In the end, Scarface Brother was smoothly bailed out by a heroic female police officer. However, once freed, he grew increasingly uneasy. Logically, regaining his freedom should have been cause for celebration, yet he couldn’t shake the chilling sensation at the back of his neck. If the boss found out he had betrayed Lang Ya and his crew, he’d be in deep trouble.
"Er Kun... What if the boss learns that Lang Ya and the others got caught because of us...?"
Er Kun cut him off. "Scarface Brother, you’re overthinking it! This stays between us—heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. As long as we keep our mouths shut, nothing will happen."
Scarface remained restless. "But what if—"
"No ‘what ifs.’ Lang Ya and his guys were just unlucky, plain and simple. They walked right into it."
Er Kun added, "Scarface Brother, don’t worry. I’ll hire them a top-notch lawyer in your name. Who knows? They might even thank you for it."
Scarface’s eyes instantly lit up. "You’re right! If I help them out, they’ll think I’m loyal. Then they’d never suspect me of snitching."
"Er Kun, you’re always one step ahead. With a brother like you by my side, I can rest easy."
Er Kun thumped his chest. "My loyalty to you, Scarface Brother, is unwavering—as clear as the sun and moon!"
"Good brother!"
"Good brother!"
".........."
................
Several days later.
At the Wanlong Hui company.
Liu Yutong had just arrived at the office after class when Yang Xin showed up right behind her.
After instructing Yang Xin to prepare for a meeting, her gaze swept across the office before settling on Yu Mo, who was chatting and laughing with a few Wanlong Hui members, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Ever since that group activity the other night, Yu Mo had been unusually energized, as if still riding an adrenaline high.
It was Yu Mo’s first time participating in such a collective event, and he found it thrilling—so much so that he even fantasized about going home, pulling out a belt, and giving his old man a taste of his own medicine.
He imagined roaring, "Old man, hand over Mom’s shares right now!"
Of course, that was just a passing thought. Actually standing up to his father? He didn’t have the guts.
When Yu Mo noticed Liu Yutong, he quickly stood up and greeted her like the others.
Liu Yutong gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
She could sense a shift in Yu Mo’s eyes—there was a new hunger in them, a flicker of... ambition.
After reporting on the recent supermarket operations, Yang Xin finally got to the main purpose of his visit.
"Young Miss, that Li Huai is still up to his old tricks."
Liu Yutong’s slender fingers paused mid-flip through the report. "What nonsense is he pulling now?"
"The bastard’s gotten smarter. Under his new boss, he’s stopped openly offering cash-back schemes. Now he’s playing the pyramid game—disguising it as a ‘member referral reward’ while secretly building a downline for commissions. In just a week, he’s already scammed millions."
"Is that so?"
Liu Yutong’s beautiful eyes curved in amusement. "Greed... has always been humanity’s greatest weakness."
"Leave him be for now. Let the bullet fly a little longer."
She slid a document across the table to Yang Xin. "Take a look at this first."
Yang Xin skimmed a few pages before his pupils contracted, his voice trembling. "Young Miss, are you saying... we’re to complete the construction and launch of our first large-scale shopping mall next year? This...!"
Liu Yutong: "What? You think it’s impossible?"
Yang Xin forced a bitter smile. "When you took me to see Qianda Plaza earlier, I thought it was just about opening another branch. I never imagined..."
"Young Miss, to be honest, while I do support building a shopping mall in the future, this is too rushed. Xinglong Supermarket struggled for years and still doesn’t have its own shopping center... I believe we should focus on expanding with the ‘store supports store’ model first, not jump into mall construction."
"Young Miss, do you realize? A medium-sized mall’s structural construction alone costs at least 200 million. For a project like Qianda Plaza, spanning over 100,000 square meters, the price tag would easily hit five or six hundred million! Six hundred million!"
"Even if we pooled all our assets, we wouldn’t even cover a third of that."
"And after acquiring those six supermarkets in Mingcheng, we still need to build a distribution center. That’s our top priority right now. Without a solid distribution network, we can’t improve delivery efficiency to our stores."
"Young Miss, give me some time—three years, tops. I promise I’ll get you a shopping mall by then. But if we push for it now, we’ll collapse!"
"Three years is too long. A large shopping mall is the foundation of a retail brand. Without it, elevating our brand recognition to the next level will be difficult. And do you know how fast e-commerce will grow in three years? If we don’t want to be left behind, we need to plant Wanlong’s roots deep in the hearts of Bright Pearl City’s four million residents—and we need to do it soon."
Hearing this, Yang Xin could only sigh, even tugging at his hair in frustration.
The Young Miss was insane—insane to the point of suffocation!
With 2007 nearly over, she wanted the mall built and operational within 2008. That was outright impossible!
Forget the money—even construction would take time. A large shopping mall normally required at least a year to build, and that was already pushing it.
Seeing Yang Xin’s near-panicked expression, Liu Yutong couldn’t help but laugh. "Yang Xin, I’ll stop teasing you."
She pulled a photo from her chain-strap bag and placed it on the coffee table. "Take a look at this first."
Yang Xin froze. The moment his eyes landed on the photo, he sucked in a sharp breath.
The image showed a bustling construction site, steel frames towering over a massive structure already taking shape beneath scaffolding. The main structure was nearing its final stages.
"Young Miss, this... this... Don’t tell me you’ve already..."
He was stunned, his mind reeling. Based on the photo, the building had to be at least 100,000 square meters. At this rate, interior work could start by spring, with a grand opening possible by year-end.
How on earth had the Young Miss pulled this off? A shopping mall built in complete secrecy?
But then another thought struck him—something wasn’t right. How had such a massive project escaped his notice? And where had she gotten the funds?
"What do you think of this shopping mall?" Liu Yutong asked.
"It’s enormous, and the design is very modern... Young Miss, how did you manage this?" Yang Xin couldn’t resist asking.
"Look closer at the text on it," Liu Yutong tapped the photo lightly.
Yang Xin finally noticed the huge banner hanging on the building's exterior—'Constructed by Yu Corporation.' His head snapped up, meeting Liu Yutong's amused gaze, and everything clicked in an instant.
What a familiar feeling!
The young mistress was at it again—playing her "empty hands catch wolves" trick!
Suddenly, he felt like he was transported back to Wushui County. Wasn’t this exactly how she had taken over Xinglong Supermarket back then?
If the young mistress set her sights on something of yours, well, tough luck—it wasn’t yours anymore from that moment onward.
Honestly, if she hadn’t reminded him, he might’ve forgotten she had other tactics up her sleeve.
Slow and steady development just wasn’t her style. She thrived on these bold, unconventional moves—that’s what made it thrilling.
Wait… Yu Corporation?
Yang Xin suddenly remembered Yu Mo, who had been frequenting their company lately. He’d known the man’s identity but never paid it much mind—until now. Now, it all made perfect sense.
The young mistress was planning to use this guy as leverage, forcing Yu Corporation to hand over that nearly completed shopping center!
Otherwise, he couldn’t think of any other way she’d pull it off.
The young mistress truly was… something else.
