Chapter 87: The Bamboo Grove Casino

“Take care of it.”

Fu Yanyan always spoke such cold, ruthless words with casual indifference. What he meant by “take care of it” was often nothing less than the collapse of an entire company.

For a man like him, falling was not an option. He had made too many enemies in high society; one careless step, and there would be nothing left of him but bones.

So the wisest course for Fu Yanyan was to have no weakness at all. To root out every enemy that might turn and bite back was the only prudent choice.

The assistant did not dare say more and could only carry out the task impartially.

“What are you taking care of?”

The moment Zhong Huayan sat back down, she heard a man’s cool, mocking voice.

“Nothing. My dear sister, when did you become so good at painting?”

“Heh. There are many things you do not know.”

Her calm, steady tone stirred the possessive hunger and ambition he had buried deep within himself for ten years.

Back when Zhong Huayan had been in the Zhong family, her position had not been an easy one. As a child, he would often hear her reciting her lessons late into the night. She had been very thin, yet unwavering in spirit; whenever teachers questioned her, she would answer them back every time.

Until Madam Zhong no longer wished to let her study music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In front of all the teachers and servants, she tore up her paintings, and even her extracurricular books were shredded to pieces.

What was torn apart was not only her painting, but the future she had once embraced with hope at such a young age.

That painting had once won first prize in a youth competition, yet no one celebrated for her. They all treated her with a rigid, almost cruel severity, never regarding her as a person, but as a machine.

And so, in truth, his sister became a machine: no arguing, no resisting.

From then on, she ranked first in every subject, warped into a robot who knew only how to study frantically.

Yet she remembered his birthday, and always cared about what he liked.

When everyone else ignored, scolded, or humiliated him, she would celebrate his birthday for him.

She would stand on the balcony of the villa, holding a cake, and then smile brightly.

“Sister, why don’t you celebrate your own birthday and instead celebrate mine?”

“You must not be like me. You should live more happily. Little brother, do you have a dream?”

“My dream is very plain, actually. I just want someone to keep me company.”

To have someone keep him company...

After thinking of the past, Fu Yanyan turned his head and glanced at the woman beside him. The feeling of losing and regaining her was truly not bad.

She was looking up toward her dream, while his dream was only her.

“Mr. Fu, we found him. The man upstairs is Xu Chuyin. Shall we move now?”

The assistant lowered his voice beside Fu Yanyan’s ear, reporting and asking for instructions.

Fu Yanyan did not speak. Instead, he fingered the prayer beads in his hand. Such a crude baiting trick... was rather glaring.

He took out a card with no spending limit and slipped it into the woman’s hand.

“I have something to attend to. You know I never run out of money. Spend freely when you go shopping later.”

Zhong Huayan looked at the card in her hand. This was already the second time he had given her a card.

“Let’s go together.”

“Ahuan, it’s urgent.”

“It’s not shopping. Let’s go find Xu Chuyin together.”

She was not foolish. From what Fu Yanyan had just said, she could tell that Xu Chuyin had probably shown his tail.

Zhong Huayan was very satisfied with this art competition. She had advanced successfully, and the third round of the national art competition would be held in the country.

If she could advance again this time, she would officially open up artistic and promotional channels across different countries. It would mean not only fame, but also nominations for major national art awards, not to mention free arrangement of exhibitions and publication of art catalogs. It would be an excellent opportunity.

After speaking with several teachers backstage and the organizers, she decided to leave this painting, "Nothing," on display in the venue forever, never for sale.

Once the painting competition was settled, she would then turn to another matter.

When more than a dozen luxury cars pulled up beside the building by the lake, the waiter at the restaurant entrance was first stunned by the spectacle, and then informed the manager, who came forward personally to greet them.

When she and Fu Yanyan entered the restaurant, they found the interior designed in a spiral layout, with rectangular tables as the main feature. After ascending the spiral staircase, they discovered that there were many floors. In the transparent enclosure at the center were huge lizards, several of them coiled among the branches.

By the second floor, all that could be seen were circular tables turned into gambling tables in broad daylight, using the simplest playing cards and stacks upon stacks of chips. The rules varied, and the amount won or lost was still unknown. But to play this sort of game in the capital required not only money, but nerve.

“Mr. Fu, have you only just arrived in the capital yesterday? Haven’t you taken your beauty out to see the famous sights?”

The manager kept making conversation and trying to ingratiate himself. Fu Yanyan did not reply; Zhong Huayan only gave a perfunctory response.

“We’ll go another day. We have business today.”

After the group walked to the third floor, the surroundings became utterly quiet, so quiet that even the gentle sound of water flowing outside could be heard clearly. When they reached a concealed door on the third floor, the manager stopped, his expression hesitant, and then opened it.

It was a Chinese restaurant in the capital, blended with local culture. Beyond the hidden door lay a world of its own: a bamboo grove washed by rain, a forest path laid through its center, and not far ahead, a traditional courtyard hall. On both sides were waterside pavilions. The area expanded layer upon layer into the distance; it was easily several acres in size, built entirely of redwood. Looking up, the restaurant enclosed everything tightly on both sides. Without the manager leading the way, no one would likely ever find this place.

“Mr. Fu, our restaurant’s owner is in the courtyard hall. I won’t disturb him.”

After saying this, the manager hurried away, making sure to close the hidden door tightly behind him.

Suddenly, several hard-faced men emerged from the bamboo grove, some muscular, some scarred with knife marks.

Fu Yanyan remained expressionless. With a casual motion, he drew a knife from his sleeve. Where the knife had come from, Zhong Huayan still could not figure out. Could it have been from the dining table when they came up just now?

His presence was colder than the blade itself.

In his suit and tie, he walked calmly into the grove. The moment one man charged at him, there was the sharp crack of breaking bone, and a muscular man dropped to the ground with a muffled thud. Then, with a turn of his body, he kicked down a tattooed man rushing toward him.

Fu Yanyan struck every vital point. With a reverse motion came another fracture. The force he used was small, almost inch-perfect, and he missed scarcely once. Bamboo leaves shook loose under the force of the fight. In the blink of an eye, with precision to the slightest fraction, he pressed the blade to the throat of the man he had knocked down. From beginning to end, there was no blood and no killing, yet he had brought down several powerful men.

Fu Yanyan was not weak. Standing nearly six and a half feet tall, fair-skinned though he was, every muscle on his body was lean and hard. He had trained in boxing since childhood through the harsh winter months, and his fists were naturally as cold and sharp as winter steel.

Fu Yanyan could, in truth, take a life.

But for the first time, he did not want to see blood, because Ahuan was still here.