The weather was beautiful that day.
A thick layer of clouds had been blocking the light, and Wu Yi had just woken up from a heavy drinking session the night before, his head throbbing painfully. Even so, he insisted on getting up and going to the Young Marshal’s residence. His trusted servant couldn’t help but say:
“You should prioritize your health. Take a rest. You could go tomorrow or this afternoon instead.”
“No need.”
Wu Yi rubbed his temples. What did a servant know? He had to strike while the iron was hot. Over the past few days, he had been negotiating with the Japanese side, and they were mostly in agreement, except for some lingering differences over how to divide the profits. This was the perfect time to impress the Young Marshal and showcase his abilities. How could he afford to wait?
One step slow meant falling behind at every turn.
Only those ruthless enough with themselves could get what they wanted.
“By the way, how did I get back last night? Did Xiao Qiu come?” He suddenly thought of something and pressed his lips together as he asked. The servant cautiously glanced at his master’s expression, understood the implication, and lowered his head as he replied:
“You were too drunk. The brothel sent someone to bring you back. As for Miss Xing… perhaps she was fast asleep since it was late. She didn’t come over.”
Hah, ‘Miss,’ my foot.
She had already borne their young master a child, yet she still put on airs and acted as if she were something special. The servant sneered inwardly. He had seen plenty of women like her—high-minded on the surface but frivolous at heart, all because the young master was fond of her.
Still, no matter how much he disapproved, he wasn’t lying.
No one here had gone to inform her, sure, but with all the commotion, if that woman were smart, she would have come over to take care of the young master herself… What an idiot.
Even the little young master understood that much.
Poor kid.
He kept looking toward her courtyard.
Wu Yi didn’t say anything, but his mood soured. In social circles, playing along with the crowd meant inevitable entanglements with romance and pleasure. He knew Xing Qiu was proud and intolerant of such things—this had been part of the reason they’d separated back then.
But after so many years, she should have matured.
If she married into the Wu family, she’d have to socialize with sisters-in-law and the ladies of high society. If she still made a fuss over petty jealousies, she’d be laughed at.
So he wanted her to get used to it in advance.
He hadn’t expected…
Wu Yi gave a helpless smile. Well, whatever. There’s still plenty of time. Slowly teach her, slowly wear her down. With the child involved, Xiao Qiu will eventually learn.
Setting aside matters of the heart for now.
He stepped out.
Just then, the sun broke through the clouds, casting a brilliant golden light. Wu Yi smiled, full of ambition. What a great omen.
At the Young Marshal’s residence.
He ran straight into a group of people—all major power players of his uncle’s generation. Wu Yi quickly greeted them. Some responded, others just nodded, and he didn’t think much of it. Then someone spoke up:
“Here to see the Young Marshal again?”
“Yes. The oil issue is urgent. Everyone must have noticed by now: that Su Ning is hell-bent on monopolizing the oil market. She’s even got her people handing out free kerosene around here and using newspapers to boost her image—‘China’s first domestically produced oil product,’ ‘Chinese should support Chinese,’ and so on.”
At that, Wu Yi gave a dismissive sneer.
But he didn’t notice the shifting glances of the others as he carried on:
“...Judging by this, before her product even officially launches, she’s already refusing to tolerate foreign goods. She wants to swallow the entire market—isn’t she afraid of choking? Once an oil field is discovered here in the Northeast, with Su Ning’s cruel and underhanded methods, there’s no telling what dirty tricks she’ll pull.”
“So for the sake of the Northeast, I urge the Young Marshal to act now, while she’s still getting a foothold.”
He finished and looked expectantly at the group.
If they all pressed the issue together, the effect would be much better.
Everyone else: …
This is getting more and more suspicious by the minute.
“Isn’t this a bit extreme? We don’t even know for sure if we have an oil field here.”
Wu Yi perked up and quickly replied:
“You haven’t dealt with Su Ning. You have no idea how deep her schemes run. She already owns the Yumen Oil Field—by all rights, she should be playing it safe and taking her time with research. But now, in such a short time, she’s already produced results. That means she poured in a massive investment to make it happen.”
“Why is she in such a hurry?”
“In my view, it’s because she senses a threat. That means it’s almost certain there’s an oil field in the Northeast.”
“The Japanese have also said they’re willing to increase their investment to help us expedite the exploration. If even outsiders are stepping up, we should follow suit.”
He thought everyone would now recognize the importance of blocking Su Ning and ramping up exploration investment.
They would support and agree with him.
Then, with a few more words, he could lead them to petition the Young Marshal together.
If that happened, the Young Marshal wouldn’t keep wavering. That good omen this morning must have been pointing to this very moment.
The next second—
“Japanese this, Japanese that. Anyone listening would think you were Japanese.”
Someone snorted, turned, and walked off.
Many followed.
Wu Yi stood frozen, completely caught off guard. Then someone patted his shoulder—it was a close friend and sworn brother of his father.
“Uncle.”
He forced a bitter smile. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have blurted those things out.”
The man nodded approvingly.
Then—
“Because of what happened before, everyone has a bad impression of Japan. I understand their resistance. I was too aggressive—I should have spoken about this privately, gradually…”
“Wait. Why are you so fixated on this oil field? Getting tangled up with the Japanese is a bad idea. And that Su Ning—I heard you’ve been burned by her before. But the past is the past. Why keep fighting tooth and nail? How about this: I’ll pull some strings and get you transferred to the military. Trust me, it’ll be a position with a future.”
Wu Yi was touched.
But he still refused. To achieve success in life, you can’t give up halfway.
Besides, if he went to the military, he’d just be another second-generation elite like everyone else.
It was better to make his mark with the oil field first, rake in money and resources, and then move to the military with far more leverage.
On top of all that, he could get his revenge on that bitch Su Ning.
A win on all fronts.
Wu Yi thought it over, shared part of his reasoning, and then earnestly invited the man to join him in convincing the Young Marshal. That way, they could seize the initiative and have a stronger claim on the oil later.
The man: …
I risked coming here to warn you, and you want to drag me down with you?
He mumbled a few excuses and left.
… …
“Ding! Detected host ‘wicked rich.’ First-tier plot character Wu Yi…”
Here it comes again.
Su Ning bit down on her straw, deep in thought.
As a skilled ‘wicked rich’ mission-doer, she knew herself well enough. It was normal for plot characters to suddenly hate her and trigger rewards now and then.
But several times in one day—that was abnormal.
Not just Wu Yi, but also Wu Xuewen, and even Xing Qiu a couple of times. The rewards she squeezed out of them weren’t much, probably just random resentment.
“I’ve long known that among these plot characters, Wu Yi is the worst—the most dangerous and underhanded. He’s definitely plotting something. Host, you need to be careful. Maybe we should strike first.”
“Let me check what items might work for this…”
Su Ning: …
“No need.”
She had already figured it out. She took another sip of her drink and sighed with feeling, “You know, System, you were right.” She had been too lacking in confidence. And now, here came the rewards!
“Of course I’m right.”
The system paused, then said with a hint of pride.
"But you should still consider my suggestion to strike first. Wu Yi is different from other plot characters. Even though he rides on his father's influence, he can actually command military forces—which is very dangerous for you, host."
"I know," Su Ning replied.
The drink was finished, leaving only ice cubes at the bottom. Su Ning rested her chin on her hand, her voice brimming with amusement.
"But some people just go looking for death."
Hmm, the cargo ship should be arriving today.
