Main Text: Chapter 83: Stirring Among All Sides

At Bright Path, in Bright Virtue Tower, Luo Weiming was listening to a report from one of his men about matters involving his son at school.

“This Ye Fei suddenly stopped working as a security guard at Skysoar Company and went to Everglow Private School as a companion student instead. On his very first day, he even had a clash with Shi Cheng and Liu Lei. What is he trying to do?” Luo Weiming asked in confusion, unable to make sense of Ye Fei’s actions.

“Big Brother Luo, should we send someone to deal with Ye Fei?” Xie Dong said.

“No.” Luo Weiming stopped him.

He glanced at Xie Dong and said calmly, “The whole country is in the midst of an anti-gang campaign right now, and Deep Sea is one of the main targets. Our Bright Path is already under close police scrutiny. If anything happens, no one will be able to protect us.”

“Big Brother Luo, we can do it quietly. As long as the higher-ups help cover it up, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Xie Dong said.

“No, no...” Luo Weiming shook his head and said in a grave voice, “That might have worked before, but not now. Ye Fei has Zhang Linsheng backing him. And who is Zhang Linsheng? If he so much as moves a little in Deep Sea, even our Bright Path will lose some of its vitality. If anything happens to Ye Fei and he insists on pursuing it, then at this stage even the people above won’t be able to cover for us. So this is an extraordinary time. We should avoid making any rash moves.”

“Understood, Big Brother Luo. I was too reckless,” Xie Dong said.

“How is Qiu Jinshan in Harbor Island?” Luo Weiming asked.

“The news from there says that Qiu Jinshan has made no move for the moment. Because of the anti-gang campaign, and because his people once carried out a vendetta attack against Shu Manyun, they’ve been hit the hardest. Although someone helped him out by having one of the underlings take the blame, he still doesn’t dare act rashly for now. Before, he wanted to crush Shu Manyun’s Skysoar Company through business, but Zhang Linsheng stepped in, so that also had no effect. Word is, Qiu Jinshan is furious and looking for other forces to help him, hoping to join hands and apply pressure together,” Xie Dong reported quickly.

Luo Weiming considered it, then raised a hand. “Continue watching for a while. I’ll decide later whether to unite with Qiu Jinshan. And remember, do not let it leak that we want to work with them. Keep the initiative in our hands.”

“Yes, Big Brother Luo. I understand,” Xie Dong said.

“Go on then. Leave Shi Cheng alone for now. Let’s see what tricks that Ye Fei is really playing,” Luo Weiming said.

...

At the same time, in the study of a luxurious villa, a middle-aged man was also listening to the house butler’s report.

“Master, today Young Master Rong Cheng had a conflict at school with a man named Ye Fei,” the butler said.

“Who is this Ye Fei?” Rong Gui asked. Although he was also a major shareholder in the school, arranging a companion student was a trivial matter to Zhang Linsheng, one that did not require informing everyone. Rong Gui therefore had no idea what background Ye Fei had.

“This Ye Fei is an orphan. I heard he saved Zhang Linsheng’s daughter some time ago. Zhang Xiaoxiao liked him very much, so she asked Zhang Linsheng to arrange for Ye Fei to go in as a companion student and stay by her side at school,” the butler briefly explained.

As he spoke, he placed a file on the desk.

“Oh, arranged by Zhang Linsheng,” Rong Gui said with surprise. He had thought Ye Fei was just an ordinary student.

He glanced through the file and rubbed his forehead. “All right, I know. Have someone keep a closer eye on the young master. That child has really gone to great lengths for Zhang Xiaoxiao.”

Still, when Rong Gui saw today’s events, the file showed that Ye Fei had rather good skills. He found it a little strange, but did not think much further and closed the file.

...

“Brother Hua, today an extremely capable companion student came to Everglow. Should we...” said a burly man.

Brother Hua sat in a leather chair, his fingers lightly drumming the armrest. The room was dimly lit.

“Damn it, don’t make any moves. The anti-gang campaign is so strict right now that if anything happens, it’ll be very troublesome. Don’t forget that police officer who came down from above last time. If anything happens, they’ll definitely use it as an excuse to conduct a thorough investigation. Then we’ll be in big trouble,” Brother Hua said.

“Brother Hua, didn’t that police officer seem to notice something last time? The moment he left, this Ye Fei came in immediately. Could there be some connection between them?” the burly man questioned.

“That probably isn’t the case. We already checked, and there really wasn’t much connection between them. It was only last time, when Ye Fei was hospitalized, that they met for the first time, and that was when they were there to investigate him,” Brother Hua said, lightly tapping the armrest.

“Some time ago, Zhang Linsheng’s daughter was kidnapped. I heard it was this Ye Fei who rescued her. So Zhang Linsheng may simply be repaying him. And I also heard that his daughter seems to have some feelings for Ye Fei, which is why Zhang Linsheng arranged for him to come in,” he added.

“All right,” the burly man said.

“Tell our people not to provoke that kid. If Ye Fei was able to pull Zhang Xiaoxiao out of the kidnappers’ hands, he must be no easy opponent. Don’t go looking for trouble at a time like this. As long as he doesn’t come after us, leave him alone,” Brother Hua instructed.

“Yes.”

After the burly man left, he headed straight for the security office, where he turned out to be the security guard for Everglow Private School.

As for Ye Fei, he was still sleeping soundly in the dormitory.

The next day, Ye Fei was woken by a phone call from Zhang Xiaoxiao. In the call, Zhang Xiaoxiao seemed to be puffing with anger.

“Ye Fei, where did you go last night?” Zhang Xiaoxiao asked.

“Nowhere. I just walked around a bit and then went back to sleep,” Ye Fei said.

“Did you go eat a late-night snack with Liu Yiyi yesterday? And the two of you went shopping together too.” Zhang Xiaoxiao sounded jealous, almost on the verge of tears.

“Yes,” Ye Fei admitted honestly.

He had originally thought Zhang Xiaoxiao would become very angry and make a scene. He had already prepared excuses to coax her. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaoxiao said in a hurt voice, “Ye Fei, from now on, will you go out for late-night snacks with me instead?”

Ye Fei had wanted to refuse, because he truly had no time; at night, he still needed to use the opportunity to investigate the school. But for the moment, he only wanted to get through this, so he agreed.

“Let’s just hope Zhang Xiaoxiao doesn’t sink any deeper,” Ye Fei thought to himself. He was using Zhang Xiaoxiao as a shield to disguise himself, but he worried that she would grow more and more attached, which would make things difficult later. Yet he could not explain the truth to her either, or she might easily give herself away and be discovered by others. Then any covert investigation would be out of the question.

The matter of Ye Fei’s intimate late-night snack and market stroll with the school belle Liu Yiyi spread overnight, confirmed by numerous witnesses.

Today, the entire student body split into two camps to speculate.

One camp believed Zhang Xiaoxiao might break up with Ye Fei. After all, once can be forgiven, but not twice. Ye Fei had already been involved in intimate rumors with Zhong Yuhan, and now there were new rumors about him and Liu Yiyi. That had already exceeded Zhang Xiaoxiao’s tolerance.

The other camp believed that since Zhang Xiaoxiao had refused to break up with Ye Fei even after the rumors with Zhong Yuhan, then with precedent established, she still would not break up with him this time either, even though he had once again been linked to another school belle.

Everyone was now waiting for the answer.

When they saw Ye Fei and Zhang Xiaoxiao walking into the classroom hand in hand, affectionately close as ever, everyone’s jaws still dropped. They could not help but cry out in astonishment: just what kind of charm did Ye Fei have? In a single day, he had become entangled in rumors with the three great school belles, and not one of the three girls seemed to mind. They were still together with him.

Now, Ye Fei’s target of jealousy and resentment at school was growing larger and larger: first the students who liked Zhang Xiaoxiao, then those who liked Zhong Yuhan, then those who liked Liu Yiyi, and finally the many students who felt deeply unbalanced.

And the students who liked the other school belles had also developed a sense of crisis, fearing that this Ye Fei might yet seduce the goddesses they adored.

“Damn it, I’m here to investigate—when would I have time to fall in love with your school belles?” Ye Fei said with a wry smile.