Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Although he had been keeping an eye on the Yan family's movements from abroad, he truly had no way of knowing the specific details and internal affairs, especially the dramatic changes in Xie Yunshen.

Yan Shizhou said, "Since his personality changed so dramatically, the Yan family has indeed avoided many calamities. There's one more thing you don't know—he actually took a bullet for Big Brother."

Yan Shiying frowned. "Who hired the assassin?"

"Well, the assassin named you as the boss," Yan Shizhou patted his chest, finding this point particularly amusing.

Yan Shiying was stunned for a moment, then asked with confusion and seriousness, "And then?"

Yan Shizhou replied, "If Big Brother believed the assassin's words, would he have brought you back?"

Yan Shiying looked at Yan Shiqi's back in front of him.

Indeed, his contributions to the Yan family were even less than that of an outsider; one could say he had basically made no contributions at all.

Xie Yunshen, however, wasn't thinking that deeply about it. Sitting here was simply to better protect Mr. Yan.

His gaze swept across the venue. Besides the students, most attendees were businesspeople, with no obvious threats.

A familiar figure walked over, and the two locked eyes from a distance.

Lin Jin raised an eyebrow. "We meet again."

As expected of the male lead, he's everywhere.

Xie Yunshen didn't have to guess; he knew Lin Jin was here to support the Bai family.

This guy had been looking at him meaningfully since he entered, occasionally showing a smirk of pity.

Xie Yunshen said impatiently, "Something wrong with your face? Spit it out if you have something to say."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Right now, you don't need to be a bodyguard. Your top priority should be finding a place to lay low."

Xie Yunshen was taken aback. "What nonsense is this?"

Lin Jin walked up beside him, fighting back a smile at the corner of his mouth, and whispered, "On the cruise ship, you took advantage of that rich kid being injured and unable to move, yanked his pants down, and took off. I heard that guy was yelling in the hospital for a whole day and night, swearing to kill you."

Xie Yunshen quickly glanced at Yan Shiqi in front of him, who was focused on the speech on stage.

"I never thought you were more of a bastard than me, and in such a... unique... way... hahaha..." Lin Jin draped an arm over his shoulder, laughing so hard he was trembling.

If not for the solemn occasion, he probably would have cackled like a goose.

"..." Xie Yunshen shrugged him off. "Take it somewhere else if you want to laugh."

Lin Jin was still laughing.

Yan Shiqi suddenly turned his head, and Xie Yunshen abruptly shoved the person off his shoulder.

"He's having a muscle spasm."

The candidates were to go on stage to give speeches. Besides the major families, the others were also prominent figures.

"Next, please welcome Mr. Yan Dingxuan to the stage for his speech."

Third Uncle walked up to the podium. His leg was almost fully healed. Although one could still see a slight limp if looking carefully, it was a world of difference compared to a month ago.

Xie Yunshen heard someone sneering behind him: "Is the Yan family really letting a cripple run for election?"

"The family's been shrinking these past two years. Patriarch Yan hasn't made any marriage announcements this year. I wonder what he's thinking?"

Yan Dingxuan paid no attention to this gossip. His speech was different from the other candidates—lacking the slickness of a business speech and the political niceties of officialdom.

Instead, it carried the sternness and coldness of a military officer enforcing discipline, brimming with a sense of justice and mission. His words were cold and sharp, each sentence like a blade.

By comparison, the speeches of the previous few candidates seemed somewhat clichéd.

This speech truly made everyone see him in a new light.

Patriarch Bai, sitting nearby, said to Yan Shiqi, "To be honest, Mr. Yan, I initially thought the Yan family was just going through the motions for this election..." He paused and smiled. "I apologize for my previous prejudice. I never expected every member of the Yan family to be a dragon among men."

Yan Shiqi offered only a curt reply.

At that moment, someone from the Chamber of Commerce suddenly stepped onto the stage and announced, "We now have an important notification. There is one more candidate who has not yet taken the stage."

"This gentleman recently experienced an unfortunate ordeal, but fortunately, he escaped from the clutches of the devil. His ideals and aspirations were not extinguished by pain and disaster. In the end, he stands on our podium. Our Chamber of Commerce will certainly offer support and understanding. Please welcome Mr. Shangguan Hong."

Applause erupted from the audience.

Xie Yunshen stared in shock as Shangguan Hong's figure slowly appeared at the foot of the red steps. His tall frame was clad in a Mao suit, a slight smile gracing his lips as he slowly ascended the stage.

He was about to turn and look at Lin Jin when he heard Yan Shiqi's low and forceful voice: "Don't move around."

Xie Yunshen jerked back to attention. That's right, Shangguan Hong and the people from Top Star Gate were surely watching them closely. Any slip-up would raise suspicion.

Xie Yunshen could only suppress the immense doubt and curiosity within him.

He had thought that with Lin Jin's vindictive nature, he would never let Shangguan Hong off the hook.

Therefore, when they met again later, he never asked Lin Jin how he had dealt with Shangguan Hong.

Shangguan Hong's face still looked somewhat gaunt and pale, but his hands seemed to tremble from excitement.

His voice was steady and clear: "I am very happy to have survived and be able to meet everyone again. As you all know, I spent twenty long days in the hands of thugs. During that time, I endured torture, bullying, and humiliation, losing my human dignity like a dog..."

Every word of his accusation was undoubtedly dripping with blood. His eyes, hidden behind his glasses, were sharp as knives, as if he wanted to torture every suspect to death.

Yet, his face wore a beatific grin, almost as if he wanted to embrace the world.

Xie Yunshen inwardly groaned: It's not the villain's turn to darkness we should fear, but the villain getting a power-up.

Although Shangguan Hong was already as black as could be, what was with this brand of calmly unhinged behavior?

"In fact, since the establishment of the A City Chamber of Commerce, there have been many unethical, corrupt phenomena. I know of quite a few myself..."

The very first sentence caused an uproar in the audience.

Shangguan Hong's speech was extremely incisive. One had to admit he was indeed an excellent political student.

Xie Yunshen didn't pay attention to the rest of the speech.

Towards the end, Shangguan Hong suddenly said, "That Mr. Black Impermanence, thank you for your 'care' in recent days. It allowed me to be transformed, to be reborn from despair. You will become the most important mentor in my life. If we meet again, I will surely thank you properly."

The word "thank" made Xie Yunshen's heart race. Shangguan Hong's gaze was like that of a venomous snake—there was no doubt it could strike and bite at any moment.

Shangguan Hong exited the stage amidst applause. Next was the voting session.

There was a twenty-minute break before the voting began.

This break was almost designed to give candidates space for last-minute vote-pulling.

The voting was divided into three parts: the general populace, students, and the heads of the five major families; each family head’s vote counted as ten.

It was all but certain that each family head would vote for their own, and the public's allegiances were largely set in stone, so the main focus was on courting the students.

But now, with Shangguan Hong’s arrival, the situation had completely changed.

The Chen and Huang families were likely to vote for Shangguan Hong.

During the break, Mr. Yan went to the restroom, and Xie Yunshen waited in the corridor.

Amid the bustling crowd, Lin Jin immediately walked over to him.

He also looked bewildered and alarmed.

"It wasn’t me!" Lin Jin blurted out before Xie Yunshen could even speak.

"What happened? Make it quick."

"After you left that day, I still went in disguised as Black Impermanence."

"Did you find out anything?"

"No, but he knew everything about my sister. He told me that before she died, she left behind some important belongings for me. I actually fell for it. To play it safe, I drugged him with sedatives and tied him up."

"But this guy’s willpower is nothing short of extraordinary. On the road, he pretended to be asleep, used a screwdriver from the car to cut the ropes, and still had the strength to leap from the vehicle and escape."

"And then?" Xie Yunshen had regained his composure by now.

"He wasn't running fast. I caught up easily and even stabbed him in the chest with a dagger. But at the last moment, he jumped into the swollen river nearby. It was pouring rain, and I thought he wouldn’t survive."

"When you used the dagger, you didn’t go for a kill shot."

Lin Jin admitted, "That’s right. I didn’t hit any vital organs because I still wanted to extract information about my sister from him."

The more Xie Yunshen listened, the more incredible it became.

An ordinary person in that situation wouldn’t even have the strength to speak, yet Shangguan Hong not only broke free from Lin Jin’s secure bindings but also managed to climb out of the turbulent river while injured.

It must be said, this villain was truly terrifying.

"I’m not hiding anything from you. Like you, I only just found out he’s still alive."

Xie Yunshen asked, "Does he know about your relationship with your sister? Maybe he learned your name from her."

"He doesn’t. My current name was given to me by my master later, and even my sister didn’t know it."

Xie Yunshen’s voice turned cold and low, "Good. At least we’re still in the shadows for now."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Next time—he won’t get another chance to escape."

"What, you still have the guts to take him on?" Lin Jin narrowed his eyes.

Xie Yunshen looked dead ahead, "If we don’t, we’ll be the ones who die first."

When this guy got serious, he really had the aura of Black Impermanence from hell.

Just as Lin Jin was reflecting on this, Xie Yunshen suddenly smiled and walked toward the restroom entrance, "Let’s go, Mr. Yan."

Yan Shiqi was just coming out of the restroom.

Lin Jin: "..." Unbelievable.

He took back what he just thought. The moment this guy saw Yan Shiqi, he acted like an eager puppy.

When Yan Shiqi saw the two standing together, he glanced briefly at Lin Jin.

Xie Yunshen suddenly turned back, "Wait, for the voting, I remember you have a vote too, right?"

"What do you want?"

"Remember to vote for my third uncle." Xie Yunshen leaned in and whispered.

"Oh." Lin Jin closed his eyes helplessly. Who asked him to owe this guy so many favors?