In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Gu Yi is the same. Little Black Rabbit is also a native of Sin City. Her experience may not be as tragic as that of the little assassin sister, but we can still see the drawbacks from her small example.

Only the high-ranking members of the gangs benefit from this situation, while ordinary people suffer the consequences.

Moreover, this trend will affect Night City; no one can escape unscathed… As the saying goes, if Sin City is a little rotten, Night City will be rotten as a whole. After all, where does demand come from? From the people of Night City…

Especially now that there's a new batch of "the Forgotten Ones," you know, any group may lack highly skilled talent, but there's never a shortage of junk. "Dragon City" is recruiting and expanding its population indiscriminately, taking the trash that others don't want, which will inevitably make Sin City even more chaotic and corrupt.

Anyway, Xu Shi didn't want things to turn out this way. Even if he didn't have any compassion, Sin City was such a big and good place, and to only use it to this extent was a terrible waste.

Even if Longtian Dinglian doesn't contact him, isn't he himself trying to find ways to stabilize the other party?

Moreover, he knew in his heart that the old man must also have this intention. If he himself had this idea, the other party was probably even more sincere... Wasn't the conflict between "Feather Pen" and "Dragon City" due to this? Now that his mortal enemy was taking the initiative to make amends, it would be foolish not to accept it.

To be fair, judging from my grandfather's actions, he was a truly upright person...

Xu Shi secretly admired him.

Thinking about it this way, when Wen Shengkui asked him what he thought, it wasn't really asking for his opinion, but more like a reminder so that he could be prepared.

Of course, I can't just give a random answer. Can you really say that the old man didn't have the intention of testing me? Don't be naive.

“…Kid, that’s an interesting thing to say.”

As expected, after a brief silence, Wen Shengkui nodded seriously, his approval evident in his eyes, clearly very satisfied with his eldest grandson's answer.

To be honest, he was unwilling to give up such an opportunity. The chaos in Sin City was indeed one of his worries, and that concern was not unfounded... In other words, Xu Shi's answer could not change his decision.

However, he still asked one more question, "If I really make peace with Long Tianding, aren't you worried?"

"What's there to worry about?"

Xu Shi shook his head easily, "Whether this is a good thing or not is another matter. As the old saying goes, there are no eternal allies, only eternal interests. Even if Long Tianding didn't ask you, Grandpa, he would have asked someone else. So I should thank you for at least telling me."

This is true.

The infighting among the six major conglomerates has never stopped. They may be laughing and chatting happily today, but tomorrow they might stab you in the back. Ultimately, it all comes down to how to gain the most benefits.

For example, the "snake ring" is currently all the rage, and everyone will naturally focus on it for a while. But if someone comes up with something even better tomorrow, things will probably be a completely different story.

As for expressing gratitude to the old man, that's genuine. Whether you consider it yourself is one thing, whether he expresses it or not is another.

Even if I didn't tell you, you couldn't say anything. Not everyone can be as upright as Wen Shengkui. I do intend to do it, but you should also be prepared.

This reveals his attitude; it's clear that the previous ice-breaking efforts were effective, and the relationship between grandfather and grandson is gradually warming up. Otherwise, nobody would care.

Upon hearing this, Wen Shengkui's eyes showed even greater approval.

Previous events had already changed his opinion of him considerably, but today, when discussing such a relatively sharp issue face-to-face, Xu Shi's confidence and composure made him even more appreciative.

Moreover, Xu Shi's words, if listened to closely, have another layer of meaning—there are no eternal allies. This is a veiled way of telling him that whether or not he cooperates and makes peace with Long Tianding has nothing to do with whether or not he is being targeted. When the time comes, he should turn his back on Xu Shi without giving him any face.

Tsk tsk, what a good grandson!

No wonder he has the bloodline of the Wen family.

Wen Shengkui genuinely liked his eldest grandson's ruthless and cold-blooded nature. He seemed carefree, but in reality, he probably considered everything. Wen Shengkui didn't need to worry about him suffering setbacks due to excessive stubbornness. This kid had definitely already figured out how to deal with Long Tianding...

But despite liking it, he was still fuming on the surface, "There are no eternal allies... You mean that one day, you might join forces with others to deal with this old man, for some reason?"

"We are not allies."

Xu Shi said solemnly, "We are family."

……

"...Who is your family?"

Wen Shengkui paused, denying it verbally, but his smile was completely undisguised. "Don't try to talk your way out of this. I'm not buying it."

"Yes, yes, Grandpa's words of admonition were absolutely right."

Xu Shi readily agreed, like a sly mule, "I have some connections in Sin City. If you're going to cooperate with 'Dragon City,' I can offer my assistance."

"Do I need you to fawn over me?"

The old man rolled his eyes at him, "But since you're so sincere... I'll reluctantly accept it."

Xu Shi was secretly laughing his head off.

It can only be said that although the tsundere has been phased out of the meta, the tsundere old man will not be phased out. He is already quite old, so it is completely understandable that he is still stuck in the previous version.

Gu Yi listened quietly to the side, appearing quite elegant on the surface, but her mind was actually a complete mess.

She found the conversation between the grandfather and grandson quite interesting, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it meant. There were so many twists and turns in their conversations... In any case, she couldn't keep up with their pace at all.

So, Xu bastard, why did you bring me here? Wouldn't it be better to spend this time playing games and completing quests?

All she could do seemed to be listen quietly; it was always better not to say anything, right?

Then I'd occasionally pick up the teacup and take a sip. It was quite delicious. What was this? Oh, tea. I'll take another sip…

But as the grandfather and grandson chatted, the conversation inevitably turned to her.

"It seems that your Manager Gu is quite introverted?"

Wen Shengkui glanced at the little black rabbit that mechanically drank tea, his expression showing a hint of suspicion.

He's usually good at judging people. He felt this young lady probably wasn't from a wealthy family, but why was she acting so reserved?

The old man was completely unaware of his own Conqueror's Haki.

"She's alright. She's not usually like this; she's quite lively."

Xu smiled and said, "However, the child is still young, so I brought her to visit you to broaden her horizons and experience the cultural atmosphere surrounding 'quill pens.'"

As he spoke, he patted Gu Yi, signaling her to flatter her grandfather.

"...Ahhh, yes, yes."

Miss Black Rabbit recovered her senses and hurriedly replied, knowing that she couldn't avoid this ordeal.

Fortunately, she understood what Xu Shi meant. She could handle the assigned essay topic. As for praising someone, that was easy.

But how should I praise her...?

Gu Yi quickly looked around and finally fixed her gaze on the calligraphy hanging on the wall behind the desk.

Judging from the signature, it was written by the old man himself, and then framed and hung up.

"I... I've always been very interested in literature..."

Miss Black Rabbit organized her thoughts, cleared her throat, and began, "Take this calligraphy for example, it's... it's very good."

"Oh? What's so good about it?"

The flattery seemed to have hit the mark, and Wen Shengkui followed up with an interested question.

"It's...it's really good...the strokes are vigorous and powerful? The artistic conception is profound?"

Gu Yi racked her brains for relevant words, "This should be... a pan-fried dumpling center? Ah, is Chairman Wen going to enter the catering industry...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Shi grabbed her and gave her a sharp rap on the head.

"That's called having a pure heart!"

Xu Shiren was numb, so he lowered his voice and explained.

Good grief, couldn't you have chosen something you're good at? Why did you have to challenge yourself at this time?

Why don't you just say it's a buffet restaurant?

The old man was also embarrassed. It was the first time that the 75-year-old gentleman had been so flustered by the 21-year-old Miss Gu Yi that he didn't know how to respond.

Finally, Xu Shi regained his composure and smoothed things over, saying, "Don't take it to heart, Grandpa. This child is from Sin City; it's normal that she can't recognize cursive script. That's why I support your cooperation with 'Dragon City,' right?"

"...Haha, I didn't blame her."

Wen Shengkui laughed upon hearing this, "You're right. Judging from this one example, the problems in Sin City are indeed urgent."

"But this little girl is quite interesting. If you really want to learn these things, you can come here often in the future, and I'll teach you how to write."

"Oh……"

Gu Yi replied with her head down, her eyes seemingly searching for a comfortable place to crawl into.

"Then thank you very much. Hurry up and say thank you to Chairman Wen!"

Xu Shi chuckled and dropped the subject. He could get away with showing weakness once, but showing it too often would really make people dislike him...

"Speaking of which, I don't recall seeing Miss He Er when I arrived today?"

He changed the subject, "I was quite surprised to see her here last time."

"What's so surprising? You don't even know this much?"

Wen Shengkui snorted, "That child has been studying here for a long time now, quite a few years. You didn't know that, which only shows that you don't care about your grandfather at all. Family? Give me a break."

How would I know that... Xu Shi was embarrassed, but he really hadn't paid attention to these things before, and the original work wouldn't have written about such trivial details.

But honestly, wasn't it you who cut ties with my mom? Don't put all the blame on me!

"Anyway, you're a heartless person."

The old man retorted, "Yuxia is your elder in terms of seniority. If you want to be more mindful, don't mess up the seniority system in the future... As for her, she said she went out to collect folk songs recently, so I haven't been paying much attention to her."

Get out of here! Absolutely not!

Xu Shi absolutely refused to accept such an arrangement.

It's not because of He Yuxia or anything like that, but because if this happens, wouldn't He Laosan become his uncle?

No, hit it!

"She went alone? Isn't it dangerous?"

He avoided the question and only casually inquired about it.

"Where would there be danger? She's the young lady of 'Shark Tooth,' after all. Even if that old bastard He Jiayuan denies it, her safety is guaranteed."

Wen Shengkui was not worried.

Xu Shi thought about it and realized it made sense. With He Yuxia's status, her daily security was handled both overtly and covertly, so all she had to do was eat, drink, and have fun.

Thinking about it this way, he felt a little melancholy.

That was once what I looked like too.

After chatting for a while, Xu Shi took Gu Yi and said goodbye to Wen Shengkui, preparing to go home.