A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I agreed and went downstairs immediately.

There was an Audi parked downstairs, neither new nor old.

The driver was a man in his thirties, standing beside the car, also wearing glasses; he must be Xiao Pei.

Xiao Pei and I had only spoken on the phone; this was our first time meeting in person.

"Mr. Wang, right? I'm Xiao Pei."

Xiao Pei spoke first, as if she knew me.

"Brother Pei, just call me Xiao Wang." I nodded and smiled.

I'm not used to being called "sir" so often. With my looks, I'll never be able to be a "sir" in my entire life.

Xiao Pei smiled slightly, opened the car door, and invited me to get in.

The car drove onto the road at a leisurely pace.

I said, "We'll pass by the market ahead, I'll buy some fruit for Amei. It won't look good if I go empty-handed."

Xiao Pei nodded: "Just buy some apples, that's enough. Amei's family doesn't need anything."

Before long, we arrived at the market, where there were several fruit stalls right at the entrance.

I selected the best apples and bought five or six pounds.

Amei lives in a small villa in the city center, within her workplace compound, a quiet oasis amidst the hustle and bustle.

When I got off the bus, Aunt Lan, Amei's mother, was already waiting in front of the door.

"Hello, Aunt Lan." I nodded in greeting.

"Little Wang is here?" Aunt Lan stepped forward, took the apple from my hand, and said with a smile, "Why did you bring something? Thank you, Little Wang."

Director Song came out upon hearing the commotion and shook my hand: "Xiao Wang, we've finally managed to get you here."

"Hello, Director Song." I nodded and smiled.

Once inside the house, I finally saw Amei.

The bandages on Amei's face had been removed, but she covered the scars on her face with her hands and nodded slightly to me: "Grandpa."

"Amei, I didn't know you were discharged from the hospital, otherwise I would have come to see you a long time ago." I said a few polite words.

The nanny served tea, and everyone sat down to talk.

The driver, Xiao Pei, waited in the car outside the door, refusing to go inside.

When we talked about the scars on Amei's face, I looked at them and suggested, "Ten days after you stop taking your medication, you can start using my medicine. The medicine has already been sent from home, so you can use it anytime."

Director Song nodded and asked Aunt Lan and Amei to go to the kitchen to help.

Aunt Lan understood and took Amei away.

Director Song looked at me and said, seemingly casually:

"Little Wang, I only knew you as a chivalrous hero who could fight. I never imagined you were also a master of the martial arts world. The way you dealt with Master Wang the other day was truly brilliant; it broadened my horizons."

I told the truth: "Director Song, it was Dao Zai Xiong who asked me to help. I don't know much about underworld tricks; I can only barely deal with low-level swindlers like Master Wang."

"A low-level scammer?"

Director Song's eyebrows twitched, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

I chuckled and said, "Master Wang's methods can only be considered low-level fraud."

Director Song took a sip of tea and asked, "You said the other day that you could hear words with your ears?"

"I know a little." I nodded, then hesitated, "If Director Song is interested, I can... make a fool of myself and give it a try."

Director Song smiled and brought over a piece of paper and a pen.

I sat down opposite Director Song, cut the paper into strips, and handed them to him.

Director Song pondered for a moment, drew a few words, and folded the note.

I took the note, immediately switched it with another, and pretended to listen intently: "A true master doesn't reveal their abilities."

"Great idea!" Director Song laughed and gave a thumbs up.

However, he didn't ask me how I figured it out.

I smiled and said, "Director Song, if ears could really hear words, then blindfolding would be the same. But in this world, no one can hear words with their ears while blindfolded."

If we were blindfolded, neither I nor Master Wang and his ilk would ever be able to decipher a single word in our entire lives!

Director Song thought for a moment, then nodded and sighed, "Now that you put it that way, I understand."

I'm wondering whether I should talk about what happened this afternoon, and how I should bring it up.

Director Song then asked, "By the way, Xiao Wang, have you finalized the business deal with the printing factory?"

"With Director Song's help, those small business deals can naturally be negotiated."

I seized the opportunity and probed Director Song: "I'd like to expand my business a bit more, selling some consumables to printing factories, like paper, ink, fixer, and film. I'm just worried that those manufacturers won't give me the time or effort."

Director Song blew on his teacup and casually remarked, "Now that you're working with Dao Zaixiong, you shouldn't be short of money, right?"

Now we're getting to the main topic.

I made my position clear: "Director Song, I am not Dao Zixiong's man, nor will I follow him. At most, Dao Zixiong and I are friends, not boss and henchman."

"Oh?" Director Song was somewhat surprised and gestured for me to continue.

I continued, "I want to walk the straight path and do honest business. Dao Zai Xiong's path is not suitable for me, and I will never follow in his footsteps."

"Xiao Wang, I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

Director Song nodded: "But you're already involved. How do you plan to extricate yourself?"

I shook my head with a wry smile: "Actually, I got involved ever since I saved Awen last time."

Last time, I not only saved Ah Wen, but also Ah Mei.

That old fox, Director Song, even asked me what to do!

I saved your daughter, what do you say we do now?

Director Song tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "There's a guy named Sang Kun on Heng Street who's also vying for that piece of land on Banpo Island. Master Wang is someone they hired... Here's what we'll do, I'll talk to Sang Kun and see if he'll retaliate against you."

I breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your consideration, Director Song."

After a pause, I added, "This afternoon, Sang Kun sent men to attack me, but I was lucky and escaped unharmed."

"What? Sang Kun has already made his move?" Director Song was slightly surprised and frowned.

"He sent four men, the leader of whom was called Anan, also known as Nan Batian."

I nodded and gave a brief description: "They attacked me from behind, but luckily a friend saw it and warned me. My friend and I eventually managed to subdue Anan..."

I also mentioned the phone negotiations between Dao Zixiong and Sang Kun.

Director Song stood up, paced back and forth a few steps, and walked towards the bedroom on the side: "Wait a moment, I'll make a call to Sang Kun."

Then, Director Song went into the bedroom.

I sat in the living room, listening intently.

I vaguely heard Director Song getting angry, he seemed to be cursing Sang Kun, and he was also talking about Amei's matter, wanting to settle accounts or something...

I felt a little relieved; it seemed that Director Song was still willing to help me.

Just then, Aunt Lan walked over and smiled at me: "Where's Lao Song?"

I pointed to the bedroom door: "Director Song is on the phone."

Aunt Lan nodded, beckoned me to the backyard, and whispered with a smile, "Little Wang, do you know what? Old Song almost got scammed by that Master Wang!"

I feigned surprise: "Master Wang dares to deceive Director Song?"

"Yes, Master Wang said that the feng shui of the Song family's ancestral graves is bad, which is why these unfortunate things happened to Amei."

Aunt Lan nodded and said in a low voice, "He asked Lao Song for 200,000 yuan to help us renovate the feng shui. At the time, Lao Song believed him and was ready to pay. It wasn't until the day before yesterday, when you exposed Master Wang on Banpo Island, that Lao Song realized Master Wang was a fraud!"

Is that true?

I was genuinely surprised this time.

Even someone as shrewd as Director Song was completely fooled by Master Wang!

Suddenly I remembered my second uncle's words—the world is a makeshift stage, and even great figures are just ordinary people!