Zhou Jingru suddenly stopped resisting, like a corpse, allowing Chen Ergou to humiliate her at will. This was her clever move, she opened her eyes, stubbornly with tears in her eyes, as if wanting to remember the face of this man who seemed to have swallowed bear heart and leopard gall along with wild turtle blood, his filthy face full of hatred.

  In an instant, she saw in this man's eyes, apart from the normal lust of a male animal bursting out at the height of passion, there was also a hint of teasing, like a customer looking at a prostitute. Zhou Jingru's fiery body suddenly felt icy cold to the bone, and she was not unfamiliar with this kind of gaze. When Wei Duan Gong looked at Nanjing "Yi Pin Ji" or Yangzhou thin horse before his death, he also had such a sly and despicable expression. This made Zhou Jingru's original intention to use Wei Duan Gong to suppress Chen Er Gou feel nauseous and disgusting.

  While Chen Ergou still had his hands in the wrong place, his eyes were slowly gathering, and Zhou Jingru could even feel his suppressed desire. This was too demanding of self-control. The elevator reached the top floor, Chen Ergou freed one hand to press the button for the 13th floor, and with the other hand, he hooked Zhou Jingru's chin, his eyes red, heavily exhaling alcohol as he said: "In theory, I'm a junior who was personally cultivated by Master Wei, so I should show you three points of respect, just like how I treat Fang Niang. Unfortunately, I didn't read many books, and the five characters for 'benevolence, courtesy, humility, and yielding' are only clear to me as 'humility'. I always feel that if a person wants to gain others' respect, they must bring out enough weight themselves. Growing up in a rural village, I never learned about respecting elders or loving the young; instead, I've done many shameful things like stealing chickens and climbing over walls. I'm telling you this to let you know I'm not a gentleman. If you want me, this little rascal, to treat you as Master Wei's senior, you need to draw a clear line with Xia He, gather your thoughts that are enticing me, and have more intention to help Master Wei deal with aftermaths. Otherwise, rather than letting you be played around by Xia He and those two idiots, I'd rather clean up the household myself. Zhou Jingru, do you understand my explanation? Are you satisfied?"

  Zhou Jingyun fiercely turned her head, biting her lip, and a thread of blood seeped out, shocking to behold. It was unclear whether it was Chen Ergou's tongue or her own lip that had been bitten through, but one thing was certain: if she had the ability to cut off three of Chen Ergou's legs right now, she would not have stopped at just two.

  This is the greatest insult of her life, etched in her memory forever.

  "Not satisfied?"

  Just as Chen Ergou was about to make a move on Zhou Jingru, the elevator beeped, indicating that someone wanted to come in. In the few seconds before Zhou's face turned white with fear, Chen quickly stepped back and adjusted her disheveled clothes at lightning speed. Just as the elevator doors opened, he even helped her tidy up a strand of hair, his eyes gentle. This was perhaps a soft and considerate side of this rough and bitter farmer that no one knew about. He pressed the button for the 14th floor, then suddenly turned around, blocking the curious gaze of the middle-aged fat man who had just walked into the elevator. The image he left Zhou Jingru with was not a heroic one, but it was enough to shield her from a storm, allowing her to catch her breath and avoid being ridiculed or even ruined by lustful gazes. It was as if she were a green fish in her family's ceramic fish tank, which Chen Ergou had carelessly scooped out of the water, only to carefully place it back in the tank just as it was about to suffocate.

  The woman is a complex creature, after experiencing great sorrow and joy, great ups and downs, Zhou Xingru gazed blankly at Chen Ergou's back. As she stood in the eye of the tornado, she gradually calmed down, settling down so quickly that even she was surprised. Perhaps it was because she had passed the naive age when holding hands between a man and woman meant a lifelong commitment. Or perhaps it was because she had seen men with hearts as cold as beasts. In any case, when Chen Ergou shielded her from harm, she couldn't bring herself to hate him. Maybe later she would hate him to the point of tearing his skin off and digging out his heart, but at least for now, Zhou Xingru felt that they were on the same side, a man and woman in the same trench. Dog man and woman? It was as if they were a pair of dogs caught in the act, Zhou Xingru thought with a bitter smile from the bottom of her heart.

  They arrived at the 14th floor, but there was no movement. When they reached the 13th floor, Chen Ergou still walked out and didn't let Zhou Jingzhen leave either. Instead, he went down to the first floor with that fat guy who kept trying to sneak a peek at Zhou Jingzhen with his peripheral vision. Only after the fat guy reluctantly left did Chen Ergou press the button for 13 again, and the elevator doors closed. Chen Ergou retreated to the corner and asked, "Are there any surveillance cameras?"

  Zhou Jingru shook his head, this apartment building corridor was equipped with cameras, but there were none in the elevator.

  Even an idiot can see that this man is extremely demanding of details.

  Having an affair requires finding this kind of man.

  A wry smile emerged on Zhou's face. Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart. His heart was as still as dead water. He lifted his head and looked straight at Chen Er Gou, who was staring back at him. With a bitter smile, he said, "Let's go out for a walk."

  "Aren't you afraid?" Chen Ergou asked in confusion.

  "I believe in your control. Things have developed to this point. I want to lay my cards on the table and get things clear. Otherwise, you and I will end up like a fish dying with the net broken." Zhou Xingyun said calmly. It's hard to imagine that she was talking to a man who almost forcibly possessed her. It seems that Chen Ergou has gone crazy today. She is also almost driven mad.

  Two people tacitly went downstairs again. They got into the Audi A6, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Zhou Jing drove. Chen Erdou opened the window and sat in the passenger seat, smoking one cigarette after another. 4 minutes later, Zhou Jing stopped the car at a mountain road on the top of a slope. From here, you can overlook half of Nanjing. She got out of the car and leaned against the door, gazing at the dazzling night view of Nanjing. Chen Erdou stood beside her, having already smoked half a pack of cigarettes.

  "I was curious from the start, how Wei Duan Gong, such a proud person, would take a liking to you. I've studied the Feng Shui map of Zhangjia Village. According to Guo Jue, your ancestral tomb's Feng Shui is not impressive. Moreover, at first, Wei Duan Gong didn't show any special favor towards you. This man has a temperament: if he takes a liking to something, he must grasp it in his hands; if not, he abandons it like a worn-out shoe. People like me are those whom he likes at first but later becomes tired of."

  Zhou Jingzhen took a cigarette from Chen Ergou, and at a glance, she could tell that he wasn't a frequent smoker. His movements were awkward, but not for the first time. This former famous beauty gazed into the distance with a bewildered expression: "Wei Duan Gong is too fond of grandstanding and has a habit of getting bored with new things quickly. He treats women as cheap playthings, only good for decoration. He doesn't have friends or brothers, and he doesn't even trust his most trusted aide, Guo Kuai Yu, until the day he dies. That's why when he fled to Qingdao, there wasn't a single confidant by his side. When Qiao Baizhang found him, it was as easy as blowing away dust. I feel sorry for him. After struggling to build such a vast empire, there isn't a single trustworthy person beside him. In the end, he still needs an outsider like you to prop him up. Chen Fusheng, isn't this irony just too dark and cold?"

  "Wei Ye is a hero who deserves his reputation. He doesn't care about winning or losing." Chen Er Gou said with a frown.

  "Yes, who doesn't say that Wei Duan Gong, the 9,000-year-old man from Nanjing, is a big shot? He started from scratch and has done all sorts of things like swindling people out of their money with empty promises, cutting off people's limbs and holding their wives and daughters hostage. He's also done some good deeds that would make him look like a hero. Chen Fu Sheng, you're a man, your perspective on things is different from ours women. To you, he's just a successful person who ended up with an ignominious end."

  He glanced at the man who didn't refute, a profile with exceptionally clear edges in the night. Compared to the first time they met at Shan Shui Hua Men, this young man had changed too much, like two different people. Most seedlings that grow too quickly wither and die, but this one seemed to have grown strong and healthy. Zhou Jingyun suddenly realized, sighed, and said: "I finally understand why Wei Duan Gong likes you more and more. Because you're basically a younger version of him. An ordinary person, no matter how much wine they drink or how many tricks they have up their sleeve, wouldn't dare to do something so despicable to me. Maybe you don't know, Fang Jie was tricked into bed by Wei Duan Gong on the third day they met after being plied with wine. As for shamelessness and cunning, you still have a ways to go to catch up with him."

  "Awesome." Chen Erdog grinned. Seeing Zhou Jingwen's cigarette had gone out from not taking a drag for too long, he helped her light it again, and Zhou Jingwen didn't refuse.

  Zhou Jingru slowly took a drag of her cigarette, feeling the irritating sensation in her lungs, but it helped to refresh and stabilize her mood. She said, "Among Wei Duan Gong's confidants, there isn't anyone who can stand out and take charge. Guo Qietou was originally considered half-qualified. However, after cutting off Qiao Baizhang's fingers, he had to escape to Yunnan to avoid trouble. Fang Jie's side actually has one or two capable roles. But since Guo Qietou recommended you, she couldn't refuse. Moreover, she didn't want to get too deeply involved in this muddy water herself, fearing that if Wei Duan Gong was dragged down, she would also be implicated and bring trouble to the Fang family. So, she pushed you to the forefront with a favorable attitude, which can be said to be a combination of heavenly timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony. It's a perfect storm, lacking nothing. The news about your commotion at the board meeting this morning has also spread gradually. Honestly, I admire you for being able to speak fiercely and show off without any deep roots or large capital. I don't know whether to call you a newborn calf or someone with a feverish brain."

  "I have my own measure." Chen Ergou said calmly.

  "Aren't you afraid of Qiao Liu?" Zhou Jingyun asked with narrowed eyes.

  Chen Ergou remained silent, puffing on his cigarette. He didn't want to confide in her at all. Great men don't discuss their plans with the masses, let alone this woman beside him who might stab him in the back at any moment. In his mind, there was only one mistress of the Wei family - Fang Jie. Zhou Jingyi and Ji Jing were just beautiful women with slightly different identities. Especially Zhou Jingyi, as he said, it would be better to end her life cleanly rather than letting those turtles like Qiao Liu's gang defile her.

  "What did you learn from Xia He's mouth?" Zhou Jingwen asked tentatively.

  Chen Ergou didn't want to answer this question, and in the negotiation, he grasped the initiative at every moment and maximized his advantage. This was a trick he learned from Fang Jie. In order to gain more benefits, he needed to simmer the other side like an old soup, and couldn't rush it. As the saying goes, "haste makes waste," tofu needs to be simmered to a certain degree to become tender. Chen Ergou applied this principle to test Zhou Jingwen, learning as he went along, and found it very practical.

  "What happened today can be considered as if nothing had happened, but you must guarantee that in the future you will not take another step beyond the thunder pool. You walk your own path and I'll walk mine, the river water doesn't offend the well water, how about it?" Zhou Jingzhen said out his bottom line, absolutely cannot retreat another step.

  "What I'll do next is my own business, no need for you to interfere."

  Chen Ergou didn't wait for Zhou to get angry, and said a sentence that made her calm down from her anger. "Xia He is not a good thing, you'd better stay away from him. It's better to do business with me, a real small person, than to be with a hypocrite who plots against others. You see how Fang Ni respects me an inch, and I respect her a foot, that's my principle of doing things. As for what Xia He has done in secret over the years, I don't need to tell you one by one, it would make everyone's ears dirty. So think carefully, if you make another wrong move, even with three heads and six arms, I won't be able to save you."

  Are you speaking alarmist words or revealing your true feelings?

  Zhou Jingru found herself unable to see through this man who had risen to become a trusted aide in the Wei family yet still smoked ordinary Nanjing cigarettes.

  Chen Erdou tore off his tie, threw it into the car, and gazed at the outline of Nanjing city, saying: "This is a great place, I'll come here often. If I'm not satisfied, I'll just yell."

  This was also Zhou Jingru's first time standing high and overlooking a city, with the gentle breeze blowing against her face. Nanjing, a city that she had given too much hope and disappointment to, once had the opportunity to leave with a big shot from Shanghai, but was held back by Wei Duan Gong's iron fist. This time, no longer young, she also wanted to cheaply go out and take a look at the outside world. But was again held back by the man beside her, with unscrupulous means that were enough to make her toss and turn, shocked and frightened, slowly savoring the taste of several years. In Zhou Jingru's life, she had walked through too many mediocre men, all of whom had been forgotten one by one. The last thing she remembered was a young man not far away, smoking, narrowing his eyes, and slightly bowing his head. This made her think of a topic she had thought about for a long time when she was young: Cinderella meeting the prince. As for the prince's diamond ring, she hesitated whether to accept it or not, then encountered robbers with knives, and finally had to give up her body. Zhou Jingru smiled bitterly, as if she always played the role of someone who regretted only after crashing into the south wall and falling into a coffin.

  "It seems that Xia He is likely to join forces with Qiao Liu." Chen Ergou suddenly said, leaning lazily against the car cover not far from Zhou Jingru.

  Zhou Jiong was unmoved in his heart.

  "Let me ask you, how far have you and Xia He's little butterball progressed in your relationship? Closer than we were in the elevator?" Chen Er Gou shamelessly asked.

  "I'm not a woman who can be bullied by anyone." Zhou Jingyun's face was filled with anger, but Chen Ergou didn't suffer much physical harm, and instead gained a bit of charm. A great beauty is called a great beauty, rather than an ordinary beauty, precisely because they are charming and alluring whether their face is calm or they are expressing emotions, making the males around them unable to help but feel romantic and infatuated.

  "Isn't it you?" Chen Ergou asked with an innocent face and a suspicious gaze, his tone razor-sharp.

  Tears welled up in Zhou Jingfan's eyes, the humiliation and personal attacks piling up in the apartment, unable to fight back, she choked with sobs. The more she revealed her inner weakness and shame, the more Zhou Jingfan hated herself for being so weak and Chen Ergou's cruelty. Her sobbing grew more desolate, a distorted beauty, her profile against the night sky a blurry, yet breathtakingly beautiful outline of Zhou Jingfan, like a black poppy flower, blooming in a wounded, yet stunning pose.

  "It doesn't matter."

  Chen Ergou's soft words didn't hurt or itch. But just this simple sentence, without embellishment and even without much tone, stopped Zhou Jingzhen's uncontrollable anger and sobs once again. She had heard all sorts of nauseating sweet talk, received sentimental love letters and flowers. She had seen the dull, numb gaze and handsome face that made her feel sick. But on this desolate night, the man beside her, with his subtle and refined manner, slowly spoke a sentence that made her anger dissipate like smoke. As he handed her a cigarette, then took it back, muttering: "Women shouldn't smoke, no matter how good-looking they are, it has a worldly flavor, not suitable for you."

  At this moment, Zhou Jingru was so disheartened that he couldn't bring himself to hate or cry.

  Chen Ergou let out a few loud roars, feeling relieved afterwards. He turned his head to look at Zhou Jingzhen, who had regained her composure, and said: "The resources that Fang's mother gave me are limited, and I don't dare to use them recklessly, with restrictions everywhere, unable to exert myself freely. If you're willing, follow me on this path. You give me connections and a network of relationships, and I'll give you safety. I guarantee that as long as I'm around, I won't let you lose out one bit. Today, I may not have any status, but this world owes me, and I will take back everything it owes me. Are you daring enough to take a gamble?"

  "You want me to be your mistress?" Zhou Jingwen said disdainfully.

  "I didn't have this idea originally."

  Chen Ergou smiled and looked around at Zhou Jingru, saying: "You've said it this way, I have this intention."

  "Wait until you have the capital to send me wealth and glory, then we'll talk. But I remind you, Wei Duan Gong took over a decade to get to this point, and your current small actions are all thunder and little rain. If you want me to willingly be your canary, Chen Fusheng, you're still a bit too tender." Zhou Jingzhen said coldly.

  "Qiao Liu will die, and you'll get the several properties you want and 25% of Qinghe's shares. Isn't this chip heavy enough? Is it enough to make up for it?" Chen Er Gou said with a smile.

  Zhou Jing's face was uncertain, gazing at Chen Ergou's face, especially his eyes, wanting to see through him, but couldn't tell what was true or false.

  Chen Ergou suddenly used his body to press Zhou Jingru tightly against the car door, and said with a gloomy smile: "You need a young and promising backer with great potential for growth, I need a woman who can let me vent my emotions, no emotional talk, just bed talk, how about it?"

  "Get out!"

  Zhou Jingfen slapped a palm over, but was caught by Chen Ergou. Her arm hung in the air, helpless and guilty.

  Just as Zhou Xingyun thought the man would go wild and assault her again, she looked up to see his eyes gazing past her, his movements gentle, without any roughness, simply lightly embracing her, half-hugging her into his arms, saying: "Sorry for making you a decoy, but what I said earlier still counts, even if you decide after tonight it's not too late, the world under the desk in Nanjing will eventually be mine to control."

  Along the direction of Chen Ergou's gaze, applause erupted, and a sharp, nasal voice came from afar. "18-year-old Spring Palace drama, wonderful! What a pity that it's not a wild battle on a dark and windy night, especially with Nanjing's beauty, brother! I didn't expect we're fellow travelers, you're even one step ahead of me! I brought my camera, take your time, when I drag Fang Jie and Ji Jing onto the bed, let's see your action movie!"