Hong Kong film: The cop backs down, the ladies beg me to check his license.

Ugly Kun never hid anything from Yip Tin: "I'm the head of the Mong Kok branch of Hung Hing, after all. I follow the rules and haven't done anything to betray the gang. Chiang Tin-sang had Little B target me for no reason, killing my brother Babi. If I swallow this insult, how am I supposed to survive in the future?"

"Even if he's the boss, I still have to have a word with him!"

Ye Tian said, "You always told me that when you're in this business, you have to admit your mistakes and take the beatings."

"Jiang Sheng had Little B get rid of Ba Bi as a warning to you, to tell you to behave yourself and not go too far."

"Just accept it and move on; there's no need to argue with him."

Handsome Kun frowned: "I asked you for the answer to that question, why are you bringing this up? Just tell me, why?"

Ye Tian seemed to laugh: "You really are... Fine, I won't beat around the bush with you, lest you become paranoid and unable to sleep."

"Mr. Jiang asked people to call him 'Mr. Jiang' not to pretend to be refined, nor to save face."

"It's simply because he didn't want people to always remember that he was the leader of Hung Hing."

Upon hearing this, Liang Kun almost burst out laughing, his tone full of sarcasm: "Are you kidding me? Let alone the police, even ordinary citizens, who doesn't know that the leader of Hung Hing is Chiang Tin-sang?"

"Can changing a name really make someone forget their origins?" He thought it was the funniest joke in the world.

Ye Tian sighed, his tone becoming serious: "Brother Kun, why has your brain suddenly stopped working?"

"Still don't understand?"

"Jiang Sheng is trying to clear his name!"

"What?!" Handsome Kun jumped up from the sofa, his smile freezing instantly. His breathing quickened, and his voice trembled. "...Tin, are you serious? Mr. Chiang is going to clear his name?"

Ye Tian on the other end of the phone was probably speechless! Just a moment ago he was calling him "Jiang Tiansheng" by his full name, but now he was just calling him "Jiang Sheng": "Besides this, do you think there are any other possibilities?"

"He had people call him 'Mr. Chiang' in an attempt to downplay his triad background; he had Little B kill Ba Bi because Ba Bi lost fans, and losing fans is the biggest obstacle on the road to whitewashing."

"Two things, one goal! He wants to completely cleanse himself of his past, break free from the gang, and become a true member of high society."

"Anyone who gets in his way will be eliminated. As long as there's no internal turmoil within Hung Hing, his cleanup will proceed smoothly."

Ugly Kwan's breathing grew heavier, his heart pounding. He never expected Chiang Tin-sang to have this in mind. After several seconds of silence, he asked in a dry voice, "...Tin, so...is there still a chance for me to become the leader of Hung Hing?"

Ye Tian tapped his fingers on the wooden table, one tap after another, slowly and deliberately. The tabletop had wood grain resembling tree rings, and his fingernails landed precisely on those rings. "I really want to sit in the chair of the Hung Hing leader," he said, his voice low, but each word seemed carefully chosen. "My mind shouldn't just be focused on the few coins in front of me."

"The few tricks I use to deal with outsiders now, aren't they all things you taught me years ago?" Leung Kwan crossed his legs, his shoe toes tapping the ground. "Didn't you always tell me to broaden my horizons and stop counting ants in this tiny patch of Mong Kok?"

Ye Tian didn't respond, but merely glanced at him. His gaze wasn't sharp, it was calm and indifferent, yet it seemed to penetrate even the seams of one's clothes. "Or perhaps..." he paused, lowering his voice slightly, "that grudge against Ba, is it still burning in your heart, not completely cooled down yet?"

"Pah!" Handsome Kun spat sharply to the side. The spittle landed on the floor tiles, spreading into a small, dark, damp stain that looked rather dirty. He grinned, his smile a bit rough. "Bitch? Who does he think he is! If he dies out there and gets eaten by stray dogs, what's it to me!"

His words were delivered with a resounding thud, but his free hand rose to scratch his spiky short hair, a few dandruff flakes floating in the afternoon sunlight. Ye Tian's question was like a fine needle, hitting him squarely where it hurt most! Jiang Tiansheng held the lifeline of Hung Hing in his hands; to go against him was like throwing an egg against a stone mill.

He remained silent for a while, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, before tentatively asking, his voice a little hoarse, "Then tell me... should I go find Jiang Sheng right now? Should I lower my head and admit my mistake?"

Ye Tian nodded almost imperceptibly, his fingertips gliding across the edge of the table as if wiping away an invisible layer of dust. "Going is fine. Don't be too direct or harsh. Go around in circles, but the core message is: your mess with Ba Bi is long gone. Make him feel that you don't harbor any resentment."

Liang Kun's eyes suddenly brightened, a glimmer of light flashing across them like a sparrow darting away from a windowsill. "So, I'll...play the victim in front of Mr. Jiang?" A sly smile played on his lips. "Play the victim, complain, and try to get a little pity from him?"

Ye Tian raised an eyebrow, as if he'd heard something interesting. "Playing the victim?" His tone held a genuine curiosity. "This approach...will it work?"

The smile on Liang Kun's face vanished instantly, his lips turned down, and two deep wrinkles appeared between his brows, making his face look like a hardened slab of mud that had been soaked and dried by the sun. "Am I not miserable enough?" His voice suddenly rose and then fell back down, squeezing out an indescribable sense of grievance. "If Jiang Sheng even had a second thought about me, he would have just called out to me, wouldn't that have been enough? In the entire Hung Hing organization, who knows that bastard Ba Bi's background better than me? I can count all the moles on his body and his habit of cheating at gambling with my eyes closed!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, tapping his finger on the table: "And what was the result? Mr. Chiang went to great lengths, refusing to use me, and instead chose that greenhorn Chan Ho-nam who hasn't even grown his first hair! What is Chan Ho-nam anyway? In terms of years in the Hung Hing organization, in terms of the favors he's made, what does he have to compare to me? Huh?"

Ye Tian immediately gave a thumbs up and shook it. "Brother Kun," he said, his tone filled with undisguised admiration, "brilliant. That move was truly brilliant."

Hearing the praise, Liang Kun immediately became smug, his previous miserable expression vanishing. He puffed out his chest, slapped his chest loudly, and laughed heartily: "I'm much taller! If you stacked them up, they'd be at least two stories high!"

Ye Tian leaned forward slightly. "If we're going to act, we have to go all the way, every stitch has to be sewn up perfectly." He lowered his voice, his tone slightly seductive. "If we're going to do it, we have to be the 'most reliable' one in Jiang Tiansheng's heart, not just admit a mistake and call it a day. Look at the people in Hung Hing now, Siu B, Chan Yiu... count them on your fingers, in terms of shrewdness and quick thinking, who can stand on the same side as your Kun-ge?"

The smile on Liang Kun's face faded slightly, like smoke blown away by the wind. He frowned again, this time his brows furrowing even more tightly. "That makes sense," he muttered, "but to make Mr. Jiang truly feel that you're reliable and trustworthy... is that so easy?"

Ye Tian scoffed through his nose, the sound short and laced with lazy disdain. "What's so difficult about that?" He leaned back in his chair, the sunlight brushing past his shoulder, creating a contrast of light and shadow on his profile. "Hasn't Jiang Tiansheng always been eyeing that lucrative arcade business? Why don't you just give him a few boards, and that'll do the trick?"

Liang Kun's face instantly fell, like a rag soaked with water. "You make it sound so easy!" He clicked his tongue, his heart aching. "That's an arcade machine circuit board! Holding just one board in your hand means hundreds of thousands in revenue a month—real money!"

Ye Tian rolled his eyes, looking at him like he was looking at a dull stone. "A few hundred thousand is nothing?" he said faster. "Have you forgotten that last time you ran for chairman of the Lian Sheng Group, the candidates gave bribes to the 'old guard' of the uncles' generation, two million in one go? If you want to climb up the ladder, you can't catch big fish if you're unwilling to throw bait into the water."

Liang Kun paused, his eyes darting around in their sockets, his mind racing with calculations. Two million was enough to get someone to part with… giving away a few boards seemed… nothing at all. He slapped his thigh hard, so hard the teacup on the table jumped. "Fine! It'll be like you said! I'm going to find Mr. Jiang right now!"