to relax," Old Master Murong said, raising a hand to cut off Murong Xue as she attempted to stand up and defend herself.

"Grandfather, you..." Finding herself denied even the chance to speak in her defense, Murong Xue angrily stamped her foot, spun around, pushed open the study door, and stormed out.

"Xue'er, don't run so fast! How can you be so impolite?" Seeing his daughter rush away, Murong Wenwu could only offer a bitter, helpless smile to Old Master Murong before turning and hurrying out of the study in pursuit of Murong Xue.

With a dark expression, Old Master Murong sat in the study, glaring in the direction of the door. He slammed his hand hard onto the desk before him, the impact sending the lid of the teacup rattling off its rim.

"Look at this! What kind of behavior is this?" Old Master Murong struck the desk repeatedly, infuriated by Murong Xue's actions. "Times like this truly reveal a person's character. We spoiled her far too much in the past, actually believing she was truly wise just because people in Yanjing called her clever. Utterly foolish!"

"Alright, Old Master, please don't let it anger you. She is still just a child; it's normal for her to have a little temper now and then," Murong Wunjun hurriedly stepped forward, gently patting Old Master Murong on the back to soothe him.

"Still young? She is the exact same age as that Lin Feng. Look at the two of them side by side for comparison, and she still dares to call herself young?" Clearly still boiling with rage, Old Master Murong continued to vent to Murong Wunjun.

At a loss for words, Murong Wunjun could not reply when Lin Feng was brought into the comparison. Among the younger generation in Yanjing, who else could possibly measure up to Lin Feng? If there was anyone, it could only be Xie Mingzhi, the third-generation scion of the Xie family, another of Yanjing's four great clans.

After a long silence, Murong Wunjun remembered the family's business affairs and asked curiously, "Then, Old Master, what do you plan to do about the commercial side of things? Since you are relieving Xue'er of her duties, who do you intend to hand it over to?"

"Ah, I am vexed enough as it is. I haven't the slightest idea who to give it to," Old Master Murong replied with a heavy headache at the mere mention of the problem.

He sat in his chair, massaging his throbbing temples, while Murong Wenwu, similarly unable to think of a suitable candidate, wrestled with a headache of his own.

"Old Master, why not just let Xue'er continue handling the business? She has been doing quite well lately," Murong Wunjun suggested, seeing the old man's distress.

"No, it cannot stay with that girl. It's inappropriate! Xue'er needs to suffer some setbacks and gain a deeper understanding of life before I can safely place this into her hands. Right now, in my eyes, she is still far too naive. Besides, I have only just stripped her of her position; if I were to hand it right back to her now, wouldn't my words as her grandfather seem like child's play?" Old Master Murong shook his head, firmly rejecting the suggestion.

Just as he finished refusing, an idea suddenly struck him. As if remembering someone, he turned excitedly to Murong Wunjun and asked, "What do you think of Shizhao? He is almost finished with university, isn't he? Why don't we hand it over to him and let him try his hand at it?"

Murong Shizhao was Murong Wunjun's son. As a father, he would naturally be thrilled if his son caught the old master's eye, but the burden was far too heavy. Fearing that his son lacked the experience to shoulder such responsibility, Murong Wunjun expressed his worry: "Old Master, why would you think of Shizhao? He hasn't even graduated yet and has zero real-world experience. Would it really be appropriate to place such a heavy burden on his shoulders?"

However, once Old Master Murong's stubborn streak flared up, not even ten horses could pull him back. Ignoring Murong Wunjun's advice, he declared, "It's settled then. Notify Shizhao immediately to come back, and I will speak with him myself."

Ultimately, unable to out-stubborn Old Master Murong, Murong Wunjun could only give a reluctant assent. However, he made a pact with the old master: if Shizhao proved incapable, the position must be returned to Murong Xue.

By evening, when Murong Xue learned of the old master's decision—that her commercial authority had truly been stripped away and handed over to a younger cousin who hadn't even graduated yet—she flew into a rage. She smashed everything in her bedroom to pieces before driving away from the Murong estate in a fury.

Inside Yanjing's Paradise Bar, Murong Xue sat alone, drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Her mood was already pitch black, but when she scrolled through her phone's contact list and searched for a long time, she couldn't find a single person willing to come out and keep her company. It was only then that she realized the true faces of those people. Doubtless, they had all caught wind of the news that Old Master Murong had removed her from her post as head of commerce. Otherwise, whenever she went out in the past, these so-called friends would have come running at her slightest beck and call.

For the very first time, Murong Xue tasted the fickleness of human relationships. Unfortunately, she was already consumed by her inner demons, blaming the root cause of all this entirely on Lin Feng.

She raised her wine glass, staring at the swirling liquid inside and catching the reflection of her own distorted features. "Lin Feng," she hissed viciously, "I, Murong Xue, will not let you off so easily. Just you wait."

After venting her fury with a few more harsh curses directed at the glass, she finally tossed the alcohol down her throat.

Suddenly, a man sat down in the empty seat beside her. Mistaking him for another predator looking to pick up women in a bar, Murong Xue didn't even bother to look at him.

"This seat is taken. Piss off!" she snapped without sparing him a glance.

"Heh, I never expected that the young woman hailed as Yanjing's clever intellect would be sitting here drinking away her sorrows all by herself," Wang Man said. He had been in a foul mood to begin with and had come to the bar alone for a drink to pass the time, never expecting to run into Murong Xue here.

Surprised that the newcomer recognized her, Murong Xue turned her head and frowned at him. "Oh, it's you. Are we that familiar? Don't forget, our two families belong to entirely different factions!"

Wang Man ignored her displeasure. He had originally intended simply to drink, but seeing Murong Xue brooding by herself and recalling the rumors circulating from the Murong household earlier that day—that Murong Xue had been relieved of her commercial duties by the old master—he realized this might just be an opportunity for him.

Reaching into the cluster of bottles beside Murong Xue, Wang Man pulled out a newly opened can of beer and took a sip. Then, smiling at her, he said, "Our families belong to different factions, yes, but I am just like you. We both hate Lin Feng, don't we?"

Hearing this, Murong Xue's guard went up immediately. She glared at him with unconcealed irritation. "What on earth are you trying to imply? You might hate Lin Feng, but don't lump me in with you."

"Ha, still trying to deny it?" Wang Man continued to provoke her. "Did you really think you could hide an expression like that? Even an outsider like me can read your mindset plain as day. You hate Lin Feng, and you despise him to the core."

Sure enough, stung by her current misery and fueled by the alcohol she had consumed, Murong Xue succumbed to the liquor and blurted out the full extent of her hatred: "Yes, I hate Lin Feng! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have ended up like this! But so what? What business is it of yours?" With that, she snatched up her glass and slammed down several more large gulps of alcohol.

"Heh, you're wrong there. It does concern me this time, because I hate Lin Feng too—and I hate him even more than you do," Wang Man said with a satisfied smirk, taking a leisurely sip of his drink. He had gotten the exact answer he wanted.

"What are you laughing at? Your hatred is your business, and mine is mine. We have nothing to do with each other!" Provoked by his smile, Murong Xue shouted at him.

Wang Man didn't take offense. Now that her hatred had been fully ignited, he pressed on with his inducement. "Why don't we join forces? Let's find an opportunity to take Lin Feng down, make him climb as high as possible so he falls all the harder. When that happens, we can split his business empire evenly between our two families!"

Murong Xue stared at him in shock. In her distraction, she knocked her wine glass over, spilling liquor across the entire table. Unaware of the mess, she leaned forward and yelled, "Are you out of your mind? Do you honestly think the two of us can stand against Lin Feng? Don't forget how many times you've gone up against him before—when did you ever not suffer a miserable defeat?"

"I admit, I did lose to Lin Feng a few times in the past, but I learned a great deal from those defeats," Wang Man replied calmly, completely unbothered by her reference to his previous failures. "He is out in the open while we are in the shadows. Lin Feng's business holdings are growing larger by the day, and I'm certain that quite a few people in the upper echelons are eyeing his company with greed. If we play our cards right, even if we can't completely crush Lin Feng in one blow, we can at least make him taste the bitterness of failure."