Forge a path to success

"A young girl or a cold-blooded head of the family."

Chu Hengkong patted her head and said seriously, "For your own sake, I hope you can still be a simple little girl."

Wilber nodded: "I will become a cruel and ruthless head of the family."

Chu Hengkong poked her forehead repeatedly: "Do you think it's fun to piss me off?"

"correct."

Violet went into the bathroom, leaving him alone at the table listening to the sound of water filling the bathtub. Chu Hengkong felt a surge of anger, wanting to rip open the wooden door and scare the smug little girl, making her tremble in the bathtub, and then teach her a lesson about not easily provoking people he couldn't handle…

He covered his face with the magazine, extinguishing the anger in his mind like pouring out cigarette ash.

Why get angry with a little girl? You know very well how much she relies on you. She carefully observes your every move, trying to figure out your moods, all to avoid upsetting you. Yesterday, her hands were trembling when she straightened your collar, afraid that her actions might anger you.

It's not that she disrespects you; it's just that little girls are like that—they get fixated on inexplicable little details and become smug because of verbal gains, just like those single-minded top students in school.

“A good man doesn’t fight with a woman…” Chu Hengkong muttered a few times, then turned and instructed, “Don’t soak for too long, it’s not safe.”

"I thought you were capable of protecting a girl taking a bath."

"Miss Vilbert, if you say another word, I'll go in and help you wash."

"please."

He knew perfectly well that Violet was chuckling in the bathtub, but he was utterly helpless about it. Of all the people he had rescued on a whim, this girl was especially difficult to deal with, and he really disliked this feeling of being out of control.

Being able to handle any situation, no matter how it unfolds, that's true strength. But if you lose confidence because of the other party's choices, or feel conflicted because of their responses, then you lose control of the situation, and that's weakness. Violet is very adept at using means other than force to manipulate the shift between strength and weakness; perhaps that's her true talent.

People like that are always difficult to deal with. After this deal is done, it's best to keep your distance from Verus.

Violet finally finished washing up when thunder rumbled in the sky. Chu Hengkong lay on the sofa and said irritably, "I'll go to bed early after I'm done washing up."

The girl's reply came a little slower than he expected: "...Okay."

Chu Hengkong took the magazine down and tossed his suit jacket over as soon as he stood up. Violet leaned against the wall, her dark hair damp and draped over her shoulders. She wore a thin white nightgown, her bare wrists and cheeks flushed an unusual red. She had soaked in the bathtub for too long out of spite, and the lingering heat had caused her to sweat profusely after wiping herself; the semi-transparent nightgown clung tightly to her, revealing almost everything.

The suit jacket fell onto the girl's head, and Chu Hengkong then wrapped her in a bathrobe: "Hehehe, mind your image."

Violet looked back, puzzled, her thoughts slowing. She wrapped herself in her bathrobe, then laughed after a few seconds: "You're interested in a body like this."

"No interest. I like curvy girls." Chu Hengkong ruffled her hair in annoyance. "But whether I'm interested or not, you can't be so careless. You always need to protect yourself, you know?"

Wilbert nodded, pulled back the covers, tossed the little girl in, covered himself up, lay down on the other bed, turned off the light, and announced sternly, "Lights out, go to sleep!"

"Good night."

"How did my image change so quickly?" Chu Hengkong thought sullenly. Two months ago, she looked at him like he was watching Superman, so why could she say "goodnight" so naturally after spending just a couple more days together?

The rain outside the window grew heavier, mingling with thunder. He leaned against the headboard, listening to the rain and monitoring Vilbert's breathing. After all, this was a guard duty, and he dared not sleep too soundly, so he decided to stay up for two nights in a row and catch up on sleep when he got back.

But for some reason, Vilbert couldn't sleep all day. He dozed off for a moment, then saw a flash of white light outside the window, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Vilbert's heart skipped a beat; she took several deep breaths, but her heart continued to beat slightly faster than usual.

Another clap of thunder sounded, and Chu Hengkong opened his eyes to see the small shoulders trembling in the blankets.

She was afraid of thunder.

Why would she be afraid of thunder? She could deceive the Spanish without batting an eye, she didn't even care about the roaring Russians, and she even dared to joke about Chu Hengkong.

This might be related to Lucas's threats during thunderstorms. Perhaps it was on such a night that she heard the news of her father's death. But in any case, people's reactions cannot be faked; Wilbert was afraid of thunder, just like any ordinary child is afraid of ghost stories.

It was only then that he truly realized that Wilbert was just over ten years old. She had performed so well in negotiations that even he thought she was a strong and aloof adult. But she was, after all, still a little girl. Little girls are afraid of thunderclouds, typhoons, ghost stories—afraid of the things they should be afraid of. On sleepless nights, they would hug their pillows and knock on their parents' doors, begging their parents to sleep with them.

Her parents are both dead.

Chu Hengkong got up and drew the curtains tighter. He hesitated for a moment, then lay down beside Vilbert's bed.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here," he said.

Wilbert didn't say anything, but just gripped his arm tightly. After a while, he heard steady breathing.

Vilbert is asleep.

Chapter 288 A Girl as Soft as Velvet (The End)

Back in New York, the mission ended smoothly. Violet returned to her mansion as the last emperor, while Chu Heng went back to the pizzeria to continue running errands. The two, who had no connection whatsoever, returned to their parallel lives, never to intersect again.

But the task still had a loose end, because Chu Hengkong hadn't decided on the payment. He initially planned to pay him by the hour, but then felt he might be losing out. Besides, those two boxes of gold were still gathering dust in his closet, and he certainly wasn't short of money.

Unable to think of anything right now, he decided to deal with it later. So, Chu Shao completely forgot about it, even though Violet texted him several times to remind him, he just brushed them off. Two weeks later, the girl's patience finally reached its limit. She called to tell him that he had dragged it out from when she was ten to eleven, and if he still couldn't figure it out, she would fill his room with cash.

The icy, ultimatum-like tone made Young Master Chu involuntarily move his phone further away. He glanced around the rather messy room, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and a sudden inspiration struck him—a reward he desperately needed.

"Then please clean my room," he said.

Half an hour later, Miss Vilbert Velus stood in the doorway, dressed in plain black, her smooth black hair tied back with a white headscarf.

Chu Hengkong burst out laughing when he opened the door.

"What are you doing, Miss?" He chuckled, leaning on the threshold. "I meant, you could have just found someone to help me clean, why did you come here yourself?"

“I don’t think you would be happy to let a stranger into your room,” Wilbert said. “Besides, you’re protecting me, not one of Verus’s servants.”

Chu Hengkong laughed for a while, then started closing the door: "Okay, okay, thank you very much, but I'll trouble you to send a Filipino maid or an English butler instead. I absolutely will not hire an eleven-year-old girl to do the cleaning..."

"Get out of my way, twelve-year-old boy," Vilbert said coldly. "You haven't received your payment yet, so the commission isn't over. I'm still your boss."

"I'm just unlucky. I have to follow the rules; whatever you say goes."

Chu Hengkong shrugged and stepped aside from the door. Even though she had prepared herself mentally, the faintly unpleasant smell still startled Vilbert.

Visibility inside the room was extremely low; thick smoke from hundreds of cigarettes had burned out filled the air, carrying a pungent smell of fermenting alcohol and rotting food. Dampness from the leak added a musty odor to the already poor environment, and the timely backflow of moisture from the sewers made the room feel even more oppressive.

Wilbert bravely took a step forward, followed by a groan that threatened to break her. She had never imagined that entering someone's home would require such courage.

"How could you live in something like this...something like this..." She struggled for a long time to find a suitable adjective, but finally gave up completely, "In a pigsty?"

Chu Hengkong was not very happy: "Language, Miss. My roof is a bit small, but it's still quite comfortable to live in."

This rented room, even by New York's standards of expensive real estate, is considered luxurious. At approximately 20 square meters, it includes a kitchen and a bathroom, and after placing a desk and a single bed, there's still a small space to accommodate a large suitcase laid out. However, someone's unbelievable lifestyle maximizes the use of this 20 square meters: the kitchen is used as a storage room, crammed with various unopened bags; the desk, besides a laptop, is piled high with beer bottles; the ashtray is overflowing with cigarette butts like a peacock's tail; and due to this person's severe smoking habit, the room is covered in grayish-white ash.

Even Chu Hengkong himself realized this, so he bought two more ashtrays and placed them by his bedside and the window, so that he would have more places to store cigarette butts.

Wilbert remained silent, only shaking her head repeatedly. After a long while, she finally reached out her hand: "Please give me a broom and a mop."

Chu Hengkong smiled awkwardly: "No."

Vilbert's eyes were icy: "What, you call it, nothing?"

"Look, you just lack life experience. When you rent a place, the landlord won't provide any furniture; you even have to buy the toilet seat yourself." Chu Hengkong tried to regain his composure by relying on his experience. "But back then, I didn't have much money, so I only bought the necessities, and things like brooms..."

Vilbert's eyes even held a sinister glint, and her terrifying aura silenced Chu Hengkong. She took out her phone and ordered, "Give me a complete set of cleaning supplies, garbage bags, a desk, and a chair."

"Hey, my desk is still okay! It's just a little dirty!"

“…light bulb, tissues.” Violet walked to the bedside, picked up someone’s blanket, and put it down in despair. “Pillow, blanket…no, just change the bed.”

"Did my bed offend you?" Chu Hengkong stared in disbelief. "I just asked you to clean up, don't use this as an excuse to tear my house down!"

“I will never allow you to live in a place like this,” Wilbert said firmly.

·

Despite Chu Hengkong's staunch opposition, he managed to keep his bed and desk. However, all the bedding was replaced, and the desk, after persistent cleaning, revealed its original appearance—it was originally a white desk, but it was a dark yellow color when Violet entered the room.

Violet piled countless pieces of trash and expired bottles and jars in the hallway, forcing him to go downstairs to throw out the garbage three times. Only then could she finally begin to clean normally, bustling about like a Victorian maid, making Chu Hengkong very uncomfortable.

"I really didn't expect that someone from a wealthy family like you would know how to do housework."

“My father believed that the most important skill a person should have is how to take care of themselves,” Wilbert said, her anger evident in her scrubbing motion. “So I know how to tidy up a room.”

"Good upbringing."

Chu Hengkong felt increasingly uncomfortable; he simply couldn't bear to let a girl younger than himself face this terrible mess. He tried to dissuade her: "Just listen to me, I think the room is already very clean, and it's okay if we do this much."

Wilbert, wielding the mop like a sword, forced him to shut up once again with her stern gaze.

“Your room is far from tidy, and you only say that because your pride and empathy can’t tolerate me continuing to do things for you,” Wilbert said. “But after I stop and leave, will you continue cleaning?”

"If I have some free time—"

“You won’t. You’ll continue with the status quo until it becomes something you can’t stand again.” Vilbert turned around. “Then I’ll continue. At least it’ll allow you to maintain a respectable life for a few more days.”

Chu Heng was at a loss for words and simply lay down on the bed: "Then good luck."

"I will, after all, I'm different from you."

"You'd be so cute if you spoke nicer..." she heard the boy mutter.

Violet should have seized the opportunity to further ridicule Chu Hengkong. But inexplicably, she leaned on the mop, turned her head, and said, "Am I not cute right now?"

Chu Hengkong rolled over and chuckled, "No, not at all. You need to be wary of Vilbert. You're only 11 years old and you're already a complete housekeeper."

Vilbert accidentally kicked the bucket, splashing dirty water onto Chu Hengkong's trouser leg.

·

After three and a half hours of cleaning, the pigsty finally looked somewhat habitable. Wilbert took his chair, wiping away sweat as he rested listlessly.

Chu Hengkong could tell that the girl was in a bad mood. Although he didn't understand why she was unhappy again—she was the one who cleaned the house and then got angry—he still decided to try his best to make amends.

"Thank you so much for your hard work. I'll treat you to dinner." He took out his phone to dial a number. "There's a pretty good Chinese restaurant nearby."

Violet was about to agree, but seeing his practiced movements, she frowned instead: "Do you eat takeout every day?"

"What else can I eat if I don't order takeout?" Chu Heng laughed. "I'm not some rich young master, no one cooks for me."

Naturally, she should have expected it. Before entering this room, she still harbored many fantasies about Chu Hengkong, guessing that he might come from another ancient organization, be an heir cultivated by some anomalies, or be an ace trained by members of the Blood Alliance…

But in reality, he lived in a filthy rented room and made a living delivering packages. In battle, he was inhumanly powerful, but behind closed doors, he was still just a boy adrift alone. He lacked patience and interest, and hadn't learned many skills to take care of himself, so he inevitably relied on fast food and junk food for his daily meals. He didn't think there was anything wrong with it; it was all perfectly normal.

She absolutely could not let Chu Hengkong continue living like this.

“Go buy pasta, eggs, black pepper, and…” Vilbert shook her head, he definitely didn’t understand. “Never mind, I’ll go down with you.”

"Huh?" Chu Hengkong was baffled.

"Go buy some food, I'll make lunch."

They bought black pepper, eggs, various cheeses with different names but similar appearances, bacon made from pork cheek, and thick spaghettoni. Vilbert cleaned the kitchen utensils that had never been used after purchase and magically transformed the miscellaneous ingredients into two fragrant servings of spaghettoni.

“This is Carbonara, pasta with bacon and egg sauce,” Vilbert told him. “It’s high in calories and quite oily, but you should like it.”

He really liked it. The egg and cheese sauce clung to the pasta, giving it an enticing golden color, and paired with fried pork cheek chunks, it tasted quite like Western-style lard noodles. He wolfed down a whole plate, also finishing off the portion that Violet couldn't finish.

“You know what, Violet,” he said with a smile, “if you ever don’t want to be in the underworld anymore, you can still be a very good cook.”

"And what about you?" Vilbert countered. "If you weren't a deliveryman someday, what would you do?"

"There's so much to be done in this vast world. What can't I do with my skills?" Chu Hengkong was optimistic. "Maybe I can work as a porter at the docks or maybe I can fight in underground boxing matches."

Vilbert suddenly lost her appetite.

"This is what you want to do?" she asked incredulously. "You have that kind of strength and skill, yet you're willing to live in a house like this, making a living by manual labor?!"

Chu Hengkong calmly looked back at her, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"You, on the other hand, have lived in a large family for too long, always feeling that everyone must be put to the best use of their talents, and that capable people should always be in high positions. But what can I do with my skills in the 21st century?"

"you can--"

Vilbert cut him off abruptly, and Chu Hengkong smiled and said, "What can you do? You can beat people up, you can kill people, you can find a family like ABCD to collect money and become a powerful thug? Or you can go to the military camp, suffer for a few years, and become a military leader? Or you can become an athlete and perform for money."

That kind of life could probably earn a lot of money, but it wouldn't be satisfying for me. So forget it! A person's circumstances are ultimately constrained by their environment; living in the 21st century, no matter how capable you are, it's still the same.

His analysis was so objective and logical that it was enough to convince any girl with illusions, but Vilbert just shook her head.

"These are the words you said to me; you wouldn't tell yourself that."

What would I say to myself?

The girl lowered her eyes and did not answer the question. She put down her knife and fork.

“You won’t live like this forever,” she told Chu Hengkong. “Right now you’re willing to pretend to be content with the status quo, but you won’t be in the future. I will change you, change your personality, your mindset, and your lifestyle. I mean what I say.”

Chu Hengkong was lighting a new cigarette when he heard this and slammed his hand on the table, laughing loudly: "Are you kidding me, little girl? Change? I'm living a carefree life, why should I change myself because of your thoughts? What can you possibly change about me?"

Vilbert stared at the cigarette butt: "I'll make you quit smoking."

Chu Heng flicked his cigarette ash, treating it all as a joke.

“Absolutely not,” he said dismissively. “Don’t even think about it.”

·

“I quit smoking later,” Chu Hengkong said. “Although it was several years later, she really did it.”