Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

Wang Haitao's feet kicked wildly in mid-air, his expensive Italian handmade leather shoes making a chaotic "clack-clack" sound on the marble floor tiles.

His face, hollowed out by wine and women, turned a deep liver color.

The collar of the floral shirt constricted his thick neck, making his breathing wheez like a broken bellows.

"Let go! You bald bastard!"

Wang Haitao frantically grabbed Lei Hu's iron-like arms with both hands, his fingernails leaving two white marks on Lei Hu's solid muscles.

"I'm the CEO of Starlight Media! If you dare touch me, believe me, I'll make sure you can't stay in Longhai City!"

Lei Hu grinned, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth, the centipede scar twisting with his smile.

He didn't let go; instead, he lifted Wang Haitao up a little.

"Can't make it?"

Lei Hu snorted gruffly.

"Back when I was wielding a watermelon knife and hacking the streets in the west of the city, you were probably still in some karaoke bar picking up girls!"

The manager behind Wang Haitao was so frightened that his legs trembled and his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose.

He mustered his courage and took half a step forward, his voice barely audible.

"Um... sir, let's talk this out. We brought a contract with us, the highest salary on the entire internet. If Mr. Crow sees it, he'll definitely be willing..."

"Shut your filthy mouth!"

Lei Hu suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the brokerage director, and he almost spat in the director's face.

The brokerage director was so frightened that he quickly shrank back behind the four legal counsel.

"Lei Hu, put it down."

A lazy voice came from the circular corridor on the second floor.

Lei Hu looked up.

Su Ye was holding the stainless steel thermos and leaning against the wooden railing.

The gold-rimmed glasses gleamed faintly in the cold air.

Lei Hu loosened his grip.

Wang Haitao slammed heavily onto the floor like a tattered sack, with a dull thud.

He clutched his neck and coughed violently, tears and snot mingling together.

"President Su."

Lei Hu tilted his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"These pretty boys said they'd shower Brother Ya with money! They even said they'd team up to blacklist our Sihai livestreaming network and leave Brother Ya starving!"

Su Ye took a sip of the goji berry water from his thermos.

The warm liquid slid down his throat, suppressing a slight burning desire within him.

He looked down at the disheveled Wang Haitao below, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"A ban?"

Su Ye gently tapped the stainless steel cup with his fingers, and two crisp "ding, ding" sounds echoed in the empty hall.

"Lei Hu, since the guest has come with sincerity..."

He turned around and walked slowly toward the elevator.

"Then please invite Mr. Wang to the VIP reception room on the first floor for a good cup of tea. Teach them about the hospitality of the Sihai Group."

Lei Hu's eyes lit up.

His face was all scrunched up, revealing a kind smile.

"Alright! Just you wait and see, Mr. Su!"

He turned around and waved his thick fingers at the thirty-odd bald security guards behind him.

"Brothers, please invite General Manager Wang to the reception room for tea!"

Thirty-odd burly men, dressed in tight black vests and covered in tattoos, instantly formed a massive wall of flesh, surrounding Wang Haitao and his four companions.

The heavy leather shoes stomped on the floor, making Wang Haitao's heart tremble.

"What...what do you want to do?!"

Wang Haitao scrambled to his feet, his floral shirt wrinkled like dried pickled vegetables.

He pointed at Lei Hu with a fierce but cowardly expression.

"This is a society governed by the rule of law! How dare you kidnap people in broad daylight?!"

"Kidnapping?"

Lei Hu put one hand on Wang Haitao's shoulder and exerted a little force.

Wang Haitao felt like his shoulder blade was about to shatter, and he was in so much pain that he was gasping for breath.

"Mr. Wang, what are you saying? We are a legitimate company; how could we do something illegal?"

Lei Hu's smile was more like a grimace. "Let's go, please come inside."

At the end of the first-floor corridor is the VIP reception room.

This place was originally intended for entertaining important clients; it was decorated in a lavish style, with leather sofas so soft you could sink into them.

But at this moment, the atmosphere in the room was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The air conditioner was set to an extremely low temperature, blowing cold air.

Wang Haitao, the brokerage director, and the four trembling lawyers were squeezed together on a long sofa.

Lei Hu sat down on the single sofa opposite him with an air of authority.

More than thirty security guards blocked the doors and windows completely.

Each of them crossed their arms, their muscles straining against their black vests as if they were about to burst, and stared fiercely at the five people on the sofa.

"Bang."

Lei Hu slammed the heavy solid wood door shut and locked it.

The sound of the lock clicking was like a heavy hammer blow to Wang Haitao's heart.

He swallowed hard, trying to appear calm, and pulled a thick contract from his briefcase.

The edge of the paper scraped against the leather sofa, making a soft "rustling" sound.

"Brother."

Wang Haitao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Let's be frank. I have a signing fee of 30 million here. As long as Crow agrees, Starlight Media will pay you every penny of the breach of contract penalty owed by Sihai Group."

He pushed the contract onto the coffee table.

"You're guaranteed to make a profit on this deal."

Lei Hu didn't look at the contract.

He pulled a crumpled Hongmei cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

The henchman next to him immediately took out a windproof lighter and lit it for him with a "click".

The tarry smell of cheap tobacco instantly filled the air, making the lawyer across from him cough.

"Thirty million."

Lei Hu exhaled a puff of thick smoke, which blurred the scars on his face.

"Mr. Wang is really rich and powerful."

He stood up and walked to the coffee table.

Rough fingers held the exquisite contract and flipped through it casually.

"Splash!"

He casually tossed the contract back onto the coffee table.

"What a pity."

Lei Hu flicked his cigarette ash, and sparks fell onto the carpet, but he didn't care.

"Our Brother Crow doesn't need your little bit of silver."

Wang Haitao panicked and suddenly stood up.

"Isn't this bad? He's just a potato seller, how much money can he make here?"

He pointed at Lei Hu, spitting everywhere.

"Let me tell you, I control all the traffic channels on the internet right now. If I issue a ban, your lousy MCN will have to shut down tomorrow!"

Lei Hu was not angry.

He took a deep drag on his cigarette, threw the remaining half-smoked cigarette butt on the ground, and crushed it out with the sole of his leather shoe.

He slowly unbuttoned the collar of his tight vest.

He reached into his clothes and rummaged around for a while.

Wang Haitao shrank back in fright, thinking he was about to pull out a gun.

The four lawyers were so frightened that they huddled together, their eyes fixed on Lei Hu's hand.

"Smack."

Lei Hu pulled out neither a gun nor a knife from his pocket.

Instead, it was a small booklet with a yellowed and crumpled cover.

He slammed the booklet heavily onto the glass coffee table.

The glass groaned under the strain.

Wang Haitao and the brokerage director were stunned, their gazes instinctively falling on the booklet.

That was a copy of the Analects.

The cover still had a few drops of dried oil stains on it.

"Mr. Wang."

Lei Hu sat back on the sofa, resting his hands on his knees and leaning forward.

Those bloodshot bull eyes were fixed on Wang Haitao.

A strange smile, yet one that tried to appear refined, spread across his lips.

"General Manager Su taught us that in business, one must win people over with virtue."

Lei Hu spoke in a gruff voice, his tone like sandpaper being rubbed.

"Today we won't talk about contracts or bans. We'll only talk about traditional Chinese culture."

Wang Haitao stared blankly, his mind completely blank.

This gangster boss sat there with an air of authority, accompanied by thirty muscular men.

Lock the door, then pull out a copy of the Analects?

What kind of new form of mental torture is this?

Confucius said…

Lei Hu extended his short, stubby index finger, dipped it in saliva, and turned to the first page.

"Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?"

He read it haltingly and didn't recognize many obscure characters.

But his tone carried a chilling, menacing aura.

"Mr. Wang, do you know what that sentence means?"

Lei Hu suddenly looked up and stared at Wang Haitao.

Wang Haitao's lips trembled as he stammered.

"It means I'm very happy that a friend has come from afar..."

"wrong!"

Lei Hu slammed his hand on the coffee table, making the teacups on it rattle and clang.

"Our CEO, Ms. Su, said so!"

He pointed at Wang Haitao's nose, gritting his teeth.

"What this means is—we're absolutely thrilled to have a friend like you, who's so reckless as to come all this way looking for trouble!"

The voice just fell.

The thirty security guards behind Lei Hu took a step forward in unison.

"Thump!"

Thirty pairs of leather shoes stomped heavily on the floor.

They clenched their fists, which were as big as sandbags, and their knuckles cracked loudly.

Wang Haitao felt as if his heart had been violently squeezed.

He looked at the group of men who were as tall as iron towers.

The stench of sweat and the intense hormones in the air made it hard for him to breathe.

This is hardly a discussion of traditional Chinese culture.

This is clearly using the most ferocious expression to physically intimidate someone!

"Lei, Brother Lei..."

The brokerage director was so scared he almost wet his pants.

He clutched his briefcase tightly, huddled in the corner of the sofa.

"We're not digging anymore! We're leaving right now!"

"Walk?"

Lei Hu sneered and turned to the next page.

"What's the rush? We haven't even said the next sentence yet."

He pointed to the words in the book.

Confucius said, "Since you have come, make the best of it."

Lei Hu raised his head, the scar on his face twisting even more grotesquely with his smile.

"I understand that sentence."

He pointed to the locked door, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Since we're here, nobody's leaving here alive until they've listened to this entire Analects!"