Chapter 52 Ambush

Chapter 52 Ambush

The main gate of the old mansion swung open, and Zhan Jiayu strolled leisurely into the courtyard as if taking a walk in his own garden.

Naturally, this was his first visit, and he couldn't quite tell if Fifth Master Zhan was welcoming him or trying to assert dominance. Bodyguards in black lined both sides of the courtyard path, standing rigidly in the rain with their hands clasped behind their backs, their expressions grim. Their clothes, soaked and clinging, revealed their well-defined, muscular physiques.

It seemed more like a show of force than a warm reception.

Fifth Master Zhan made a perfunctory move to greet him, though in reality, he never left the shelter of the eaves, not a single drop of rain touching him.

"Indeed."

With his long legs and powerful strides, Zhan Jiayu quickly traversed the rainy courtyard and stood before Fifth Master Zhan.

Fifth Master Zhan was not tall, barely reaching 170 cm, and had shrunk a bit with age. Standing before Zhan Jiayu, his presence was instantly and completely overshadowed, a fact that clearly displeased him.

"Come inside and sit for a while. This is your first time here, Jiayu. Your father lived in this house for several years back in the day, and he left some old belongings here."

Second Uncle Zhan, sensing the awkward atmosphere, immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

"Is that so?"

Zhan Jiayu responded noncommittally. As for whether the inexplicably tense atmosphere under the eaves eased due to Second Uncle Zhan’s intervention, that was a matter of opinion.

…

The sudden rain in Jiang City today caught Yan Zhoubai completely off guard. Only yesterday, the sky had been clear and cloudless.

By the time he woke up, Zhan Jiayu had already departed.

Yan Zhoubai first drew open the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window. Gazing out at the misty sky and the rivulets of water tracing paths down the glass, he felt that despite the poor weather, today might offer a chance to experience a different facet of Jiang City. Through the window, he could see that the Qinjiang River in the rain possessed a unique charm, so the continuous drizzle did nothing to dampen his spirits for exploring.

Yan Zhoubai confirmed that his aphonia had indeed improved. Previously, he couldn't utter a single word, but now he could haltingly speak full, complete sentences. It reminded him a bit of when he used to stutter.

"You were actually quite cute back when you had a bit of a stutter," the system remarked.

"What do you mean? Are you implying I'm not cute now?" Yan Zhoubai feigned indignation.

"Of course not! You're even cuter now," the system replied with affection. "Hurry up and change. That wardrobe of yours has enough clothes for you to wear a different outfit every day for a month."

Yan Zhoubai first washed his face and brushed his teeth. As he turned to open the wardrobe and select an outfit, he noticed a white sticky note affixed to the door. It read: "Wear the black-and-white baseball jacket. It’s colder today, and it’s chilly outside."

Although Yan Zhoubai had never seen Zhan Jiayu’s handwriting before, the moment he saw the words on the note, he instantly recognized it as Zhan Jiayu’s. There was no other reason—his handwriting was simply too much like the man himself.

The ink from the fountain pen was dense, almost aggressively so, with every stroke so sharp it seemed capable of slicing through the thin paper.

Yan Zhoubai had assumed that having grown up abroad, Zhan Jiayu’s handwriting might be poor. But seeing this, it was far from poor—it was exceptionally good.

"The original storyline mentioned that although Zhan Jiayu is a villain, his personal abilities are absolutely formidable. It’s only natural that his handwriting is this impressive," the system concurred, equally impressed by Zhan Jiayu's penmanship.

When Yan Zhoubai opened the wardrobe, he found that the black-and-white baseball jacket Zhan Jiayu had mentioned had already been set aside, even paired with matching pants and shoes.

At first glance, Yan Zhoubai felt that this outfit’s style was quite different from what he usually wore—it seemed more bold and expressive. His usual attire tended to be simple and comfortable, without any strong personal flair, a complete contrast to Bu Qiran’s fashion sense.

"I think the villain boss has excellent taste. You should try it on—it’ll probably look really good on you," the system suggested.

So Yan Zhoubai changed into the outfit Zhan Jiayu had specifically chosen for him and stood before the full-length mirror.

The system was right. Although the outfit wasn’t his usual style and was a bit more daring, it suited his aura perfectly and looked genuinely good. He hadn’t expected Zhan Jiayu to be so skilled at putting together outfits.

Yan Zhoubai lingered in front of the mirror for a while. Just as he was about to leave, a knock came at the door, as if perfectly timed for his departure.

Yan Zhoubai opened the door to find Assistant Chen standing outside.

"Good morning, Young Master Yan. I’m here to take you down for breakfast and also to brief you on today’s itinerary."

Chen Chu wore a standard smile, though it seemed somewhat stiff. But then again, he couldn’t help it—for most of his time working for the boss, his main task had been clearing out areas, not practicing customer service smiles.

Today’s ancestral worship ceremony was supposed to be the main event of this trip to Jiang City, given how openly the three Zhan brothers seemed to be planning something. But the task the boss had assigned him was to accompany Young Master Yan on a day trip around Jiang City.

He didn’t really mind—after all, he had no particular interest in violence and had just stumbled into this line of work by chance. But he was a born worrier, and even though he knew the boss had made preparations, he was still concerned that something might go wrong in his absence, leaving him unable to provide quick support.

"...Okay."

Yan Zhoubai’s impression of Assistant Chen was rather neutral—to be specific, he didn’t have any strong impression of him. He seemed similar to his older brother’s Assistant Zhang: a diligent worker who occasionally gave off the vibe of an overworked corporate drone, making Yan Zhoubai feel a bit sorry for him.

If Chen Chu knew how Young Master Yan viewed him, he’d probably laugh out loud. His job was nothing like Assistant Zhang’s, and his annual salary was far higher. It was just that he had bookish looks and often wore glasses, which made him seem more harmless than he actually was.

"Young Master, your condition has improved, hasn’t it? You can already say some simple things?"

Chen Chu was naturally aware of the circumstances behind Yan Zhoubai’s speech loss. Seeing Yan Zhoubai’s improvement made him happy—mainly because he knew his boss would be pleased, and when the boss was happy, life became easier for his subordinates.

…

Zhan Jiayu followed his three uncles on a brief tour of the sprawling Zhan family estate, which was more like a grand manor.

This old mansion was built on land the brothers had purchased when they first established their fortune in Jiang City, and it had been expanded repeatedly over the years. How they had acquired the additional land, Zhan Jiayu didn’t know and couldn’t be bothered to find out. A private residence of this size, located near Jiang City’s Luo Mountain—which he recalled was part of a forest conservation area—raised questions about how they had obtained the land, questions they themselves knew the answers to.

Zhan Jiayu truly didn’t know much about his so-called father’s early struggles in the country, as he had built his own empire from scratch in the US. He hadn’t expected the old mansion in Jiang City to hold such surprises.

Perhaps Fifth Master Zhan was intentionally showing off his wealth. Zhan Jiayu noticed that some of the decorations in the mansion were worthy of a museum.

They didn’t spend much time touring the mansion, as Fifth Master Zhan was eager to get to the main event of the day.

"It’s about time we head over. The rain has lightened up a bit, so it’s a good moment. If we wait, the mountain road might get worse if it starts pouring again," Fifth Master Zhan said, not bothering to hide his impatience.

"Sure."

Zhan Jiayu had been waiting for him to say just that. He had no real interest in touring the old mansion and was only putting on a show. Accompanying three old fools around a dreary estate was far less interesting than spending time out with Yan Zhoubai.

The so-called ancestral worship of the Zhan family only went back as far as Zhan Jiayu’s grandparents—the parents of his three uncles. The Zhan family wasn’t some centuries-old prestigious clan; further back, they were commoners, which was why the brothers had resorted to shady dealings to make their fortune in Jiang City.

Their parents had died young, before the brothers had achieved success, and were buried hastily on a mountain in southern Jiang City. Later, when the brothers made it big, they didn’t relocate the graves but instead purchased the land and built a mausoleum.

As they drove further south, the surroundings grew more and more desolate. The southern part of Jiang City had been temporarily overlooked in urban development. The area was mountainous but lacked any notable features—no rare flora or fauna—and hadn’t received the same attention as Luo Mountain, so it remained sidelined in development plans.

The road up the mountain was in poor condition, not properly paved and turned muddy by the rain. The moment Zhan Jiayu saw the environment, he knew trouble was brewing.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the lead car carrying the three Zhan brothers came to a stop, forcing the cars behind them to halt as well.

Zhan Jiayu didn’t get out of the car, but through the rearview mirror, he saw several unfamiliar vehicles making their way up from the foot of the mountain not far behind.

Their three cars were now stranded on the muddy, rugged mountain road.

"Boss."

Zhan Jiayu's driver spoke in a low voice, his features reflected in the car's rearview mirror, his eyes instantly piercing and ruthless.

"Wait a moment. Let me see how many people he plans to call over."

Zhan Jiayu leaned back calmly against the seat, showing no tension despite having been ambushed.

……

Taking a boat to admire the scenery of the Qinjiang River in the drizzling rain is one of the top ten must-do experiences for tourists in Jiang City, according to many online votes. However, not every traveler to Jiang City is fortunate enough to encounter rain during their visit—Yan Zhoubai was among the lucky ones.

When he first boarded the boat, he was genuinely excited and found the scenery beautiful and atmospheric.

But it didn’t take long for him to feel less cheerful, as if something was missing.

But Zhan Jiayu’s main purpose in coming to Jiang City was to pay respects to his ancestors—he couldn't very well interfere with such an important matter.

Just as Yan Zhoubai was beginning to lose interest and considering returning to the cabin, he suddenly felt his heart pound erratically several times, leaving him extremely uncomfortable, as if something bad was about to happen.

-----------------------

The author’s note: Here it comes [heart].