Chapter 353

Chapter 353 Be Prepared to Be Crushed Underfoot!

Some things are not cherished when you have them, and are only regretted once they’re gone. But in this world, there is no remedy for regret, and no time machine to take you back to relive the days you once squandered.

Wang Qi had truly traded gold for gravel. She sat in the chair, drained of all strength, her eyes vacant, tears streaming down in silence.

Su Rui did not follow Zhou Xianwei out. Instead, he turned to Wu Shikuan and asked, “What does this Chang Jun do for a living?”

Wu Shikuan, always quick-witted, immediately grasped Su Rui’s intention and answered respectfully, “To answer Shao Su, this Chang Jun’s family runs a trading company that handles the export of small commodities every year. Since their overseas clients are fairly stable, the volume is actually quite significant.”

Su Rui cast a contemptuous glance at Chang Jun, who was still on the ground. “Would it be difficult for the Qinglong Gang to swallow up that trading company?”

Swallow up the trading company?

Wu Shikuan couldn’t make that call on his own. He looked toward Li Yang for help.

Chang Jun’s body began to tremble. Su Rui was clearly signaling his intent to destroy his family’s assets.

Li Yang had already taken off his sunglasses. He cleared his throat and said with complete indifference, “No matter how big that trading company is, I’ll have it done within three days.”

When it came to acquiring companies, Li Yang was quite experienced. Back when he had taken the helm of the Qinglong Gang and set about building the Qinglong Group, he had used both legitimate and underground means simultaneously, amassing formidable financial resources and fighting strength in a remarkably short time.

That said, fully taking over a company in three days was still a tight timeline. But for Li Yang, this was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities to Su Rui. Otherwise, if Zhang Ziwei were to completely take his place, that was something he was not willing to see.

Wang Qi’s body was trembling too. This Su Rui was truly ruthless. She had chosen to sit in the BMW and cry, yet he was going to destroy the BMW itself.

“Three days it is then.” Su Rui’s eyes were fixed on Chang Jun, without a trace of pity. “Three days from now, I want to see them completely out of this industry.”

Though his tone was light, it carried an incomparable weight of pressure.

“Please rest assured, Shao Su. I will complete the task.” A flash of cold resolve crossed Li Yang’s eyes. The Qinglong Group needed to expand rapidly anyway, so the Chang family’s company would serve as the perfect sacrificial lamb.

Hearing these people casually cut off his livelihood in just a few sentences, Chang Jun couldn’t help but wail desperately, “You can’t do this, you can’t do this. I haven’t harmed your interests at all! What gives you the right to destroy my family’s company? What gives you the right?”

This wasn’t taking away a man’s fish, it was taking away his fishing rod.

Su Rui appeared quite patient today and replied, “You may not have harmed our interests, but you’ve hurt our hearts.”

He paused, then continued, “Some things are not yours to meddle in just because you want to, and some people are not yours to go after just because you feel like it. If you do something this brainless, you’d better be prepared to face the consequences.”

“You’re nothing but a small-time nobody. I could crush you underfoot without a second thought, and there’s no reason for me to feel any guilt about it.” Su Rui’s tone was calm to the point of coldness. “So I don’t need to hesitate at all. In fact, by tomorrow morning, I’ll have completely forgotten any of this ever happened.”

“If you’re hoping for my mercy, you haven’t earned that right.”

Su Rui’s words laid bare a brutal truth, one that sent Chang Jun trembling all over again. Some games were simply beyond his league.

That’s just how this world works. If you try to measure yourself against others by class and status, you’d better be ready to be trampled underfoot.

Wang Qi sat to one side, her heart filled with dread.

She had thought she was choosing a dazzling and glamorous path, yet she never imagined that her seemingly impressive boyfriend would end up on his knees like a dog, begging for mercy and getting none.

Watching all of this, Zhang Ziwei’s brow furrowed slightly. She seemed to feel that Su Rui’s desire for revenge was a bit too intense.

“Shao Su, isn’t this a little too harsh?”

Wang Qi was a woman after all, and in Zhang Ziwei’s view, Su Rui had no need to take things this far. Even Zhou Xianwei, the one directly involved, hadn’t said anything about what should be done. Why did Su Rui have to go to such lengths? Of course, she spoke her mind directly, with no fear of Su Rui’s status whatsoever.

Wu Shikuan glared at her. “Zhang Ziwei, watch your mouth. Does Shao Su need you sticking your nose into his decisions?”

Zhang Ziwei shot him a sideways glance and paid him no mind. She had never taken this fence-sitter seriously.

“You only see what I’m doing now, but you didn’t see how my brother’s entire life was nearly ruined by her.” Su Rui said coldly. “Besides, what I’m doing might actually be doing her a favor. She put her trust in the wrong person. It may look glamorous on the outside, but only she knows the bitterness she’s been swallowing.”

Only she knows the bitterness?

Hearing those words, Wang Qi’s body gave a faint shudder.

Su Rui paused, then continued, “Also, this guy was obviously trying to hit on you just now. If you were an ordinary girl with no one backing you, he might have actually succeeded.”

Zhang Ziwei fell silent. Su Rui was right. The way Chang Jun had been looking at her earlier was genuinely unsettling. The fact that he could so openly flirt with another woman right in front of his own girlfriend said everything about his character.

At that moment, Wu Shikuan hesitated and said, “Shao Su, there’s something I’m not sure I should bring up.”

“What is it?” Su Rui’s tone was even. “Go ahead and say it.”

“Well, this Chang Jun’s father has some connections with the Nangong family in the capital. It’s actually by relying on the Nangong family that he gradually built up his business. If we move against them without thinking it through, could we end up provoking the Nangong family?”

Wu Shikuan spoke carefully. In his view, a major capital family like that was simply untouchable. They were the ones who truly straddled both the legitimate and underground worlds. The Qinglong Gang might be the local power in Ninghai, but in terms of connections and backing, there was still a significant gap between them and those capital families.

In truth, Wu Shikuan’s concern was not without merit. If the Qinglong Gang were to invite retaliation from the Nangong family as a result, that would be a very bad situation.

But Li Yang had no doubts or worries whatsoever. He gave Wu Shikuan a cold look and said meaningfully, “No matter how powerful the Nangong family is, they are not the number one family in the capital.”

Those words struck like a thunderclap in Wu Shikuan’s ears.

Only then did he remember who was standing right in front of him. Su Rui was the extraordinary scion of that immense family.

Zhang Ziwei stood to one side without a word. In her view, no matter how formidable Su Rui’s backing was, casually offending the Nangong family was still not the wisest choice.

But Su Rui simply smiled with easy indifference, his tone laced with contempt. “It’s time to collect some interest from the Nangong family.”

The last time, Nangong Yao had sent people to assassinate Su Rui and failed. His trusted subordinate Li Xuan had defected and gone over to Su Rui’s side. Su Rui had already made up his mind: among the five great families, the Nangong family would be the first to be wiped out.

And after that, the Bai family had also been quite obliging, withdrawing fifty percent of their investment and unilaterally canceling the two families’ cooperation in the new energy sector, dealing Nangong Shun a devastating blow.

Seeing Su Rui’s towering confidence, everyone present, including Li Yang and Zhang Ziwei, could tell that he had absolutely no fear of the Nangong family. A man like this radiated an ineffable aura of self-assurance from every pore, one that made those who followed him feel an instinctive urge to look up to him from the bottom of their hearts.

“Do you know who Nangong Yao is?” Su Rui asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Yes.” Wu Shikuan answered respectfully. “The eldest young master of the Nangong family. He’s a cripple now. They say five years ago someone beat him into a disabled state. He stays shut in all day and is no different from a madman. No one knows who was capable enough to do something like that.”

“That was me.” Before Wu Shikuan had even finished speaking, Su Rui said it quietly, then pushed open the door and walked out of the private room without looking back.

The people left behind exchanged glances, and each saw the shock written on the other’s face.

To have crippled the eldest young master of the Nangong family and walked away unscathed spoke volumes, beyond any limit, about Su Rui’s power and standing.

Li Yang glanced at Wu Shikuan. “Old Wu, do you still have any doubts about the move I made back then?”

The “move” he was referring to was, of course, the decision to pledge allegiance to Su Rui.

“No doubts, no doubts, absolutely not a single doubt.” Wu Shikuan waved his hands repeatedly, the flesh on his face jiggling like a rattle-drum.

What a joke. A man who could cripple the eldest young master of the Nangong family on a whim was someone he couldn’t even begin to look up to.

Thinking back now on how he had slammed the table at Su Rui in the conference room, Wu Shikuan’s forehead was already drenched in cold sweat. That kind of behavior had been nothing short of suicidal.

A flicker of complexity passed through Zhang Ziwei’s eyes, then gave way to a quiet gleam. She looked at Li Yang and said, “Bangzhu, I think the days ahead will bring the Qinglong Gang a glory it has never seen before.”

Li Yang nodded with a smile, without the slightest trace of resentment at being subordinate to Su Rui. “I think so too, and that conviction is only growing stronger.”

As he spoke, he gazed out the window, the faint light of stars reflected in his eyes, his ambition on full and unabashed display.

The current leader of the Qinglong Gang was a skilled operator, smooth on all sides, and looked more like a businessman than a crime boss. But having clawed his way up from the bottom to where he stood today, how could he possibly be anything less than formidable? He was no hero, but he was every bit a schemer of the shadows.

Zhang Ziwei stood shoulder to shoulder with him and said, “Perhaps it’s time for the Qinglong Gang to take its steps beyond Ninghai.”

Li Yang looked into her bright eyes and said, “You’ve already started doing that, haven’t you?”

Zhang Ziwei made no attempt to hide it and smiled. “Bangzhu sees clearly. What I’ve done so far is just small-scale tinkering.”

Li Yang paid no attention to the fact that Wu Shikuan behind them was shaking violently from their astonishing exchange, and said, “Then from here on out, it’s time to play on a much bigger stage. Otherwise, people will keep thinking the Qinglong Gang is there to be pushed around.”

With just a few brief words between the two of them, the Qinglong Gang’s overarching direction for the future had been firmly set.