You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Liu Wei didn't understand which sentence had angered Liu Zhenguo, but seeing that Liu Zhenguo's face was already ashen and he was clearly furious, he had no choice but to step on the brakes as Liu Zhenguo had asked.

"get off."

Liu Zhenguo coldly uttered a sentence, then pushed open the car door and jumped out.

Liu Wei quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

He had barely stood still when Liu Zhenguo strode up to him and delivered a resounding slap to his cheek.

Snapped!

The crisp sound of the slap was exceptionally clear in the silent wilderness.

Liu Zhenguo used almost all his strength in that slap, catching Liu Wei completely off guard. He was knocked to the side, and half of his face quickly became red and swollen.

He stood there motionless for a long time, pressing his tongue against his numb cheek, his eyes filled with a bewildered illusion.

"Dad, you hit me?"

After a long while, Liu Wei slowly turned his face back to the side, looking at his father, who was trembling with anger, with disbelief in his eyes.

"I'm going to beat you up, you beast!"

Liu Zhenguo pointed his finger at him and said, "I, Liu Zhenguo, have lived an upright life. How could I have given birth to such a greedy and greedy wretch like you?"

"You'd even sell your own sister to climb the ladder? You'd abandon all moral principles for so-called resources?"

"Dad, I can accept what Mom and Mengyao are saying, but how can you be so stubborn! Everything I've done is for the Liu family!"

Unable to contain his anger any longer, Liu Wei unleashed all the frustration he had felt from being misunderstood by his family these past few days.

The arrogance he developed in the army allowed him to look his father in the eye and say, "Dad, you know better than I do that in a place like Beijing, who would even glance at you if you have no money or power?"

"If Mengyao marries Jiang Che, the Jiang family benefits, and we benefit too—it's a win-win situation! Jiang Che is currently infatuated with that little girl surnamed Su; he'll thank me later!"

"As for Su Qinghe, the daughter of a fallen family, what can she bring to Jiang Che besides her good looks? She will only become a laughing stock for Jiang Che when he enters the social circles of Beijing!"

"Dad, can't you really understand these simple and easy-to-understand principles? Dad!"

Snapped--!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Zhenguo slapped Liu Wei hard across the other side of his face.

Liu Wei was completely stunned. His body trembled slightly, and he covered half of his numb face with each hand. His breathing gradually became rapid and heavy.

"Dad, even if you hit me, I have to finish what I have to say."

Liu Wei forcefully spat the blood and foam from his mouth onto the ground, his soldierly spirit inexplicably ignited at that moment.

He gritted his teeth, looking Liu Zhenguo straight in the eye and saying, word by word, "You've lived most of your life clinging to your so-called integrity, and what's the result?"

"Take a good look at the kind of life Mengyao is living. Her father is the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Region of Lincheng, a highly respected figure throughout China, yet she can only attend a run-down public high school in this small city of Lincheng!"

"If you hadn't upheld your so-called integrity and moral principles, wouldn't it have been a matter of just a word from you which school Mengyao wanted to attend? Would she have had to encounter a bunch of lowly, impoverished people?"

"Fine, even without my involvement, do you really think Su Qinghe will be able to smoothly enter the Jiang family?"

"What kind of family is the Jiang family? Can she even get past Aunt Bai Qing? If Su Qinghe, this down-on-her-luck heiress with no background, could possibly pass Aunt Bai Qing's test, I'd gladly eat ten pounds of shi!"

"So I'm helping Jiang Che correct his course, letting him let go before the feelings become too deep, and also fighting for a future for Meng Yao. What's wrong with that?"

Listening to Liu Wei's utterly absurd remarks, Liu Zhenguo knew that his thinking had become so twisted that he was beyond saving.

He said nothing more, opened the driver's side door and got in, then threw Liu Wei's bag out the window.

The bag landed heavily at Liu Wei's feet.

"Go back."

Liu Zhenguo rolled down the car window and looked down at Liu Wei. "Get back to Beijing tonight. From now on, you are not allowed to interfere in anything Mengyao does without my permission."

"Now that I'm back, I should continue to be in charge of Jiang Che's training. Put away your dirty schemes and get as far away as possible."

After saying that, Liu Zhenguo coldly withdrew his gaze, then stepped on the gas. The taillights of the SUV emitted a puff of white smoke before quickly disappearing into the darkness at the end of the road.

Liu Wei stood by the roadside for a long time, and the chill of the desolate wilderness quickly calmed his mind, which had been clouded by anger.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and the embers flickered in the darkness.

"Stubborn to the end."

Liu Wei exhaled a puff of smoke at the empty highway. "Dad, you're getting old. You can't see the current situation clearly."

"Jiang Che is someone who is destined to be used by us; we must never let him go to others."

After a long while, he stomped the burnt-out cigarette butt under his foot, then picked up his bag from the ground, unzipped it, and took out his phone.

The screen's light reflected on his face, which was filled with resentment. He opened his contacts, paused for a moment on a name called "Chen Feng," and then dialed the number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hey, Brother Liu? What instructions do you need so late?"

A slightly gruff male voice came from the other end of the phone, with some background noise, like someone had just finished training in the locker room.

"Chen Feng, you've seen the list, haven't you?" Liu Wei asked casually.

"We saw it, Brother Liu, don't worry. We'll definitely take good care of that young master Jiang you mentioned. Even if we have to carry him on our backs, we'll make sure he's in the top three."

Chen Feng was exaggerating his loyalty when Liu Wei suddenly said indifferently, "The plan has changed."

"...Changed? How did it change?" Chen Feng was a little confused.

"It's simple, I don't want him to make it into the top three, I want him to 'stumble' in the competition."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a series of slightly hurried footsteps.

Soon, the previously noisy environment around Chen Feng quieted down considerably, probably because he had moved to a secluded spot.

Even so, his tone was still cautious as he lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Liu, this kind of accident is not easy to happen. There are so many people around, if he falls like this, he could easily be stepped on by the people behind him."

"Getting stepped on like that can have serious consequences; that kid's future is probably going to be..."

"You don't need to worry about his future."

Before Chen Feng could finish speaking, Liu Wei impatiently interrupted him.

"What I want is for him to get injured during the match, the more serious the injury the better, preferably a problem with the ligaments in his leg, or a fracture or something."

"In short, I don't want to see him finish the marathon, understand?"