Chapter 105: Lord Hai Tries to Play Peacemaker

Lord Hai had a splitting headache.

He was furious with He Jiansheng!

He knew He Jiansheng, the former young master of the He family, very well. He knew that no amount of persuasion would make the man let this matter go.

What he had not expected was that He Jiansheng would actually move against the Mengrou Apparel Group!

And worse, he had done it by using the machinery of the government to interfere.

In China, even if you have done nothing wrong, if the various government departments set out to make trouble for you in ways that leave no clear fault to pin down, they can still bring a company to a standstill and eventually ruin it.

Lord Hai, who himself wielded such power, knew the subtleties of it all far too well.

China had always been a country where official power stood above everything else. On that point, Lord Hai’s understanding was perfectly clear.

But with the march of time, especially in this age where the economy came first, money had been granted boundless strength. In fact, it had become so powerful that, to a certain extent, it could alter everything.

In some respects, this had already shaken the old authority of official supremacy.

And with society growing more complex and money taking precedence, all kinds of unpredictable things kept emerging.

Using the government to interfere at will was already outdated and only invited contempt.

Yet that was exactly what He Jiansheng was doing now.

Most important of all, He Jiansheng had chosen the Mengrou Apparel Group.

And Lord Hai had never been able to forget Wang Xinmeng.

That was the key reason for his anger.

With Lord Hai’s domineering nature, although he and Wang Xinmeng had not yet formed any real relationship, he had already treated her as his own private possession. How could he allow anyone else to covet her?

Still, it would not be appropriate for him to step forward and directly stop He Jiansheng.

He Jiansheng was no longer the once-mighty young master he had been, and the man was rather foolish into the bargain. But after all, he had once been in charge of the He family’s outer affairs. If Lord Hai interfered now, it would be hard to speak without seeming overbearing.

Lord Hai could act domineering in front of others.

But among the great families of the same level, he knew very well that a domineering image was intolerable. Otherwise, no one would cooperate with you.

Another reason he had not acted was that he wanted to see how He Tian would respond.

But what disappointed and puzzled Lord Hai was that He Tian seemed to have vanished. There was no sign of him at all.

Meanwhile, several strangers had appeared around Wang Xinmeng and Wang Xinrou, and at Villa No. 3 in Dragon-Sea Garden, many unfamiliar people had been coming and going as well.

This made Lord Hai even more certain that He Tian was no ordinary man.

With the extraordinary He Tian and the brazen He Jiansheng, who still acted arrogant despite having lost his power, Lord Hai very much wanted to watch this fierce clash of dragons and tigers.

But considering that the car race for the family’s foundation was drawing very near, he did not want He Tian to be affected by anything else.

He took this race extremely seriously.

Since He Tian had already reappeared, Lord Hai immediately invited both He Tian and He Jiansheng to come over to his place. They could talk face to face and see whether the matter could be temporarily suppressed, with everything else left until after the race.

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He Tian took Lazy Cat to Lord Hai’s villa in the Binhai Villa District.

Lord Hai had a master at the fourth level of internal energy by his side, and He Tian’s own strength was not enough to oppose that alone, so he naturally had to reinforce his side.

As for Lazy Cat, being an assassin, his powers of observation were extremely keen. He Tian had not forgotten the purpose of getting close to Lord Hai.

Although he had not yet moved against that assassin organization, that did not mean the matter had been put out of his mind. On the contrary, everything was proceeding as normal. He Tian would not abandon any clue that might appear.

"Is this supposed to be fun?" Lazy Cat sat in the back seat with his eyes half-closed, resting, and spoke to He Tian, who was driving.

"There’s fun in one sense, and there’s no fun in another. It just depends on how you look at it," He Tian said with a smile. "But this is quite different from the life you and I used to lead. A person has to experience different lives before he can truly understand more things. Brother Cat... believe me when I say this, because I feel it very deeply now!"

"Ha... I really do love my line of work, no question about that. But keeping my head tied to my waistband every moment of the day isn’t exactly my favorite thing either. Since there’s a chance to change things now, I don’t mind giving it a try," Lazy Cat said with a laugh. "But I have very little sense of security, so I need to build a solid fortress... Even if the Chinese government wants to get rid of me, I’ll make sure to bite them hard."

"Brother Cat, that’s a bit too extreme. No individual can represent the government!" He Tian said seriously. "That kind of thing won’t happen. Here, you have a brand-new identity, so you should also have a brand-new beginning. The main thing is to change your mindset."

"Fine, fine, from now on I’m your little brother, all right?" Lazy Cat said lazily, smiling.

"Brother Cat, have you ever seen a little brother making the boss drive?" He Tian said with a grin.

"Hahaha!" Lazy Cat burst into laughter.

"Lord Hai is connected to one of the clues I’m investigating. If possible, observe him closely, but mind your boundaries. There is at least one person at the fourth level of internal energy by his side. Don’t be careless," He Tian reminded him.

"Ha... nowadays, so many internal-energy practitioners have bowed down before money," Lazy Cat said with a slight shake of his head.

He Tian smiled faintly.

Was that not exactly so? In a sense, the power of money also represented overwhelming strength.

He Tian drove the car smoothly into Lord Hai’s villa.

Akun opened the car door for him.

"Thanks, Akun," He Tian said with a faint smile.

"Mr. He, the young master has been waiting for you," Akun said with a polite smile.

But when he saw Lazy Cat getting out of the car, Akun’s eyes narrowed slightly. From Lazy Cat’s body, he sensed an extremely dangerous presence. Just being swept by Lazy Cat’s gaze made Akun feel as though countless guns had already been trained on him.

That sensation filled Akun with vigilance.

"Akun, this is my friend. He only arrived a few days ago. Things aren’t peaceful right now, so I had no choice but to call an old friend out for some fresh air," He Tian said, noticing Akun’s reaction, and patted his shoulder with a smile.

"Your friend is quite a master, Mr. He," Akun said, regaining his composure with a smile.

"Just a little sparring, that’s all. Has Young Master He arrived yet?" He Tian asked as he walked toward the villa with Akun.

"He’s already here... otherwise the young master would have come out to greet you. He didn’t go out to welcome He Jiansheng, so the young master is very angry about this. It’s just that we couldn’t get in touch with you for some time," Akun hurriedly relayed what Lord Hai had instructed him to say.

"Hahaha, understood!" He Tian laughed aloud.

Yet in his heart, he was analyzing the message Akun had delivered at lightning speed.

It seemed that Lord Hai was on his side?

No, that could not be right. If he were truly on his side, how could he have stayed idle all this time? Or was Lord Hai merely trying to test He Tian’s strength? Or perhaps the issue lay with the He family and the forces standing behind Lord Hai?

Very complicated indeed.

But He Tian found that he rather liked this kind of complexity.

Lazy Cat kept his gaze straight ahead and followed closely beside He Tian, but his sharp eyes were constantly observing everything around them.

He was secretly astonished. This villa, so splendid and bright on the surface, seemed to conceal formidable power everywhere.

It looked as though this Lord Hai was no ordinary man.

For He Tian to come and investigate such a dragon’s lair and tiger’s den on his own, he truly had courage.

As soon as He Tian entered the main hall, he greeted Lord Hai with a broad smile.

"Brother Hai!"

"Little Brother He! Come, sit down," Lord Hai said warmly, inviting He Tian to take a seat. Lord Hai had truly gone to great pains; for the sake of the car race, he had even given up some of his usual habits. Otherwise, with his status, no matter how extraordinary He Tian might have seemed, he would never have been so warm.

"Oh my, isn’t this Young Master He? A pleasure, a pleasure. It’s been more than ten days since we last met, hasn’t it? Young Master He is as elegant as ever!" He Tian sat down and looked cheerfully at He Jiansheng, who was seated on the other side of the round table.

"Mr. He is every bit as radiant as well. I admire you, truly I do. It seems your ability to endure storms and setbacks is quite formidable," He Jiansheng said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

He Tian curled his lip inwardly.

No wonder He Jiansheng had been stripped of his position as the He family’s outer administrator.

A man so lacking in restraint, so arrogant, and so obviously flawed in temperament simply was not suited to such an important post.

"How can you see a rainbow without first enduring wind and rain? I like the rainbow that appears after the storm passes and the sky clears. It is beautiful beyond words, so beautiful it makes one intoxicated. Young Master He, why don’t we admire that rainbow together when the time comes?" He Tian said with a faint smile.

"Oh? I’m afraid you may never even get to see any rainbow at all, Mr. He. A storm can destroy everything," He Jiansheng said with a cold laugh.

"I don’t see it that way," He Tian said, pursing his lips. "Just a drizzle. What is there to fear?"

Lord Hai’s headache was getting worse.

He had not expected that the moment the two of them met, they would immediately start sniping at each other.

With no other choice, Lord Hai could only tap the table and lift his glass. "You men don’t drink red wine. This is genuine top-grade Moutai, aged for nearly twenty years. Have a taste."

"Twenty-year-aged top-grade Moutai? Brother Hai, that’s excellent liquor! I’ll try some." He Tian raised his glass, took a small sip, and praised it. "Fine liquor indeed. Fragrant, mellow, rich, and full-bodied. What splendid wine!"

"If it’s good, then drink more," Lord Hai said with a chuckle.

"You both know why I invited you here," after having two cups, Lord Hai no longer beat around the bush. He said directly, "Do me this favor. Let’s call a temporary halt to this matter. How about it?"

"Brother Hai... that puts me in a difficult position. I haven’t done anything at all! Nothing at all!" He Tian put down his glass, spread his hands, and looked utterly innocent.