"Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong..."

After three doorbell rings, the dining table fell silent, everyone exchanged glances, each guessing in their hearts who might be at the door.

Logically speaking, not many people knew the new home's location, not even the Du Family had been notified yet. Who could be visiting at this time?

"Why did you all stop talking?" Zhao Guo'an was a bit puzzled.

Xiao Feng said nothing, got up, and walked towards the courtyard to see two people standing outside, both of whom were familiar faces.

It was Zhao Qi and Chu Mengting, standing side by side, Zhao Qi holding two exquisitely packaged boxes in his hand, with a smile as refreshing as the spring breeze on his face.

"Oh, it's you." Xiao Feng approached with a smile to open the door, though truth be told, maybe out of habit, the moment he saw Zhao Qi, Xiao Feng almost blurted out "Old Wang."

"How come Boss Zhao has time to visit?" Xiao Feng opened the door, took the two bottles of red wine from Zhao Qi, and feigned displeasure, "Coming empty-handed is fine, don't bring things next time, okay?"

Zhao Qi smiled apologetically, "I should, I should."

In fact, Zhao Qi wouldn't have come to meet Xiao Feng if he had any choice. Even hearing Xiao Feng's name made his temples throb painfully.

The reason is simple: every meeting with the other party meant a loss of something, and who would want to keep bleeding repeatedly?

Zhao Qi came here with a stiff upper lip because he was ordered by the higher-ups to seize this opportunity to try every possible way to get closer to Xiao Feng!

"How's it going, Brother Feng? I've been quite busy these past two days and just found a moment to come see you." Zhao Qi delivered his prepared opening line with a sincere expression, his tone sounding quite respectful.

Xiao Feng chuckled in response, "Pretty good, considering the price, high price equals high enjoyment, it's quite comfortable!"

"..." Zhao Qi's mouth twitched, does he brazenly flaunt high prices and enjoyment?

Despite the high prices, you didn't pay a penny, yet you enjoyed everything with no discount. It's like being slapped and then cheerfully asking the other person, "Was the touch right? Does your hand hurt?" It was immensely frustrating.

However, this is the price of picking the wrong side. Zhao Qi always willingly played Chang Xinyan's errand runner, and he benefited quite a bit. Now that Chang Xinyan has conceded, he naturally has to lower his head too.

"Come in, come in, it's not fitting to just stand here." Xiao Feng invited the two inside, introduced them around, then left Chu Mengting in the living room to talk with the others, and led Zhao Qi into the study.

"You probably didn't just come to see me this time. Why don't you just spit it out and save us both some time?" Xiao Feng sat behind the desk and casually picked up a book to flip through.

Zhao Qi bitterly smiled; all the lines he had painstakingly prepared seemed useless now.

To some extent, flattery is also a skill, and the same words can yield different effects when spoken by different people.

Moreover, the setting, angle, and grasp of propriety all require effort. This is also why Zhao Qi was able to stay by Chang Xinyan's side.

Thus, before coming to meet Xiao Feng, Zhao Qi had also prepared carefully, but now it seemed no matter how perfect the preparation, it was useless because the other party didn't give him a chance to perform.

Adjusting his expression, Zhao Qi laughed, "Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush. A major part of why I came was to ask Brother Feng your attitude towards the recent moves by Jinyue Group."

"What attitude could I have?" Xiao Feng looked puzzled, "We aren't even in the same industry. You do whatever you want, unless your higher-ups want to rope me into investing?"

"Not really," Zhao Qi explained, "Duan Guotai Group has completely collapsed now. You could say in Jiangcheng's real estate, Jinyue Group is now the dominant player. But we've noticed that Lanyue Group seems to be interested in entering this space too, so we wanted to ask your thoughts first."

Xiao Feng put down the book and leaned back in his chair, "Are my thoughts that important? Or if I tell you to give all the market to the Du Family, would you obey?"

"Uh..." Zhao Qi never expected Xiao Feng to be so blunt, catching him off guard, "I'm just following orders, as for how the higher-ups decide, I can't really interfere."

Xiao Feng couldn't help but chuckle, "Do you believe if you take my words back, Jinyue Group will immediately block me from participating in everything?"

Zhao Qi was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

However, Xiao Feng didn't seem to need an answer. He continued on his own, "I think you make me out to be quite terrifying. Take Chang Xinyan, for example, why would he give me a hotel and a sports car?

Or put another way, why out of all the wealthy heirs in Jiangcheng would I only ask him for a hotel and a sports car?"

"Th-this..." Zhao Qi was beginning to sweat; did it even need explaining? The previous ten billion dollar wager had been immensely controversial, nearly affecting half of Jiangcheng's wealthy heirs, its range of impact was unprecedented.

But these words were ones he couldn't say, nor dare to say.

Who knows if Xiao Feng bringing it up was a prelude to revenge?

Amidst his mutual distress, Xiao Feng suddenly said, "Consider if I asked for Chang Group's shares instead of a hotel and car, what would the outcome be?"

Zhao Qi, on the verge of tears, felt each question was more incisive than the last, leaving him unwilling to answer, wondering if it would ever end!

For a moment, Zhao Qi deeply regretted, had he known it would be like this, he would have defied an order from the higher-ups rather than return—it was simply torturous.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just making a point. I'm sure those questions have answers in your head, but you just don't dare say them." Xiao Feng smiled as he approached and patted Zhao Qi's shoulder.

He then continued, "I tell you this just to convey that I have no intention of driving everyone into a corner, because not giving others a way out also means not giving myself a way back. Simply put, unless you push me to a certain extent, there's no need to worry about anything."

Zhao Qi was thoughtful, thinking of the downfall of Shen Group and Duan Guotai's father and son. Aside from their involvement in the bet, a common feature was they had offended Du Qingyue.

Realizing this, Zhao Qi understood partially that Du Qingyue was Xiao Feng's inverse scale?

"I think I understand Brother Feng's point. However, on my end, I need a clearer answer to report back to the higher-ups," Zhao Qi stood up, asking with his head lowered.

"Market competition is based on one's merits, and my issues with the Du Family are separate, don't always bind us together," Xiao Feng replied with a wave.

"Understood." Zhao Qi nodded, feeling a sense of relief that the task was finally completed, even though it wasn't as anticipated. At least the conclusion was alright.

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