"Kid, didn't see it coming, you actually pulled off another big stunt a few days ago!"

Mr. Zhou squinted and said.

"It was no big deal! Just a bit of fuss, but the old man's intelligence is truly sharp!"

Yang Yan said casually.

"Haha! That's a minor thing? Then what counts as a big deal? You, you, don't always be too flashy in what you do, or you'll suffer the consequences in the future."

Mr. Zhou said as he reached over to grab a chessboard.

"Come, let's play another round!"

Jeez!

Didn't we agree not to play chess?

Why do we have to do this again!

You're already ninety years old, why are you still so stubborn?

Knowing full well I won't let you win, why subject yourself to it!

"Forget it, my chess skills have deteriorated greatly recently, I definitely can't beat you, so I won't embarrass myself."

Yang Yan quickly refused.

"Still remembering last time? How can you accomplish big things with such little tolerance?"

Mr. Zhou said with dissatisfaction.

Good grief!

You crafty old fox, using all kinds of tactics to threaten me, cheating all over, and at last, when you couldn't play anymore, you'd resort to physical actions, how dare I play with you?

I've already admitted defeat, and you still won't let me go, whose tolerance is lacking now!

I thought my skin was thick enough, didn't expect yours to be so rock solid, Mr. Zhou, my respect!

Even though there are countless raging thoughts in my heart, these words can only be swallowed, absolutely not dared to be spoken out loud.

After all, he had promised Zhou Hanyun not to cause any trouble today.

"Then what are you doing, hurry up!"

Mr. Zhou was already setting up the pieces.

"Are you really going to play?"

Yang Yan almost gritted his teeth as he asked.

"Of course!"

Mr. Zhou raised his eyebrows and snorted coldly.

"Then... no cheating?"

Yang Yan asked again.

"Am I that kind of person?"

Mr. Zhou asked angrily.

"Yes!"

Yang Yan nodded seriously.

"..."

Mr. Zhou looked up at him, eyes blazing, blowing his beard and glaring.

Yang Yan let out an internal sigh and quickly sat opposite him, the two began their back-and-forth battle.

...

"You promised not to cheat and you still reneged on your moves! Plus, you ruined seven moves and stole my knight in the process. Humph! I won't play with you next time."

Yang Yan packed the pieces while saying angrily.

"Haha! You willingly let me redo the moves. People get old, reactions get slower, hands tremble easily, misplaced them by accident."

Mr. Zhou said while chuckling.

"..."

Yang Yan was totally speechless.

Indeed, he encountered an opponent with astonishing resilience, this wasn't just thick skin anymore, totally a steel fortress!

"Speaking of which, kid, have you really thought this through? Offending so many East Sea dignitaries at once isn't a good move!"

Mr. Zhou said, gently rocking his recliner.

"There's no such thing as offending or not offending, in this world, a lot of stuff comes looking for you. If they don't provoke me, I won't provoke them. Just unlucky for both sides, they're bound to suffer, while I'm destined to put in extra effort."

Yang Yan said, packing the chess into a box.

"I'm old, many things need you guys to manage yourselves. Yun indeed carries a heavy burden, with someone like you helping her, I'm relieved."

Mr. Zhou said with a sigh.

Yang Yan rolled his eyes:

"Why do I feel like you're entrusting responsibility? It's your ninetieth birthday today, can't you say something more auspicious? I think you should live with the same tenacity as when you stubbornly wrestled over chess earlier."

"Isn't there a saying, 'man can conquer nature,' sometimes, with enough confidence, it's possible to negotiate with fate."

Yang Yan said no more, Mr. Zhou immediately started to clamor:

"You brat, you actually remembered today's my ninetieth birthday? Earlier when playing chess, you were quite aggressive in attacking me! Lucky I'm smart enough, otherwise I'd really end up losing everything."

Mentioning chess, Yang Yan felt a surge of anger.

"We clearly agreed no cheating, in the end, you still cheated. Let you redo countless moves, yet you still couldn't win, is that my fault? Forget it, you're old, plus it's your birthday, today I won't bother about you."

All morning passed with Yang Yan's protests and Mr. Zhou's roaring.

By noon, the guests had already arrived in plenty.

Yang Yan didn't feel like socializing with those wearing fake smiles, so he pulled out a recliner and did as Mr. Zhou, rocking back and forth, closing his eyes and resting.

Zhou Hanyun was busy greeting guests outside, appearing quite adept at managing.

The Zhou family sons, though lacking Elder Zhou's business acumen, were top-notch in social skills.

At this moment, they were in the banquet hall, gossiping with guests, joyfully.

The banquet was almost ready, by local custom, formal beginning should be around four in the afternoon.

However, with a family like the Zhou's, the attendees weren't ordinary folks.

Coming early allowed chatting more with other guests, possibly birthing business opportunities.

Connections are the most inexpensive yet valuable things in this world.

Some even described them like this:

Connections are like cats and dogs, feed them bits now and then, when needed, a call and they'll come over.

Yang Yan didn't fully agree with this, but it was not entirely wrong.

At least, one aspect is true, connections last only with mutual exchanges.

However, after years of honing in the Hidden World, a realm where power rules and the strong prey on the weak, Yang Yan believed more in one principle.

If one's strength is substantial, there'll be no lack of unseen, immeasurable connections.

"Master, Secretary Xu has arrived, Miss asked you to go out."

A servant suddenly approached Mr. Zhou and said.

"Oh! Secretary Xu is here, then let's go greet him!"

Mr. Zhou said, getting up and heading outside.

Xu Changda, the top official of East Sea City, only fifty years old, with a promising future.

He could have sent a secretary for this banquet.

However, the incident at the East Sea Pearl auction a few days ago made him rethink this seemingly declining Zhou family.

The East Sea Pearl incident was slapped with a top-secret order.

Yet, is there really an airtight wall in this world?

Especially for the top official of East Sea City, it was no secret at all.

Xu Changda knew more about the previous incident than most.

Due to another of his special identities, he knew more than anyone present.

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