Chapter 0025: Eight Generations of Incense and Ancestral Virtue

Zhou Yunkang didn't bother hiding it. "No choice. Under Zhang Yongfu's watch, I had to keep a low profile, or I wouldn't have survived this long. So what if I'm his son-in-law? It's just self-preservation!"

Chen Liuhe raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "So, your little affair with Zhang Yongfu's mistress—was that a deliberate smokescreen too? To convince him you're just a horny dimwit with no ambition, so he'd let his guard down?"

Zhou Yunkang didn't deny it. Chen Liuhe tapped the table lightly, eyeing him with a mix of curiosity and amusement. "Looks like being a phoenix rising from the ashes isn't enough to satisfy your appetite."

Zhou Yunkang replied, "Zhang Yongfu's old. When you're old, you should step aside for the young. Clinging to power at his age makes him a greedy old dog. I'm not doing anything wrong."

"You've got some serious guts spilling all this to me. Aren't you afraid I'll rat you out? If Zhang Yongfu hears about your ambitions, I'd love to see how he handles some righteous family cleanup," Chen Liuhe said, his smile dripping with mischief.

"No choice. I've waited too long, with no openings. Zhang Yongfu's too cautious, trusts no one. Then you showed up—my shot at turning things around. I had to roll the dice," Zhou Yunkang admitted.

Chen Liuhe smirked playfully. "Betting on me's hardly a smart move. Don't you think you're a speck compared to Zhang Yongfu? If I'm picking a partner, it'd be him—you're nothing."

Zhou Yunkang didn't falter, staying calm. "Impossible. You and him are bound to be enemies. You don't know Zhang Yongfu—sharp as a tack, scared as a mouse. You're a threat to him now, and he won't let that slide."

Pausing, he added, "Even if you sold me out to him for a favor, he wouldn't thank you. He'd still figure out how to bury you."

"Gotta admit, that fearmongering hits the mark," Chen Liuhe said lightly. "But here's what I'm curious about: I help you take over the Black Dragon Gang—what's in it for me?"

Zhou Yunkang locked eyes with him. "Simple. The Black Dragon Gang can return all of 'Golden Jade Palace's shares. Plus, we could help Qin Ruohan open a second club, a third even!"

Chen Liuhe nearly laughed himself sick, staring at Zhou Yunkang like he was an idiot. "Zhou Yunkang, unless you're brain-dead, you'd see that your offer doesn't give me a shred of real benefit. Why should I bust my ass so that dimwit Qin Ruohan reaps the rewards?"

Zhou Yunkang's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected this. In his mind, Chen Liuhe and Qin Ruohan were tight—maybe even lovers. Chen Liuhe had gone toe-to-toe with the Black Dragon Gang and Zhang Yongfu for her sake. He'd assumed Chen Liuhe would do anything for her.

Clearly, he'd miscalculated—badly.

Chen Liuhe teased, "Big Shot Zhou, sounds like you should be pitching this to Qin Ruohan, not me."

Zhou Yunkang blurted, "No way. Qin Ruohan's a nobody—a powerless woman. If she weren't tied to you, she'd be irrelevant!"

Pausing, he stared intently at Chen Liuhe. "Sixth Bro, I remember something you said: you're helping Qin Ruohan for a shot at wealth and status. I can give you that—way more than she ever could, times ten."

Taking a deep breath, he pressed, "Just say yes. When it's done, everything Qin Ruohan has—her body, her money—can be yours. I'll make it happen. Even the Black Dragon Gang's resources—we can split them!"

Chen Liuhe whistled. "Cash and a dame? That's tempting." Pausing, he grinned. "Trouble is, I'm big on loyalty. Robbing a可怜女人? I'm not as heartless as you."

"Sixth Bro, there's a saying I live by: 'All the world's bustle is for profit; all its chaos is for gain,'" Zhou Yunkang argued, pushing hard. "I believe there's no absolute loyalty—just a question of whether the payoff's worth the betrayal."

Chen Liuhe laughed—first a chuckle, then a full-on scoff. "I used that line to con a kid in diapers when I was seven. You think it'll work on me?"

He shook his head. "Not enough. Show me your real sincerity."

Zhou Yunkang didn't know that the kid Chen Liuhe had conned was a warlord's grandson—now a big shot among Yanjing's elite brats.

"We've got the same enemy. We're on the same side. I've heard Zhang Yongfu's out for your blood—ready to strike when the time's right," Zhou Yunkang said, each word deliberate. "Only by killing him can you be truly safe!"

Half an hour later, Chen Liuhe and Zhou Yunkang left the farmhouse. Chen Liuhe never explicitly agreed or refused, but the unspoken understanding was clear—Zhou Yunkang's gleaming eyes gave it away.

The guy looked like hell, though—his face a swollen, grotesque mess that'd turn stomachs.

Back at the club, Chen Liuhe's stomach growled. He grumbled inwardly. That bastard Zhou Yunkang had been so caught up in scheming that they hadn't eaten a bite.

Then again, seeing Zhou Yunkang's mangled mug killed any appetite he might've had.

He dragged Huang Baiwan, who'd clocked in, to a noodle joint for a quick bite. Naturally, Chen Liuhe—perpetually broke—wouldn't pay. Huang Baiwan, the newly minted "tycoon" security captain, grandly covered it.

His booming "I've got this!" turned a measly twenty-yuan meal into a two-thousand-yuan flex.

Back in his office, Chen Liuhe sank into his chair, lost in thought.

Honestly, Zhou Yunkang had surprised him a bit. A scheming, ambitious little snake who knew how to bide his time.

That was his take.

Still, Chen Liuhe wasn't sold on him. He didn't know the Black Dragon Gang's ins and outs, but Zhang Yongfu had built it from scratch and run it for years. Could Zhou Yunkang really topple him? If so, he wouldn't have waited this long without acting.

Chen Liuhe had his own plans. Helping Zhou Yunkang? That depended on how much the guy could bring to the table. If he was all talk, Chen Liuhe wouldn't mind stirring the pot and watching the Black Dragon Gang tear itself apart—dog-eat-dog style.

Whether Zhang Yongfu crushed his kin or Zhou Yunkang pulled off an upset, it didn't matter to him one bit.

His tacit nod to Zhou Yunkang's proposal wasn't about the rewards. Qin Ruohan's wealth and charms? Meh. Even if he wanted them, he'd rather win them with charisma than stoop to dirty tricks—Comrade Chen preferred conquering hearts and minds fair and square.

No, it was Zhou Yunkang's warning: Zhang Yongfu wanted him dead. Chen Liuhe didn't doubt it. From that angle, they were aligned. Anyone out for his blood? Chen Liuhe never went easy on them.

Sorting his thoughts, he chuckled. "Zhang Yongfu's no saint. Zhou Yunkang's no better. Now they're at each other's throats—saves me a headache. And Qin Ruohan, that chick's about to cash in without lifting a finger. What'll you offer me then, huh? Your body?"

He didn't plan to tell Qin Ruohan any of this. It wasn't distrust—she just had too much stubbornness and not enough cunning. Knowing too much wouldn't help her; it'd likely screw things up.

The afternoon was the club's slow period. With nothing to do, Chen Liuhe cranked the AC, messed around on the computer, and napped—living the dream.

At dinner, he latched onto Huang Baiwan like a leech, dragging the eager guy to a street stall across from the club.

"Sixth Bro, not picking up Little Sis tonight?" Huang Baiwan asked cautiously over two bowls of zajiang noodles. The more he hung around this young man, the more unfathomable Chen Liuhe seemed. To Huang "Big Teeth" Baiwan, Chen Liuhe was a top-tier badass.

Chen Liuhe grinned casually. "Nah." Shen Qingwu had taken the Zhao family's olive branch and started tutoring tonight from eight to ten. He trusted they'd pamper her.

Pausing, he added, "Little Sis took a tutoring gig—eight to ten, car pickup, dinner included, three grand a month." His smugness was downright punchable.

Huang Baiwan grinned wide, full of admiration. "Little Sis is cultured, talented. Three grand to hire her? They're the lucky ones—blessed, even." No ass-kissing here—just straight-up truth.

Chen Liuhe beamed, laughing. "Lucky? They've burned eight generations of incense and stacked ancestral good deeds to get her!"

Huang Baiwan nodded like a bobblehead…