Ke Yixiong came and went in a hurry.

His business must have really been impacted. In the past, he would have taken any chance to chat with Xia Xiaolan, but today he wasn’t in the mood – he just dumped the sand and stones and drove away.

“Have things gotten this tense between Zhenzhu and Ke Yixiong?”

Liu Yong could tell Ke Yixiong was truly angry this time. Usually, these young people would put on a pleasant face when they saw Xiaolan, regardless of their true feelings.

Ke Yixiong was typically a smiling tiger, but this time there wasn’t a trace of a smile.

Xia Xiaolan rubbed her temples, “The brothers from the Bai family’s martial arts school have been poor for many years. Now that they finally have a chance to improve their lives, with Zhenzhu leading them, they naturally dare to fight and charge ahead. Ke Yixiong can’t possibly call all the thugs from Yangcheng over here. His men aren’t as good at fighting as the Bai family’s martial artists, and they can’t use firearms, so they must have taken quite a few losses.”

People in the underworld care most about face – they can take anything except losses.

Moreover, this involved profits – taking losses meant losing money, which Ke Yixiong absolutely couldn’t tolerate.

It seemed after this period of minor skirmishes, Ke Yixiong wanted to have a showdown with Bai Zhenzhu. No, if he intended to hurt Bai Zhenzhu, he definitely wouldn’t have come to tell Xia Xiaolan beforehand.

Wouldn’t that just put Bai Zhenzhu on alert?

“…Does Ke Yixiong want to make peace?”

Xia Xiaolan considered this possibility but could hardly believe it. Was Bai Zhenzhu really that formidable, in such a short time?

Liu Yong thought they were all crazy. If he wanted to make peace with Bai Zhenzhu, why use his niece as an intermediary? It was nonsense – Xiaolan was a proper university student, and getting involved in territory disputes would only bring trouble!

“Don’t pay attention to him. You’re going back to Beijing anyway, let them solve it themselves. I’ll warn Zhenzhu about this, so she can be prepared.”

Uncle and niece reached an agreement as they walked.

However, they didn’t notice that Luo Yaozong, wearing an ill-fitting security guard uniform, had been watching from a corner.

He couldn’t find a chance to approach Xia Xiaolan.

Being a security guard was frustrating enough, and his grandfather still wanted him to marry Xia Xiaolan… the difficulty was too high. The transport team people just now seemed to be arguing with Xia Xiaolan, and Luo Yaozong wondered if this might be an opportunity.

He was plotting something.

But Ge Jian had already ordered security to watch him closely, requiring immediate reports of any suspicious behavior.

Would asking about the transport team count as suspicious?

You better report it anyway. Once Ge Jian knew, Xia Xiaolan naturally found out too. If Ge Jian hadn’t mentioned it, she would have forgotten that the Luo family coward was still working as a security guard, mainly because he hadn’t tried to approach her:

“Hasn’t he been behaving lately? The Luo family must have ulterior motives for putting him on the construction site. Keep him under close watch – I’m also curious about what the Luo family is planning.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t look down on small figures.

Although Luo Yaozong was just the village chief’s son, there was no telling what damage he could cause.

Why was he asking about Ke Yixiong? Did he want to team up with Ke Yixiong to sabotage the construction site? Xia Xiaolan grew wary. Ke Yixiong had previously promised to guarantee the site’s safety – if he wanted to continue his business in Pengcheng, he needed to maintain his reputation.

But circumstances change – if the conflict between Ke Yixiong and Bai Zhenzhu became irreconcilable, would he break his promise?

Xia Xiaolan quietly gave Ge Jian some instructions, which he listened to attentively, nodding occasionally.

It was a troubled time.

When they had no money, they faced many problems. Now with some assets, they worried about others coveting them – the problems they faced had reached a new level.

The pit Huo Chenzhou dug hadn’t been filled yet, and now other issues were emerging.

The only good news these past few days was that the Nanhai Hotel renovation project had passed inspection, and they were waiting for the final payment.

And then there was Teacher Mao’s mention of going to Cornell University.

Xia Xiaolan had originally planned to ask Huo Chenzhou for help exchanging dollars, but after their recent unpleasantness, that wasn’t possible. She decided to ask Director Wu when she returned to Beijing.

Xia Xiaolan returned to Beijing on Saturday afternoon. She didn’t run into Ji Jiangyuan this time but saw Du Zhaohui at the airport.

Du Zhaohui was heading back to Hong Kong, transferring through Yangcheng.

Upon seeing Xia Xiaolan, Du Zhaohui unusually didn’t come over to be annoying, but instead ran away faster than a rabbit.

Young Master Du was in such a hurry as if being chased by more than ten dogs.

His expression was as if he was attending a funeral, extremely serious.

Had something major happened in Hong Kong?

The Du family’s situation was complicated – perhaps Du Zhaohui had lost in the inheritance dispute and was rushing back to Hong Kong to salvage the situation!

If Du Zhaohui was having bad luck, Xia Xiaolan would be happy.

…

Du Zhaohui had just decided to return to Hong Kong for a full medical examination when he encountered Xia Xiaolan at the airport.

Suspecting something was wrong with his body, he naturally wasn’t in the mood to go over and tease her. Seeing Xia Xiaolan from afar, Du Zhaohui reacted as if he’d seen the source of a viral infection.

His heartbeat was strangely irregular, and he felt uncomfortable even after boarding the plane.

As soon as he landed, he had someone contact the hospital immediately.

While ordinary people needed appointments, wealthy young masters had hospitals at their service. Du Zhaohui said with a grave expression:

“I suspect there’s something wrong with my heart – palpitations, chest tightness, increased heart rate.”

With Young Master Du describing such serious symptoms, the doctors didn’t dare take it lightly and kept him for a full examination.

But apart from being a bit thin, he had no problems at all.

An ordinary person would have been sent home, but Young Master Du had money and time, and health was important, so the doctors could only keep Du Zhaohui for observation with 24-hour heart monitoring.

Du Zhaohui went straight to the hospital upon returning to Hong Kong, causing a stir in the Du family.

Fourth Concubine Liu Keying was delighted: “Could that little beast have caught some dirty disease from fooling around on the mainland? He went straight to the hospital upon return – the situation must be serious!”

During New Year’s, Liu Tianquan’s smuggling business had lost over ten million again, and settling those accounts had been difficult. Liu Tianquan suspected Du Zhaohui was behind it, so the Liu siblings both harbored a deep hatred for Du Zhaohui.

Hearing about Du Zhaohui’s hospitalization, the siblings were the happiest.

However, having stayed on the mainland, Liu Tianquan knew the atmosphere there was quite conservative – it was unlikely Du Zhaohui could have fooled around much.

“He’s been sickly since childhood. Perhaps he’ll die young like his dead mother – that would save us a lot of effort!”

Liu Tianquan had grown even fatter, looking prosperous, appearing more like a big boss than Du Chengrong.

Liu Keying spoke unpleasantly, and Liu Tianquan was equally venomous – while they looked completely different physically, in this aspect they were undoubtedly siblings. Liu Keying had been laughing but stopped halfway as new worries emerged: “Even if Du Zhaohui dies, there’s still the second son Zhaoji. I never knew that silent dogs bite – Du Zhaoji hasn’t been back for even a year, but look how everyone in the group crowds around him. Besides Du Zhaohui, the second son is also a major threat!”

Dealing with both Du Zhaohui and Du Zhaoji would indeed be difficult for the siblings. Liu Tianquan muttered: “Let them fight each other like dogs. It’s not just you who’s anxious – I think Du Zhaohui is more worried. He’s doing well in Pengcheng, but the distance means fewer chances to please Director Du. With Du Zhaoji taking a position, wouldn’t that make him anxious?”

Du Zhaoji had gone abroad to study very early, and whenever he returned to Hong Kong for holidays, he always appeared as a well-behaved bookworm. Nobody outside Du’s family’s second branch considered Du Zhaoji a threat.

But when Du Zhaoji suddenly decided to work at Chengrong Group this year, he gained the group’s widespread approval within just a few months, instantly becoming a major concern in everyone’s eyes.