Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Conference Room No. 1 on the top floor of Sihai Group.

The early autumn sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the carpet, making the air feel dry.

The long, rectangular mahogany conference table was filled with executives dressed in sharp suits.

Only Zhang Tiezhu still maintained the buzz cut and standard military posture of a special police officer, his back as straight as a steel plate.

Su Ye sat in the main seat.

He was wearing a dark gray fitted trench coat today, with a snow-white shirt underneath.

The trench coat was unbuttoned, the collar slightly open, exuding a casual air of a refined scoundrel.

He held the chipped silver stainless steel thermos in his left hand, rhythmically tapping the inside of the cup with his index finger.

It made a dull "thump, thump" sound.

"Chen Suan".

Su Ye pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and looked down at the person diagonally opposite him.

Chen Suan was clutching his stomach in pain, holding a stack of A4 papers in his hand.

Two dark circles under his eyes looked like he'd been punched twice, hanging on his pale face.

"Boss, I'm here." Chen Suan burped, a sour taste rising in his mouth, which he quickly swallowed.

"Has the asset divestiture of Zhongtian Bus Company been completed?"

Su Ye unscrewed the thermos, blew on the plump goji berries on the surface of the water, and took a sip of warm water.

The steam fogged his glasses, and he squinted slightly.

"It's done." Chen Suan winced in pain. "Those old Santanas were all sold off as scrap metal, bringing in 1.2 million yuan. The remaining licenses and routes have all been integrated into our Sihai Travel APP."

"Um."

Su Ye nodded, then turned his gaze to Shen Qinghan, who was sitting on his right.

Today she's wearing her ever-present white shirt and black pencil skirt.

But his condition was surprisingly poor.

A pair of flat canvas shoes were firmly planted on the carpet, with the toes pointing inwards, as if he was trying to suppress something.

He was holding a folder, his knuckles turning bluish-white from excessive force.

What's most striking is her face.

The usually aloof and capable policewoman from the provincial department now had eyelids swollen like two ripe peaches.

Her dark circles were even more pronounced than Chen Suan's, and even thick concealer couldn't cover the bruises underneath.

There were still traces of red blood in the corners of her eyes that hadn't been wiped away.

He exuded a sense of fragility and brokenness.

Su Ye's gaze lingered on her reddened eyes for two seconds.

"Secretary Shen."

Shen Qinghan shuddered violently, as if she had been electrocuted.

The folder in my hand fell to the table with a "thud," scattering papers everywhere.

She frantically tried to pick it up, her hands shaking as if she had Parkinson's disease, unable to hold onto a piece of paper for a long time.

"Here! Chairman Dong... I'm here."

Her voice was terribly hoarse, with a heavy nasal tone.

I cried so hard in the bathroom last night that my voice cracked.

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Lei Hu touched his shiny bald head, the centipede scar on his face twisted slightly, and he muttered to himself.

"What happened to Secretary Shen? Was she chased by a dog?"

Su Ye put down the thermos.

The bottom of the metal cup struck the solid wood table with a crisp sound.

He ignored Lei Hu's chatter and leaned back in his chair.

He crossed his arms in front of his abdomen, and for the first time, a hint of inquiry appeared in his eyes.

This girl has been with him for almost a year.

She is usually decisive and efficient; even if she breaks her high heels, she can follow him to the construction site for inspection without batting an eye.

Why do you look so absent-minded and unlucky today?

Su Ye recalled the group's preparations for its IPO in the US some time ago.

All those complicated VIE-structured English contracts fell on her shoulders alone.

She worked three consecutive nights to translate the hundreds of thousands of words of legal clauses.

Could it be... that he/she is exhausted and has collapsed?

A rare hint of sympathy, typical of capitalists, flashed in Su Ye's eyes.

"Zhang Tiezhu".

Standing in the corner, Zhang Tiezhu subconsciously put his feet together and snapped to attention.

"Boss! I'm here!"

"Approve Secretary Shen to have half a month of paid annual leave. Pay her full performance bonus."

Su Ye's tone was calm, but in this conference room filled with the oppressive atmosphere of capital, it was like detonating a bomb.

All eyes turned to Shen Qinghan.

Chen Suan even forgot to clutch his stomach, and his black-rimmed glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose without him pushing them up.

Half a month? Paid leave? And full performance bonus?!

Has the boss changed his ways, or is he preparing for his last meal before killing Secretary Shen?

Shen Qinghan stood there, stunned.

She was still clutching two scattered reports in her hand, as stiff as a plaster statue.

My head was buzzing.

She broke into someone's safe last night.

They discovered those remittance slips that concealed boundless goodwill.

She was still filled with guilt, feeling like a despicable spy.

Today, this man, whom the police consider their number one enemy, actually gave her a two-week leave just because she looked tired!

"Chairman Dong... I don't need to rest, I can still work."

Shen Qinghan stammered, biting her lower lip hard, a metallic taste filling her mouth.

She dared not look Su Ye in the eye, afraid that she would burst into tears in front of a room full of gangsters at any moment.

"Take the day off. The company doesn't need your labor."

Su Ye stood up, the hem of his coat brushing against the table.

He turned and walked toward the lockers behind the office area.

Pull out the bottom drawer and take out an exquisite glass airtight jar.

It is filled with plump, dark red Ningxia goji berries, free of any impurities.

This was specially arranged by Northwest medicinal herb merchants to be airlifted from its place of origin in order to curry favor with him.

Su Ye walked back to the table and pushed the glass jar in front of Shen Qinghan.

The glass struck the table with a dull thud.

"Take it home and soak it in water to drink. Girls with weak blood and qi should nourish themselves more."

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, revealing an undeniable gentleness behind the lenses.

"Don't overwork yourself. We'll need you to carry the team for the upcoming roadshow around the world."

Shen Qinghan looked at the glass jar.

Through the transparent glass, the dark red goji berries looked like beating hearts.

It pierced through all her pretense and defenses.

Her eyes instantly stung and ached, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

What a wonderful person.

He runs the cleanest business, supports the orphans of martyrs, and even cares for the health of his subordinates.

And what about yourself?

Wearing this disgusting tight dress every day, all I can think about is how to entice him to commit a crime!

Shen Qinghan's hands trembled as she picked up the glass jar.

The jar's cool touch against her palm felt like a red-hot iron, scalding her and making it hard to breathe.

She really wanted to kneel down on the spot.

He pulled out the miniature voice recorder hidden in the inner pocket of his underwear and smashed it to pieces.

Then he shouted to Su Ye: I'm an undercover agent! I was wrong! I'm a fucking bastard!

But she held back her anger.

My fingernails dug deep into my palm as I forced myself to stay rational.

"Thank you... thank you, Chairman. I will definitely get some rest."

Shen Qinghan's voice was thick with sobs, almost squeezed out from between her teeth.

She turned around abruptly, grabbed the jar of goji berries, and rushed out of the meeting room as if fleeing a disaster.

The glass door was slammed shut with a loud "bang".

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Lei Hu touched his bald head, looking completely bewildered.

"Boss, is Secretary Shen so moved she's about to cry? The way she was acting just now, it looked like she was about to kowtow to you."

Su Ye sat back down in his chair and picked up his thermos.

"Alright, ignore her. Chen Suan."

Chen Suan quickly pushed up his glasses, clutched his stomach, and stood up straight.

"Next, we need to catch up with the advertising campaign on Sihai Travel's GG platform. We need to contact a few film and television companies to shoot a promotional video."

Su Ye took a sip of warm water, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Forget those flashy young idols. We need to be down-to-earth and show our drivers'...legal fighting skills."

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Outside an abandoned air-raid shelter in the western suburbs of Longhai City.

The heat was intense.

Li Jianguo's beat-up Santana was parked under the shade of a tree.

The car window was lowered halfway, and a strong smell of red plum blossom cigarettes wafted out.

Shen Qinghan changed into casual clothes.

A loose gray T-shirt and jeans.

He wore a black baseball cap pulled low over his head, obscuring his red and swollen eyes.

She walked quickly to the car, opened the passenger door, and got in.

The car wasn't air-conditioned, and it was as stuffy and hot as a sauna.

Li Jianguo sat in the driver's seat, his eyes dark and swollen.

He held a half-burnt cigarette butt between his fingers, and a layer of ash settled at his feet.

"Qinghan, what are you doing out here at this time? What if Su Ye's men spot you!"

Li Jianguo lowered his voice, his tone revealing anxiety.

He casually handed over a chipped enamel mug.

"Have some herbal tea. How's the investigation into Chung Tien Bus Company going? Have you obtained evidence of forced transactions yet?"

Shen Qinghan did not accept the teacup.

She took off her baseball cap, revealing her bloodshot eyes.

There was a moment of deathly silence in the carriage.

Li Jianguo was stunned, and the cigarette ash in his hand fell onto his thigh.

"What...what did you do? Su Ye attacked you?!"

He sat up abruptly, his hand instinctively reaching for the pistol at his waist.

"You bastard! I'm taking the SWAT team to flatten him right now!"

"Chief."

Shen Qinghan's voice was terribly hoarse.

She pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket; it was the one she used to wipe her tears that morning, and it still had traces of blood from where she had bitten her lip.

He casually tossed it into the trash can in the car.

Nobody laid a hand on me.

She stared intently into Li Jianguo's bloodshot eyes.

"I request to terminate my undercover mission."

Li Jianguo's hand froze in mid-air as he stared at her in disbelief.

"What nonsense are you spouting! The mission is at its most critical stage, and now you're saying you're quitting?!"

Shen Qinghan took a deep breath of the stuffy air in the car.

"I can't do it anymore. Director Li, Su Ye isn't a gangster at all, he's a good person."