At the Bai family mansion, a young man sat upright with proper decorum. Before him sat an elderly man whose face bore signs of life’s hardships, exuding an aura of quiet authority through every gesture.
“How can you possibly beat me when your mind isn’t even calm?”
Looking at the remaining pieces on the board, the elder sighed lightly, shook his head, and shifted his gaze to the young man’s slightly arrogant profile, a faint, barely noticeable smile flickering across his eyes.
“My grandfather’s mastery of Go far surpasses mine. No matter how hard I try, I can only admire his back from behind.”
The hesitant hand finally placed a piece down into the bowl—not out of flattery, but because he knew that continuing like this would never lead to victory.
“It’s because you’re not focused at all. I could tell from your third move. Your mind simply isn’t on the game. As they say, one mistake leads to endless errors!”
This old man was none other than Bai Yue, the head of the Bai family. Yet at this moment, he seemed less imposing. Although his words were a subtle warning, there was no trace of actual reprimand—after all, he was quite satisfied with his grandson before him.
“I understand what you’re implying, Grandfather, and I will definitely be careful with my actions…”
The young man naturally understood the hidden meaning in his grandfather’s words. He nodded slightly without showing any arrogance. As the future leader of the Bai family, Bai Xiaozhuo was not rash, but neither was he someone who backed down easily.
“Good that you understand. The current status of the Bai family didn’t come easily. However, there are still some people who could drag our family into an irreversible abyss. A mere Situ family might not be much, but together with the Su family, they could give anyone a major headache.”
Bai Yue naturally didn’t understand why Xiaozhuo had provoked Xiao Yufan, that bringer of misfortune. He was no stranger to the Eastern family’s affairs, and he certainly didn’t want the Bai family to follow in their footsteps.
“This is purely between us. It won’t spread too far. Even in the north, he won’t dare to be too arrogant. If I don’t respond somehow after he offends someone under me, won’t I damage the reputation of the young master Bai?”
Originally, Bai Yue and Xiao Yufan should have had no reason to cross paths. However, due to the Qiao Group, their interests had collided. The real reason for targeting the Qiao Group was precisely because of Xiao Yufan’s existence.
“You’re thinking too simply. Isn’t it you who sent people from the inspection team this time to create a deadlock for the Qiao Group?”
“I never instructed the inspection team to get involved…”
Before the old man could finish speaking, Bai Xiaozhuo interjected. It was only at this moment that he felt something might have slipped through the cracks, and Bai Yue also paused in surprise.
“If you didn’t send the inspection team, then why are they convinced it was you who ordered them to do it? Moreover, the Su family already believes the Bai family is behind this!”
“Grandfather, whatever I do, I never hide anything. Yes, I do intend to target the Qiao Group, but I wouldn’t resort to such underhanded methods. I’ll confront them openly in the business world, not through such tactics!”
Recently, Bai Xiaozhuo had been making preparations, aiming to launch an economic offensive against the Qiao Group and its associated Huihuang Enterprise, though the plan had not yet fully unfolded.
“It seems someone is secretly pulling strings, using the Bai family as a tool to achieve their own ends. I wonder whether they’re just overly confident or genuinely powerful enough to do this.”
Old Master Bai believed Xiaozhuo’s words, but he still couldn’t understand how someone could act in advance, knowing Xiaozhuo had only just begun planning his move against Xiao Yufan.
“Perhaps I know who’s behind this!”
Furrowing his brow slightly, Bai Xiaozhuo’s reputation in the north rivaled that of the so-called Three Young Lords of the North. He quickly figured it out—his dissatisfaction with Xiao Yufan wasn’t widely known, and those who did know wouldn’t dare act so boldly.
“So who do you think you’ll do about it? It seems he also wants to target that young man from the Situ family. Do you really want to get involved? To be honest, Huihuang’s expansion into the north won’t significantly affect our Bai family no matter how far it goes!”
Rather than asking who was responsible, Old Master Bai now simply wanted to know what Xiaozhuo planned to do next. After all, with the Su family already watching them closely, explanations wouldn’t help much now.
“I’ve never feared anyone. Now that there’s a conflict, naturally I won’t let it go. Actually, this works out well—I’ll finally get to see just how formidable this man is, the one who even made Situ Wenchang stumble!”
For the first time, Bai Xiaozhuo displayed such strong resolve. He hadn’t thought much of it—this inspection team incident might only make the Su family cautious but wouldn’t provoke direct retaliation against the Bai family. As long as he didn’t go too far, it wouldn’t escalate into a conflict among the three families.
“This is your generation’s matter. It seems I can’t stop you. Still, I hope that whatever you do, you’ll always prioritize the family’s interests…”
Old Master Bai understood Xiaozhuo’s personality well enough to know that persuasion would be useless. The fact that Huihuang had been so bold in Linjiang had already infringed upon the Bai family’s interests. It was only natural that Xiaozhuo wanted to act.
“I understand…”
Bai Xiaozhuo nodded, naturally knowing where to draw the line. In his eyes, Qiao Meng and even her boss were small fry. But as the saying goes, even when chasing a dog, one must consider its master. On this turf, few dared to provoke his people besides Xiao Yufan himself. Naturally, he wanted to restore his dignity.
Old Master Bai said no more. What he could do now was minimize the impact of the inspection team. Although the Bai family currently enjoyed prestige, many eyes were fixed upon them. If any real mishap occurred, no one would likely come to their aid.
“The north has been too quiet for far too long. It’s time for some excitement. I hope you won’t disappoint me…”
For quite some time now, the business world in the north had been too calm. Xiao Yufan’s appearance stirred some fire within Bai Xiaozhuo. How could the grandson of the ‘Business Fox’ be anything less than exceptional? He was already looking forward to the collision between them in the business arena.
However, Xiao Yufan was unaware that someone known in business circles as a mad genius had already marked him as prey. Before the Situ family’s guy had even moved, he had already gained another complication…
But would Xiao Yufan fear this? Naturally not. He intended to build a business empire, and naturally, he would trample everyone underfoot. The north was merely his first target…
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