Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 78: Overthinking

“I’m going for a walk!” Chu Tianyu said to Bai Lei and the others, then left the room without waiting for their reaction.
“What’s wrong with the third brother? Could it be what just happened…?” Bao Cai asked doubtfully.
“Hehe, Bao Cai, you can worry about anything, but there’s no need to worry about the third brother! Come on, big guy, stop looking at me like that. I know more about the third brother than any of you. He’s probably just going to calm down. Alright, there’s no need to force confessions from me. I’ll confess everything about the third brother, but first, I demand that you treat me to some mutton hot pot tonight!” Bai Lei tried to explain for Chu Tianyu.
“Alright, is it really just a meal of mutton hot pot? It’s nothing much. We’re doing you a favor. Otherwise, with your big mouth, if we don’t listen, you’ll probably insist on treating us to two meals of mutton hot pot!” Big Guy said disdainfully. Bao Cai also made a dismissive gesture.
“Damn, do you really think my mouth is that big? I, Bai Lei, am a quiet, honest, and adorable young man! Whether you listen or not, I won’t talk!” Bai Lei said, shaking his head.
“Fine, then we won’t listen!” Big Guy and Bao Cai said in unison. Before they could turn away, they heard Bai Lei laugh and smooth things over, “Ah, ah, don’t get upset. We’re brothers after all. No need for mutton hot pot. Let me tell you, when it comes to Chu Tianyu’s story, it’s truly astonishing. Back when Chu Tianyu first started kindergarten…”
“Die!!!” Big Guy and Bao Cai almost roared.
“Calm down, calm down. Kindergarten is too far back, and you don’t want to hear about it. Let’s start from when he entered elementary school, okay…?”
……
Chu Tianyu knew it was better for Bai Lei to explain things to Big Guy and the others—it would be much easier than him explaining, and some things could be said more directly. Today’s events seemed simple, but they had raised so many questions for him. He decided to connect the dots and think things through carefully. So, unbeknownst to him, he ended up at the playground. He found a quiet spot, sat down, and fell deep into thought.
As for Zhan Zifeng and the others, aside from Zhan Zifeng, whom Zi Yi had warned him about last time, Chu Tianyu knew nothing about the other two. It seemed that Gu Yu must come from a noble family, with an air of sophistication. As for that Li Shichu, he was impulsive and arrogant, likely from a powerful family. Jiao Qianfeng needed to investigate them thoroughly. But they were fine—just ordinary people without any special abilities.

Of course, Zhan Zifeng needs to be thoroughly investigated this time—knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in every battle. To be honest, Chu Tianyu was still a bit worried: “After all, exposing his identity like this brings only harm with no benefits!”
“Looking at their backgrounds, they don’t seem trustworthy. If conflicts arise in the future and they can’t deal with us, our family or the entire Chu Corporation will be the first to suffer. We must be cautious; otherwise, once something happens, there won’t even be a place to buy regret!”
“However, if such a thing does happen, those people and their entire families will face the cruelest revenge. I hope they’re smart enough not to force us to do things we’re unwilling to do! By then, all I’ll think is killing—killing, killing, killing…” At these thoughts, Chu Tianyu’s eyes gleamed coldly, and the black dragon within him seemed to gather energy once again, causing the energy in the surrounding air to stir, ready to destroy everything.
Chu Tianyu was startled. His second master’s Taoist techniques naturally flowed, slowly calming the violent emotions in his heart.
This was likely another headache for Chu Tianyu. The energy of the black dragon seemed to truly influence his will and actions. It was like the core of the Purple Void True Dragon within him, uncontrollable, and it would react automatically to changes in Chu Tianyu’s mood or external pressures, making it impossible for him to control it, let alone harness its power.
This was even more troubling than the previous issue—there was no solution or explanation, and he couldn’t reach his masters either, which was extremely frustrating!
It seems the person who created the problem must solve it. He should ask Zhiyu from Shaolin; maybe he can get some clues. Hopefully, they’re still in Beijing. Acting on this thought, Chu Tianyu took out his phone and contacted the Qianfeng headquarters in Beijing, arranging three tasks: first, send a group of elite fighters from the martial arts school to Chu Corporation to handle security; second, investigate Zhan Zifeng and the other two thoroughly; third, find Shaolin Temple’s location in Beijing or any contact points. If that fails, track down the whereabouts of the Dragon Soul Heavenly Battle. After all, if the monks can run, his “temple” can too.
After making the call, Chu Tianyu switched his phone to regular signal and instinctively tried to call Qin Nianran. Just as he was about to dial her number, his hand stopped.

“How do I put it? What should I say? Did some guy claiming to be your boyfriend show up here today to act tough? What’s going on with you? You’re already engaged, you have a fiancé—why bring in another ‘boyfriend’? Where does that leave me, your fiancé?” The more Chu Tianyu thought about it, the more guilty he felt. Not only was the “Love Pact” he had signed with Qin Nianran prohibiting interference in each other’s affairs, but even his relationship with Ouyang Ziyi left him completely unsure of himself.

Moreover, if Qin Nianran were to question him in return, it would make perfect sense!

Thinking of this, Chu Tianyu retracted his hand from the button. Indeed, lately he seemed to have become unusually possessive, a stark contrast to his usual laid-back attitude. Although his skills hadn’t been affected in that regard—indeed, they had improved—he still felt something was wrong.

“Could it be the black dragon energy inside me causing this? Am I really under its influence? Sigh, it seems the most important thing now is to figure out what’s going on with this black dragon!” Chu Tianyu thought to himself.

With this idea in mind, it became difficult to call Qin Nianran. Chu Tianyu sighed bitterly and was about to put away his phone when it suddenly rang—another new number.

“Hmm, is this Chu Tianyu?” a girl’s voice, not very familiar, spoke up.

“Yeah, that’s me. Who are you…” Chu Tianyu hesitated.

“Hehe, I’m a classmate of Li Rou. I live in the dorm next to hers. You didn’t forget who created those cozy moments for you two, did you?” the girl said proudly on the other end.

“Oh, I remember now. Thank you very much for that!” Chu Tianyu then recalled the cute girl with the round face.

“Hmm, that’s better. Today is your chance to properly thank me. Last time…”

“Oh, right. I promised to thank you both. When are you free? I’ll treat you!” Chu Tianyu rushed to answer before she could finish. It’s better to speak first—otherwise, you might end up being pressured.

“Hehe, okay. Are you free tonight? There will be eight of us!” the girl replied without hesitation.

“Does Li Rou count as well?” Chu Tianyu asked cautiously.

“Of course! Without her as the lead, who would we eat with?” she replied frankly.

Chu Tianyu was delighted—there was a way! It seemed Zi Yi’s strategy of going all in was working!
At that moment, a voice came through the phone again: “By the way, I heard you’re quite wealthy. Was it you who gave Li Rou a new phone?” Before Chu Tianyu could reply, the voice continued, “Then we can’t just find some random restaurant at the school gate to feed us. It has to be something decent!”
“Wherever you want!” Chu Tianyu replied directly.
“Well… how about ‘Glory’? Do you think that’s okay?” The girl was quite bold, demanding top-tier treatment right away. But obviously, she wasn’t entirely confident, leaving room for negotiation.
Chu Tianyu didn’t mind and replied, “Okay, ‘Glory’. Let’s meet at the school gate at 5:30 in the evening.”
As soon as he hung up, he heard excited voices on the other end. He could faintly hear them chirping, “Oh~ Oh~ That’s great! He agreed…”, “Really? We’re really going to ‘Glory’?”, “Ahaha, we finally caught a rich target…”, “HOHO~ Let’s take him down completely…”
Chu Tianyu, the so-called “rich target,” was sweating profusely on the other end. What kind of girls are these these days! Then, the girl with the round face seemed to remember she hadn’t finished talking. Trying to suppress her excitement, she said, “Hmm… fine, see you there. Oh, and you can bring some friends too. It would be awkward if it’s just you, a guy! Bye-bye!”
After hanging up, Chu Tianyu, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, dialed another number and said briefly, “Hey, Bai Lei. I’ll treat you at ‘Glory’ tonight. Meet at the school gate at 5:30. Tell Da Ge and the others to come—there’s a girl too!” With that, he hung up in a hurry.
Even so, Bai Lei’s rapid-fire replies came through: “Woooh, great, Third Brother! You’ve saved me two meals of mutton hot pot again… What? There’s a girl! Wow!… Hey, Third Brother…”
…
Fortunately, Chu Tianyu hadn’t called Qin Nianran. She had been struggling lately too! First, her own family business had declined sharply due to her sudden withdrawal. Although her grandfather stepped in to manage things, his age and limited energy meant he couldn’t handle everything. After she left, her elite team was gradually sidelined by other family members, with no one to support them.

During the winter break when she went back home, her parents kept begging her not to go to school and to come back to take care of the business, saying that in another year or two, Fudu would surely be ruined by those uncles and brothers. They kept pestering her endlessly. Although no one could change her decision, they were still her biological parents, so it wasn’t right to outright defy them. Moreover, while in Shanghai during the winter break, she noticed quite a few problems—seemingly someone was secretly sabotaging Fudu Industrial, gradually eroding its interests. But it was just her intuition; there were no clues or evidence to support it. At first, she suspected the Chu Group, but after investigation, it didn’t seem to be the case. Well, family business was one thing—after all, she held most of the shares. She let them do whatever they wanted during those two years of school, using it as an opportunity to see these relatives’ true colors. When it came time to settle accounts, no one would be able to escape. What worried her the most now was that her Ice Heart Technique seemed to have hit a bottleneck—no matter how hard she practiced, she made no progress. Recently, she also heard some bad news about Ouyang Ziyi and that silly guy! As for Ouyang Ziyi, she had thoroughly investigated her in the past, even monitoring every business move of the Oulijiabao Group. But aside from the government’s continuous support and preferential policies, those people hadn’t done anything against Fudu Industrial. As for that silly guy, after breaking up with him and destroying all his information, she hadn’t paid him any more attention. Who would have thought she’d hear about them again under such circumstances? She really couldn’t understand how Ouyang Ziyi could publicly announce that her boyfriend was Chu Tianyu from Beifu Academy—was it a joke? Some ulterior motive? Or something mysterious beyond her understanding? In any case, Qin Nianran was extremely annoyed! “Nianran, Nianran, hehe, I’ve finally waited for you. This is for you…” Suddenly, a boy appeared in front of Qin Nianran, holding a large bouquet of roses and speaking gently. Qin Nianran’s expression turned serious as she said coldly, “Classmate Zhou Chongyun, how many times have I told you? I will never accept you! Sorry, please step aside!” Zhou Chongyun’s expression changed; still holding the bouquet, he felt extremely awkward. Seeing Qin Nianran’s serious tone, he stepped aside. Qin Nianran didn’t even look at him again and walked straight ahead.

“Nianran, wait! What’s wrong with me? Our Tianxing Group is no worse than that Chu family. Why do you have to stick around with a fool? It’s just an engagement, not a marriage!” Zhou Chongyun rushed to speak up.
Qin Nianran suddenly raised her head, her eyes flashing with coldness, which made Zhou Chongyun shiver inwardly. At the same time, he heard Qin Nianran’s icy voice: “Get lost!”
Zhou Chongyun stepped back a few more times. Only after Qin Nianran had walked away and some distance had been created between them did he dare to ask again, not giving up hope: “Is it that Zhan Zifeng? I know he’s pretty arrogant and keeps people away from you. I, Zhou Chongyun, am not afraid of him. If anything happens, I can stand up for you…”
Hearing this, Qin Nianran suddenly stopped and turned to look at Zhou Chongyun. Thinking his words had struck a chord, Zhou Chongyun quickly stepped forward a few steps, looking at her with hope.
Qin Nianran glanced at that handsome yet detestable face and said coldly, “I don’t know what that Zhan Zifeng has said or done to you guys. All I know is that he’s delusional! Please don’t tie me to him!”
Zhou Chongyun was overjoyed. “Really? That’s great! I knew that kid wasn’t trustworthy. Good thing Nianran didn’t fall for his tricks. Nianran…”
As he spoke happily, Qin Nianran suddenly said something that left him speechless, forcing him to watch as she walked away!
The words were: “Including you, don’t be delusional!!!”