Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The Chips in Hand
For a moment, Chi Wan was at a loss for words.
’Do all you rich families play such complicated games?’
’But Song Yangming is only twenty-eight, and He Rong seems to be ten years older than him. Why would Song Baihan orchestrate such a scheme and lie low for so many years? What was it all for?’
She looked at Song Baihan with a complicated expression. "...I don’t quite understand."
Song Baihan smiled bitterly. "When He Lingfeng bankrupted your family just to cut off your options, do you think those despicable schemes and methods just came from nowhere? Back then, I could have gone to university in Beijing City and had a much brighter future..."
He seemed reluctant to dwell on the subject, changing it abruptly. "All these years, He Yunzhen has been on guard against me. I have no real power, so there’s a lot I can’t do. I’ve even thought about taking her down with me, but she knows my weaknesses better than anyone.
"At one point, I fell into despair and even thought about giving up, because I had no leverage against the He Family. Then one day, a woman came to me and said she was carrying my child. A vague idea began to form in my mind, though I wasn’t yet sure what to do."
For a man of Song Baihan’s age, confessing such unsavory matters to a girl more than forty years his junior couldn’t have been easy, yet his attitude held a strange sense of detachment.
It was as if... he no longer cared about anything at all.
Chi Wan suddenly spoke up, "So, when He Lingfeng went after Song Yangming, you were deliberately leaving a weak point exposed?"
’Because only Song Yangming was completely independent of the He Family, yet possessed a sufficient "connection" to them.’
’Perhaps, in Song Baihan’s eyes, only He Lingfeng—always sheltered by the He Family and perhaps even enabled by Song Baihan himself—could act as the first domino to topple them all.’
’That’s why he leaked the information about Song Yangming to the one person most likely to act impulsively and violently: He Lingfeng.’
’Chi Wan even suspected that Song Baihan’s subtle influence over the years was partly responsible for He Lingfeng turning out the way he had.’
Although Chi Wan still didn’t understand why Song Baihan had approached her with such certainty, she honestly couldn’t bring herself to feel any sympathy for him, considering his actions.
Besides... Chi Wan wasn’t entirely convinced by Song Baihan’s portrayal of himself as some poor, helpless victim.
’The fact that he could keep Song Yangming’s existence securely under wraps until the time was right proved he was no simple man.’
’Even if He Yunzhen hadn’t deliberately looked into it, Chi Wan refused to believe that a man who could start plotting so early, lie dormant for years waiting for an opportunity, and be so ruthless—even toward himself—was truly powerless.’
’At most, he probably just felt that minor skirmishes weren’t worth exposing his true goal.’
But no matter how she looked at it, as absurd as it sounded, when it came to taking down the He Family, Song Baihan and Chi Wan were perhaps truly on the same side.
As Song Baihan spoke, he was secretly studying Chi Wan’s expression. Seeing that she seemed to be wavering, he decided to strike while the iron was hot. "I can guess what you’re worried about, Miss Chi. You’re wondering why I’ve come to you, specifically, when He Lingfeng has targeted so many other girls."
Chi Wan nodded frankly. "By any measure, I’m not an ideal partner for collaboration."
’At least, that’s how it seemed on the surface.’
’Putting aside the ’cheats’ she couldn’t openly reveal, to the average person, Chi Wan was just a university student from an ordinary family with no powerful connections.’
’Even if Song Baihan knew she’d sold a high-quality Jade Token to Xiahou Yu, and even if he knew she was on good terms with Zhou Huai’an and his brother, that was nowhere near enough to warrant such a frank discussion about collaboration.’
But Song Baihan simply stared into her eyes, a hint of fervent intensity in his. "That might be how it looks to others, but only you know what a strong hand you’re holding..."
Chi Wan’s heart skipped a beat. She frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
She was still young, after all. When it came to bluffing and posturing, she was no match for Song Baihan, so she decided to just ask him directly.
Song Baihan leaned in a little closer. "Miss Chi, after I learned what He Lingfeng was planning, I secretly had someone follow you for your protection. And they happened to overhear your phone call with Professor Zhang..."
Chi Wan’s pupils constricted. She shot to her feet, her face turning ice-cold. "You had me followed?! No, wait—what did you put on my phone?!"
She frantically racked her brain, trying to remember if she had revealed anything damning on her phone.
’After a moment of thought, she felt a sliver of relief. Her communications with Li Xingye didn’t go through her phone, so even if Song Baihan had installed some kind of bug, he wouldn’t have learned too much.’
’At worst, he would have heard her conversations with Zhou Huai’an and the others, as well as the call with Professor Zhang.’
Sure enough, Song Baihan held up his hands in a placating gesture, though his expression held no hint of an apology. "There’s no need to be alarmed, Miss Chi," he said gently. "I wasn’t having you followed. It’s just that after you slapped Ling Feng in public, I was worried he might do something drastic to you in his anger."
"And surveillance is an overstatement. At most, I merely hijacked a short snippet of your communications using some junk data."
Judging by his tone, he didn’t even seem to think it was a big deal.
Hearing this, Chi Wan couldn’t help but grit her teeth. ’I was too careless.’
’She should have remembered how the He Family made its fortune!’
’No wonder she’d been getting so many spam messages recently. She’d assumed it was He Lingfeng causing trouble again, never imagining it was actually Song Baihan, someone she had barely paid any mind.’
Looking at Song Baihan, who maintained his placid demeanor, Chi Wan’s internal guard went up even higher.
’Her only saving grace was that her phone conversation with Professor Zhang had been relatively vague. Song Baihan had probably just been ’evaluating’ her to see if she was useful. It was only after he overheard her mention a ’new energy source’ that he must have decided she had enough value and leverage to be worth approaching in person.’
Chi Wan slowly reined in her emotions and sat back down.
"I won’t deny that I’m holding a few cards. But you should also realize that with my own assets, I don’t need to partner with anyone. He Lingfeng is no threat to me. So why, exactly, should I have to work with you?"
But Song Baihan just smiled. "Miss Chi, you’re a person who values her relationships. But what He Lingfeng learned from childhood was how to exploit those very emotions. You may not be afraid of him, but what about your family and friends? You’re only one person. Do you plan to be on constant alert until you finally manage to take him down?"
"You are indeed clever, taking precautions by sending your parents somewhere the He Family can’t reach and doing your best to protect your roommate from threats. But, Miss Chi, you are ultimately still too young. My showing up at your door like this, for example—I imagine that was a huge surprise.
"Having a ’sly old fox’ like me as an ally can perfectly compensate for that particular shortcoming, don’t you think?"
