That evening, the secretarial team reported to Li Yongna and Madam Wei that Wei Ximing had already sold two properties worth tens of millions yuan. Furthermore, the money in his card had pretty much disappeared.

The Wei family was incredibly shocked. 

How was Wei Ximing able to transfer that much money as a child?

Fortunately, he wasn’t a professional, and he wasn’t very skilled at moving money. Most of the assets could be recovered. Otherwise, they would have lost at least tens of millions of yuan.

AD

First, he deliberately tampered with the medicine. Then, he transferred his assets.

Li Yongna’s eyes were red with anger. When she thought about how much money was lost, she felt even more sorry towards Wei Mingzheng. After all, she had personally promised all of Wei Ximing’s assets to Wei Mingzheng. Now that so much of it had been lost, she felt uneasy in her heart. 

The matter was reported back to the family. Li Yongna asked Madam Wei, Wei Mingzheng, and Shu Ning to head to the main villa. They would listen to what Wei Ximing had to say.

It was already 8:30 in the evening. At this time, everyone had already headed back to their own buildings to do their own things. Li Yongna didn’t like calling them over so late in the day either. However, the matter with Wei Ximing needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

It was a little unexpected for Shu Ning, a complete outsider, to be invited to the main building.

Li Yongna hadn’t even called for the second or third branches of the family. However, she called for him.

Shu Ning followed Wei Mingzheng and Madam Wei to the main building. He didn’t say a word. He just quietly stood there like a piece of furniture.

At about 8:40, the secretary brought Wei Ximing back to the estate. The two of them entered the main building.

This was the first time Shu Ning had seen Wei Ximing after returning from Chuzhou.

AD

His hair was messy, and his shoulders were slightly hunched. His expression was panicked, and his eyes were full of alarm. This frightened and dejected state was completely different from his arrogant appearance from before. 

This withered and terrified appearance coincided with his memory of Zhou Juan.

Furthermore, the messy hair, unsettled gaze, and familiar face overlapped with his impression of Yin Qiang.

Shu Ning was a little dazed. Were genes really this powerful?

Wei Ximing had never stayed with Zhou Juan and Yin Qiang for even a day, yet they seemed to become more and more like one another. Wei Mingzheng stayed with Zhou Juan Yin Qiang for more than ten years, yet their temperaments were completely different. 

Didn’t people always say that a person’s character was acquired?

Shu Ning’s belief in this idea started to shake.

Wei Ximing knelt in front of Madam Wei and Li Yongna. He kept kowtowing, saying that he was wrong, that he was very sorry.

Madam Wei was completely disappointed in him. She didn’t feel anything at all when she saw him cry. She simply asked, “Tell me. Where did the rest of the money go?” 

Wei Ximing said sadly, “Zhou Juan came to Beijing with a loan shark. I didn’t want to recognize her as my mother, so she worked together with the loan shark in order to perform a DNA test. Then, she used the DNA test to threaten me.”

“I had no choice, so I sold the houses and gave them the money.”

Now that things were like this, Wei Ximing simply told them the truth without concealing anything.

“I really had no choice!” Wei Ximing burst into tears. He cried so hard that veins were popping on his face. “I was forced to do it! Zhou Juan forced me!” 

Anyone could hear the grievance in his heart-wrenching cry.

However, nobody in the room comforted him. They all stared at him with indifferent gazes, watching him as he cried.

“No one forced you,” Wei Mingzheng apathetically said. “It was your own greed.”

Wei Ximing’s cries came to an abrupt stop. He looked up with tears in his eyes. 

Wei Mingzheng said, “When Zhou Juan first came to Beijing to look for you, you could’ve told the family. Then, she wouldn’t have been able to threaten you. To put it bluntly, you didn’t want to be exposed as a fake young master. You didn’t want to lose everything that you had. That’s why you allowed yourself to be threatened by her.”

“Don’t act like you’re innocent.”

Wei Ximing’s lips trembled. He was unable to refute it.

The butler walked into the house and made a report. “My Lady, Zhou Juan is here.” 

Zhou Juan had been squatting in front of the school for several days. It was incredibly easy for the Wei family to find her.

Everyone in the room turned to the door.

After a while, Zhou Juan walked into the room from outside. She looked haggard, and her face had become sallow. For the past couple of days, she had nowhere to return to. Her life had been very difficult.

Whenever things got difficult, she would think about dragging Wei Ximing down with her. Unexpectedly, the Wei family came to find her first. 

When finally entered the property, Zhou Juan was met with a splendorous and opulent sight, and a bit of timidity started rising in her heart. By the time she had arrived at Li Yongna’s room, she’d become as meek as a mouse.

As soon as Zhou Juan walked into the room, she saw Madam Wei, Li Yongna, Wei Mingzheng and Shu Ning. When she saw Wei Mingzheng, Zhou Juan was taken aback for a moment. She had a complicated expression on her face. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but, in the end, she decided to keep silent.

Her eyes quickly turned to Wei Ximing, who was kneeling on the ground. The complexity in her eyes faded. They were quickly filled with hatred instead.

“Wei Ximing!” 

Wei Ximing turned his head. When he saw Zhou Juan, he shot her the same hateful gaze. If it wasn’t for Zhou Juan, he wouldn’t have fallen to this point!

The two of them exchanged looks. The air seemed to crackle with tension.

“You’re Zhou Juan?” Li Yongna’s voice was very calm.

Zhou Juan managed to pull herself out of her emotions. She realized that the situation wasn’t quite appropriate for venting her grievances, so she forced a smile. “Yes, I’m Zhou Juan.” 

Li Yongna pointed at Wei Ximing and said, “You know who this is, right?”

Zhou Juan stared at Wei Ximing and nodded. She said, “I know him! After all, he’s my own flesh and blood!”

Wei Ximing’s face twisted for a moment.

Zhou Juan continued, “Hey, Young Master Wei, what’s wrong? How come you’re kneeling on the ground and not talking!” 

Her cell phone broke for absolutely no reason while she was at Liu Hong’s place. Later, Liu Hong suddenly canceled her lease and left. She had nowhere to go. She still didn’t know about the recording that was spreading on the internet, and she didn’t know that Wei Ximing had been kicked out of the family.

Right now, she just wanted to get even with Wei Ximing. She wanted to pull him down with her.

Madam Wei asked, “Zhou Juan, Wei Ximing had contact with you starting two years ago. Is that right?”

Zhou Juan sneered, “Yeah, he didn’t want to accept me at that time. After I got a DNA test, he still wouldn’t accept me.” 

Li Yongna said, “That’s why you threatened him and asked him to give you ten million yuan?”

Zhou Juan was taken aback for a moment, and her expression became extremely unnatural. She denied it. “No.”

“Tbe vlv!” Qfl Wlwlcu, ktb tjvc’a yffc rqfjxlcu, revvfcis gjlrfv tlr tfjv jcv rtbeafv, “P ujnf sbe afc wliilbc! Ktf yjcx agjcrofg gfmbgvr jgf jii atfgf!”

“Po sbe kjca ab ufa atf wbcfs yjmx, ub joafg tfg! Ktf wbcfs’r klat tfg jcv atf ibjc rtjgxr!” 

Itbe Aejc olcjiis gfjilhfv rbwfatlcu kjr kgbcu jcv qjclmxfv. “Qtja wbcfs? Qtja afc wliilbc sejc? P vbc’a xcbk! P vlvc’a gfmflnf jcsatlcu!”

However, no matter how she tried to deny it, nobody believed her.

“We’ll investigate this issue later,” Li Yongna said. “Please stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’ll transfer Wei Ximing’s household register.”

Zhou Juan asked anxiously, “Household register?” 

Li Yongna nodded. “Since he’s your child, he should be transferred to your household register.”

“Everything will return to how it should be.”

Li Yongna’s words were firm and decisive. There was no room for argument.

Madam Wei, Wei Mingzheng, and Shu Ning left the main building. Wei Ximing and Zhou Juan were invited to stay in a guest room. 

After Li Yongna arranged where they would stay, she quickly called Wei Shanhe. She told him about what happened and tried to persuade him, “Shanhe, could you give our family’s shares in Pegasus to Mingzheng?”

She really hadn’t expected Wei Ximing to have transferred all his assets already. The whereabouts of this money was currently unknown. If Wei Mingzheng wanted it back, he would have to wait a very long time, and it may not even be the same as the original amount. She felt very guilty.

Wei Shanhe’s voice was calm and unhurried. “Pegasus is developing very well. We finally managed to get ten percent of their shares. You want me to give the shares to Wei Mingzheng?”

Li Yongna had only heard a little bit about Pegasus Incorporated. “Either way, we already have a lot of companies and a lot of stocks under our name. What does it matter if we give it to him? You don’t know how hard he’s had it these past couple of years. A perfectly good child ended up being beaten and abused. He was even framed after returning home. You’re his grandfather! Couldn’t you have done something about it? Are those stocks more important than your grandson? Anyway, I’ve already agreed to it! You have to agree as well!” 

Wei Shanhe sighed. “It’s not that simple. In order to get a hold of the shares, I used Xuanke Investments. If I were to give Wei Mingzheng the Pegasus shares, I would have to give him the Xuanke shares as well. This kid, he sure planned this out well!”

Li Yongna was stunned. Xuanke Investments was a very important subsidiary of Wei Corporation. Several of her sons had been eyeing it for a while. If they were to jump over the sons and hand it off to a grandson, it would be very troublesome.

Li Yongna thought about it for a moment. “Why don’t you put the Xuanke shares under another company? That way we can give Mingzheng the Pegasus shares to hold onto.”

Wei Shanhe replied, “Why should we go through so much trouble? He won’t be happy about it, and the others won’t be happy about it either. Wouldn’t it just make us seem stingy? We might as well just give it to him.” 

Li Yongna asked, “…Just give it to him?”

In other words, he was going to give Mingzheng the Xuanke shares as well?

She faintly sensed that something wasn’t quite right. Wei Shanhe was being a little too generous with the family’s stocks! Wei Shanhe wasn’t this generous to just anyone. Could it be that he also liked Wei Mingzheng?

“Since you want to give the kid a gift, you might as well do it right,” Wei Shanhe said. 

Li Yongna would not have agreed if this was a normal day, but, after thinking about everything that happened, she finally sighed and said, “Okay.”

Wei Shanhe followed up with another question, “I want to ask you about Wei Ximing. How should I handle this?”

The stuff that Wei Ximing did was bad enough to send him to prison, but Wei Shanhe understood Li Yongna well. He wanted to hear her opinion.

Li Yongna felt a pang of disappointment in her heart. She thought about it for a moment. “We’ve raised him for more than ten years. His name’s been ruined, and most of his assets have been recovered. We should just let him go.” 

Wei Shanhe didn’t seem surprised. “I’ll listen to you.”

He didn’t ask about Zhou Juan. He didn’t need to.

Everything that happened afterward was very straightforward. The next day, Madam Wei took Zhou Juan and Wei Ximing to get the household register transferred. As always, special cases received special treatment. They took a flight to Chuzhou and got the matter settled very quickly. As for how Zhou Juan and Wei Ximing would get along, that was their own business. However, they definitely weren’t going to be all buddy-buddy with each other.

Since then, the Wei family completely cut off all relations with Wei Ximing. 

Wei Mingzheng received shares for both Xuanke and Pegasus.

This move startled the other members of the family. They had originally been watching the drama from the sidelines, but, now, they couldn’t just sit still anymore!

Regardless of whether it was Xuanke or Pegasus, they were all valuable stocks! Not only were they expensive, but, more importantly, they also gave the holder a lot of decision-making authority.

What did the old man mean by this? 

Wei Yuanning was incredibly happy. His son managed to receive a huge amount of assets as soon as he returned to the family. This was truly good for him! Originally, he didn’t have much affection for Wei Mingzheng. However, now, he had become much more interested in Wei Mingzheng thanks to the old man’s guidance.

Such was love in a wealthy family. When there were many children, the child who strived the most would be able to receive their parents’ affection.

Madam Wei only had one son, Wei Mingzheng. As a result, she naturally cared for him with her whole heart. Wei Yuanning was different. His ex-wife had given birth to a son and a daughter. Plus, he also had illegitimate children outside the family. Wei Mingzheng was not unique in his eyes.

Shu Ning didn’t like Wei Yuanning’s attitude towards his family. He thought that the little villain would hate the way Wei Yuanning was getting close to him now. However, he hadn’t expected the two of them to actually get along rather well? 

“It’s fine if I just treat him as an ordinary business partner,” Wei Mingzheng replied lightly. His love already belonged to others. He didn’t mind if he had more people around him, but he didn’t particularly need it.

The issue with Wei Ximing had been resolved. The Wei family ended up bringing Zhou Juan to court. They asked the court to convict her on the grounds of “human trafficking” and “extortion”.

The Wei’s family’s lawyers were incredibly capable. Zhou Juan was currently looking at a sentence of about ten years or so. As for Wei Ximing, he didn’t have any money anymore, so he had to drop out of school and get a job. Furthermore, he was constantly worried that the Wei family would sue him as well.

Wei Mingzheng and Shu Ning returned to Sai Yao. 

When the two of them returned to school, the treatment they received was very different from before. Countless people greeted Wei Mingzheng with warm regards and hospitality.

After all, Wei Mingzheng was the real young master of the Wei family. He had proved himself by taking out Wei Ximing. As soon as he came back, he became a shareholder of Xuanke. He also held the shares that Xuanke had in Pegasus Incorporated. This was more than enough to show how capable he was.

There were a lot of people who wanted to get close to him.

As soon as Wei Mingzheng arrived at school, several people walked up to say hello. They put Wei Ximing down in front of Wei Mingzheng. They would say that they had seen through Wei Ximing a long time ago and stuff like that. 

Wei Mingzheng handled them all with ease.

Shu Ning watched him take to it all like a duck takes to water. He was finally able to let all his worries go.

His little villain had now grown into an independent person. He was surrounded by flowers and applause. Everyone knew just how excellent he was.

Shu Ning thought, “Maybe I can consider transferring back to Chuzhou.” 

He told Cai Qin about it. Cai Qin was very happy. “Sure, sure, sure! It doesn’t matter if your studies aren’t good. So long as you’re with us, we’ll be happy! Anyway, even if you never go to college, we can still support you for the rest of your life! Our family has money!”

Shu Ning burst into laughter. He remembered how, whenever Cai Qin was shopping for clothes, she would buy expensive coats and cheap shirts. Sometimes, the shirts wouldn’t even cost ten yuan. She used to care more about appearances than about substance. She also pushed Shu Ning to study for fear that he wouldn’t be able to get into a good university.

Now, she was actually saying stuff like “we’ll support you for the rest of your life”.

Shu Ning’s eyes watered. Every parent was probably like this, he supposed. 

“I’ll transfer back to Chuzhou soon.” Shu Ning made his decision.

Cai Qin said, “I’m waiting for your return.”

Shu Ning: “Muah.”

Cai Qin: “Muah.” 

After the phone call with Cai Qin, Shu Ning felt extremely relaxed. He found a chance to talk to the villain about it.

The little villain was silent for a long time before nodding. He smiled and said, “Okay.”

That weekend, Wei Mingzheng brought Shu Ning with him to meet a friend.

While they were in the car, Shu Ning asked curiously, “You have a friend in Beijing?” 

Wei Mingzheng was very popular at school, but, other than Lian Feng, there really wasn’t anyone who was able to get close to him. Wei Mingzheng’s attitude towards Lian Feng was more like his attitude towards his subordinates. Wei Mingzheng didn’t treat him like a friend.

It was really strange to hear the word “friend” coming from the villain.

Wei Mingzheng’s mouth twitched. “He’s an old friend.”

“An old friend?” Shu Ning thought long and hard. Did the little villain have an old friend? How come he didn’t know? 

Wei Mingzheng said, “You know him.”

“Ah?”

“Darker. You Guangming.”

Shu Ning suddenly realized who it was. “So it’s him. You’re going to meet an online friend?” 

Wei Mingzheng said, “I guess you could say that.”

Shu Ning knew about Darker. When the villain had been picking up work from the Pegasus Forum, he often communicated with Darker. They would have long conversations over the phone and get into fights often.

Shu Ning could tell that Darker was probably a genius, just like the villain. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to get into a fight at all. The little villain wouldn’t fight with people who weren’t on the same level as him. He wouldn’t even give them a single glance.

For example, Shu Ning had never fought with the villain before. 

Sometimes, Shu Ning would feel that he was right and throw his temper around. Even if he was wrong, the villain would helplessly say, “Yes, yes, yes. You’re right.”

He would never fight with him.

Once things were over, he would find out that he was actually wrong and feel super embarrassed.

He hadn’t expected that he would be able to meet the legendary online friend with the little villain. 

The car drove into the parking lot of a CBD building. Wei Mingzheng gave someone a call, and the two of them took an elevator to the lobby. Several people immediately greeted him.

“Welcome!”

“Mr. Wei! You’re here!”

There were several men and women. Among them was a bald, middle-aged man with thick glasses. The others were all wearing suits. They all had professional and enthusiastic smiles on their faces. 

Shu Ning had truly believed that they were just going to meet an online friend. He was completely startled by the grand welcome.

Wei Mingzheng nodded at them. “Take me to see Darker.”

The middle-aged man in the glasses quickly gestured forward. “Mr. Wei, this way.”

Shu Ning followed Wei Mingzheng into the elevator, and the other respectfully walked inside as well. They all had professional smiles on their faces, the kind of smile they’d give their bankroller. 

Shu Ning felt a little uncomfortable. He quietly said to Wei Mingzheng, “I thought we were just meeting an online friend.”

Wei Mingzheng chuckled softly and raised an eyebrow. “You Guangming’s super arrogant. If I don’t suppress him first, it’ll be difficult to negotiate with him later.”

Shu Ning could see that the villain was full of fighting spirit. He felt that there was probably going to be an argument later, so he silently swallowed the words in his mouth.

Soon, they arrived at the conference room on the tenth floor. Before they had even entered, they could already hear an arrogant voice coming from inside. “Welcome? Why should I welcome some rich prince who doesn’t know a thing? Welcome, my ass!” 

“My time is very precious, and I don’t have time to talk to this little prince! My VR project needs to be finished by this year! I’m meeting an important friend later. As for this prince, if he wants to see me, he can just wait!”

When the middle-aged man heard this, his forehead began to sweat. He quickly explained to Wei Mingzheng, “Mr. Wei, Darker has a bad temper. Please bear with him.”

Wei Mingzheng expressionlessly pushed open the conference room door and walked in.

Within the conference room, several disheveled programmers were gathered together. In the middle of the room, there was a man as thin as a bamboo pole. He gestured with his hands as he spoke. 

When he saw that someone had entered uninvited, the bamboo pole immediately frowned. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, LoveToEatShiitake,” Wei Mingzheng said calmly. “Didn’t we decide to meet up today?”

You Guangming recognized his voice. He looked Wei Mingzheng up and down. His face revealed his surprise. “Shiitake, is it really you?”

Just when Shu Ning thought he would rush over for a hug, You Guangming suddenly pulled out his phone. “Let me make sure.” 

Then, he dialed a phone number.

Shu Ning: “…”

Alright. You gotta do what you gotta do.

He could understand. 

The cell phone in Wei Mingzheng’s pocket started ringing. Wei Mingzheng picked it up and waved at him.

You Guangming laughed and opened his arms. “It’s really you, Shiitake!”

He walked over and gave Wei Mingzheng a warm hug.

Wei Mingzheng also smiled and hugged him back. 

The middle-aged man was dumbfounded when he saw this scene. “Do the two of you know each other?”

You Guangming let go of Wei Mingzheng. He turned his head and said to the middle-aged man, “My friend is here. Go tell the Wei family’s prince that he can wait. Don’t bother me.”

The middle-aged man: “…”

Shu Ning realized what had happened. He quickly covered his mouth to hold back his laugh. 

“Come, come, come. You came just on time. We’re discussing a couple issues. You can also tell us your thoughts…” You Guangming pulled Wei Mingzheng over and said, “About the VR’s visualization, I think it should be @#%#%…”

Wei Mingzheng interrupted him, “I disagree, I think !#%#%…”

You Guangming’s face immediately darkened. “Boy, do you even know what the rules are here? This is my territory. I’m the boss. You have to listen to me.”

Wei Mingzheng said slowly, “Who knows. The boss might not be who you think it is.” 

The middle-aged man finally came to his senses. He said to the fuming You Guangming, “Darker, this is President Wei.”

You Guangming was stunned, and so were his subordinates.

After a while, You Guangming asked suspiciously, “Hold on. Isn’t your last name Yin?”

Wei Mingzheng shot back, “Do you know my full name?” 

“It’s Yin Mingzheng! How could I not know?”

“You’ve been working overtime, haven’t you? You’re not even caught up with the latest gossip.”

You Guangming was even more puzzled now. “What do you mean?”

However, Wei Mingzheng is right. He had been working overtime recently, poring over the details of this project. 

“Ah! Yin Mingzheng! Wei Mingzheng!” A subordinate of his suddenly came to a realization. He grabbed You Guangming and said, “Boss, he’s Wei Mingzheng! He’s the protagonist of that news story about the real and fake young masters!”

You Guangming also reacted. He widened his eyes and said, “Yin Mingzheng? Wei Mingzheng? The real and fake young master from the Wei family?”

Wei Mingzheng nodded.

You Guangming: “…” 

A thousand different expressions flitted across his face.

After a long while, he gave Wei Mingzheng a thumbs-up and said admiringly, “Young Master Wei, your life sure is legendary.”

Wei Mingzheng nodded with a smile.

You Guangming then put away his respect for him and glared. “You’re not going to try and suppress me with your shares, right?” 

“How could I?” Wei Mingzheng was sincere, “I decided to become a shareholder because I wanted to lead Pegasus to even higher heights, because I wanted to cooperate with you all even better. I hope you all can recognize my sincerity.”

You Guangming: “…”

I don’t fucking believe you!

“So, can you listen to me now?” Wei Mingzheng asked. 

You Guangming pressed his lips into a flat line.

Wei Mingzheng continued, “I’m a shareholder. Don’t I have the qualifications to be your boss?”

The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, “Of course you do.”

He quickly gave You Guangming a look. 

You Guangming reluctantly said, “Fine. You’re the boss”

“In that case, the VR project’s visualization should be done the way I want to do it. My way is the right way…” Wei Mingzheng leisurely expressed his thoughts to You Guangming’s subordinates.

You Guangming had forced Wei Mingzheng to use his shareholder status in order to suppress him. He clearly wasn’t going to back down just like that.

“I still don’t think it’ll work,” he interjected. “The direction you want to go down is obviously too unrealistic!” 

“How is it unrealistic?”

Then, they started having a long and heated debate on the topic of VR visualization.

You Guangming kept asking questions, and Wei Mingzheng answered them one by one. He had clearly come prepared.

In the end, even You Guangming had nothing to say. 

Shu Ning watched quietly from beside him. He could tell that the villain was different when he was debating with You Guangming and his team. He was different from how he was at school and how he was with the Wei family.

He was more relaxed, more natural. He was just like how he was in Chuzhou.

To be precise, it was like he was getting along with friends.

The thing Shu Ning was worried about the most was the little villain’s social interaction. Now, it seemed that there was no need to worry about this at all. The little villain already had good friends by his side. 

His little villain was now brilliant and independent in every aspect.

Looking at Wei Mingzheng now, Shu Ning was suddenly reminded of the Wei Mingzheng from a long time ago.

The child with the yellow hair, proudly shaking his legs as he faced the world.

The chuunibyou who loved to watch August the Great. 

The kid who was crying on a bench after being beaten.

The young boy who used to face the world with his prickly thorns and his raised chin.

Now, they had all become vivid images within his memory.

They felt like an entire lifetime ago. 

Who would have thought that he would become as dazzling as he was now?

The villain seemed to become aware of his gaze and suddenly turned his head. “Shu Ning?”

“Hm?” Shu Ning watched him with a smile.

Wei Mingzheng met his gaze, and, for some reason, his heart moved. Within Shu Ning’s eyes, there seemed to be tiny glimmers of light. They were as gentle as fireflies flitting about on a summer night. A cool air floated along, dancing in the moonlight and the breeze. 

A single glimpse was enough for his mind to fall quiet.

His argument with Darker, his plans for the project, his ideas for Pegasus’ development, they all seemed to be far, far away. His mood was unprecedentedly peaceful.

This person was his only harbor from the relentless rocking of waves.