Who's going to be the female lead's simp? Aren't the supporting female characters mor

The air in the intensive care unit was filled with a suffocating smell of disinfectant, mixed with the stench of an elderly person on the verge of decay.

The electrocardiogram monitor emitted a monotonous "beep-beep" sound, as if it were making a final countdown for this once-dominant business empire in Beijing.

Shen Zhenyang struggled to remove his mask, his cloudy eyes fixed on the young man standing by the bed.

Bai Jingyou had his hands in his pockets, his expression as calm as if he were looking at a still life painting hanging on the wall.

"Sit..." Shen Zhenyang pointed to the chair next to the bed, his hand trembling violently.

Bai Jingyou didn't move, but lowered his eyes slightly: "No need, Mr. Shen. The doctor said you only have ten minutes to be conscious, so let's get straight to the point."

There was no small talk, no insincere greetings.

This almost ruthless efficiency caused a complex emotion to flash in Shen Zhenyang's eyes.

Pain, regret, and a touch of helpless admiration.

If only this were Shen's grandson.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain..." Shen Zhenyang gasped for breath, his throat making a bellows-like sound. "I lost. I lost because I was too greedy, and I lost because I'm too old. I can't understand how you young people play this game anymore."

"It's not that I don't understand, it's that I don't want to." Bai Jingyou said calmly. "You're used to using personal connections and face to settle things, but you've forgotten that in this era where computing power is king, data is more valuable than face."

Shen Zhenyang gave a bitter laugh, his chest heaving violently.

"Bai family brat..." The old man suddenly reached out, his withered fingers trying to grab Bai Jingyou's sleeve, but he grasped only air. "The Shen family is gone, and I'm almost in my grave too. But I still have a few good-for-nothing grandsons, and those collateral nephews..."

A pleading look appeared in his eyes, the head of a tiger bowing its head for its cubs before its death.

"Don't let family members suffer. That's the rule of the underworld." Shen Zhenyang's voice was almost pleading. "Could you... leave them a way out? Don't kill them all?"

Bai Jingyou looked at the frail old man.

If it were that passionate young man from his previous life, he might have softened his heart.

But now he is all too aware of the consequences of not eradicating the problem completely.

However, sometimes, killing doesn't require a knife.

"Mr. Shen, you flatter me." Bai Jingyou suddenly smiled, his smile as gentle as that of a friendly younger neighbor. "I'm a legitimate businessman, not a member of the underworld. Now that the Shen Group has gone bankrupt and is undergoing liquidation, that's the end of it. As for your younger relatives..."

He paused, then said sincerely, "As long as they abide by the law and live peacefully, I, Bai Jingyou, will absolutely not lay a finger on them."

A glimmer of light appeared in Shen Zhenyang's cloudy eyes: "Really?"

"Really?" Bai Jingyou nodded. "I can vouch for it with the reputation of DeepBlue Technology."

Shen Zhenyang let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He pointed shakily to the bedside table: "There's... a USB drive in there. It contains the last clean password for Shen's trust fund overseas. I originally intended to leave it for Wanshan to recover its losses, but now... it's yours. Consider it... a toll."

Bai Jingyou raised an eyebrow and picked up the USB drive.

Thanks.

The alarm on the electrocardiogram monitor suddenly started beeping rapidly.

The doctor and nurses pushed open the door and entered, and Bai Jingyou took the opportunity to leave.

In the hallway, Chen Mo took the USB drive from Bai Jingyou and asked in a low voice, "Boss, what about the money...?"

"I've donated it." Bai Jingyou said as he walked out, unbuttoning a button on his shirt collar as if to let some air in. "It's for road repairs in impoverished mountain areas. Consider it a small act of good karma."

Chen Mo was taken aback: "What about those people from the Shen family..."

"Those people?" Bai Jingyou walked out of the hospital, the late autumn sun making him squint. "Shen Wanshan owes 300 million to Macau. And those spoiled brats from the Shen family's collateral branches, which one of them doesn't have tens of millions in high-interest loans? Before, with the Shen family as their protector, the creditors didn't dare come knocking. Now that the tree has fallen..."

Bai Jingyou opened the car door, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The monkeys have scattered, and what awaits them are hungry wolves. I don't even need to lift a finger; those loan sharks and debt collection agencies will teach them a lesson. Letting them live might be more painful than death."

Chen Mo suddenly realized what was happening and felt a chill run down his spine.

This is the true meaning of killing someone by destroying their spirit.

The reason I promised not to take action was because I simply disdained to.

"Let's go to the Cloud Top Tea House." Bai Jingyou sat in the back seat, closed his eyes, "There's a Goddess of Wealth waiting to share the money."

……

Yunding Tea House is located in a secluded courtyard house in Beijing's CBD.

This place operates on a membership system, and in addition to verifying funds, it also verifies identity.

In the innermost room, the Tingfeng Pavilion, the aroma of tea wafts through the air.

Ye Lingqing wore a well-tailored blue and white porcelain cheongsam, her hair was styled in an updo, revealing a section of her slender, fair neck.

She was intently rinsing the teaware, her movements fluid and graceful, a pleasure to behold.

Hearing the door being pushed open, she didn't even look up, but simply pushed a freshly brewed cup of pre-Qingming Longjing tea to the opposite side.

"Just got back from the hospital?" Ye Lingqing's voice was cool with a hint of languor. "You smell of disinfectant."

"You have a really good nose." Bai Jingyou sat down, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "Excellent tea. Mr. Ye, you have a refined taste."

"I can't compare to President Bai." Ye Lingqing put down her tea tongs, raised her phoenix eyes that seemed to see through people's hearts, and said, "He vanished in the blink of an eye with a few words. That old fox Shen Zhenyang fought eagles his whole life, but in the end, he was blinded by you, a fledgling eagle."

"Mr. Ye, you flatter me." Bai Jingyou put down his teacup and got straight to the point. "Without Mr. Ye's official endorsement and that list of smart city pilot projects, I wouldn't have won so easily. Tell me, what do you want?"

When talking to intelligent people, the worst thing you can do is beat around the bush.

Ye Lingqing smiled, a smile that revealed the satisfaction of shrewd calculation.

She took a map out of her Hermès bag and spread it out on the tea table.

That was a planning map of a new district in Beijing.

"Zhang Yi took the logistics route, and Feng Rui has his eye on the commercial land." Ye Lingqing gently drew a circle in the northwest corner of the map with her nail polished finger. "I want this land."

Bai Jingyou glanced at it, his pupils shrinking slightly.

It was a wasteland in the northwest of the capital, currently occupied by only a few abandoned factories.

But in DeepBlue Technology's future blueprint, that place is the planned location of a super hub and big data center.

This woman has a terrifyingly sharp eye.

"Mr. Ye, you have quite the appetite." Bai Jingyou tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "This land looks desolate now, but it's only thirty kilometers from the future second airport. Are you planning to develop it into warehouse real estate?"

"It's not just about warehousing." Ye Lingqing leaned forward slightly, a breathtaking glimpse of white skin peeking out from the neckline of her cheongsam, but her eyes were incredibly clear. "I want to build what will be the largest 'smart bonded zone' in all of Asia here. DeepBlue Technology will provide the technology and equipment, and I'll provide the land and licenses. Profits will be split 50/50."

Bai Jingyou fell silent.

Bonded Zone. The value of those three words is a hundred times greater than the broken trucks Zhang Yi stole.

This involves cross-border trade and tariff reductions; without powerful connections, it's impossible to get it done.

Ye Lingqing was telling him that she could not only add flowers to brocade, but also provide charcoal in the snow.

"Forty-six," Bai Jingyou suddenly spoke up. "I get six, you get four."

Ye Lingqing raised an eyebrow: "President Bai, one shouldn't be too greedy. Licenses are priceless."

"Technology is priceless too," Bai Jingyou retorted. "Without Deep Blue's automated sorting system and security algorithms, it's just a wasteland. And..."

He looked directly into Ye Lingqing's eyes, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Since you were able to obtain the license, it means someone in higher-ups wants to see this land developed. If you can't find a suitable technical partner, this hot potato might be difficult to handle, wouldn't it?"

The air froze for a few seconds.

Ye Lingqing stared at Bai Jingyou for a long while, then suddenly burst out laughing, like a hundred flowers blooming.

"What a stingy little wolf, unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss." Ye Lingqing picked up her teacup and gently touched Bai Jingyou's cup. "Deal. But I have an additional condition."

"Please speak."

"There's a meeting tonight." Ye Lingqing took a sip of tea, her eyes becoming somewhat playful. "Several influential people in Beijing's business circle want to meet you. The Shen family has fallen; this pie is too big for just the few of us to handle. Someone has to step up and uphold justice."

Bai Jingyou's heart stirred.

"Old Buddha" is the term used in Beijing's business circles to refer to those truly powerful figures who live behind the scenes and have immense influence.

In their eyes, Shen Zhenyang was just a gofer.

It seems that bringing down the Shen family was just getting a ticket to the game.

The real game has only just begun.

"What bureau?" Bai Jingyou asked.

"It's not exactly a trap, but it's not exactly a victory celebration either." Ye Lingqing stood up, adjusting the hem of her cheongsam, which accentuated her curves. "The eldest daughter of the Jiang family is very protective of you, but she won't be getting in tonight. So, how about it, do you dare to go alone?"

A clumsy, but effective, tactic of provocation.

Bai Jingyou stood up and pulled out a chair for Ye Lingqing, his movements gentlemanly and composed.

"With Sister Ye here, even if it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, I'll still brave it." Bai Jingyou seized the opportunity, his words as sweet as honey. "After all, we're in the same boat now."

Ye Lingqing gave him a disdainful look, her charm captivating: "Don't give me that. If you don't perform well tonight, I'll have to renegotiate the profits from that land."

The two walked out of the teahouse side by side.

As the sun sets, it casts long shadows across the courtyard houses.

Looking at the distant skyscrapers, Bai Jingyou knew very well that Shen Zhenyang's era had ended, but his own era was far from over.

"Chen Mo." Bai Jingyou got into the car and fastened his seatbelt.

"Boss, where to?"

"Let's go back to the company first." Bai Jingyou took out his phone, looked at the several caring WeChat messages Jiang Mengyao had sent on the screen, and smiled slightly, replying with a reassuring emoji.

Then, he quickly switched the interface and sent a command to Lin Lanfeng:

[Investigate all the related companies behind that piece of land in the northwest district of Beijing. I need to report in detail before 8 PM tonight.]

A woman like Ye Lingqing can be cooperated with, but she should never be completely trusted.

The car slowly started moving, blending into the evening rush hour traffic in Beijing. As the neon lights came on, the massive city resembled a newly awakened beast, its jaws agape, ready to devour every ambitious soul that dared to challenge it.

"Boss," Chen Mo glanced at the rearview mirror, "I just received news that Shen Wanshan got into a fight in the detention center and broke two ribs."

Bai Jingyou stared blankly at the receding scenery outside the window.

"Oh. Have the lawyer deliver some medicine. Also, tell him that his creditors in Macau will be visiting him in prison tomorrow."

mercy?

That's for the dead.

Living people are only fit to struggle for survival in this cruel battlefield.

......

DeepBlue Technology, CEO's Office.

The night outside the window was as thick as ink. After a stormy reshuffling, the business district of Beijing was now in a strange period of calm.

Bai Jingyou stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the still bustling street below, the cup of Longjing tea in his hand had gone cold.

There were three gentle knocks on the office door, the rhythm precise.

"Enter."