A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

Even as Ye Xuan felt resentment, the song continued.

The following lyrics are even more explicit.

"The toad, dressed in gold, sits in a high hall, looking dignified and imposing."

The pheasant claimed to be a phoenix and only made its appearance after much anticipation.

A fox who becomes a merchant in one fell swoop ends up with his family ruined and his people killed.

The lynx trusted the jackal, giving him its heart only to be left with a body full of wounds.

Camels, carrying their packs, wander through lifetimes.

The old dog dared not make a sound, and stayed up all night changing its soup.

Migratory birds come and go, finding a wall to shelter them from the wind is a rare treat.

Bees, without fighting or scrambling, ultimately store up food for others.

……

He Xiaoxiao was telling a parable.

Every lyric was like a nail, driven one by one into Ye Xuan's bones.

Toads, pheasants, foxes—each image points to those who wear human skin but do beastly things.

Ye Xuan recalled how he was terrified by that damned letter.

I remember the embarrassing situation I had when I took the sample to do a paternity test.

He's like the toad in the song, dressed in a respectable suit but doing shady things.

Ye Xuan finally erupted.

He slammed his phone against the wall, the screen shattering and scattering into pieces on the floor.

"You bastard surnamed Su, what the hell gives you the right?!"

"Since that's the case, then nobody's going to have an easy time!"

……

After venting his anger, Ye Xuan finally calmed down and began to plan his future.

A hint of almost insane determination flashed in his eyes.

After a long while, he finally made up his mind.

Ye Xuan dialed Honda Yuji's number.

In a secluded private room at a private club in Kyoto, Yuji Honda had been waiting for over an hour.

Ye Xuan has finally arrived.

"Ye Xuanjun, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry to see me?" Honda Yuji said, pouring him a glass of whiskey.

"Honda-kun, I've come to discuss a big deal with you."

Honda Yuji leaned back on the sofa and gestured for him to speak: "Oh? I'm all ears."

Ye Xuan said, "I will raise funds in my personal capacity from shareholders of Tengfei Group who are inclined to my side. The reason is simple: I want to establish a special investment fund to acquire some of the group's cultural and tourism assets and privatize them."

Yuji Honda narrowed his eyes: "They'll agree?"

"Definitely. These people have always been on my side and are just hoping I'll make a move. After all, this way, whether I take charge of Tengfei in the future or not, they can still benefit from it. So, if I ask, they won't refuse."

Honda Yuji nodded, then asked, "So what does raising so much money have to do with the big deal I was talking about?"

"Of course it's relevant. At that time, I will need you to transfer this money to my private account in Japan through an offshore company."

"and then?"

"Then it'll be your turn to perform. I'll announce the project's cancellation and liquidation, then I'll disappear for a while. Just imagine what those people will do then?"

"They will definitely go after the Ye family to settle accounts."

"The Ye family can't come up with that much money to fill the hole. Then you can step in and buy up those tied-up assets at a low price. That way, you can smoothly take over Tengfei."

Honda Yuji was silent for three or four seconds, then laughed: "Ye Xuanjun, you are truly a genius. In your Chinese language, this is called 'drawing the firewood from under the cauldron' or 'shedding the cicada's shell.' Forgive my bluntness, but why did you do this?"

Ye Xuan didn't explain, but said, "You'll find out when the time comes. Just believe me, doing business with me, Ye Xuan, will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Honda Yuji stopped asking questions, raised his glass and said, "That's right, that's right. From now on, we'll rely on Ye Xuanjun. Come, let's drink to our great cause."

The two wine glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound, and the two men drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.

After Ye Xuan left, Honda Yuji did not leave immediately.

He leaned back on the sofa, poured himself another glass of wine, and slowly savored it.

At that moment, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and a middle-aged man in a dark gray suit walked in.

"Sano-kun, you've arrived." Honda Yuji didn't get up, but simply raised his chin to indicate that he should sit down.

Sano Masaki sat down opposite him, picked up the bottle, poured himself a glass, took a sip, and then said, "It seems that Young Master Ye has encountered some insurmountable obstacle; he's quite flustered."

"Save this video; we'll need it later."

"Don't worry, I've kept a record of everyone who comes here. Anyone who misbehaves will be in for a world of trouble."

Honda Yuji commented, "The Ye family's young master is nothing special. Although I don't know why he did this, it's definitely a good thing for us."

Masaki Sano chimed in, "That's right. If we handle this well, we'll have those old guys' life savings under our control, and the Tengfei Group will be in our own hands."

Honda Yuji raised his glass, and Oki Sano Masaki raised his as well. The two smiled at each other and drank their drinks in one gulp.

Ye Xuan's plan began to be secretly implemented.

He began looking for people within the Tengfei Group who supported him, and then proposed the idea of ​​establishing a special investment fund.

"This is a project I've been preparing for for over half a year. It involves acquiring some of the group's high-quality cultural and tourism assets and revaluing them through privatization. It's a sure-fire way to make a profit."

Upon hearing this, everyone assumed that the Ye family was paving the way for the Crown Prince, and of course they wanted to support them.

Therefore, no one carefully reviewed the plan; everyone's ideas were completely aligned.

Go ahead and do whatever you want, I'll support you.

Their logic was simple: Ye Xuan would be the successor of the Ye family sooner or later. If they didn't study with the crown prince now, were they supposed to wait until he ascended the throne to show their loyalty?

Success! I'll make a quick buck while I'm at it.

If we lose, the Ye family won't stand idly by; in fact, we can get more compensation from them.

No matter how you look at it, you're not losing out.

So some signed, some transferred money, and behind everyone's tacit smiles, they began to inject funds into the so-called special investment fund account.

However, Ye Yao noticed something was wrong.

She noticed that Ye Xuan's recent movements were too regular, and the people he met with were too concentrated, all of them being old ministers who supported him.

He also learned indirectly about Ye Xuan's establishment of a special investment fund.

Furthermore, under the guise of asset optimization, they have never clearly disclosed the investment targets.

Ye Yao pushed open the door to her father's office and placed the information she had found on the table: "Dad, Ye Xuan is raising funds, a considerable amount, and his targets are all shareholders who are inclined towards him. Should we step in and stop him?"

Ye Sicheng thought for a moment and said, "No need. The people he found are all old foxes who want to help him rise to power. We can take this opportunity to teach them a lesson and let them know that choosing sides is not free. Once they realize that this is a bottomless pit, they will naturally know which side to lean on."

"But he raised so much money, what if..."

Ye Sicheng waved his hand and said casually, "Let him do whatever he wants. It's a good opportunity to repackage some of our bad assets and let him play with them. If they can be revitalized, that's great; if not, it won't hurt."

"What if he doesn't need to invest the money at all?"

"Then what does he need so much money for? Is he going to transfer it abroad?" Ye Sicheng said dismissively.

Ye Yao didn't say anything more about this.