Ding Siyu headed upstairs from the parking lot. He didn't encounter a single reporter along the way, which meant the speech he had meticulously prepared went to waste. He had even crafted an image for himself—a self-made man who had earned recognition and was looked up to by the young head of the Bai family—an image that suited his 249,300-yuan suit perfectly. Yet, by the time he reached the top-floor conference room, only the driver remained by his side. The driver dropped him off at the entrance and left without a word.
The security guards standing at the door, one on each side, pushed the doors open for him.
Inside the massive conference room sat a giant oval table. Occupying the seats were a collection of expensive suits. The room was thick with swirling cigarette smoke. The "suits" cast condescending gazes toward him; their eyes varied in shape and size, but whether they were curved in a smile or slanted with cold whites showing, their expressions were universally icy. This was a battlefield for scavengers. Ding Siyu swallowed hard.
The seat at the very head of the table was empty—the only vacant black chair. Peng Zhu, wearing a blue dress, adjusted her square-rimmed glasses. With one hand resting on the back of the chair, she looked toward the door. On the wall behind that chair, the character "Bai" was written in a flamboyant script, embedded within the conglomerate’s logo.
Ding Siyu steadied his nerves, reminding himself once more that he was here to take over this industry, that he was the designated successor. He straightened his back, his nearly 1.9-meter height lending him an imposing aura as he marched toward the head chair with confident strides.
The eyes of the vultures followed his every move.
Ding Siyu reached the chair and unbuttoned his suit jacket, preparing to sit. Peng Zhu’s elegant, pale arm reached out, stopping him slightly. She said with a smile, "Mr. Ding, not everyone has arrived yet."
Her presence was incredibly formidable, possessing the kind of gaze that had seen far too many men like him—a gaze that looked down on everyone. Ding Siyu faltered for a moment and, as if possessed, moved to stand on the other side of the chair.
One person was still missing.
The doors were pushed open, and Bai Shi walked in. One hand was shoved into his trouser pocket while the other adjusted his bowtie. His chin was tilted slightly upward, his face a mask of impatience. Following behind him was the towering Zhou Linyuan, and behind him, others entered in two rows, filing in like a school of fish. They took their places behind the seats on both sides of the conference table until a man in a black suit stood behind every single chair. Bai Shi walked in imperiously, heading straight for the head seat. He sat down without sparing Ding Siyu a single glance.
Ding Siyu didn't move. The moment Bai Shi walked in, he felt as though he were looking at a hybrid of a young Bai Yilong and Ding Chuan. The sight nearly made him shudder.
Bai Shi crooked two fingers casually toward his back. Ding Chao stepped forward, handed Bai Shi a cigarette, and lit it. Bai Shi held the cigarette between his fingers, hollowed his cheeks as he took a drag, and then turned his head to exhale. He looked like a seasoned smoker. Ding Siyu was slightly puzzled—since when was Bai Shi so practiced at smoking? Regardless, Bai Shi had already joined the ranks of those shrouded in the haze of smoke.
Ding Siyu cleared his throat, finally prompting Bai Shi to turn his head. Ding Siyu used his eyes to signal that he didn't have a seat. Bai Shi, cigarette clamped between his teeth, flashed a grin. He stood up and yielded the seat to him. Ding Siyu straightened his clothes and sat down with grand pretension, letting out a deep, solemn cough. "Let’s vote."
There was no reaction from the room. It wasn't until Bai Shi gave a casual wave of his hand and said to Peng Zhu, "Don't make it so complicated. A show of hands will do."
Only then did the people at the table turn serious. The atmosphere instantly spiked to a higher level of tension.
Peng Zhu stepped forward, opened a folder, and smiled at the group. "These are the director candidates nominated by the shareholders' meeting. There are currently three candidates: Ding Siyu, Bai Qi, and the head of the Bai family, Mr. Bai Shi. Now, first, we will vote on Ding Siyu’s directorship. Please begin."
Ding Siyu coughed again, adjusting his posture, waiting with a jubilant expression for a forest of arms to rise like ink-black trees.
But he waited for nothing. There was only the silence of the smoke-filled room, punctuated by the occasional cough of a heavy smoker.
Bai Shi pressed one hand onto Ding Siyu’s shoulder while the other rested on the table. He leaned down slightly, looking at the crowd, and spoke: "Then, me."
As he spoke, cigarette ash drifted down, landing on the back of Ding Siyu’s hand. Ding Siyu turned his head stiffly to look at Bai Shi’s profile, staring at the feverish, predatory look in his eyes.
After a brief stir, rows of arms shot up.
Bai Shi chuckled and gestured for Ding Siyu to stand up and give back the seat. Sensing the atmosphere, Ding Siyu complied. Once Bai Shi sat down, Ding Siyu asked, "What about Bai Qi?"
Zhou Linyuan answered him, "He couldn't make it."
Bai Shi tossed the folder onto the table, his eyes sweeping from one side of the table to the other. "After the general meeting's nomination comes the vote from all of you. Bai Yinhua was a bit of a dictator; the shareholders' meeting is only responsible for nominations. The final choice rests with you." Bai Shi made a 'please' gesture. "The true Board of Directors."
He signaled to Peng Zhu. She turned off the conference room's recording equipment, and the meeting recorder stood up and walked out. Only after the door closed did Bai Shi continue.
"The shareholders' meeting only holds 26% of the media shares, and that includes the executor's special shares," Bai Shi pointed at Peng Zhu. "The bulk of it is right here. Among those present, besides the major media shareholders, there are also some collateral branches of the Bai family."
A few people on the left side of the table narrowed their eyes.
"You don't just hold media shares; you actually hold shares in other Bai industries, along with various murky transfer agreements and a tangled mess of related-party transactions."
"Furthermore, there are Ding Chuan’s people."
The people on the right side of the table tensed up, exchanging glances with those on the left before settling back into their seats, each harboring their own hidden agendas.
"Ding Chuan started buying shares three years ago, using the opportunity to kick out many of Bai Yinhua’s people. The downside is that while he has plenty of shares, he only has shares. Ding Siyu is the man you designated."
Ding Siyu straightened up slightly, looking toward those people in hopes of finding support, but Bai Shi finished his thought: "He is just Ding Chuan’s dog."
Ding Siyu stood there awkwardly; not a single person from that side looked at him.
Finally, Bai Shi tilted his chin toward the people at the far left end of the table. "And then there are the people from my grandfather’s family—the ones who refuse to stay dead. You've been clinging to the Bai family like leeches. Bai Yinhua and Bai Qi were both your people."
One of those men even smiled and raised his cigarette toward Bai Shi, signaling that he had heard him.
Ding Siyu was deeply dissatisfied. He looked at Bai Shi. "Do you know what will happen once Brother Chuan finds out about this?"
Bai Shi turned to look at him. "What time is it?"
"What?" Ding Siyu was momentarily dazed by the non-sequitur.
Ding Chao told him, "It’s eleven-thirty."
Seeing Ding Chao following Bai Shi so dutifully made Ding Siyu’s blood boil. "You brat, who exactly are you following?"
Ding Chao glanced at him but said nothing.
Bai Shi, however, smiled. "By this time, Section 8 has probably leveled the Bai residence." He crushed out his cigarette. "Your Brother Chuan might have already been shot dead by the police."
Ding Siyu froze as if struck by lightning, but the people around the table showed no major reaction. Even the smoke from the group that was supposed to be Ding Chuan’s people continued to drift lazily as usual.
Even after the meeting adjourned, Ding Siyu remained rooted to the spot, for he no longer had anywhere to go to report his failure.
Bai Shi stayed until the end. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it, crossing his legs as he watched Ding Siyu. Ding Chao walked over and asked Ding Siyu, "What do you want for lunch?"
The question infuriated Ding Siyu. He shoved Ding Chao’s hand away. "You’re fucking insane! You actually betrayed Brother Chuan!"
Bai Shi let out a laugh. "You should have a good meal."
Bai Shi pointed at Ding Chao and asked Ding Siyu, "How old do you think he is?"
Ding Siyu looked at him suspiciously. "Twenties. Why?"
"You people are really quite boring," Bai Shi leaned back against the chair, sighing airily. "Ding Chuan spent too much time in the underworld; he really thought the whole world followed the same rules. He wanted all his subordinates to take the surname Ding. But they care about that sort of thing—legacy, generation after generation. Look at the people Ding Chuan found to hold those shares; how many of them are actually loyal?"
Ding Siyu glared at Bai Shi, a creeping sense of dread beginning to take hold. He had personally watched this boy transform from a beaten cur into a "normal" dog; he just hadn't expected the bite to come so quickly. Yet, there was no joy on Bai Shi’s face. If anything, he remained largely expressionless, save for a fleeting surge of competitiveness that surfaced during conflict. It was as if nothing could truly bring him pleasure.
He looked at Ding Siyu as if looking at a dead man. In this vast room, the only sound was the ticking of the second hand. Those people watched Ding Siyu, and not one of them spoke.
In this eerie silence, dozens of eyes were fixed upon him.
Outside, the sun shone brilliantly. The weather forecast said the city would soon enter the heavy fog season; perhaps this was the last sunny day.
The sunlight made one's back feel scorching hot. Ding Siyu’s palms were slick with sweat. Everyone seemed poised to evaporate in this silence, as if his very soul were about to ascend. His previous arguments with Bai Shi replayed in his mind over and over, but he no longer had the courage to speak up for Ding Chuan. Unlike his previous experiences of fading into a crowd, every gaze in this room was now directed at him like a blade—and they all belonged to Bai Shi and his people. Ding Siyu was being watched, alone.
This was the central position he had dreamed of—being the center of attention—and it felt like thorns against his back. He thought Bai Shi was truly cruel, leaving him here to simmer, saying nothing threatening, letting the silence hang over his head like a suspended blade.
Minutes and seconds ticked by. Bai Shi simply watched him calmly. Ding Siyu’s suit was soaked through. This 200,000-yuan suit would likely become his burial shroud.
He was on the verge of a breakdown.
The heat today was unnatural. Come to think of it, he seemed never to have been prepared. From the moment he stepped into this conference room, he had felt a sense of weightlessness, as if he were walking on cotton.
Behind him, someone cocked a gun. The soft *click* sounded in Ding Siyu’s ears like a thunderous bell tolling from the highest heavens. His legs went weak.
He stumbled, staggering to the side until his shoulder hit a pillar. Footsteps followed him. His ears had never been so keen; he heard the sound of a silencer being screwed onto a barrel—the smooth rotation, the sound of the threads interlocking—ringing right behind him.
He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He even forgot to beg for mercy.
Bai Shi remained in the swivel chair but turned to face him. The tips of those black leather shoes were right in front of his face. Bai Shi held his cigarette, watching him calmly with eyes like stagnant water—a gaze that did a disservice to his god-given face.
But Ding Siyu could finally move. He tremblingly grabbed the tips of the shoes. He crawled forward, looking up at Bai Shi, his voice sputtering through a face drenched in sweat. "I... I..."
Bai Shi looked somewhat amused. He leaned down to look at him. "I'll give you a chance."
Ding Siyu nodded frantically.
"A choice between two. Answer correctly, and I'll let you go back."
Ding Siyu looked at Bai Shi imploringly, nodding.
"Me, or Ding Chuan?"
"You!" What else could Ding Siyu say? "You!"
Bai Shi laughed. He pinched the man's chin and glanced up at Ding Chao. "Do it."
The cold muzzle of the gun was pressed against Ding Siyu’s sobbing, filthy temple.
There was one piece of evidence that proved Bai Shi was indeed in a good mood: he put exceptional effort into tonight’s meal. From the moment he returned in the morning, he hadn't even eaten lunch, spending the time in the kitchen researching. In truth, Pei Cangyu didn't need to eat much after his evening self-study session, but Bai Shi had accomplished something he had been planning for a long time today, so naturally, he wanted to celebrate.
Even better, Pei Cangyu was exceptionally obedient tonight. Yes, it was a good omen. Bai Shi often thought it would be better if he could just remove one or two of Pei Cangyu’s nerves; that way, Pei Cangyu wouldn't always wear that guarded expression, looking as if he desperately wanted to flee. Bai Shi didn't believe he felt any "special" emotion for Pei Cangyu; it was simply that Pei Cangyu naturally shouldn't dislike him. Pei Cangyu disliking him was irrational, unexplainable, and a phenomenon that shouldn't exist.
He was in high spirits, even sharing stories about the dishes. Pei Cangyu listened happily. Bai Shi hadn't expected the stories he’d casually memorized in the past to have such an effect now.
Then, Pei Cangyu stopped. He looked at Bai Shi’s smiling face and spoke.
"I want to move out."
With that single sentence, Pei Cangyu destroyed all of Bai Shi’s achievements and joy for the day, like a slap to the face.
***
