129 – Questions

After listening to Li Yun, Wu Bin was amazed by Song Taiji. His ability was more frightening than what was rumored.

Song Taiji was a man with his own Baike page. He rose to power in the 80s, becoming one of the committee members. He retired from office at a young age to focus on his family. Yet, even after retirement, he became a mentor to many elite politicians and businessmen. 

“He has only met you once, but he has already found your weakness,” Wu Bin’s voice had a mixture of awe and fear. “I wonder how many different types of people he had to encounter during the early establishment of the country to gauge people’s motivation so accurately.”

“I’m sure he had me investigated,” said Li Yun. 

With the kind of influences and power Song Taiji's possessed, Li Yun would not be surprised if the man had a copy of his baby pictures.

“Still, he is the Song Taiji. With just a conversation from him, it has made you step out of your comfort zone and start the business.”

“It was already on my mind.”

Wu Bin chuckled. “You’re irritated that a complete stranger could figure you out. How does it feel to be on the receiving end?”

Li Yun shrugged.

Even with his system, it wasn’t like he had a mind shield that could prevent others from reading and predicting his next move. If he could predict others, naturally others could predict his moves. Once people were able to understand his motivations, they could foresee what his plans were.

“It's not like I try to hide my weaknesses.” To Li Yun, there was never a reason to hide them before.

"Well, that is true, everyone who knows you well know that you don't like to take risks." Wu Bin sighed. "Even so, this isn't really a weakness."

"It's not a weakness, but it is a trait that could be exploited. The enemy will know that I would not make hasty decisions and would make plans to counter my next move."

"Then how are you going to cover your weaknesses?"

"I'm not." Sometimes, having weaknesses exposed to the enemy also had benefits. First, it made him seem like less of a threat.

“Your purpose is to have people attack your weakness and then trap them?”

“If an enemy encounters a strong enemy, their first response would be to run away. What would be the fun in that?”

“You’ve really changed. You usually avoid trouble at all costs.”

The path Li Yun had walked before was a narrow tunnel, and there was no need to think about which direction an enemy will attack. Li Yun simply had to proceed forward. If there was an obstacle or enemy, he could jump over it and continue running. There was no need to fight an enemy head-on.

However, after starting the company, his path had expanded and opened up. With a bigger passage, there were also bigger openings for others to see in and attack from. There were vultures and all sorts of tigers and dragons lurking about. Even if Li Yun wanted to outrun them, it may not be possible. The only solution was to fight.

"Trouble will be inevitable," Li Yun didn’t really want to invite trouble, but he anticipated it when he started the company.

In the business world, if there were winners, there must be losers. Having too many winners created a lopsided pyramid. If people didn’t step on the people below, they would never make it to the top. People in business trained themselves to not take anything personally.

“It isn't personal...It's strictly business.” This was the mindset of many people who had risen to the top of the pyramid. By removing the human element from business, they were able to make questionable and unethical decisions simply because it was business.  

“Song Taiji is really pushing you. Is he really okay with you dating his granddaughter?”

"I'm not too sure, he's difficult to read," Li Yun knew that Song Taiji was testing his ability. It was either give up on Rouxi or lift himself up to a position where he would be accepted by the Song family. However, he wasn't sure if Song Taiji's intention was for Rouxi's sake or for the sake of the Song Family.

It seemed like Song Taiji's manipulation was well-meaning and there wasn't any malice from what Li Yun had seen. But despite that, Li Yun hated the feeling of being someone's chess piece.

Wu Bin noticed that Li Yun was thinking about something. "I don't think I've seen you this perplexed."

“I'm just wondering if Rouxi had lived like this all her life.” He knew for sure that Rouxi despised him, and it was enough to make him wary.

Wu Bin and Li Yun were both from average families, so they had little understanding of what it was like to grow up with a family as influential as the Song. From what they had seen of the Ning family, it wasn't as green and pleasant. Being born into a wealthy family had many benefits, but there were also many pitfalls.

“Did you tell her that you saw him?” Wu Bin.

Li Yun shook his head. “I don’t want to tell her until I feel confident enough to ask her.”

Wu Bin never thought he would see the day where his cousin would revert back to being human.

“Are you going to let your parents know?”

Li Yun didn't normally get headaches, but he didn't want to think about his parents' reactions. "No more questions."

Just before Wu Bin was about to ask another question, the doorbell rang.