Chapter 431: Not Ringing the Doorbell

Chapter 431: Chapter 431: Not Ringing the Doorbell

Neither admitting nor denying it, in a sense, that was a tacit admission. Zeng Mao put down his wine glass, picked up the TV remote, and pressed "mute." Then he turned to Yang Chen and said, "Since you know it's poisoned wine, why did you still drink it?"

"It's like you thinking I shouldn't come here, but I came anyway. It's the same logic."

"How do you know I don't think you should come? I welcomed you in with an open door," Zeng Mao retorted with a look of disapproval.

Yang Chen shifted to make himself more comfortable on the sofa before saying, "If you really thought I should come, you'd have had a dozen machine guns pointed at my head, shooting me full of holes the moment I got out of the car. That would be the proper revenge for your foolish grandson, wouldn't it?"

Zeng Mao squinted his eyes, seemingly not angered by Yang Chen's insult towards Zeng Xinlin, and sighed. "Indeed, Xinlin was quite foolish. But you have to understand, young people tend to do foolish things. It's just that his opponent was someone I didn't have time to help him against."

"Haha," Yang Chen laughed. "My wife always says I'm crude. I heard you were once a very capable politician, but your words are just as crude."

"A politician is just someone who says one thing publicly and another privately," Zeng Mao said, smirking with a hint of pride.

Yang Chen chuckled noncommittally and glanced around the room.

"What are you looking for?"

"A person," Yang Chen replied honestly. Naturally, he was looking for Gao Guoxiong, who had gathered a significant amount of funds with his associates. Since he was here, he wanted to take care of Gao Guoxiong as well. However, to Yang Chen's surprise, although Yuan Hewei had said the two were together, he could sense that aside from Zeng Mao, there was no one else in the house.

"You're looking for Gao Guoxiong, right? He left before you got here," Zeng Mao said candidly.

A realization dawned on Yang Chen, and he frowned. "So, you set up this whole trap yourself: the poisoned wine openly for me to drink, the door wide open for me to enter. This means you intentionally let Yuan Hewei and his wife know your location, didn't you?"

Yang Chen had initially found it odd that Zeng Mao, with such great influence that even all the major banks in Zhonghai had to show him respect, could be so easily tracked down by Yuan Hewei and his wife.

A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, but if the dragon doesn't suppress it, it can at least hide, right?

Now it seemed he had fallen for a "lure the tiger away from the mountain" strategy.

"You're correct," Zeng Mao nodded. "I knew you were an extraordinary person, so from the beginning, I planned to take you down. Of course, if possible, I'd still like to see it happen. However, it seems unlikely now. So, targeting those around you might be a wiser choice."

Yang Chen's expression turned cold, his smile fading. "You know, hurting those around me makes me angrier than hurting me directly."

"I'm well aware. When the news of my grandson being killed by you reached Yanjing, I fainted," Zeng Mao said with a faint bitter smile. "So, I don't aim to kill you; I aim to kill everyone in your family. Attacking Yulei International with Gao Guoxiong is just a secondary objective."

"You seem rational, so why do something so irrational?" Yang Chen asked, exasperated.

"There are some things in this world that can't be viewed rationally," Zeng Mao said, closing his eyes in contemplation.

"I don't know if there will be more trouble in the future, but if I don't kill him now, there will definitely be more trouble."

After Yang Chen said this, he was about to act when Cai Ning shouted, "Wait!"

Yang Chen looked at the strangely behaving woman, trying to discern something from her calm face.

Cai Ning's hand now held a Soul-destroying Nail, a silver skull-shaped dart dyed black, glowing like white bones. This Tang Sect concealed weapon had terrifying lethality and poison. It was rarely used unless there was deep hatred.

"What do you mean?" Yang Chen asked, his eyes complicated as he considered how to deal with Cai Ning if she attacked him.

Zeng Mao, with his brows furrowed, couldn't make sense of the situation but hoped Yang Chen and Cai Ning would fight, giving him a slim chance of survival.

"I mean nothing else," Cai Ning said indifferently. "I just mean this!"

In a split second, before Zeng Mao's thoughtful expression could change, a black-blood-stained hole appeared in his throat.

Zeng Mao's eyes showed a trace of disbelief before his gaze faded, and he fell lifeless to the ground.

Yang Chen felt a jolt in his heart, staring in surprise at Cai Ning, who had suddenly acted.

Cai Ning withdrew her slender hand, now free of the Soul-destroying Nail, and gave Yang Chen a radiant smile that he had never seen before. It was like a spring breeze dispelling the cold, yet it filled Yang Chen with an indescribable desolation.

So, she could smile so beautifully.

Meanwhile, in the old villa's living room, Guo Xuehua and Lin Ruoxi were entertaining the Yuan couple. The group sat around, chatting happily.

Wang Ma and Zhenxiu were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. With the addition of two guests who could be considered family, Wang Ma was excited, her joy evident on her face.

Zhenxiu had lived in the house for a while and had learned much about Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen's past. She gradually felt like part of the family. The once unruly girl had become more proper, and she now acted like a modern lady even when cooking.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the front door.

"Who could that be, not using the doorbell?" Wang Ma complained.

"I'll get it," Zhenxiu said, wiping her hands on her apron and running to the door. Seeing that Guo Xuehua and the others were deep in conversation, she obediently went to open the door.

However, before Zhenxiu could open the door, a tremendous force struck from outside.

With a loud bang, the heavy wooden door was blasted open, collapsing inward!