s.h.i.+ Fan Hai was summoned onto the Chairman's office yet again. Almost every day, when the chairman was present in the s.h.i.+ Corporation office, he always made sure that his one h.e.l.l of a son would give updates on their progress or regression, whatever direction they might take.

Every single time that s.h.i.+ Fan Hai visited the office, he felt demoted onto a lower level of humanity. As prideful as he was, and as much as he would want to fight back claws and fangs against his father the savage way, he could not get away with the situation and could only swallow his words and pride.

At this specific moment in autumn, s.h.i.+ Fan Hai's chest heaved up and down erratically with his chin pointed up and a frown on his daunting face as he received chidings from his father.

"How much longer should I wait? I already gave you what you have wanted! I have permitted you to woo that Teng girl! Nothing has happened yet!"

BAM!

The chairman landed his fist on the table in sheer and immense annoyance.

"You know very well that we need her family's wealth as lifeline!"

"You useless son-of-b.i.t.c.h!" He grabbed whatever his hand could hold onto – this time a crystal golf ball figurine – and flung it onto his son who was standing surprisingly submissively in front of him.

'Yes, I'm the son of that b.i.t.c.h you knocked up out of wedlock.' He could only fight back in his mind.

'What would you do now, Father? It seems we are stuck with each other in this fate.' He smirked in a gibe wordlessly.

"Why, you! How brazen! That's the only thing you're capable of, fool! Only goading in attempts of intimidation through appearance! But that's all that there is! Appearance and no more! No actions!"

He flung some more random things at him. 

The son blocked with his arms and even dodged with his body.

At some point, the chairman grew tired of venting out his anger and sat still on his humungous thinking chair.

s.h.i.+ Fan Hai leered and jeered, but still, he maintained himself in check.

"I'm on it, Father. The plan has started. Teng Man Rui will come back to me."

"Expedite it, will you? Set a date for the wedding and get it done with! If our fortune gets depleted faster than that stupid wedding of yours that would be the end of you." 

'Of us. You will go down with me if that happens. But I will not let it happen.' His eyes darkened ever so slightly in a foreboding grace.

"I even lent you a hand and went to the Teng's in humiliation as if we are beggars awaiting their mercy for alms!"

"And that girl! She has grown some guts, huh! Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. The easiest target is now posing some challenges. But that's what she is, just a challenge! Do you agree with me?"

"I told you, Father. The plan is being executed at this very moment – subtly. Please be patient and wait a little bit more."

"d.a.m.n you! In business, no one waits!" He stormed his was in fury and slapped his b.a.s.t.a.r.d son hard on the face, and afterward grabbed his collar with both hands. "How can you be so composed? Do you think our wealth is bottomless? Just when I have invested so much in you all these years in the hopes that you will serve your purpose, you will only prove to be useless!"Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

"You should have died instead! Tough luck!"

Blood rushed into s.h.i.+ Fan Hai's head as sanity left his character. He grabbed his father's wrists so strongly that he was forced to loosen his grip on his son's collar.

"Yes! I should have died instead of your beloved son! I've paid for being alive instead of him, haven't I? It's not my fault that he's such a weakling, so easy for the wind to take away."

PAK!

Another slap landed on s.h.i.+ Fan Hai's face. His chapped lower lip broke into an open wound.

"You and your mother are not only pests that only cause destruction! If I only have a choice I would not have kept you with me."

"You had a choice, Father."

Chairman s.h.i.+ grunted in dissatisfaction. "Have you lost some screws in your head to be forgetting that YOU crawled your way to me one day all for that Teng woman?! Now, that I am even pus.h.i.+ng you to her what are you doing? What do you intend to do?"

"Don't you remember the first time you reached out to me and begged me?"

s.h.i.+ Fan Hai reflexively clenched his jaw. All his muscles tightened knowingly. How could he forget?

It was during their late teens. He was struggling financially and generally in life, yet he kept on holding on. However, nothing came out of his honest efforts. One day in spring, amidst the vibrant blossoms and the lively buzzing of bees all around, he found himself devastated and almost devoid of hope. It was because he learned that the queen of his world, Miss Teng Man Rui, his only friend who cared for him regardless of status, was to be betrothed to her childhood friend. He received her letter, written in pink and light purple scented stationery stating the same content. He had always kept her letters neatly, but this one, he could not help but crumple in his hand.

He snorted. 'Yeah right, Fengyu. Dream on. You've forgotten one single fact that she's up there in the clouds while you… You're not even considered as part of society.' He thought with so much self-mockery.

That was the first time in his entire life that he wished he had more – more to give, more to offer, more, more, more. More than enough to deserve Teng Man Rui. More than enough to be worthy of her hand and to be betrothed to her instead of some prince.

That was the first time he despised his miserable, poor, empty life. Because before, even if poor, he had taken pride in living a highly principled one.

That day, he came to a decision that he would take whatever means to climb the ladder of power and wealth, and the first step was to swallow his gigantic pride and begged for his rich father's help -the father that did not care for him when he was growing up simply because he's illegitimate, and because of some complicated family history. It's because his father had always, always preferred his other son – the legitimate one who died when he was young. 

And so, he approached his father whom he had not seen nor heard of nor cared about for years.

He had come to an agreement with him in the form of a deal, a contract, which he ended up regretting.

Still, it was not enough to s.n.a.t.c.h Teng Man Rui away and bail her out of her impending engagement. Who was he anyway? 

And so, at his tender age during his late teens, he committed a crime which changed his life and his outlook altogether.

He had lost it. He had lost his principled life and marred him for eternity.

There's a famous line in a famous movie which went, 'Sometimes when you win, you lose.'

Yes, it was enough to save Teng Man Rui from her well-written future, and save her for himself.

Yes, he succeeded in s.n.a.t.c.hing her away.

But then, he lost himself. He lost to his father. He lost to the law.

'No, no one knows of it.' Young and reckless, he refused to give in.

Every pa.s.sing day presented a lot more struggle compared to when he was still starving and poor and shabby in Hangzhou. 

Every second, he was on his edge, in fear that someone would come and surrender him to the police.

It was his conscience's doing. 'd.a.m.n this thing.'

Every second that his conscience snuck on him, he fought back with newfound determination until one day, he discovered, his conscience ceased to exist. He had won his internal battle. He succeeded.

Teng Man Rui returned to his side, and what's more, she reciprocated his feelings for her. That sole good thing must have justified his actions. He was convinced that he did what he ought to do.

'It's all for the better.'

s.h.i.+ Fan Hai zoned out to years gone by. In the end, Teng Man Rui still left him. In the end, after everything that he had done, he's now facing the possibility of losing all his possessions – his ident.i.ty, wealth, and his woman.

'No. It will not happen. Teng Man Rui will come back to me.'