Dai Linxuan’s heart had already left with the hung-up video call, but his body had no choice but to hold back and remain in this dimly lit private room.
He adjusted his breathing and heart rate, propping his elbow on the sofa’s armrest and cradling his chin, eyes closed for a good while.
On the tea table in front of him sat a black velvet box, its clasp undone, clearly already opened.
Knock knock.
“Please come in.”
He Xunzhang pushed the door open and brought in a glass of liquor. “Is Little Chestnut awake?”
Dai Linxuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Comatose for over ten days, and he’s finally willing to wake up.”
He Xunzhang smiled ambiguously. “If you’d sent him to my family’s hospital back then, no matter how severe the ‘injury,’ we could’ve treated it perfectly without any ‘aftereffects.’ You wouldn’t have had to worry for so long.”
Dai Linxuan abruptly lifted his eyelids, his hazel pupils instantly reflecting a cold arc of light.
He stared at He Xunzhang for a moment, as if he hadn’t understood. “The situation was urgent that day. I didn’t have time to be picky about hospitals.”
He Xunzhang took a sip of his drink and leaned in with an explicit offer. “If you think it’s too much trouble and don’t want to dirty your own hands… I can help you. Quietly and without a trace.”
“Xunzhang, it seems you’ve misunderstood something.” Dai Linxuan looked at him for a moment before calmly shifting his gaze away. He leaned back relaxedly against the sofa’s leather backrest, eyes fixed on the black box on the table. “I don’t like others meddling in my private affairs either… You understand, right?”
“Ah, I’ve overstepped.” He Xunzhang apologized immediately, still smiling. “But if you need anything in the future, just say the word or give me a hint. Helping friends resolve their troubles is my duty.”
“There shouldn’t be any such need.” Dai Linxuan glanced at his watch, his slender index finger tapping the box and pushing it back toward He Xunzhang. “Little Chestnut’s awake. I need to go see him. I won’t stay longer today.”
He Xunzhang stood up with him, feigning complaint. “It’s just a gift. You’re not giving me any face.”
Dai Linxuan grabbed his coat. “It’s too valuable. I wouldn’t dare accept it.”
He Xunzhang sighed. “Looks like our friendship still isn’t deep enough.”
He escorted Dai Linxuan to the VIP parking spot until Dai Linxuan’s car drove off into the distance. Only then did he drop his smile, turn toward the elevator, and dial a number. “Dad, it didn’t go very smoothly.”
On the other end, He Chengze sat in his study, a computer in front of him. The screen clearly played footage of the private room Dai Linxuan had just left.
“No matter. Take it step by step, don’t rush.” His voice carried the rasp unique to old age. “Linxuan seems straightforward on the surface, but his mind is heavier than anyone’s.”
He Xunzhang fell silent. “He doesn’t trust us, and he didn’t take the item.”
“Would you hand over trust rashly if you were him? Letting others know about these secret preferences is too fatal. Two years ago, he preferred to go abroad to ‘play’ rather than deal with us—he didn’t want to hand over leverage.” He Chengze sighed. “Be patient, son.”
He Xunzhang’s tone was deferential. “Yes, Dad.”
“But if Linxuan wants Dai Corporation, he has no choice. He actually understands your implication. At the banquet a few days ago, when he said those things to me, he was testing whether you represented yourself or the family.” The wrinkles on He Chengze’s face twitched. “Since he didn’t distance himself from you, he has calculations in mind. He’s just weighing the benefits against the risks.”
He Xunzhang frowned. “Will he really choose to cooperate?”
“Linxuan’s ambitions are big, but he hid them too well before. I really thought ‘bad bamboo shoots good sprouts, fertile fields yield shriveled rice’…” He Chengze smiled ambiguously. “Your Dai Uncle is on his last legs. Dai Corporation could change hands anytime. With such deep grudges between Jiang Qiujun and Old Master Dai, Linxuan is their tool to check each other. He can’t rely on either side. Without outside help, he might be torn into bloodied halves one day.”
He Xunzhang asked, “What if he doesn’t choose us?”
“Even if he chooses the Huo Family, it’s all the same path—we’re destined to be on the same boat. No one can escape.” He Chengze paused. “But your Huo Uncle is old and timid now… It’s best if Linxuan gets closer to you.”
He Xunzhang thought for a moment. “Should we just let Huo Shuang know he likes men?”
“That girl has no say. Even if Dai Linxuan likes some tomcat or mongrel, she still has to marry him.” He Chengze said indifferently, “It’s a pity we didn’t have a daughter.”
He Xunzhang was a bit worried. “Dai Linxuan and Lai Li are entangled unclearly. I’m afraid Lai Li will cause trouble.”
“That’s a good thing. If that little brat Lai Li can cling to him enough to prevent marriage, he’ll naturally have no choice but to lean toward us.” He Chengze said, “Don’t assume too much. If he really saw Lai Li as trouble, do you think Lai Li would have had a chance to wake up?”
He Xunzhang furrowed his brow. “But…”
“No buts. What you need to do now is focus on gaining his trust. Time is short. We must pull the Dai Family back onto this ship. We still had Dai Lao Er as a fallback, but he got impatient and did something stupid—trying to kill Dai Linxuan to force us to choose him. In the end, Dai Linxuan emerged unscathed, while he now has a sword hanging over his own neck… Heh.”
He Chengze laughed mockingly before continuing. “Don’t meddle in Dai Linxuan and Lai Li’s affairs. Today’s message was delivered clearly enough. If he needs ‘after-sales service,’ he’ll come to you.”
Beep beep. Two tones ended the call.
He Xunzhang pocketed his phone, returned to the private room, picked up the black box, opened it, and glanced inside. Not a single “cigarette” had been touched.
He recalled the video leaked from the Dai Family and thought of the needle mark he’d glimpsed on Dai Linxuan’s arm a few days ago…
He Xunzhang suddenly smiled and murmured, “Looks like these little toys can’t satisfy you anymore.”
His phone beeped. Father He Chengze had sent a news link.
He Xunzhang clicked the video and watched it from start to finish, finally abandoning any thoughts of doing away with Lai Li. Still, an unease lingered in his heart—he felt that damn Lai Li was a major trouble.
Lai Li raised the custom hospital bed, placing a laptop on his lap.
Though he’d just woken, after over ten days in a coma, most of his injuries had healed. Only the surgical wound still wrapped in gauze required continued rest.
Liao De, who had stayed to help care for him, rushed over upon hearing he was awake. He performed some simple checks before advising, “You’ve just woken up. Rest well first. Your brother…”
Lai Li stared at him coldly.
“…is on his way.” Liao De shook his head helplessly, knowing he couldn’t control Lai Li, and turned to leave.
Lai Li opened a map app and saw the location still worked. His gloomy expression eased slightly.
At least it wasn’t what he’d feared.
But the next second, his face darkened completely.
He was on a private Sea Island.
Lai Li closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and typed keywords with the hand not hooked to the IV: “Dai Corporation, shareholders’ meeting, car accident,” and so on.
The moment he hit enter, related entries flooded the screen.
As Dai Corporation’s eldest grandson, with his own career tied to the entertainment industry and a reputation as a philanthropist, Dai Linxuan drew massive attention from inside and outside the industry. Even today, fresh car accident news articles popped up.
Lai Li read from the beginning.
On the first day of the accident, media outlets flooded with conspiracy theories—the timing was too suspicious. Dai Linxuan’s mother was half the master of Dai Corporation, and he was favored by Old Master Dai, likely to become the heir. Yet he crashed on the day of voting for new directors… Dai Corporation’s stock even fluctuated significantly.
Bystanders snapped photos of Dai Linxuan covered in blood online, making him look gravely injured. Media swarmed Dai Corporation’s grounds and cornered Dai Songxue, asking if the afternoon shareholders’ meeting would proceed.
Dai Songxue, seated in a wheelchair, waved off his bodyguards and stared hawkishly at the camera. With effort but firmly, he said, “Only when Linxuan arrives does this meeting have meaning.”
The implication was profound—practically anointing Dai Linxuan as heir.
Less than half an hour later, impeccably dressed Dai Linxuan arrived by car. Media only caught his side profile shrouded in shadow through the window, expression indiscernible, but his lips showed no curve.
Who could smile after a car crash? Even if unscathed.
The shareholders’ meeting raged all afternoon until nightfall. Reporters who’d camped for hours got the scoop—
Dai Linxuan became a new director of Dai Corporation and would establish a new company to join forces with Huo Family Shipping—not under Dai Corporation’s name.
Because his mother Jiang Qiujun opposed the partnership, he resorted to this workaround.
Rumors said during the director vote, Jiang Qiujun abstained. Without unexpected major shareholders’ support, Dai Linxuan might not have made the board.
Whatever the twists, by day’s end, Dai Linxuan had solidified his heir position.
At just under thirty, he amassed countless positive accolades—a true favored son of heaven, gentle and upright to boot.
And in that crash, only Dai Linxuan emerged unscathed. His driver had fractured legs, two assistants minor injuries, and the co-passenger Lai Li critically injured and rushed to surgery.
Dai Linxuan had done charity for nearly a decade—Heaven itself protected him.
The following days saw the storm not subside but intensify.
On his third day as director, his second uncle was taken by the supervisory board for a one-hour talk, officially tied to embezzlement, possibly bribery.
Upon release, police waited at the gates, along with stone-faced Dai Linxuan—
“I’ll see Second Uncle off.”
His exact words.
Dai Linxuan didn’t seem the type to kick someone when down, especially pre-conviction. What was the point?
It wasn’t hard to infer Second Uncle was likely behind the crash.
His investigation was probably Dai Linxuan’s revenge—another chapter in elite power struggles.
…
On the eighth day post-crash, the driver woke in ICU. Before police could question, he was silenced—
A bribed nurse injected lethal chemicals into his IV. Though caught red-handed, the driver couldn’t be saved.
The silencing confirmed murder, but with only the nurse as indirect suspect, the case grew harder.
…
