Evan Lin carried two bowls of dumplings onto the car, handing one to Big Tank. Big Tank didn’t hesitate—he finished it all in less than a minute. After eating, he felt a faint warm current flowing through his body, making his hair stand on end in pleasure and leaving his face blissful.
When the car stopped in front of an office building, Evan glanced up at a window where the lights were still on, then headed upstairs with his bowl of dumplings.
Inside the office, Lily Zhong was hunched over her desk, sorting piles of data sheets and project files into neat categories. She rubbed her temples, her graceful figure showing a hint of laziness, and reached out for the cup of cold coffee on the table.
Drinking this at night isn’t good for you. Have some dumplings instead, warm up your stomach.
The sudden familiar voice made Lily Zhong pause. She looked up and saw Evan Lin, instantly breaking into a smile. "When did you come in? I didn’t hear a thing!"
You were working so hard, how could you hear me come in? Back at Brightsea No. 2 High, I’d always be daydreaming in the back row and never knew when our homeroom teacher walked in, either.
Evan pushed the dumplings toward her. Lily’s stomach growled, and she didn’t refuse. Hearing Evan’s words, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. "I’m not a teacher anymore."
She kept insisting, but Evan didn’t care—he just smiled, glanced at the pile of paperwork, and asked curiously, "Is it a hassle dealing with all this?"
Not really. Everything that needed doing is done. But I looked over the recent performance of the different stores, and it seems our income has pretty much maxed out. Brightsea’s just too small—the future growth potential isn’t great. I’m thinking about using our idle funds to open a shop in River City.
Lily spoke as she ate her dumplings.
Do you want to start your own company?
Evan turned to Lily and suddenly said, "It might be exhausting, but what you could gain is a market worth tens or even hundreds of billions."
"A market worth tens or even hundreds of billions?" Lily was stunned. She looked at Evan’s serious face and couldn’t help laughing. "If I get the chance, of course I’d love to try. But markets that huge are already dominated by big companies. Getting a slice of that would be tough."
It’s like the real estate industry—such a massive market, and if you want to get in, you not only need a ton of money but also plenty of connections.
After saying that, Lily paused, a little shocked. "You’re not actually thinking about getting into real estate, are you?"
Evan shook his head. "I’m not interested in real estate speculation."
"Then what do you want to do?" Lily asked, full of curiosity.
A comprehensive company. Right now, I’m thinking of a beauty product line.
Evan spoke slowly, then took out a Youth-Preserving Beauty Pill he’d prepared in advance and handed it to Lily. "This will be our first product."
Curious, Lily took it from him.
A black Maybach tore down the highway from River City to Minghai, moving like an angry beast. The speedometer broke 200 kilometers per hour, scenery whipping past the windows and leaving streaks of black in the night.
It kept overtaking cars on the main road, the engine roaring so fiercely it sounded like it might explode.
"What’s going on here? Can you at least tell me what’s happening?"
In the back seat sat a chubby man in a white bathrobe, a cashmere coat draped over him and cotton slippers on his feet—he hadn’t had time to change. He turned to look at the guardrails flashing past outside, half-convinced he was still dreaming.
Just ten minutes earlier, he’d finished a social event and was heading home from Sunwave Bluebay to sleep.
Last time, the Zuo family had dragged him off for interrogation, forcing him to say who at Sunwave Bluebay ordered the hit on Zuo Siwen. He kept his mouth shut, so they chopped off his fingers.
Later, the Zuo family was completely wiped out, and he managed to survive. He rushed to the hospital to get his severed fingers reattached, but even though they worked fast, only six could be saved. Now he had just three fingers on each hand—a gruesome sight.
But since then, Manager Zhang’s reputation at Sunwave Bluebay was solid. Everyone respected him, and even Sawyer Summer had personally asked about him, leaving Zhang flattered and a bit overwhelmed.
Right now, his face was pale with fear as he nervously watched the man driving.
He knew the driver—Dustin Chen, a former pro racer who’d later turned mercenary. Just recently, Sawyer Summer had paid a fortune to bring him back to the Summer Family. Normally, Dustin shadowed Sawyer everywhere, acting as his bodyguard.
This was the first time Manager Zhang had seen him apart from Sawyer Summer.
"No idea. My job’s just to get you to the destination, that’s all I know." Dustin shrugged, pulled a Zhonghua cigarette from the front and tossed it to the back seat. "Smoke one, calm your nerves. Doesn’t matter how you’re born or what you do, everyone ends up in the grave anyway—it’s all the same road."
Dustin lit a cigarette for himself, sounding relaxed.
"Come on, I really haven’t done anything! Dustin, let me call Boss Sawyer, okay?" Manager Zhang pleaded, his hands shaking as he reached for the cigarette.
"No need to call. Relax, seriously."
Dustin waved it off, cigarette dangling from his lips. As he fumbled for his lighter, a car suddenly appeared ahead—he spun the wheel without missing a beat, and the Maybach surged forward at full throttle.
Half an hour later, the Maybach passed the highway toll station, tires crunching over patches of icy snow, and stopped at a remote spot near the exit.
As soon as the car stopped, Manager Zhang shrank back, staring at ten Mercedes lined up ahead. Before he could ask for a phone to call his family, Dustin yanked him out of the car.
"I’ve brought the guy. I’m heading back to sleep. When you’re done with him, let me know!"
Dustin shouted to the dozen toughs waiting nearby. Manager Zhang shivered at his words, feeling a chill run down his spine.