Chapter One Hundred Nine: Do Not Be Content with Modest Fortune

Night. Bedroom.

The sudden downpour had ceased. All his worries vanished from his mind, along with his body's brief spasm.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Liu Liping reached over to the nightstand, pulled out three tissues, and gently wiped Lu Kun clean.

...

"Whatever it is, tell me. Let's share the burden together, alright?"

Liu Liping shook out her aching left hand, cradled Lu Kun's chin with her right, and spoke seriously.

Lu Kun's gaze wavered. In her current state, his wife's eyes had lost their usual gentle tenderness, replaced by a stubborn intensity.

"These are business matters. What would a woman like you understand?" Lu Kun said, holding his ground, turning his face slightly away.

Smack!

"Hiss!"

"What are you doing? If you break it, won't you feel sorry?" The slap nearly made him leap out of bed, it hurt so much.

"Lu Kun, can't we just live the way we are now? Isn't this exactly the good life you promised me back then? We're already living in fine style. I'm content. Let's stop fighting, alright?"

Liu Liping lay across Lu Kun's chest, tears streaming silently down her face.

Her voice was tiny, like the buzz of a mosquito, yet it struck Lu Kun's heart like a heavy hammer.

Lu Kun sat dazed for a moment, then reached out blankly and slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"Remember when we first met, you told me you'd give me a good life? I believed you, and I followed you without a second thought.

When I married into your family, braving all the gossip, you promised me that one day you'd give me a grand wedding. I believed you, and I bore you children.

All these years, I never wanted anything from you. All I want is for you to be safe, for our whole family to be well..."

At first, Liu Liping was sobbing quietly, but by the end she was nearly wailing.

"I know, I know, I know all of it," Lu Kun said, turning his head to kiss away the tears on his wife's face.

"No, you don't! You don't know anything!" Liu Liping pounded wildly against Lu Kun's chest. "You always shoulder everything yourself. You never tell me anything!"

...

"That's about the whole situation. Don't be afraid, I have a way to handle it," Lu Kun said softly, gently patting his wife's back.

"What do you plan to do?" Liu Liping stared at him, asking.

"Uh... I haven't quite figured that out yet," Lu Kun said with an awkward smile.

"Can't we... take a step back? We're already rich enough. Our family won't spend it all in several lifetimes," Liu Liping said quietly.

Lu Kun shook his head, staying silent.

This was one thing he couldn't back down on. If he showed weakness even once, the entire Huakun Group would become a fat sheep in everyone's eyes, and in the end, all their prior efforts would become someone else's wedding dress.

As for Sun Chengze's proposal—that the Sun family would take a twenty percent stake in the Huakun Group in exchange for forcing the Zheng family to back off—Lu Kun rejected it without a second thought.

Lu Kun knew the Sun family's situation well. They were a classic case of the sun setting behind the western hills.

Right now, the whole Sun family was being held up by old Master Sun alone. The big shots in the province might show him a bit of respect today, but what about tomorrow?

Leaning on a mountain, the mountain may collapse; relying on water, the water will flow away.

Getting too deeply involved in political games would do no good for the long-term development of the Huakun Group.

If they weren't careful, they'd end up as a sacrificial pawn in political struggles.

"Relax. I won't do anything reckless."

Lu Kun patted his wife's back rhythmically in comfort, but deep in the corner of his eye, there was a faint, barely perceptible shadow.

"Mmm." Liu Liping hummed softly, then gently placed Lu Kun's big hand on her slightly swollen belly, and said seriously, "Promise me—for me and the child—you have to stay safe. When things happen, don't be so stubborn."

...

Women and men think very differently.

Women put their family first and career second.

Men are just the opposite. Power, wealth, and women are often their first pursuits.

Every man wants to be a rider of the tides of his era.

Lu Kun was, of course, no exception.

A second-generation heir was at most a troublesome opponent—hardly someone who could force Lu Kun to retreat or to humble himself.

That had already been decided back when Lu Kun had Sun Bowen expand the Huakun Group into Nanming City.

And this time, he would use the opportunity to let everyone who coveted the Huakun Group know that it was no soft persimmon to be squeezed at will, but a thorny bramble.

Whoever wanted to grab it should first be prepared to have blood on their hands.

...

Morning.

The phone in the living room rang insistently.

Lu Kun walked out of the bedroom, saw the number on the landline display, and hurriedly pulled the phone cord out.

It was a call from an off-the-books operative in the information department.

Lu Kun quickly got dressed and went out, found a public phone booth, and called the number back using the fixed contact number they had agreed upon.

The person on the other end must have been waiting for his call, because the phone was picked up the moment it started ringing.

"How did the investigation go?"

Lu Kun pressed the receiver to his ear and turned around, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"Report to you, boss. We've mapped out the daily routine of that Zheng kid. He goes to the Baile Dance Hall to have his fun almost every two or three days..." The voice on the other end was lowered to a near whisper.

"Baile Dance Hall?"

Lu Kun's eyebrows twitched.

He had never been to the place, but he'd heard of it long ago.

It was said that inside, every part of every dance hostess came with a clearly marked price.

If a patron wanted to seek his excitement from a dance hostess, he had to pay her tips on top of that.

The entire dance hall was often filled with a delicate fragrance in the air and the soft murmur of panting breaths.

The level of explicitness went far beyond mere hugging and groping.

"Did you get the video?" Lu Kun's hand gripping the receiver tightened.

"Boss, we got the video, but..." The man on the other end suddenly became hesitant.

"What's the matter? Is the video unclear? Or incomplete? If it's a question of money, rest assured, you all won't be shortchanged," Lu Kun asked hurriedly.

"It's complete, and it's clear too. Getting that kind of footage of the kid is very easy. In fact, that kid even hands out videos of himself to people in his circle from time to time.

If we want to use this to hold something over him... I'm afraid..." The man on the other end spoke, and by the end, his voice was coming out through gritted teeth.

Lu Kun: "..."

Holy crap!

Was that kid really that wild?

Lu Kun grabbed furiously at his hair, pacing in circles with anxiety.

"In other words, he was already a degenerate with a sordid track record?" Lu Kun swallowed hard.

The man on the other end was equally speechless, and steeled himself to say, "Actually, before us, someone already tried using this trick against him. Plenty of people in An Gui Province know that 'Young Master Zheng' is exactly that kind of character."