You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

It was drizzling outside when the Gulfstream G700 landed at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Lin Chen glanced at the gray sky through the porthole.

The sky in Beijing is different from that in Jiangcheng; it hangs low, as if something heavy is weighing it down.

Su Qingge had already changed her clothes and came out of the bathroom. She wore a black trench coat and a high ponytail, looking as capable as a drawn sword.

"My uncle sent a car to pick me up."

She glanced at her phone.

"red flag."

"Keep a low profile."

"My uncle has always been low-key."

The cabin door opened, and a black Hongqi L5 was parked at the end of the jet bridge.

There were no markings on the vehicle, but the vehicle itself was the marking—there are no more than thirty of these cars with civilian license plates nationwide.

The driver was Su Jianguo's personal bodyguard, a man in his early forties, expressionless, and silent throughout the entire journey.

The car crossed Chang'an Avenue and turned into the Second Ring Road, stopping amidst a cluster of gray walls and green tiles.

The Su family's courtyard house occupied a small part of the alley. From the outside, it was unremarkable, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and not even a sign at the entrance.

But when Lin Chen got out of the car, he glanced at the structure of the roof ridge and the courtyard wall. This courtyard was at least two hundred years old, and the land alone was worth the GDP of a medium-sized city.

Two young men in Zhongshan suits stood at the door and nodded immediately when they saw Su Qingge.

"The second young lady is back."

Su Qingge hummed in agreement and took Lin Chen's arm as they walked inside.

The movement was natural, but Lin Chen noticed that her fingers tightened slightly.

She was nervous.

Passing through the screen wall and around a corridor, the door to the main hall was open.

There were more than a dozen people sitting inside.

The moment Lin Chen entered the room, more than a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on him at the same time.

Only one of them was well-intentioned.

Su Jianguo sat in the mahogany armchair at the head of the main hall. He was fifty-seven or fifty-eight years old, thin but vigorous, and the imposing manner between his brows was exactly the same as the voice on the phone.

Calm, composed, and authoritative without being angry.

When he saw Lin Chen come in, he nodded slightly, a hint of a smile even appearing on his lips.

The remaining dozen or so people weren't so polite.

Several middle-aged men sat on the left, dressed smartly, with expressions on their faces as if they were interrogating criminals.

Standing to his right were several young people, both men and women, whose gazes toward Lin Chen were a mixture of hostility, curiosity, and a hint of inexplicable apprehension.

Lin Chen ignored them.

He knew perfectly well that the internal factions of the Su family, a long-established family that had taken root in the capital, were more complex than their external rivals.

Su Jianguo's decision to have him represent the Su family in the selection process was tantamount to snatching a piece of cake from the mouth of a family member and stuffing it into the mouth of an outsider.

It's no wonder these people are furious.

Before he and Su Qingge had even stood still in the center of the main hall, a voice rang out impatiently.

"Uncle, is this the person you found in Jiangcheng?"

The speaker was a young man in his late twenties, a little over 1.8 meters tall. He wasn't bad-looking, but he always had a smug, punchable smile on his lips.

He wore a custom-made dark blue suit, with a sapphire of moderate size in his tie clip—a perfectly tasteful display typical of a scion of a prominent family in Beijing.

Su Rui.

The eldest son of Su Jianmin, the second younger brother of Su Jianguo, and Su Qingge's cousin.

Su Rui stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and strolled over to Lin Chen.

He was half a head shorter than Lin Chen, but he raised his chin and forced his gaze to be from a downward angle.

"Lin Chen, right? I heard you pulled off some pretty big deals in Jiangcheng, taking down a branch of the Sky Dome Group?"

Lin Chen didn't say anything.

Su Rui thought he was nervous, so he smiled even wider.

He turned to Su Jianguo, raising his voice by half an octave.

"Uncle, even if you value this person highly, he's still an outsider. Let him represent the Su family in the national security advisor selection? Ha!"

Su Rui shrugged and looked at the other members of the collateral branch in the hall, clearly trying to create an opposing side.

"Not only will it take away the core resources of our Su family, but it will also give the Xiao family more excuses to deal with us."

"Uncle, this is handing over the lifeline of our Su family to an outsider."

Several middle-aged men from collateral branches exchanged glances and nodded without saying a word.

Su Qingge's face had turned pale.

"Su Rui, shut up."

Her voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"Lin Chen's abilities are beyond your imagination."

"Whether I want to or not is irrelevant. The key is the lives and fortunes of dozens of members of the Su family. We can't gamble with just one person..."

"The Su family's threshold is indeed quite high."

Lin Chen finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but all the noise in the main hall instantly disappeared.

It wasn't because his voice was loud, but because his tone was so calm it was almost cold.

He didn't even glance at Su Rui.

Lin Chen walked straight past Su Rui, stood in front of Su Jianguo, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Then he turned around and faced the entire hall filled with members of the Su family.

He ignored Su Rui.

"However, a high threshold can easily trip up a dog."

As soon as those words were spoken, the temperature in the main hall dropped by ten degrees.

Su Rui's face changed from white to red, and then from red to purple.

He grabbed Lin Chen's shoulder, his grip firm: "Who are you calling...?"

His hand stopped just as it touched Lin Chen's shoulder.

Because Lin Chen turned his head and glanced at him.

Just one glance.

Su Rui's fingers recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

There was no anger, no threat, and not even any emotion in that look.

There is only one kind of extremely pure, condescending scrutiny.

It's like a person observing a bug by the roadside.

I'm too lazy to even think about whether to grind it or not.

Su Rui's Adam's apple bobbed; he seemed to want to say something, but he opened his mouth twice without making a sound.

The arrogance he had cultivated over the years in Beijing's social circles was shattered at this moment.

He didn't know why.

This person hadn't done anything; he had only glanced at him, yet he instinctively felt that this person was not to be trifled with.

Su Jianguo watched this scene from the head of the table, a hint of satisfaction flashing deep in his eyes.

He stood up, his voice not loud but commanding the entire room.

"I invited Lin Chen, and he will be in full charge of this selection."

He glanced around at the collateral relatives sitting in their chairs, looking at each other blankly.

"If you have any objections, you can speak up now."

No one spoke.

Su Jianguo made the final decision.

"Okay, it's settled then. The banquet will proceed as planned to welcome Lin Chen."

When he walked up to Lin Chen, he lowered his voice and said something.

"Young man, you've got quite a temper."

"Minister Su, I've always had a very good temper."

Lin Chen smiled.

"To people."

Su Jianguo gave him a deep look, then turned and walked towards the backyard.

When Su Qingge caught up, her complexion had improved, but she still had a trace of anger.

She said in a low voice, "Su Rui and I have never gotten along, don't take it to heart."

"I didn't go."

"He's not really a bad person, he's just very concerned about saving face."

"Qingge".

Lin Chen interrupted her.

"You don't need to say nice things to anyone in front of me."

Su Qingge closed her mouth, remained silent for two seconds, and turned her head away, but Lin Chen noticed that her ears had turned red.

Lin Chen followed the Su family's butler through several corridors to the guest rooms in the backyard.

The guest rooms in the courtyard were more comfortable than he had imagined. They were well-heated, had silk quilts, and offered views of a bamboo grove outside the windows.

He put down his luggage, sat on the edge of the bed, and closed his eyes.

In that brief moment in the main hall, he scanned everyone.

[Master-level micro-expression analysis] In those ten seconds, it provided a psychological profile of everyone.

Su Rui is vain and jealous, but essentially a coward.

His hostility wasn't directed at Lin Chen personally, but rather at his fear that his position in the Su family would be shaken.

Those middle-aged men from the collateral branches each had their own ulterior motives. Some were genuinely worried about the safety of the Su family, while others simply wanted to check and balance Su Jianguo's excessive power.

As for Su Jianguo himself.

Lin Chen thought about the look in the old man's eyes when he looked at him.

The appreciation is genuine.

It's true that they were exploited.

The Su family needs him to play the leading role, and he also needs the Su family's resources to gain a foothold in the capital.

This was a mutually beneficial transaction, and everyone knew it.

The rain is still falling outside the window.

Lin Chen took out his phone and glanced at the message Ye Qingcheng had sent.

[Have you arrived? Is someone in the capital to pick you up?]

[We've arrived; the Su family picked us up.]

[The Su family's courtyard house?]

【Um. 】

Ye Qingcheng sent a smiling emoji, followed by the message:

Which room does Su Qingge sleep in?

Lin Chen silently placed his phone face down on the bed.

No matter how you answer this question, you're doomed.