Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

The roaring sound from the headphones made Shen Qinghan's eardrums ache. She quickly raised her hand to cover her ears, her fingertips scraping against the plastic casing, making a faint sound.

The stench of urine rose up the dilapidated stairwell.

She was dragging a small silver suitcase when the wheels got stuck on a chipped concrete step, causing her to suddenly stop.

"Chief, I've checked."

She lowered her voice, keeping a wary eye on Su Ye walking ahead, while reporting into the microphone hidden in her collar.

"This Zhang Ming is just an ordinary programmer. He used to work for several small internet companies, but he was fired because he was stubborn and wouldn't listen to his boss's empty promises."

"He didn't even have a decent set of clothes on him. He doesn't look like a high-level hacker capable of transnational money laundering at all."

On the other end of the phone, Li Jianguo's breathing was so heavy it sounded like a broken bellows.

"What do you know! This is called feigning ignorance! This is called a white glove!"

The old man slammed his hand on the armrest of the leather chair. "Su Ye is spending a fortune to buy bones! He invested a billion in a penniless pauper, and the money just kept changing hands and ended up in a dark web fund pool!"

"You keep a close eye on Zhang Ming. Get me a copy of every single line of code he types!"

Shen Qinghan rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue with the bureau chief who was in the late stages of persecution complex.

"Okay, okay, I'll keep an eye on him."

She hung up the phone and quickened her pace to catch up with Su Ye.

The night wind whipped up snowflakes that pelted my face, stinging like knives.

Zhang Ming hugged the old backpack tightly to his chest as if it were his lifeblood.

He trudged through the snowdrifts, his nose running from the cold.

"Brother Su," Zhang Ming stammered, glancing furtively at Su Ye. "Where are we going? I still have two cases of pickled cabbage left in my shared apartment. Can I take them with me?"

Su Ye stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

He unscrewed the thermos, slowly took a sip of goji berry water, and the steam fogged up the lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Throw it away."

His voice was flat, with an unyielding coldness that left no room for argument.

"Starting tomorrow, Mr. Zhang, you can only eat instant noodles with two eggs."

Su Ye pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Ming's messy, unkempt hair.

"Secretary Shen, find him a barbershop and give him a neat buzz cut. If he goes to Zhongguancun looking like that, the security guards will kick him out thinking he's a junk collector."

Shen Qinghan's lips twitched, forcing out a professional smile.

"Okay, Mr. Su."

She looked at Zhang Ming's pitiful and submissive appearance and felt speechless.

This mob boss, why is he even interfering with people's hairstyles now?

……

Three days later, in the lobby of the Sihai Building in Longhai City.

The air conditioner was blowing warm air out, making people's hair dry.

Rows of long guns and short cannons were set up outside the red velvet cordon, and the flashes turned the area into daylight.

Reporters from provincial and municipal TV stations were scrambling to get in, their microphones practically piercing the nostrils of the people in front of them.

"Director Li! I heard that General Su was instrumental in the capture of the Golden Triangle drug lord. What kind of commendation measures will the police take?"

A female reporter with a ponytail stood on tiptoe and shouted at the top of her lungs.

Li Jianguo, dressed in a crisp police overcoat, stood in the center of the lobby beneath the huge Sihai Group logo.

The old man's face was as black as charcoal, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.

He clutched the red banner with gold lettering in his hand, his knuckles turning bluish-white from excessive force.

"Cough cough."

Li Jianguo cleared his throat, forcibly suppressing the nausea rising in his stomach.

"The success of this 'Operation Thunder' is inseparable from the active cooperation of the general public."

He gritted his teeth, each word sounding as if it were being ground out on sandpaper.

"Especially Mr. Su Ye of the Sihai Group. When facing vicious, knife-wielding drug dealers, he remained calm and resourceful, buying our police valuable time to make the arrest."

When the phrase "clever maneuvering" was mentioned, Li Jianguo's temples throbbed, and he almost had another episode of high blood pressure.

What a brilliant maneuver!

This kid clearly played dirty, closing the blast door to trap them like turtles in a jar, and then pretending to be pitiful and calling the police for help!

This is even more shameless than the darkest gangsters!

Su Ye was wearing a well-tailored bespoke suit today, and his tie was tied perfectly.

With a humble smile of being flattered, he quickly stepped forward.

"Director Li, you flatter me. This is what every law-abiding citizen should do."

Su Ye reached out and grasped Li Jianguo's hand that was holding the banner.

"My building employs thousands of people, many of whom have elderly parents and young children. When faced with this social scourge, I, Su, will risk my life to protect them."

His eyes were slightly red, and he even sniffed at just the right moment.

The flashes went off instantly, and the sound of camera shutters clicking filled the air.

Li Jianguo felt as if his hand was being burned by a hot iron. He tried to pull it back, but Su Ye held it down firmly.

The old man's eyes widened, and he lowered his voice, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth.

"Su Ye, don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefit."

Su Ye smiled slightly, his smile gentle and harmless.

He leaned closer and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Director Li, this banner is very well made, is it embroidered with gold thread? You've gone to great lengths. I've already donated the 50,000 yuan prize money to the Sunshine Orphanage in the name of the Municipal Bureau."

He took a half step back and said loudly, "Thank you to the police for keeping this area safe!"

Li Jianguo almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

This guy used his own money to do favors, and then created a persona of integrity and dedication for himself.

This is practically putting the Municipal Bureau in a very difficult position!

The awards ceremony has ended.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, the reporters, satisfied, took their materials and went back to work on their articles.

Lei Hu, dressed in a tight security guard uniform, stood there like a black tower.

His scarred face smiled like a chrysanthemum, and his large, fan-like hands carefully held the banner that read "Warm-hearted Citizen of Longhai City".

"Brother Su! This thing is fucking amazing!"

Lei Hu grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and his stubby fingers touched the gold trim on the banner.

"Those reporters who were interviewing me just now, I recited two passages from the 'Public Security Administration Punishment Law,' and they kept praising me as a model of legal education!"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Brother Su, where should we hang this banner? Would it be more noticeable in your office?"

Su Ye picked up the thermos and slowly blew on the plump goji berries on the surface of the water.

"Hold it under the Ministry of Justice."

He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and his gaze fell on Lin Dai, who was walking towards him in high heels not far away.

"Hang it right behind Lin Dai's desk. If any fools dare to cause trouble in our company in the future, make them bow to this banner first."

Lin Dai approached, her red stilettos clicking crisply on the marble floor.

She held a folder in her hand and pushed up her black-rimmed glasses.

"Mr. Su, someone from Tencent just called."

She opened the document, her brow furrowing slightly. "They're asking for five million to buy out all ownership of Zhang Ming's algorithm model."

"Five million?"

Su Ye sneered, a mocking smile curving his lips.

"Ma Tianteng has certainly played his cards right, trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

He turned to look at Lei Hu, his eyes instantly turning cold.

"Tiger Boy".

"Yes, Brother Su, what are your orders?" Lei Hu straightened his back and answered loudly.

"Go tell the guys down there that starting tomorrow, all the refrigerated trucks from Express Delivery will have a QR code for downloading our new app pasted on the outside."

Su Ye narrowed his eyes, revealing a ruthless cunning from behind his glasses.

"Tell Zhang Ming that I want the beta version online within three days. Tencent wants to monopolize it? I'll teach them a lesson in physical superiority."