Liu Yutong had just returned to her office when Ma Da hurriedly pushed the door open.
"Boss, Hua Muying just sent word. That gang of pickpockets we taught a lesson last time retaliated against Li Dayong’s men at the train station. They went all out—heard a few guys even had their fingers chopped off. Li Dayong’s already planning his revenge. Those two sides are officially sworn enemies now."
"What about the supermarket? Any trouble there lately?"
"None. Those pickpockets still don’t dare mess with the supermarket. But Qiao Yong’s been pulling some petty moves. Our resellers are running into roadblocks at their school. The guys delivering goods say the outer-circle members at the Grain & Tech College keep losing shipments, and a few even got beaten up."
"Probably think we can’t touch them inside their school, so they’re just trying to annoy us."
"That’s all they’re good for. Anything else? Any word from Scarface’s side?"
"Yeah. Things aren’t looking stable in the Yilian Society right now. Scarface is losing ground in the fight for the Xuanwu Hall leader position."
Scarface was essentially their inside man in the Yilian Society, having stuck with him since the beginning.
After what went down in Wushui County, the guy had been scared straight. And once Liu Yutong made her power move in Mingzhu City, he smartly chose to switch sides. He was the same guy who’d double-crossed Hua Muying back then.
Now, Scarface trusted him completely. Out of all his lackeys, he was the best at flattery. Thanks to his smooth talk, even that coward Scarface started dreaming of becoming a hall leader.
Scarface was all bark and no bite—his scarred face was the only intimidating thing about him. If it weren’t for being one of the earliest supporters of Pan Xing’s rise to power in the Yilian Society, he’d probably still be a lowly bouncer, let alone eyeing a hall leader position.
The Yilian Society had four halls: Qinglong (Azure Dragon), Baihu (White Tiger), Zhuque (Vermilion Bird), and Xuanwu (Black Tortoise).
The Qinglong Hall leader was the society’s boss himself. The Baihu Hall leader was Wang Shi, who’d crossed paths with Liu Yutong before.
Wang Shi, judging by both past developments and their last encounter, was a man of great ambition.
To put it plainly: "A true man cannot live forever under another’s shadow."
His background wasn’t clean either. The way he treated Lin Muyang made it clear—he was likely a puppet leader propped up by outsiders to control the Yilian Society.
The Zhuque Hall was led by the society’s former elder, a neutral faction. After the previous boss died, he did nothing—no vows of revenge, just waiting to see who’d come out on top before pledging loyalty.
The Xuanwu Hall currently had no leader, and Scarface was drooling over the position. Too bad he lacked the skills to command respect. Even if Pan Xing wanted to put him there, he’d have to consider how the other members would react.
"Where’s Scarface now?"
"Let me make a call."
Ma Da immediately pulled out his phone. A few minutes later, he looked up with a strange expression. "That idiot’s got some nerve—he’s actually in our territory right now, at Qiao Yong’s underground casino. Xie Dong and Xiao Bin are there too. Guess old habits die hard."
"Been too busy lately. Almost forgot about those guys."
"Spread the word: tonight, we wipe Qiao Yong’s crew off the map!" Last time, they’d slipped away. This time, they wouldn’t escape.
"Oh, and as usual, bring Gao Min over." Liu Yutong figured it was about time to get Gao Min into the Yilian Society.
Gao Min was skilled, but she wasn’t enough to handle unexpected situations alone, so Liu Yutong planned to assign her some backup.
"Yes, Boss!" Ma Da perked up. It’d been too long since any action—he’d started feeling like all his training was going to waste.
Though no matter how hard he trained, his suit buttons still refused to stay fastened.
The sudden activity in the company didn’t escape Li Xiaohui, who’d been itching for a chance to show off.
The moment she heard the company was mobilizing, she rushed over from school without delay.
Barging in, she yelled, "Count me in! You can’t have a scene this epic without me, Sister Hui! Hahaha!"
By now, she’d earned the Wanlong Society’s recognition—after all, securing that contract had been a major achievement.
Of course, she never mentioned that she’d pulled strings through her family connections. Given her background, she couldn’t exactly brag about it.
She didn’t say it, and Liu Yutong’s group didn’t bring it up either.
They all played along, praising her endlessly for being capable. Later, with Liu Yutong’s approval, Ma Da even gave her the title of deputy hall leader on the spot.
Ma Da handled personnel matters, and while the deputy hall leader position carried weight, rank was everything. Whatever she did required Ma Da’s approval, making her more of a mascot than anything.
But the girl was content. She didn’t care about power—just being called "Sister Hui" was enough.
Now, wherever she went in the company, the underlings would greet her with a respectful "Sister Hui," and it made her day every time.
When Li Xiaohui suddenly showed up, Ma Da glanced at Liu Yutong for direction.
"Let her lead the team. It’s fine," Liu Yutong said after a moment’s thought. "Just have Ji Yu keep an eye on her."
This girl couldn’t afford even a scratch—whether the company was clean or not, the consequences would be dire.
"Got it." Ma Da nodded, then walked over to Li Xiaohui. "Xiaohui, the boss has always thought highly of you. You did great last time, so as a reward, you’re leading this operation. Show us what you’ve got!"
"Really?!" Li Xiaohui’s face lit up.
She’d just wanted to tag along and see the action, never expecting to be put in charge. She could already picture herself rallying the troops.
"Absolutely. I’ll be your second-in-command. You call the shots," Ma Da said.
"Awesome!" Li Xiaohui turned and shouted toward Liu Yutong, "Love you, Yutong-jie! Just watch—I’ll nail this mission!"
Liu Yutong watched Li Xiaohui’s naive, slightly goofy excitement, and an unexpected warmth rose in her chest.
Out of everyone in the company, this girl was easily her favorite.
Rebellious yet pure-hearted, with no scheming mind—being around someone so simple made her own mood lighter.
Not even Yu Xin, her earliest classmate, gave her that feeling.
Of course, she knew some things couldn’t be forced. People always changed.
Just then, Liu Yutong noticed a hesitant figure lurking at the doorway, too timid to enter.
"Who’s out there?" she called.
Li Xiaohui finally snapped back to reality, turned around, and walked to the door, where she promptly dragged in the timid-looking man wearing black-framed glasses.
"Oh, uh, this is Sister Xin's friend. She asked me to bring him along."
"Wait, I forgot—what was your name again?"
The young man glanced nervously at the girl sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed, exuding an intimidating aura as she studied him. In a quiet voice, he replied, "Liu... Liu Yutong, my name is Yu Mo."
............
