The two underlings acknowledged the order and left.
Chu Chen rode his motorcycle back to the Chu Family estate.
The streets of 2008 were not yet congested with so many cars, nor were there towering skyscrapers crowding the horizon. The sky wore a hazy grey tint, a byproduct of the relentless industrial march.
Yet inside, Chu Chen's heart burned with a fierce, boundless passion.
The biting chill of the spring wind could not extinguish the wild flames leaping within him. His mind was consumed by the vast horizons of the post-2008 era—across the nation, and ultimately across the globe. Everything lay clear before his mind's eye, as if the bitter wind had swept away the fog to reveal a sharp, distinct path.
Arriving home, Chu Chen strode into the villa.
The moment he stepped through the door, he saw his stepmother, Luan Mengya, and his father, Chu Jixiong, chatting on the living room sofa. A tea set and a fruit platter sat on the coffee table before them, creating an atmosphere of cozy harmony.
"Is Xiao Hao back?" Luan Mengya asked the moment she caught sight of Chu Chen, instantly adopting a formulaic, kindly smile. "You didn't come home last night; your father and I thought you'd gone off to a friend's place again."
Chu Jixiong let out a disgruntled, cold snort. "What friends could he possibly have? Just a bunch of good-for-nothing hoodlums!"
Luan Mengya immediately played the peacemaker with feigned understanding. "Brother Xiong, Xiao Hao is growing up. Having his own social circle is a good thing."
If she had stayed silent, it would have been fine, but her words only stoked Chu Jixiong's fury further.
With a casual flick, Chu Chen tossed his helmet into the hands of Uncle Zhou, the housekeeper, then strode over to the sofa and dropped into a seat with a careless, devil-may-care posture. "Aunt Luan, listen to yourself. If I never came back, wouldn't the entire Chu Family end up handed to you and Chu Hao on a silver platter?"
Chu Jixiong was already fuming. Hearing this, his face darkened instantly as he slammed his hand down on the table and roared, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Your old man is still alive and breathing!"
Chu Chen gave a light chuckle, his tone dripping with mockery. "Don't worry, if my old man actually kicks the bucket, I'll make sure to crawl back for the funeral no matter what. After all, the family estate still has my share in it, one way or another!"
"You!" Chu Jixiong's face turned livid with rage, the finger he pointed at Chu Chen trembling uncontrollably.
"Brother, how can you talk like that?" Chu Hao walked down the stairs, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his posture leisurely, though his eyes brimmed with utter contempt for Chu Chen. "You spend all day slacking off at school instead of studying, and the moment you come home, you piss Dad off! Look at that, you've made him sick with anger."
Chu Chen didn't even lift an eyelid. "Well, aren't you here—the dutiful son—to soothe his wounded soul?"
Chu Jixiong slammed his teacup down heavily, consumed by frustration and disappointed hopes. "And you have the nerve to open your mouth! Gallivanting around all day without doing an honest day's work! When I finally die, I might as well hand the entire Chu Corporation over to your younger brother and let him lead the company to new heights of glory!"
Hearing this, Chu Hao's eyes lit up, though he hypocritically chimed in, "Dad, you can't say that. Even if Brother is a bit wayward, the Chu Corporation still has his share!"
Chu Jixiong let out another cold snort. "His share? Give it to him and he'd just squander it all away!"
Hearing these words, Chu Chen sneered inwardly. These were the exact same lines from his past life, words that had laid the "emotional" foundation for Chu Hao to usurp the Chu Corporation.
Luan Mengya reached out to soothe Chu Jixiong's arm. "Brother Xiong, Xiao Hao is your son too; you have to trust him! Even if he's a bit unfocused right now, I believe he'll change for the better. How else could he look his mother in the eye?"
Chu Chen's expression plummeted instantly, a blazing fury igniting in his chest.
This woman was as hypocritical and sickening as ever! How did she even have the gall to bring up his mother? Back then, if she hadn't deliberately played her and Chu Jixiong's intimate videos right in front of his chronically ill mother's hospital bed, his mother would never have lost all hope and given up treatment in the end.
The Chu Chen of his past life had been unable to swallow his rage, immediately exploding into a shouting match with Luan Mengya and even throwing punches at Chu Hao. He had angered Chu Jixiong so severely that his father nearly suffered a stroke, shouting that he no longer had a son like him.
Driven by blind fury, Chu Chen had stormed out of the house that very day, swearing that he would seize everything that belonged to him by force, even if he had to rob it.
And true to his word, he had spent the following years carving out turf and building his own faction...
Only to end up eating lead behind iron bars.
In this lifetime, however, everything that belonged to him would be taken back fair and square!
Sensing Chu Chen's gaze, Luan Mengya assumed a look of wounded innocence. "What is it, Xiao Hao? Why are you looking at me like that? Listen to me, hurry up and apologize to your father, tell him you'll turn over a new leaf! Only then will your dad dare to hand the Chu Corporation over to you!"
Chu Chen let out a sharp laugh, his tone even more caustic and bizarre than Luan Mengya's. "Whether the Chu Corporation gets handed to me or not isn't something you get to decide with a single word."
He turned his gaze to Chu Jixiong. "Old man, your little concubine is practically squatting on your head to shit. What's this? Does your little concubine run the Chu Corporation now?"
"Chu Chen!" Chu Jixiong's voice instantly turned frigid. "Is that any way to talk to your mother? Haven't these past years proven how good she's been to you? A stepmother is still a mother, an elder to you—show some respect!"
"An elder?" Chu Chen sneered. "What kind of elder is she? When my mother was still alive, she was nothing more than a—"
Nothing more than a home-wrecking whore who climbed into married beds!
Nothing more than a shameless bitch!
"Chu Chen!" Chu Jixiong slammed his hand on the table again, roaring, "Shut your mouth!"
Chu Chen looked at him coldly, remaining silent.
Taking a deep breath to suppress his surging anger, Chu Jixiong said, "Did we say anything wrong? All you ever do is eat, drink, and make merry, idling away your time without doing a single constructive thing. With you acting like this, how could I possibly hand the company over to you?"
"Perhaps because my wits are just slow to develop?" Chu Chen's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Chu Hao burst out with a sharp snort of laughter.
Noticing Chu Chen's icy glare shifting toward him, Chu Hao immediately adopted an expression of innocence identical to Luan Mengya's. "Brother, I didn't mean anything by it. I just think you're already twenty and still haven't figured things out—your awakening is a bit too late in the day, isn't it?"
He turned back to Chu Jixiong. "Dad, I'm heading up to my room to study."
Chu Jixiong's face instantly beamed with gratification. "At least Xiao Hao is sensible and obedient!"
He glared back at Chu Chen. "Look at him! Your brother is only a year younger than you! And look at you!"
Chu Chen gave a cold laugh. "Then perhaps Dad wouldn't mind explaining why my mother only passed away when I was seven, yet I somehow have a half-brother who is only a year younger than me?"
Chu Jixiong was struck speechless. Unable to contain his frustration, he glared at Chu Chen once more. "Whenever I try to talk to you, you always twist things around!"
Chu Chen turned his head away and fell silent.
Chu Hao deliberately looped around Chu Chen's side. Seeing that Chu Jixiong had turned his head to speak with Luan Mengya, Chu Hao leaned in close, whispering right into Chu Chen's ear, "You were always nothing more than a good-for-nothing second-generation heir. The only reason you're alive is because you won the genetic lottery; otherwise, scum like you would have been hacked to death in some alley a long time ago."
"I seriously doubt I'll die that way," Chu Chen suddenly smiled, though there was not a shred of warmth in his eyes.
In his past life, he had managed to build a massive criminal empire starting with empty pockets after leaving the Chu house. He had cheated death on multiple occasions, and in the end, he had only faced a firing squad—he certainly hadn't been chopped down in the streets.
Still, if Chu Hao was keen on the idea, he didn't mind helping him realize it.
The thought had barely surfaced before Chu Chen forcefully crushed it down.
God forgive him, he couldn't afford to walk that path again in this lifetime.
Chu Jixiong turned his head, casting a meaningful glance at Chu Hao as the latter walked upstairs, and then at Chu Chen, who sat with lowered lids, lost in thought. He dropped his gaze, shook his head slightly, and when he turned back to Luan Mengya, his smile was firmly back in place.
At that exact moment, the front villa door swung open, and a strikingly gorgeous woman walked in carrying a document folio.
She wore a tailored black professional suit that accentuated her exquisite, curvaceous figure to absolute perfection.
The crisp, sharp tapping of her black high heels against the marble floor echoed clearly, striking like a drumbeat against the heart and compelling those who heard it to submit.
She wore her thick, lustrous black hair pulled back into a neat, sleek bun. Her skin was as smooth and fair as congealed sheep's fat, flawless and seemingly delicate enough to break at a touch, while her refined features looked as though they had been painstakingly sculpted by the divine without a single flaw.
In particular, her captivating peach-blossom eyes shimmered with a blend of alluring charm and cool detachment, stirring an irrepressible urge in anyone who looked at her to uncover the secrets hidden beneath.
Chu Chen narrowed his eyes, recognizing the woman instantly.
She was Shen Jingxi, Chu Jixiong's private secretary. A high-achieving prodigy who had skipped grades to enter a prestigious university at fifteen before pursuing advanced studies abroad, she possessed exceptional competence and top-tier methods.
Despite being only twenty-five, she handled many of Chu Jixiong's administrative and business affairs, functioning essentially as his right-hand woman and commanding immense prestige within the Chu Corporation.