Su Luo Finally Takes Action

  Su Luo finally moved. He lifted his foot slightly and walked towards his daughter. But after just two steps, he stopped. He suddenly realized that, at this moment, he had lost the courage… even the qualification… to face her. He had always believed that he had done enough, that he had provided his daughter with the most prestigious and comfortable life. But now, he saw the truth—he was an incompetent, even detestable father.

  He suddenly turned around, locking eyes with Ye Tianxie, who had been watching the scene. The misty uncertainty in his gaze wavered for a moment before his eyes became sharp and cold. He spoke, "Is there a cleaner room upstairs?"

  Ye Tianxie shook his head crisply. "No."

  Su Luo fell silent and sighed softly. "Come with me."

  With that, he turned and walked toward the staircase, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. Each step he took was heavy. The two bodyguards who had accompanied him followed closely, not daring to leave his side.

  Ye Tianxie glanced at Su Feifei, then stood up from the sofa and followed them upstairs. In that moment, he felt as though he had just met a different Su Feifei, finally gaining a deeper understanding of her—a person just as lonely, just as pitiful as himself.

  By now, it was almost noon. The scorching sunlight streamed through the glass, illuminating Su Luo’s figure. Yet, it could not dispel the coldness and pain in his heart.

  Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around to face Ye Tianxie. His sharp eyes swept from head to toe, scrutinizing him carefully. Only now was he truly taking a serious look at this man. When Su Feifei had been saved by Ye Tianxie that day, he had begun investigating everything about him. But what he had discovered had left him stunned time and time again.

  "You’re Ye Tianxie?" Su Luo broke the silence.

  Ye Tianxie nodded slightly, smiling lightly. "Mr. Su, you’re the richest man in Asia. Every minute, you make more money than most people earn in a lifetime. So let’s not waste time with small talk. Just say what you want to say."

  Su Luo’s expression remained unchanged, but his gaze became even more focused. "It seems you know who I am, and you also know who Feifei is… As far as I know, you’ve been living alone for years and almost never interact with outsiders. Yet this time, you didn’t refuse Feifei’s rather 'unreasonable' request to stay here. I assume that has something to do with my identity, doesn’t it?"

  "Hah, and if I said no, would you believe me?" Ye Tianxie chuckled. His tone and expression were casual, without any pretentiousness. "You’re right—I didn’t refuse, simply because she is your daughter, Mr. Su. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the right to step into my home."

  His words were straightforward and blunt.

  Behind Su Luo, the two bodyguards frowned in unison, their gazes toward Ye Tianxie turning darker.

  However, Su Luo showed no anger at all. Instead, his tense expression relaxed slightly. "You’re not a hypocritical man. No matter your intentions, since you’re willing to be direct… that alone makes me feel more at ease if Feifei stays here. Since you haven’t refused, does that mean you’re willing to protect Feifei?"

  "I suppose so? In a way, I do feel that your daughter and I are somewhat fated."

  A rather interesting "fate"—harassing her in the morning, saving her life at night. That was quite the connection indeed.

  As he thought about this, he reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. But the moment his fingers touched the pack, something inside him suddenly jolted—

  Why does he know I keep my cigarettes in this pocket?

  He opened the pack and pulled out the third cigarette from the top row. Then, carefully tearing off the tip, a tiny metallic object fell from the cigarette and landed on the floor with a soft clink.

  Picking up the small metal piece, Su Luo and his bodyguards stared at it in utter shock, their gazes toward Ye Tianxie shifting as if they were looking at a ghost appearing in broad daylight.

  It was clearly a bugging device!

  Without hesitation, Su Luo removed his right shoe. On the sole, at the heel, was another thin metal piece—another bugging device.

  Crushing the two devices into useless scraps, Su Luo put his shoe back on. When he turned to face Ye Tianxie again, his heart was no longer calm. "Shock" was no longer enough to describe the storm raging within him.

  A psychic… someone with terrifying abilities.

  Aside from that explanation, he could think of no other way to rationalize what had just happened.

  "Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Your family, your—"

  "No."

  Before Su Luo could finish his sentence, Ye Tianxie refused flatly. His tone, which had been somewhat neutral earlier, turned noticeably colder, his brow furrowing.

  Su Luo did not push further. Yet inside, his astonishment and admiration for this young man deepened. He had spent half his life navigating the ruthless business world, encountering countless young talents. But none had ever been as calm and composed as Ye Tianxie.

  He clearly knew who Su Luo was, yet he acted as though he didn’t care at all. His demeanor was neither humble nor arrogant, and there was no trace of fear or reverence in his tone. It was as if the name "Su Luo" and everything it represented meant nothing to him.

  "Alright, that’s your private business. I won’t pry any further." Su Luo’s expression turned serious as he fixed his gaze on Ye Tianxie. "Since you claim you’re willing to protect Feifei, how can you prove that you have the ability to do so?"

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  This was the question he cared about the most.

  Clearly, he had already decided not to force his daughter to leave. But no father would ever entrust his child’s safety to someone without absolute confidence.

  "Hmm… how should I answer that?" Ye Tianxie scratched his nose lightly, as if he was speaking to himself. Then he said, "How about this… Mr. Su, you have a bugging device under your right foot. And the older gentleman behind you—there’s a bug hidden inside the third cigarette in the top row of his pack. You may check for yourselves now."

  Su Luo and the two bodyguards froze.

  The bodyguard on the right side of Su Luo hesitated for a moment before reaching into his pocket and taking out his cigarette pack. He glanced at Ye Tianxie with deep suspicion.

  Ye Tianxie had never touched him, nor had he been anywhere close to him. Yet he had just pointed out, with absolute accuracy, the exact location of the hidden device.

  Even they, as trained professionals, had not noticed the bugs. And now, a man who had never even gotten close to them could sense them?

  This was beyond ridiculous. It was simply… unbelievable.

  "Have I proven my abilities now?" Ye Tianxie asked casually, a faint smile playing on his lips.

  "Are you an esper?" Su Luo blurted out almost instinctively.

  "No!" Ye Tianxie’s reply was even more direct and decisive. His eyes remained calm, devoid of any unnatural flicker.

  "Then you…" Su Luo hesitated. If it wasn’t some supernatural power, then how could such an inexplicable ability be explained?

  "You don’t need to know." Ye Tianxie cut him off mercilessly. An esper? He scoffed at such a notion. But as for what his abilities truly were—he himself didn’t know.

  Su Luo fell silent. When he had first investigated Ye Tianxie, he had encountered nothing but layers upon layers of mystery, pieces of information that no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t uncover. And now, after meeting him in person, the mysteries surrounding this young man only seemed to multiply. For the first time in his life, he found himself unable to read someone, unable to grasp their true nature. And this someone was a whole generation younger than him. His years of experience warned him—digging too deep into Ye Tianxie might just be a dangerous endeavor.

  "You’ve demonstrated your counter-surveillance skills. But what I need to see is your ability to protect her," Su Luo finally said. He stepped aside, gesturing toward the two men who had been standing silently behind him. "These two were the champions and runner-up in the National Special Forces Tournament ten years ago. Even now, their names—‘Black Panther’ and ‘Red Wolf’—are still well-known among China's military. With their protection, I have remained safe all these years. If you can defeat them, I will have no reservations about letting Feifei stay here."

  The two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, understanding Su Luo’s intention. Before coming here, they had already known that Ye Tianxie had once saved Su Feifei’s life. However, given their own strength, they had instinctively underestimated this young man. But now, after witnessing his eerie abilities firsthand, their initial contempt had completely vanished. Both men adopted serious expressions, readying themselves for battle.

  However, Ye Tianxie’s next words made their faces darken instantly.

  "Should I cripple them, or just kill them?" He cast a lazy glance at Black Panther and Red Wolf, speaking as if he were discussing something as mundane as eating or sleeping.

  Su Luo was caught completely off guard by this response, momentarily left speechless—because he could neither answer "cripple" nor "kill."

  Ye Tianxie shrugged and casually lifted his right hand. Instantly, Black Panther and Red Wolf tensed, their brows furrowing as they prepared to engage. Though they had once been the strongest special forces soldiers, they understood the dangers of underestimating anyone in a world full of hidden masters. And despite Ye Tianxie’s young age, they could feel an inexplicable pressure emanating from him—after all, who would dare to be this arrogant without the skills to back it up?

  Yet, instead of attacking, Ye Tianxie simply curled his fingers and flicked the air.

  A crisp sound echoed, and suddenly, the tightly shut glass door of the balcony swung open. Instinctively, Black Panther and Red Wolf turned their heads to look—but in that split second, they felt a sudden gust of wind rushing toward them. The moment they turned back, they found themselves already caught—Ye Tianxie had grabbed each of them by the throat, one in each hand.

  "Getting distracted in combat is a fatal mistake. Whether as soldiers or bodyguards, you should never forget this principle."

  With that, he flung both men through the open balcony door as if they were nothing more than ragdolls. They soared through the air, landing outside in a heap. And just as eerily as it had opened, the glass door slowly swung shut behind them.

  The fight hadn’t even started, yet it was already over.

  Su Luo’s shock multiplied several times over. At this point, even if he were a fool, he could clearly see that the difference in strength between his two bodyguards and the young man before him was on an entirely different level.

  "Alright, Mr. Su. Now that the outsiders are gone, let’s get to the real conversation." Ye Tianxie clapped his hands and turned around, still as calm and indifferent as before. There was no arrogance in his demeanor—just as if he had merely shooed away two insignificant pests. "Now, do you believe I have the ability to protect your daughter?" He smirked, then added casually, "Oh, and you can rest assured—I have no interest in making any moves on your daughter. She may be noble and beautiful, but she’s not my type. However…" His lips curved upward slightly. "If she comes on to me, well, as a normal man, I might not refuse. Who knows? You might end up seeing something you really don’t want to."

  Su Luo’s face darkened, his expression shifting between light and shadow. His eyes flickered with hesitation, struggling with an internal conflict.

  Su Feifei’s words had pierced his heart, filling him with guilt and remorse. He finally understood why she had made this once-incomprehensible decision. Seeing her tears—something he hadn’t witnessed in years—made it impossible for him to stop her anymore. He no longer had the right.

  But this man before him… Everything about Ye Tianxie sent chills down his spine. And yet, for all his efforts, he had found out next to nothing about him. His investigation had only scratched the surface, while the true depths of Ye Tianxie remained completely out of reach.

  How could he possibly feel at ease entrusting his daughter to someone like that?

  "Tell me your reason—or your true motive." After a long silence, Su Luo finally spoke.

  "It’s simple." Ye Tianxie’s grin widened. "I’m a little short on cash lately… and you just so happen to be the richest man in Asia. That’s all there is to it. And since I’ll be protecting your daughter, I assume you’ll be paying me quite a hefty protection fee, right?"

  Hearing such a blunt admission, Su Luo’s chaotic thoughts unexpectedly settled a little. Indeed, from the very beginning, he had not sensed a trace of deceit from Ye Tianxie. There was something about him—an inexplicable, almost magical quality—that made people unconsciously believe his words.

  In the ruthless business world, deception was second nature to Su Luo. He was a master of masks, dealing with equally deceitful individuals every single day. Trust was a luxury he could never afford. Yet, standing before Ye Tianxie, he found himself inexplicably wanting to believe him… despite this being their very first meeting.

  Ye Tianxie had been completely straightforward. He had accepted Su Feifei’s request because… he wanted money. A substantial protection fee.

  Su Luo thought back to his daughter’s painful words, the tears she had shed, and the reality he had failed to see for over a decade. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if finally letting go of the last shred of hesitation.

  "Until today, I never realized that Feifei has never been truly happy. On the contrary, because of me, she has lived every day in fear and shadow. And yet, to put my mind at ease, she has always worn a happy mask in front of me… And all this time, I never noticed.

  Ten years… I never noticed, not even once…"

  His voice grew quieter and quieter, as a deep sorrow, like autumn leaves drifting in the wind, settled between his brows.