Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 124: The Debtors’ Boss

After the banquet ended, when Chu Tiancheng and Ouyang Ziyi saw off the last guest, Chu Tianyu slowly emerged from behind the toilet corner. Ouyang Ziyi walked up to him and gave him a firm slap on his soft waist, her disapproval clear without words. She then said softly in reproach, “Well, look at you—able to ‘hide’ for so long. Just as the guests left, you show up!”
“Are they all gone?” Chu Tianyu changed the subject.
“Are you asking Ouyang Ziyi?” she replied lightly.
“…” Chu Tianyu was speechless.
Chu Tiancheng, having gone through tremendous ups and downs that night and struggled mentally to deal with so many guests, was now exhausted both physically and mentally. He didn’t say much to Chu Tianyu either; the two agreed to talk in detail later.
After bidding farewell to his elder brother, when Chu Tianyu sat in Ouyang Ziyi’s car, it seemed he suddenly remembered something. Just as he was about to speak, Ouyang Ziyi started the car and said, “Do you want to ask about Xue Ning’er? Don’t worry, she left with a few older people she calls ‘grandma.’ She’ll get in touch with you later, my great romantic!”
“Hehe, why do I smell a hint of vinegar in the car? But seriously, Ziyi, you’re wronging me. I really don’t know anything about this Xue Ning’er!”
“Enough! Even if I drank two jars of vinegar, it wouldn’t be enough to settle accounts with you! Sometimes women can’t even control their own thoughts—after all, we’re emotional creatures!”
“Hehe, I don’t know if other women are emotional creatures, but I know you’re definitely a sexy beauty, Ziyi. Are we going back to the dorm tonight? How about going to the villa…” Chu Tianyu, still reeling from his earlier outburst, said with a hint of desire.
“…” Ouyang Ziyi gave her silent consent.
The next morning, Chu Tianyu practiced swordsmanship for three hours to burn off some of the energy he hadn’t released the previous night. It wasn’t until 10 a.m. that Ouyang Ziyi lazily got up and complained to Chu Tianyu, saying she couldn’t take it anymore…
“Tianyu, did you use the Power of the Ink Dragon last night? No wonder you feel stronger this time! I need to seek outside help! What’s wrong with you? Not proactive at all. You can put Qin Nianran aside for now—shouldn’t you show some effort for Li Rouli?” Ouyang Ziyi asked Chu Tianyu, who had just finished showering and was still topless, while refueling herself at the dining table.

“Ugh, I—where would I find the time?” Chu Tianyu protested, feeling deeply wronged.
Seeing Ouyang Ziyi’s unfriendly gaze, Chu Tianyu muttered to himself, “Maybe after I finish this, I should try to fight for it?”
“Hmph…” Ouyang Ziyi said nothing, leaving Chu Tianyu in an awkward situation, not knowing what to do.
However, Ouyang Ziyi didn’t make things harder for him and changed the subject: “By the way, you seemed so anxious last night. You still haven’t told me how you dealt with Zhou Tianxing and his gang.”
When asked this, Chu Tianyu calmed down and said coldly, “I only spared Zhou Tianxing. Those other foreign scum—none of them were left alive! How can such a great nation tolerate a few fleas acting recklessly, daring to harass people in public? They weren’t just insulting Xue Ning’er—they were insulting every Chinese person there. It’s unbearable! Cutting them down with a sword would be too lenient. If it weren’t for the crowded area, I would have executed them one by one!”
As he spoke, Chu Tianyu seemed filled with passion again. His bare upper body revealed the Ink Dragon once more, as if it were alive. The dark energy radiated like vast waves, making the entire dragon glow brilliantly. Even Ouyang Ziyi sitting across from him could feel it.
It was the first time Ouyang Ziyi had seen the Ink Dragon in its combined form, and she was amazed by the sight. When she tried to reach out to touch it, a layer of energy blocked her, preventing her from getting close. Ouyang Ziyi looked at Chu Tianyu in surprise, who shook his head with a helpless smile, implying that even he couldn’t control this Ink Dragon aura—there was nothing he could do.
After sighing again, Ouyang Ziyi brought the conversation back on track. She wasn’t surprised by Chu Tianyu’s actions the previous night. Presuming he had even more ruthless tactics up his sleeve to deal with Zhou Tianxing, she asked, “What do you plan to do next to deal with Zhou Tianxing?”

“Although Qin Nianran’s counterattack revitalized and cleaned up the entire Fudu Industrial Group, its impact on Tianxing Group is at most equivalent to severing one of its arms—it’s far from hitting its core! So Zhou Tianxing still can’t take action for now; he’s needed there to stabilize the situation! Otherwise, once he falls, those international financial giants will immediately withdraw their investments or turn those industries into private property, which would be troublesome. Moreover, this time the impact was widespread—except for Fudu, most other companies were completely devastated. So the top priority now is to find their fatal flaw or weakness and strike a decisive blow to ensure they can never recover!”

“Although I’ve set up a few schemes around Zhou Tianxing, I really can’t handle these business matters. Without spending a long time immersed in them, it’s impossible to truly understand the intricacies. Last night’s mistake by my elder brother is just an example! In my opinion, business isn’t as simple as buying and selling—it involves countless complex relationships and intricate networks. Sometimes, it’s really hard to understand or explain; one can only rely on intuition…”

“By the way, Zi Yi, you’ll need to help a lot with this! If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to trouble Sister Xin even more!” Chu Tianyu said continuously.

“Sister Xin just went to Europe—you know that. Besides, when it comes to business, do you really need to turn to someone else?” Ouyang Zi Yi said dismissively.

“Then who should I turn to?” Chu Tianyu asked slowly.

“Qin… Nian… Ran…” Ouyang Zi Yi said slowly, emphasizing each word.

“Instead of using the resources of your official fiancée, you’re seeking help from others! Think about it—last night, Qin Nianran played such a brilliant move. That’s what a true business genius looks like! She not only got rid of the control of your Chu Industry Group but also shed Fudu’s burdens. She even exchanged your Chu Industry’s debts for numerous projects and land reserves—all planned half a year in advance. What vision, what courage! Enough. It seems our family’s standard of living will have to rely on the ‘eldest daughter’ from now on…” Ouyang Zi Yi said, expressing her thoughts seriously.

Chu Tianyu was sweating—what on earth was Ouyang Zi Yi talking about at the end!

Ouyang Zi Yi glanced at Chu Tianyu’s complicated expression and continued, “Jokes aside, if we analyze carefully the scene where Qin Nianran appeared last night, it holds deep significance!”

“What significance?”

“Think about what she said when she appeared—she strongly supported our Chu Industry! Doesn’t that show her stance?”

“This… this is probably to deal a greater blow to Tianxing Group!” Chu Tianyu tried to explain reluctantly.
“If it weren’t for what came after, your explanation might just pass. But the mention of her glancing at you when no longer under Chu Ye’s control already says a lot. I can’t say she has much affection for you, but at least the invisible shackles and unbalanced relationship between you two have been broken—now you’re completely equal!”
“What does that prove? You really are good at drawing conclusions!” Chu Tianyu said.
“Sigh, it’s useless explaining to you. There’s so much complexity here. Think about it—given Qin Nianran’s proud personality, even if she does have feelings for you, would she willingly be sincere with you under the previously unequal relationship between Chu Ye and her? Even if she wanted to, I guarantee she’d feel embarrassed. But now, being highly intelligent, she’s solved this problem on her own. Hmph, now it’s just a matter of time before you, you flower thief, take action!” Ouyang Ziyi analyzed boldly.
“No way! You really can think that through?” Chu Tianyu said exaggeratedly in disbelief.
“Tch, a woman’s intuition never fails. You guys, men, will never understand women’s hearts…”
“Ugh, please, don’t tie everything to women’s hearts. It’s so fake!” Chu Tianyu retorted unwillingly.
“Fine, even if I don’t rely on women’s intuition, I graduated from Peking University Law School and have decades of expertise in personality psychology, criminal psychology, flower-thief psychology, and so on. Do you think I’d be wrong? Sigh, it’s useless explaining to an amateur like you…”
“You’re ruthless!” Chu Tianyu said through gritted teeth.
…
In the afternoon, Chu Tianyu was talking with his elder brother Chu Tiancheng about last night’s incident. He explained that he had acted rashly out of momentary anger and didn’t expect so many friends to come to his aid.
Chu Tiancheng didn’t press for more details and instead discussed the gains from last night. Just then, the secretary came in, saying someone from Tianxing Group named Zhou Kunwei wanted to see them.
The two exchanged a look and smiled without saying a word…
Zhou Kunwei was completely different from last night—his face was pale, his eyes red, clearly having stayed up all night!
“Hehe, Mr. Zhou left early last night. Why do you still seem so exhausted, as if you haven’t gotten enough sleep?”
“Chu Tiancheng, I’m here on behalf of Tianxing Group to formally discuss cooperation, not to sulk!” Zhou Kunwei ignored Chu Tiancheng’s sarcasm.

Chu Tiancheng immediately became serious and said calmly, “Let’s talk about business. Mr. Zhou, please sit down; I’m ready to listen!”
“Let’s get straight to the point without beating around the bush. They have already fully uncovered the debt you owe Fudu up to now…”
“Sorry, it should be said that we now owe it to Tianxing Group!” Chu Tiancheng interjected to correct him.
Zhou Kunwei ignored him and went on, “The initial investment in that Binjiang New City project, plus the dividends, has now exceeded 20 billion in total. This money belongs to Tianxing Group. I think Mr. Chu should give us an explanation.”
Chu Tiancheng suddenly slammed the table and said sternly, “Give you an explanation? What explanation did you give us last night? These days, the one in debt is the boss—haven’t you heard that? I guess you’ve been living in vain!”