Gao Wu: I'll enjoy the benefits, but you'll bear the side effects.

Old Qi steadily extended his hand, a broad and rough hand with a weathered texture honed by the years, and gently grasped the handle of the teapot.

With a slight lift, he took the teapot off the tea tray, then slowly tilted it, letting the amber-colored tea, steaming hot, pour out, instantly creating a small vortex in the cup, filling it perfectly. His series of movements were practiced and deliberate, as if he were performing a solemn ritual.

Then, Qi Laoda stretched out two fingers, pinched the edge of the teacup, and gently pushed it forward. The teacup slid steadily to the other side, like a small boat silently docking.

Throughout, he wore a meaningful smile, a smile like a deep, unfathomable pool, concealing countless unfathomable thoughts.

At first glance, the slight upturn of his lips exudes a sense of friendliness, but upon closer inspection, the smile fails to reach his eyes, instead making one inexplicably nervous, as if an invisible pressure is quietly spreading.

"You're about the same age as Huang Muran, but I can tell you're a different story. You have a lot more energy and spirit than our Muran."

Qi Laoda paused, leaning forward slightly, causing his finely crafted Tang suit to wrinkle slightly. His sharp eyes were now full of scrutiny, as if he wanted to see right through Gao Jie.

"By the way, I haven't asked yet what your parents do for a living? Also, have you considered developing your career in Nanjing long-term?"

This series of questions, like pebbles thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattered the previously relaxed atmosphere.

Seeing Gao Jie's puzzled expression, Boss Qi waved his hand gently, his broad palm drawing an arc in the air, and then said:

"Don't take it personally, I don't have any ulterior motives, I'm just chatting with you about everyday things."

Don't you realize that you've now secured a crucial objective? This is something not everyone can do!

Opportunities will spring up like mushrooms after rain. Once the time is right, won't we be able to roll up our sleeves, unleash our full potential, and accomplish something earth-shattering?

By then, all those trivial matters won't be worth your time or worry about.

As he spoke, he gently patted Gao Jie's shoulder; the seemingly intimate gesture concealed an undeniable hint.

Old Qi took a small sip of tea, the scalding hot liquid sliding down his throat. He squinted slightly, as if savoring the aroma, but actually gathering his thoughts. After a moment, he continued talking:

"Besides, getting your parents to settle down in Nanjing is not something that can be done overnight. The intricacies involved are like a complex maze; without some discernment, you really won't be able to find your way."

What's your opinion on this?

He tilted his head, his gaze never leaving Gao Jie's face, his eyes filled with expectation, as if he was determined to extract some information from Gao Jie.

A look of surprise flashed across Gao Jie's face, as if he had been suddenly blinded by a bright light, and he began to have doubts.

He really couldn't understand why, out of the blue, Boss Qi would suddenly ask about these completely unrelated things.

He subconsciously frowned, a small "川" character forming between his brows, his expression full of puzzlement.

His eyes were unconsciously fixed on Boss Qi, trying to find some clues on the other man's expressionless face, even the slightest change in expression, which might solve the mystery in his heart.

Seeing Gao Jie's expression, Qi Laoda simply chuckled softly, a hint of confidence in his voice, as if he had already seen through Gao Jie's thoughts:

"Don't stare at me like that. The fact that I'm talking to you so openly proves that I've already planned this out. Every aspect is like beads on an abacus, I've analyzed it all clearly and considered everything thoroughly. I already have some ideas in mind, understand?"

After saying that, Boss Qi put down the teacup steadily, crossed his hands in front of him, and stood there as if he had built an invisible barrier. His gaze was fixed on Gao Jie, and his eyes became increasingly sharp.

"I'll ask you one more time, what are your thoughts on these matters? What are your opinions? Don't hold back, just tell me everything." There was already a hint of unquestionable force in his tone.

Gao Jie slowly shook his head, his head feeling heavy, as if trying to shake off those troubling thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, his voice revealing a mixture of sincerity and helplessness:

"Brother Qi, to be honest, I owe you a lot for getting to where I am today. I will always remember your kindness. But right now, I have no other thoughts. I'm obsessed with one thing: I just want my parents to live a comfortable life. As you know, my parents have worked hard for most of their lives. Now, I just want to provide them with a safe and stable life. I don't have the mind to think about anything else for the time being."

Gao Jie sighed softly, a long and heavy sigh, his eyes also somewhat solemn, as if he were carrying a heavy burden.

"You can see the situation now, it's as complicated as a tangled mess. I just want to do everything I can to protect my parents and not let them be disturbed by the outside world. As long as they are safe and sound, that's better than anything else to me."

Upon hearing this, Boss Qi's smile deepened. He reached out and gently patted Gao Jie's shoulder, then moved closer to Gao Jie and lowered his voice to say:

"Gao Jie, I know perfectly well that my Ranran is probably in love. But you know her personality, she likes to keep everything to herself and would rather die than tell anyone."

Qi Laoda frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat helpless.

"She's always so secretive, it really bothers me. You're close to her, what's your take on this?" Old Qi straightened up, his gaze intense.

"I just want to hear what you think," Qi Laoda said, his eyes fixed on Gao Jie with a sharp gaze that made Gao Jie even more uneasy.

Gao Jie became increasingly confused as he listened, feeling that there was more to Qi Laoda's words than met the eye, that every word seemed to conceal a hidden meaning, as if there was some unfathomable purpose behind them, leaving him unsure how to respond.

His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Before Gao Jie could even organize his thoughts, the other person suddenly burst into laughter.

The laughter started softly, then gradually rose in pitch, echoing in the small space, making Gao Jie's heart pound with unease.

Gao Jie roughly understood what was going on. Could it be that Boss Qi wanted him and Huang Mulan to get together?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he inwardly groaned, wondering how things had escalated to such a troublesome point.

"Your words have startled me. I'm not kidding, I really didn't expect you to say that."

Gao Jie scratched his head, his eyes darting around. "I think I still need to think about this. You can't just leave it like this. I'll discuss this situation with Huang Mengran. Thank you for talking to me about this. I don't want to think about any other related issues right now."

After saying that, Gao Jie didn't want to stay a moment longer and turned around to escape this place that made him feel so stressed.

Qi Laoda's men were prepared and blocked him directly.

Gao Jie turned around awkwardly, his face turning red and white in turns. Unexpectedly, Boss Qi gave a cold smile, a smile that instantly lowered the temperature in the room.

"Young man, you're really disrespecting me, you're making me very uncomfortable!"

Qi Laoda's voice was filled with displeasure, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"You only needed to nod and agree, and all the problems would have been solved. It was such a simple thing. But you stubbornly refused to give me that face. Do you know that I've made a living based on three things?"

As Qi Laoda spoke, he stretched out his thick fingers and cracked them open heavily, "It's because we have many brothers that we can command a large following in Jinling City."

I'm loyal and my brothers in the underworld all give me a thumbs up; I'm ruthless and anyone who dares to go against me will suffer the consequences!

But what you're doing, refusing to give me any face, is making me extremely unhappy. Let me tell you, this isn't that simple. If you continue to treat me like this, I'll have to kick you out of here!

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped his foot hard, the force of which seemed to carry immense power, causing the ground to tremble and the teacup on the table to shake restlessly, the tea ripples spreading out in the cup.

"I'm warning you, I mean I could very well kick you out of Nanjing, do you hear me?"

Qi Laoda's voice rose again, like the hooting of a night owl, his eyes revealing an undisguised threat, his gaze like two sharp blades piercing straight at Gao Jie.

Gao Jie hadn't taken those harsh words to heart, thinking they were just Qi Laoda's impulsive remarks in the heat of the moment. But the phrase "Get out of Jinling" completely challenged his bottom line.

He was completely bewildered, his brows furrowed into a knot, unable to understand why he had provoked such fury by simply telling the truth.

Why is Boss Qi so intolerant of me?

He felt a tightness in his chest and was genuinely uncomfortable with this sudden situation.

Just as the atmosphere was about to freeze in tension, Huang Muran suddenly rushed in from outside, his hurried steps creating a gust of wind that made the curtains inside the room flutter loudly.

She walked straight up to Gao Jie, and without hesitation spread her arms wide, firmly shielding him behind her. Her figure was like an unbreakable shield, and her eyes were full of a protective determination.

"Uncle, what exactly do you mean? Why did you bring him here all of a sudden? What are you trying to do?"

Huang Muran's eyebrows shot up, her eyes seemed to be burning with two small flames, and her gaze was full of questioning.

"Let me tell you the truth, some things can be done, and some things cannot. Don't you understand all of this?"

Her chest heaved slightly as she gasped for breath, clearly quite angry, and a blush crept onto her fair cheeks.

"Besides, there's nothing else going on between Gao Jie and me. I hope you won't go too far. I'm sure you know what you're dealing with here. You should be aware of that, right?"

Huang Muran straightened her slender back, raised her head, and met Qi Laoda's gaze without fear, her eyes showing no sign of backing down.

Qi Laoda was so angry at these words that he slammed his hand on the table. With a loud "bang," the teacups on the table jumped high into the air, and one of them almost fell to the ground.

He jumped to his feet, his tall, imposing figure instantly casting a large, eerie shadow in the room, and roared:

"Young man, are you looking down on me? What do you mean? Do you even respect me?"

"I'm talking to Gao Jie right now. This is none of your business. You better stay away. I need him to give me an answer today, otherwise he'll really think I'm a paper tiger, won't he?"

Qi Laoda pointed his finger menacingly at the door, as if he were about to drag Huang Muran out at any moment.

Seeing this, Gao Jie gently pulled Huang Muran aside, his face full of anxiety and confusion, and then asked:

"What exactly happened? How could this happen out of nowhere? I'm completely confused. Do you even know what's going on?"

He spoke very quickly, his eyes fixed on Huang Muran, hoping to extract some useful information from her.

Upon hearing this, Huang Muran frowned, a hint of guilt flashing across his face. Then he let out a heavy sigh, a sigh filled with helplessness and regret.

"Actually, this isn't my uncle's fault. I brought it all on myself. There's nothing particularly special about the situation, it's just..."

She bit her lip, hesitating whether to tell the whole story, "But I really didn't expect so many problems to arise, Gao Jie..."

Before she could finish speaking, Gao Jie already knew what was going on. Judging from Huang Muran's hesitant manner, she must have said or done something that led to this tricky situation.

In an instant, Gao Jie's face changed completely, turning bright red, with veins bulging on his forehead. He stared at Huang Muran with a hint of anger, his eyes almost spitting fire.

"So you actually tricked me, you little brat! Don't you find it incredibly annoying that you did that?"

Gao Jie's voice trembled slightly with anger, "I gave you a chance in this situation, and I looked into the details carefully, thinking that we could all be honest with each other. But you just had to make things like this. Did you even ask for my opinion?"

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Seeing that Gao Jie was already angry, Huang Muran was extremely anxious. His lips trembled as he opened and closed them, as if something was stuck in his throat. The words of explanation swirled on his tongue several times, but he couldn't get them out.

She felt her mind was a mess, a jumble of thoughts tangled together like an unsolvable knot.

Every thought that popped into my head was immediately overwhelmed by new ideas, leaving me completely confused about where to begin, and in the end I could only shut my mouth in utter helplessness.

At this moment, she was filled with grievances, and her eyes were slightly red. She was eager to explain to Gao Jie, hoping that he would understand that she did not do it intentionally. However, the feeling of having something stuck in her throat was too torturous. It was as if she was tightly bound by a tight, invisible net. The more she struggled, the tighter it became.

She mustered her courage twice to open her mouth, but both times, under Gao Jie's angry gaze, she closed her mouth again, her helplessness and frustration unimaginable to anyone else.

For a moment, Huang Muran looked like a defeated quail, his head drooping and his body slightly curled up, completely losing his usual agility.

She fell completely silent, not daring to utter another word. Tense, guilty, and aggrieved emotions surged wildly in her heart, churning together in a complex mess that was difficult to describe in words. She could only swallow this bitterness silently.

Watching this scene, Qi Laoda's face grew increasingly gloomy, and anger surged in his eyes. He clenched his fists twice, as if he was about to rush forward and teach Gao Jie a lesson to vent his anger.

But each time, Huang Muran blocked him with her body, her eyes full of pleading, which made Qi Laoda suppress his impulse.

Then, Gao Jie couldn't stay any longer. He turned around angrily and left, his steps quick and heavy, as if each step could leave a hole in the ground.

He never expected Huang Muran to treat him like this; it was just too unfair!

Being dragged into this inexplicable storm for no reason is tantamount to making yourself take the blame.

Thinking of this, Gao Jie's anger burned even more fiercely, almost to the point that he lost all reason.

Gao Jie had been holding back his anger the whole way, and when he returned to his residence, the pent-up rage exploded instantly.

His face was flushed, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a wild beast out of control. He raised his arm and angrily pounded his fist on the table.

"Bang! Bang!" The bangs shook the table, making the objects on it bounce, but he still felt unsatisfied. He was filled with confusion about the current situation and couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.

This series of commotion startled Huang Xu, who had just returned. As soon as he entered the room, he was taken aback by the scene before him, his face full of strange expressions, his eyes wide, not understanding what was wrong with this guy.

The usually composed Gao Jie was now so distraught that Huang Xu quickly stepped forward, grabbed Gao Jie's still waving arm, and asked urgently:

"Gao Jie, what happened? Why are you like this? Stop going crazy! Tell me what happened, don't make me worry anymore, please! Say something!"