Du Zhaoqi spoke with genuine sincerity.

Brothers should fight together on the battlefield, siblings should unite against tigers – why fight and waste energy within the family when they could work to expand their business empire instead?

The Du family was still far from becoming Hong Kong’s wealthiest. That goal would take many years to achieve, so there was no point in fighting brutally over the family assets.

Du Zhaohui laughed at him and even applauded sarcastically:

“Zhaoqi, you’ve broadened your horizons studying abroad. You speak a hundred times better than your elder brother!”

How could their standpoints be the same?

Du Zhaoqi was born to the Second Concubine, with Du Zhaohui already standing before him and more younger siblings appearing afterward. Equal division of the family assets might genuinely be his wish.

But for Du Zhaohui, his mother was the original wife. If Du Chengrong hadn’t married three concubines, he would have been the sole heir of the original wife.

The Du family’s wealth should have been entirely his – now they wanted him to share it equally with so many others?

He had already shared his father’s love.

He didn’t care much about that.

But he wouldn’t share the Du family assets – he’d rather throw it all in the river than let it benefit the other three households. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to report his family’s smuggling business, but asked him to share equally with Du Zhaoqi and the others, to manage the family business together. Impossible! A gang can only have one boss – everyone else must live at the boss’s mercy, no matter how capable they are.

Du Zhaohui wanted to be the “big brother” – not the kind who protects his siblings, but the kind whose word is law, where everyone else lives at his whim!

Would he agree so easily?

Du Zhaoqi wasn’t foolish – he caught the sarcasm in his elder brother’s words.

Du Zhaoqi was indeed well-mannered, always being the good son, with both parents alive. His personality wasn’t as extreme as Du Zhaohui’s. Faced with Du Zhaohui’s sarcasm, he kept his response brief:

“Take care and rest well, Brother. I have some matters to handle at the company.”

Father was still in good health. Many Hong Kong tycoons continued working well into old age – succession wouldn’t be possible for several years.

In those years, the other concubines’ children would also grow up. What would the Du family’s situation be then?

Du Zhaoqi shook his head. He and his elder brother had the advantage of age. They should have reconciled and proven their abilities to Father, securing control of the group before the other siblings grew up. But his brother was impatient, wanting the largest share while destroying the other siblings – fundamentally different from Du Zhaoqi’s thinking.

Though his mother was the Second Concubine, her marriage to Father was legally recognized in Hong Kong. Du Zhaoqi didn’t believe he owed anything to the eldest son.

As a child, he had wanted to play with his elder brother. Back then, Du Zhaohui couldn’t hide his emotions and had once pushed him to the ground, saying he would drive him and his mother out of the Du family.

A person’s thoughts hadn’t changed from childhood to adulthood. Du Zhaoqi admired his brother’s “persistence” but also felt he hadn’t grown up – his methods had matured, but his thinking remained childish.

“Second Young Master-“

“Let’s go back to the company. Brother seems fine; I’ll visit again tomorrow.”

Du Zhaoqi spoke casually, but those around him imagined scenes of brutal conflict.

Hong Kong’s paparazzi imagined even more, following and photographing Du Zhaoqi after his hospital visit.

The hospital room curtains weren’t drawn, capturing a blurry image of the two brothers together, complete with fabricated dialogue.

The fresh newspaper still smelled of ink. Du Zhaoqi threw it away, saying, “Don’t bring these anymore. The company is for business, not family matters.”

Before leaving work, Du Zhaoqi remembered the person he had inquired about earlier.

His assistant respectfully reported: “She’s a newly hired clerk in HR, still on probation. Should we calculate her final payment and let her go?”

Du Zhaoqi didn’t say he wanted to meet her, only asked about her performance since joining.

The assistant was honest: “She’s detail-oriented, quiet, and doesn’t interact much with colleagues.”

“Does she know English?”

“She’s fluent.”

“Transfer her to the secretarial office.”

What?

Wasn’t she going to be fired?!

The assistant lacked a manager’s perspective. From Du Zhaoqi’s view, someone meticulous, competent, and focused on work rather than talk – wasn’t that perfect for a secretary?

Not all employees needed to match the boss’s preferences. Firing those who didn’t and eventually surrounding oneself with only sycophants wasn’t the way.

Different people had different uses – this was Du Zhaoqi’s management style.

It was just a casual transfer to the secretarial office; Du Zhaoqi didn’t need to pay much attention. The next workday, he caught a glimpse of a new face in the secretarial office.

She looked like she had tried to make herself presentable, but still appeared poor.

Du Zhaoqi casually instructed his assistant: “Have finance advance her two months’ salary. She doesn’t need to dress extravagantly, but we can’t have people thinking the company can’t afford to pay its employees.”

He didn’t even stop to speak with Ye Xiaoqiong.

A new junior employee had only caught Du Zhaoqi’s slight attention, not worth the Second Young Master’s time.

Ye Xiaoqiong’s promotion from errand girl to the secretarial office, though still handling trivial matters, improved her career prospects and naturally drew attention.

Since it was Second Young Master’s direct order… Ye Xiaoqiong became the target of suspicion and exclusion in the secretarial office, mocked for her shabby clothes and imperfect Cantonese.

At this time, Ye Xiaoqiong received notice from finance about the two months’ salary advance.

The Second Young Master’s assistant stated directly that her poor dress was embarrassing the company.

Though Ye Xiaoqiong had faced many insults since coming to Hong Kong, these words reminded her of her benefactor on the train who had helped and lent her money.

There were still good people in the world; her luck hadn’t completely run out.

Some people spoke sweet words to scheme against others.

Some spoke harshly but had kind hearts.

Learning this lesson at twenty-something – perhaps it wasn’t too late?

…

People show tremendous potential under pressure.

Like when she hadn’t gotten into university before, Xia Ziyu knew she’d be stuck as a village farmer if she didn’t work hard. To change that fate, she could only grit her teeth and study.

Did she love studying?

Not at all – she wanted to tear up her books.

But she had no choice. She not only had to study but excel at Anqing First High School to win Principal Sun’s favor, to date Wang Jianhua, to leave poor Dahe Village.

Once these goals were achieved, Xia Ziyu relaxed.

Human nature tends toward laziness. Once she was with Wang Jianhua, good days seemed inevitable, so she stopped being urgent.

Later proved you can’t be lazy – without fighting to stay on top, and she was crushed by Xia Xiaolan.

Now, to leave the filthy Kowloon Walled City, to live a good life, to return and take revenge on Xia Xiaolan, Xia Ziyu was diligent again. She studied English, learned dancing, and learned sexual techniques from prostitutes – studying even harder than she had for college entrance exams.

Today, she was finally allowed to leave Kowloon Walled City.

She wouldn’t meet the Du family in Kowloon Walled City – she needed a clean environment and a suitable identity.

Xia Ziyu didn’t take anything with her.

Nothing in Kowloon Walled City was worth missing.

She was going to work at the place Du Zhaohui had arranged. The street newsstands displayed various tabloids, including news of Du Zhaoqi’s hospital visit.

In the photos, Second Young Master Du was well-dressed. Du Chengrong’s Second Concubine had been quite beautiful when young, which was why she was taken as a wife.

In terms of appearance alone, Du Zhaoqi truly outshone Du Zhaohui.

Xia Ziyu grabbed the newspaper, staring at Du Zhaoqi’s photo for a while.