After the Black Gold Consortium settled in Jiangcheng, it directly bought the financial center to serve as its office building!
Thousands of people had already gathered in front of the financial center, packed densely.
The status and background of the Black Gold Consortium were simply too lofty.
Everyone took immense pride in joining the Black Gold Group.
In the upper circles of Jiangcheng, and even in the circles of Longdu, being employed by the Black Gold Consortium was considered an supreme honor.
Naturally, this also meant that entering the Black Gold Consortium was fraught with immense difficulty.
There were only fifteen job openings available!
Yet more than seven thousand people came for the interviews, and this was even after the initial screening!
The positions that Chen Xiaoran and her best friend applied for were the most fiercely contested!
There were only two positions, but as many as four thousand people were interviewing for them.
One chosen out of two thousand!
Even though Chen Xiaoran was exceptional in every aspect, she didn't feel the slightest bit confident.
Because the applicants were all top-tier talents from all over the country.
There were plenty of talents with higher academic credentials, better academic records, and greater backgrounds than Chen Xiaoran.
Therefore, she was merely trying her luck.
Yet, if she succeeded in getting the job!
According to Chen Guiyuan, it would bring supreme glory to her ancestors!
"Xinyi, I'm so nervous!"
Holding her resume, Chen Xiaoran's body trembled slightly.
Her best friend Zhou Xinyi, on the other hand, was carefree and curiously asked, "Xiaoran, is that Ye Lingtian really as worthless as you say?"
"Huh? Ye Lingtian, what are you doing here?"
As it happened, Chen Xiaoran saw that Ye Lingtian had also come.
"I'm here to take a look at my company!"
Ye Lingtian glanced at her indifferently and walked past.
Had it not been for the sake of his godmother, he wouldn't even have bothered to reply.
Chen Xiaoran immediately shouted, "Xinyi, did you hear that? Wasn't I right? He actually claims the Black Gold Consortium is his company!"
Zhou Xinyi's mouth hung wide open with utter disbelief. "Mhm, mhm, mhm! Is this guy completely out of his mind? If the Black Gold Consortium were his, why would he desperately cling to living at your house?"
Meanwhile, greeted by the Black Emperor and several senior executives, Ye Lingtian entered his exclusive office.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could overlook the entire panorama of Jiangcheng.
A senior executive fawned, "Chairman Ye! Are you satisfied with your office? Standing here is equivalent to stepping the entire Jiangcheng beneath your feet, taking in the view from the absolute highest peak in the city!"
The Black Emperor standing nearby sneered, "What is a mere Jiangcheng? Our Master has even beheld the scenery from the peak of the world!"
Looking out over the entire Jiangcheng, Ye Lingtian said calmly, "I just saw my godmother's daughter come here to interview as well."
"Admit her unconditionally!"
As soon as Ye Lingtian issued this command, a group of senior executives scrambled in a flurry to carry it out.
Ye Lingtian wasn't doing this for Chen Xiaoran; he was doing it for his godmother.
If Chen Xiaoran was accepted, his godmother would surely be happy.
And if his godmother was happy, he would be happy too.
At that moment, Chen Xiaoran and Zhou Xinyi were standing in line for the interviews.
The interviews were conducted in three languages.
Besides Chinese and English, candidates had to master at least one other language to even be qualified for the interview.
This alone showed how difficult it was to apply.
The two of them were practicing in a lesser-used foreign language.
Just then, a staff member holding a megaphone shouted, "Where are Ms. Chen Xiaoran and Ms. Zhou Xinyi?"
"Over here, we're right here!"
The two of them immediately waved.
"Alright, the two of you, follow me!"
Amidst the surprised gazes of the crowd, the two women entered the conference room.
They were filled with apprehension.
What was happening?
Were they getting an early interview?
Or had some other issue come up?
Inside the conference room sat a panel of eight interviewers.
Upon seeing the two women, they immediately stood up and asked enthusiastically, "Are you Ms. Chen Xiaoran and Ms. Zhou Xinyi?"
"Yes, yes, yes, that's us!"
The two women nodded repeatedly.
"Congratulations on being accepted!"
"Tell everyone else waiting in line to disperse!"
"Boom..."
In that instant, it felt like a bolt from the blue.
They hadn't even had their interview yet?
And they were already accepted?
The Black Gold Consortium was famously strict and impartial!
It didn't look at social status, family background, or other external factors!
It only looked at ability!
It was fair and just in the strictest sense!
This was one of the reasons why the Black Gold Consortium was so wildly popular all over the world!
The powerful and elite took pride in having their children enter the Black Gold Consortium precisely because it was free of any impurities and relied entirely on sheer capability!
Yet what was happening right now?
The other applicants standing in the long line were completely dumbfounded as well.
What was going on?
None of them had even been interviewed yet!
And the decisions were already made just like that?
At least let them all go through the interviews first!
Furthermore, these two women had been pulled straight out of the queue—were these just connections pulling strings?
Apart from the people of the Black Gold Consortium, everyone else was completely bewildered.
"I'm reporting this! There's shady behind-the-scenes manipulation in the Black Gold Consortium's interviews!"
"That's right! These two are obviously connected! We refuse to accept this!"
"Give us an explanation!"
...
The applicants began to protest.
"Security!!!"
"Throw them all out!"
"Remember this—when the Black Gold Consortium acts, why should it ever explain itself to you!"
"Here, our rules are the rules! We decide on whoever we want to decide on!"
Soon, all the applicants were driven away.
Only the perplexed Chen Xiaoran and Zhou Xinyi were left behind.
Yet the overbearing members of the Black Gold Consortium did a complete 180-degree turn in their attitude when facing the two of them.
"Ms. Chen, Ms. Zhou, congratulations on becoming members of the Black Gold Consortium! We welcome you to come to work at any time!"
Chen Xiaoran was utterly puzzled. "Teachers, why is it us? We haven't even had our interview yet?"
The interviewers looked at each other and all smiled.
That was an order personally issued by the supreme Black Emperor himself!
However, one of them casually explained, "Although there was no interview, we already understand each and every applicant, and after comprehensive consideration, you two are the most suitable!"
Following that, amidst their bewilderment, they completed the onboarding procedures.
Not caring about the details anymore, the two of them grabbed their employment certificates and dashed home excitedly.
They shared the news with Chen Guiyuan and He Wenqian.
"What? You got accepted?"
The couple nearly lost their minds.
This was a momentous event that brought glory to their ancestors!
Their daughter was joining the Black Gold Consortium!
Chen Guiyuan puffed out his chest and walked with a swagger in the Jiangcheng upper circles!
He immediately called the Chen Family to share this earth-shattering good news!
"My daughter has made something of herself! And Xinyi, you've made something of yourselves too! The Zhou family is even happier than we are!"
He Wenqian burst into tears of joy.
"By the way, where is Tian'er? Didn't you see him? I asked him to go find you so he could gain some exposure to the world!"
He Wenqian suddenly remembered.
At the mere mention of Ye Lingtian, the smile vanished from Chen Xiaoran's face.
"We saw him! He said the Black Gold Consortium is his company and he just came to take a look!"
Chen Guiyuan grew rather angry. "Hmph! Utter nonsense!"
He Wenqian immediately smoothed things over, offering an awkward smile. "Tian'er just loves to joke around!"
Chen Guiyuan sneered. "From now on, the gap between him and Xiaoran is like heaven and earth! One is in the Black Gold Consortium, while the other doesn't even have a job!"
"If he wants to pursue my daughter, he can join the Black Gold Consortium first and then we'll talk!"
"Aren't you making things too hard for Lingtian? Is the Black Gold Consortium something just anyone can enter?"
Chen Xiaoran wore a haughty look. "Mom, as long as you know that, stop trying to force arrangements between us!"
"Mom, Dad, but we have a question..."
Chen Xiaoran wanted to talk about the interview process, but He Wenqian suddenly received a phone call.
Her expression changed drastically a moment later. "What did you say? Say that again!"
After hanging up, He Wenqian's body shook violently, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her face turned pale as death.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
The three of them crowded around.
"My company was just... just invested with fifty billion!"
Leaving everyone speechless with astonishment, as soon as He Wenqian said those words, the other three nearly lost their minds.
"Fifty billion? Hiss!"
Even Chen Guiyuan repeatedly sucked in sharp breaths.
All the assets of the entire Chen Family combined didn't even add up to fifty billion!
"Did you get something wrong? Your pharmaceutical company is practically on the verge of bankruptcy! Who on earth is investing fifty billion in you?"
Chen Guiyuan doubted.
He Wenqian nodded calmly. "It's true! The funds have already arrived! It's an investment from the Black Gold Consortium!"
"What???"
The Chen Guiyuan family was going crazy.
First Chen Xiaoran was accepted into the Black Gold Consortium, and immediately after, the Black Gold Consortium invested fifty billion in He Wenqian!
Good heavens!
What kind of unbelievable luck was this?
How could the Black Gold Consortium do such a thing?
The crucial point was that they had no prior dealings with the Black Gold Consortium, nor did they know anyone inside it!
Puzzled!
Utterly puzzled!
They racked their brains without finding an answer.
"Is my Chen Family about to strike it unimaginably rich? Hahaha..."
Chen Guiyuan simply stopped overthinking it.
Time to celebrate first!
After finishing his tasks for the Black Emperor and the others, Ye Lingtian returned.
All members of the Chen Family were present, celebrating for Chen Xiaoran.
The entire Jiangcheng already knew about Chen Xiaoran joining the Black Gold Consortium.
It had spread through the upper circles, and the Chen Family was being praised to the skies.
Ye Lingtian frowned.
You've got to be kidding me?
Wasn't it just getting a job at the Black Gold Consortium?
Wasn't it just an investment of fifty billion?
Was there any need to get this worked up?
"Godmother, actually..."
Ye Lingtian had nothing to hide and was about to tell his godmother that all of this was his doing.
Only for Chen Xiaoran to cut him off. "Are you going to say that the Black Gold Consortium is actually yours, that my hiring was arranged by you, and that the fifty billion investment in my mom's company was also from you?"
Ye Lingtian nodded. "Huh? You already knew?"
Chen Xiaoran sneered repeatedly. "Heh, I guessed you'd brag like this! See how well I understand you?"
"Hahaha..."
"Did you expect that? Xiaoran predicted long ago that you would say something like this!"
Everyone in the Chen Family burst into loud laughter.
He Wenqian also furrowed her brow deeply; why was this child like this?
Just moments ago, Chen Xiaoran had predicted that Ye Lingtian would say this, and she hadn't believed it at the time.
Chen Guiyuan grew even more dissatisfied.
Ye Lingtian was only capable of boasting!
And every single word of it was completely detached from reality!
Ye Lingtian couldn't be bothered to explain it to them either, and more importantly, it was impossible to explain clearly anyway.
"Heh, Ye Lingtian, if you really were the master of the Black Gold Consortium, why would you humble yourself and stubbornly live in our house? You would have left long ago!"
Chen Xiaoran looked down on Ye Lingtian even more.
"I will leave, but not right now!"
With that, Ye Lingtian returned to his room.
He stayed here merely to use the ice vein beneath to suppress his Innate Fire Poison; once the ice vein was exhausted, he would leave.
Yet in the eyes of the Chen Family, it was simply Ye Lingtian stubbornly clinging to his place here.
"How utterly shameless!"
Many of them cursed under their breaths.
Ignoring them completely, He Wenqian returned to her room to look into the investment matter.
Shortly afterwards, she suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar number.
"Hello, Wenqian, can you recognize my voice?"
A magnetic voice came through the receiver.
He Wenqian trembled all over.
"You... you are Ye Zangsheng?"
"Mhm, it's me!"
"Listen to me! Don't make a fuss! Keep this confidential! Make sure there's no one else next to you!"
"Okay!"
"Wenqian, I know all about you taking Tian'er into your home!"
"Ah? You knew about that?"
He Wenqian was filled with astonishment.
As expected of the head of the hundred clans!
He found out just like that?
"However... what are you planning to do?"
He Wenqian began to tremble.
"Wenqian, don't be afraid. Actually, all these years, I've been looking for Tian'er! I owe his mother and son far too much! I want to make it up to Tian'er!"
"Now that I hold supreme authority in the Ye Clan, no one will ever dare to harm Tian'er again, nor will it implicate you!"
Only then did He Wenqian feel at ease.
"Right now, my only wish is for Tian'er to live a safe and carefree life forever! I am entrusting this child to you, his godmother, to take care of. Rest assured, I will not treat the Chen Family unfairly!"
He Wenqian immediately said, "Ah? I certainly will! Tian'er is just like my own flesh and blood! Even if you didn't say anything, I would still look after him for the rest of his life!"
"Good, then I can rest easy!"
"By the way, it seems Tian'er and your daughter have an engagement, don't they?"
Flustered, He Wenqian acknowledged it.
"Then have your daughter marry Tian'er! Become my, Ye Zangsheng's, daughter-in-law!"
"Okay, okay..."
He Wenqian was already shaking.
"However, this matter must be kept strictly confidential. For now, only you and I know about it!"
After hanging up the phone,
He Wenqian remained unsettled for a long time.
It all made sense now!
Why did the Black Gold Consortium invest fifty billion?
Why did the Black Gold Consortium make an exception to hire her daughter?
Wasn't it all arranged by Ye Zangsheng?
The mystery was solved!
Yet this was something she dared not tell a single soul.
He Wenqian went to Ye Lingtian's room to check on him and incidentally call him down for dinner.
"Tian'er, what do you want to do? Your godmother has fifty billion for you to squander! You can do whatever you want!"
At the dinner table, He Wenqian asked.
This was invested by Ye Zangsheng, so effectively it was Ye Lingtian's money.
"Mom (Wenqian)! Do you even know what you're saying?"
"That's fifty billion invested in you by the Black Gold Consortium, and you're just handing it to him?"
Chen Guiyuan and his daughter instantly grew anxious.
He Wenqian ignored them. "Tian'er, don't worry, your godmother can easily afford to support you! Do you want a job or do you want to start a business?"
Chen Guiyuan nodded. "On this point I actually agree! At the very least, a man must have a career!"
Yet Ye Lingtian replied, "Godmother, for now, I don't want to do anything!"
"Hmph!"
Chen Xiaoran immediately let out a cold snort.
Living off others and freeloading while speaking so righteously?
Our family is supposed to support an adult baby like you?
Chen Guiyuan's face was filled with disappointment.
"Godmother, I'm waiting for news!"
"What news?"
"I'm investigating my mother's whereabouts and all the enemies from back then! I'm going to get revenge!"
As soon as these words were spoken, He Wenqian's expression instantly changed.
"This child is talking nonsense! What capability do you have to seek revenge?"
The mere memory of the assassination back then made her face turn pale, her entire body tremble, and even caused her to instinctively reach for the pinky finger of her right hand.
In truth, her pinky finger had been severed long ago; what she had now was a prosthetic!
If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to tell.
However, Ye Lingtian noticed it and immediately asked, "Godmother, what happened to the pinky finger on your right hand?"
This question made He Wenqian even more flustered. "It's nothing! I'm fine! I was in a car accident before!"
The truth was that she had been punished for helping Ye Lingtian and his mother—her right pinky finger had been cut off.
That was the only way the Chen Family was spared!
They were people to be messed with!
Not a single one of the enemies from back then could be provoked!
The one who severed her finger was the supreme king of Jiangcheng's underworld—the Jiangcheng bandit chieftain.
The Chen Family held no low status in Jiangcheng, but if they crossed paths with the bandit chieftain, they would be torn to shreds in a minute.
Therefore, He Wenqian had never told Chen Guiyuan the truth about her severed finger.
Yet the Jiangcheng bandit chieftain was merely the weakest faction among those who had assassinated Ye Lingtian and his mother.
Not to mention the Ye Clan, which stood at the very pinnacle of Dragon Country!
How on earth was this Ye Lingtian planning to take revenge?
Delusional daydreaming!
She wouldn't even dare to dream such a dream!
"Don't even think about revenge! You don't have the capability, not by a long shot!"
He Wenqian stated bluntly.
"Godmother, rest assured, even the Longdu Ye Clan can only crawl at my feet!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaoran was about to let out a cold laugh.
When suddenly, Ye Lingtian's phone rang—it was a call from the Black Emperor.
Unless it was an emergency, the Black Emperor would not contact him like this.
"Speak!"
Ye Lingtian answered the call with a displeased expression.
"Master, things are a bit tricky! We encountered heavy resistance during the investigation! It seems the Dragon Country authorities don't want us to dig any deeper! Currently, we can only trace it as far as Jiangcheng!"
The Black Emperor said coldly.
"What about the so-called Four Great Gods of War? Tell them to wait in my office tomorrow! I want to ask them what exactly they think they're doing!"
As soon as Ye Lingtian said these words, everyone at the table stared straight at him.
"Boom!"
What did they just hear?
This good-for-nothing actually wanted to hold the Four Great Gods of War accountable?
Even bragging had its limits!
Chen Xiaoran shouted, "Mom! Did you hear that? Does he even know what he's saying? You want me to marry a person like this?"
Seeking attention through sensationalism!
A clown making a spectacle of himself!
He Wenqian also looked at Ye Lingtian with a hint of disappointment.
Even your father Ye Zangsheng wouldn't dare to boast like this!
Did you seriously try to prove your capability for revenge using this kind of method?
"I don't wish to ever hear these words again! Otherwise, I'll kick you straight out of this house!"
Chen Guiyuan raged.
His disappointment in Ye Lingtian had reached its absolute limit!
"Alright, Tian'er, don't dwell on your mother's affairs anymore!"
"For now, just rest for a while, and if you need money, just tell your godmother!"
He Wenqian chimed in immediately.
"Mom, Dad, I've finished eating. I'm going back to my room to prepare for starting work tomorrow!"
Chen Xiaoran glared angrily at Ye Lingtian and went upstairs.
She didn't even want to share a dining table with Ye Lingtian anymore.
The next day.
Chen Xiaoran and her best friend Zhou Xinyi agreed to report to the Black Gold Consortium together.
To leave a good impression, the two of them arrived two hours early.
Sitting in the company lobby waiting, there were barely a few people around.
Soon, however, four figures hurried in from outside.
All four were tall, straight, and imposing, giving off the overwhelming pressure of towering mountains.
An all-encompassing aura even blanketed the area, making people's scalps tingle and their entire bodies tremble.
That was killing intent!
It immediately caught Chen Xiaoran's attention!
Hadn't she seen these four people somewhere before?
"Xiaoran! As expected of the Black Gold Consortium! Are these security guards too formidable?"
Zhou Xinyi's voice rang out beside her.
Chen Xiaoran explained, "The security guards of the Black Gold Consortium are the elite of the elites! Only top powerhouses who have retired from major God of War Halls around the world are qualified to enter the selection!"
Of course Chen Xiaoran had seen these four men before.
They were the Four Guardian Gods of War!
Because Ye Lingtian was going to question them today, they had rushed over early in the morning, terrified that Ye Lingtian would arrive before they did.
To keep a low profile, the four of them deliberately refrained from wearing their military uniforms and intentionally concealed their auras.
Therefore, Chen Xiaoran only found them vaguely familiar without recognizing who they were.
After waking up, Ye Lingtian absorbed just enough cold energy from the ice vein beneath the Chen family villa to suppress the Innate Fire Poison, and only then leisurely headed toward the Black Gold Consortium.