“T-Thank you for seeing us, Miss Fu.” Yuan Yu stuttered out, bowing as deeply as he was able to from his seat without losing sight of the two people in front of him. “As Mister Zhang has explained previously, he–”

“You’re not your father’s biological child. Isn’t that right?” Zhang Li casually grabbed a sweet from the small tray on the table between him and Fu Zhen, popping it into his mouth and chewing it without a care to the cold and ambiguously hostile atmosphere of the room.

Yuan Yu held his breath as the woman seated before him and his boss both reached for their tea, the two of them smiling as serenely as if they were truly only having a civil discussion.

“Are you here to threaten me, Zhang Li?” Fu Zhen said with a hint of amusement, letting out a light laugh as she sipped a bit from her cup. “That’s awfully thoughtless. I shouldn’t need to remind you of the Fu family’s history. We weren’t always tame and sensible businessmen.”

“It’s only a threat if you don’t agree to my terms.”

Zhang Li, who currently had a gun pointed at him from the henchman standing behind the current head of the Fu family, stated in a matter of fact tone. He brushed the crumbs from his mouth with his handkerchief and then glanced back to the woman with a challenging smirk.

Boss, please! Yuan Yu cried out in his heart, shrinking even further into his seat as a cold sweat ran down his back. He had suspected his boss had finally gone off the deep end, but it couldn’t be denied anymore... Zhang Li, please don’t drag others down to hell with you!

For all the prayers in his mind, Yuan Yu didn’t dare to make a single sound as he anxiously watched the two feign indifference to the other.

“Besides, haven’t I already made it clear that it’s not your family at all?” The CEO, seeming oblivious to his assistant’s distress, laughed along with the woman. “If you don’t wish to lose everything, then grant me this small favor. As the esteemed head of the Fu family, going against an ant like Su Jia is a simple matter.”

The burly man holding him at gunpoint shook with indignation for his mistress, glaring without restraint at the duo. If it wasn’t for his mistress’ orders right now, he’d have shot the two men dead the moment they entered the private room.

The knowledge that Fu Zhen was actually an illegitimate daughter was tantamount to a slap across her parent’s faces, along with giving her poor elderly father a green hat! Not only that, but the inheritance that was promised to her from birth would be endangered and Fu Zhen would be at risk for one of her power hungry younger siblings taking advantage of the scandal.

This was the matter that she was most paranoid about others discovering, the one secret that could unravel her firm grasp on the Fu family’s empire and their underworld connections.

“Why shouldn’t I have you killed here and now?” Fu Zhen finally lost her smile, her clear eyes narrowing dangerously at the needlessly confident man before her. “If it’s as you say, then I should just get rid of you and your assistant. My secret would be buried alongside your corpses.”

“Certainly, you could dispose of us.” Zhang Li nodded with his face tinged in sympathetic understanding, slowly digging through his suit pocket and retrieving a manila folder under the bodyguard’s vigilant glare. “However, I can’t guarantee that your secret would remain as such. A copy of these test results was given to a trusted individual before our meeting today. If I were to suddenly disappear, then–”

“I get it.” The young woman leaned her forehead in her hand, breathing out a sigh of resignation. After a moment, she gestured for her to lackey to relax and turned back with a thoughtful frown. “How could you have possibly procured this information? My mother has kept this matter secret for so long now, did you really just stumble across it?”

“If there are only two who know this secret, then naturally one of them has spoken about it.” Zhang Li answered cryptically, shrugging as her unblinking gaze intensified. After scrutinizing his expression for a long moment, Fu Zhen seemed to experience an epiphany.

Yuan Yu felt his body go limp as all the tension from the air dissipated, only for the atmosphere to suddenly fill with killing intent again. He barely managed to hold himself back from letting out a low shriek of terror, not even a single bit of shame dawning on him at this fact.

“You’re saying that my Mother is the one who revealed this?” Fu Zhen rose to her feet, knocking her cup over in her quick action. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

Zhang Li wasn’t being completely truthful. If you took his words at face value, then it was likely that he was referring to Fu Zhen’s mother, however...

She was unaware of it, but the future Fu Zhen had ruthlessly revealed this closely kept secret herself. Her mother had been scheming against her own daughter, wanting to hand Fu over to her precious youngest son. How could she have expected that same daughter would sabotage herself just to ensure her plans fell through?

Fu Zhen’s father even collapsed after hearing this news, his heart giving out not long after. After indirectly killing her adoptive father and ruining her mother and her’s reputation, the scrappy Fu Zhen clawed her way back on top of her family using her loyal subordinates. Fu family rose again, through the blood and bones of any relatives that opposed her, and grew even stronger than before.

“You can take that information however you like.” Zhang Li laughed at her emotional reaction, thinking that the woman’s relationship with her mother was unexpectedly steady at this point in time. “Think of it as a gift in honor of our partnership. Fu Zhen, can I count on you to help me or not?”

Fu Zhen had no part in his downfall in his past life and he naturally held no ill well towards her. When he had heard of her struggles during his own, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie.

If his words could let her become aware of her mother’s treachery a bit earlier, then he wouldn’t mind throwing out a word or two.

“A deal is a deal.” Fu Zhen hissed out, snatching the folder from his hands and ripping it open to examine the documents. She pointed out the mess on the table to her bodyguard, who hurriedly retrieved a rag and began cleaning it up without delay. “Zhang Li, you will have my Fu family’s backing for now. If you ever dare to push your luck, then expect to suffer the consequences!”

“I look forward to working with you, then.” Zhang Li laughed again, brushing his suit off as he pulled himself to his feet. Upon seeing his assistant still stuck in his seat, he quirked an eyebrow and called out to him. “Hurry and stand, we still have work to do. We’re visiting Su Jia’s company next!”

The frightened stiff Yuan Yu slowly peeled himself out of his chair, walking unsteadily behind his boss that was glowing with confidence and a sense of victory. That crazy bastard is going to get me killed, he cursed in his mind. Although his girlfriend had been complaining about her work all morning, Yuan Yu was the one who had to put his life on the line and spend all day accompanying a crazy person!

Forget Chi Yumeng, he was the one who wanted to quit and become a housewife!

“It was hard on you.” Zhang Li noticed his assistant’s dissatisfaction and chuckled before clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a raise for your hard work today.”

“Double my salary, that’s the only way for me to be satisfied...” He grumbled irritably, his heightened senses from being an inch from death finally reverting back to normal. After his boss nodded with a rare apology, he finally allowed his vigilance to completely relax.

As the two reached the door, a man’s confused grunt was drowned out by the sudden noise of a gun firing.