I went to bed too late last night, and my phone was on silent mode. What's going on? You didn't go to work and just stayed home waiting for me?

Finally, Li Mu's expression became serious.

Although he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the heir to wealth and privilege, he wasn't a brainless playboy. For his father, Li Sihai, to stay home and wait for him instead of attending to the group's affairs, this was definitely not a good sign.

"I waited for you because I wanted to talk to you face-to-face. Over the next period, you need to tone it down. Don't go to Maple Leaf Hotel anymore! Also, I heard you recently clashed with that brat from the Zhang family at the stone gambling yard in the western suburbs? Can you stop giving me headaches? As long as old Zhang is still alive, the Zhang family will remain untouchable!"

"In Jiangzhou's current political scene, the provincial secretary-general was once his secretary, the municipal party secretary owes him a debt of gratitude, and even Vice Governor Lin was once promoted by him! If you seriously escalate your conflicts with Zhang Jingshan, it might be fine if you're in the right, but if not, even your uncle and grandfather won't be able to protect you! Right now, we're at a sensitive juncture, and it's a turbulent time. The less attention you attract, the better it is—not just for me, but for your uncle and grandfather as well!"

Rising from the couch, Li Sihai spoke in a low, serious tone.

In that instant, Li Mu's expression changed. Normally, his father would never talk to him like this. Moreover, the enmity between him and Zhang Jingshan wasn't new—everyone in Jiangzhou knew about it. If his father truly wanted to lecture him, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until today?

"Dad, has something happened?" Li Mu shed his usual careless demeanor.

Li Sihai hesitated before finally saying, "I've been feeling uneasy these days. Also, the inspection team that came back for a surprise round seems to be acting strangely. They're not as high-profile as before. Something feels off."

"Didn't they say the inspection team is targeting Maple Leaf Hotel? What does that have to do with us? Is it worth worrying about? Worst case, if something does happen to Maple Leaf Hotel, we can have Sihai Group immediately handle PR and distance ourselves from them!" Li Mu responded.

He clearly didn't know about the shady dealings between his father and Sun Tianqi—things Li Sihai was unwilling for him to find out. Still, Li Mu's expression grew complicated. He knew that if it were really that simple, his father wouldn't be this tense.

"It's not as simple as you think. I told Sun Tianqi to pause operations at Maple Leaf Hotel, but he refused, saying the inspection team is a bunch of useless nobodies just going through the motions. Last time, they backed off, and he's confident they'll retreat in disgrace again. He's completely full of himself after all these years and refuses to listen. If he won't listen, then we need to take care of ourselves!"

"From now on, don't go to Maple Leaf Hotel. I'm already preparing to distance both myself and Sihai Group from Sun Tianqi and that hotel. If he keeps this up, sooner or later, there's going to be trouble—a big one!" Li Sihai shook his head with a deep sigh, though a hint of bitterness crept into his words.

"Distance yourself? Is it really that easy? Will Sun Tianqi even let you go that easily?"

Those were all issues to reckon with.

"Are Sihai Group and Sun Tianqi's relationship with Maple Leaf Hotel more than just a surface-level partnership?" Li Mu asked, sensing something was amiss.

"You don't need to know what doesn't concern you. Just remember to keep a low profile for now. Don't stir up trouble, and definitely don't provoke that kid from the Zhang family. Stay as low-key as possible—so low that Jiangzhou forgets you exist!"

Having said everything necessary, Li Sihai left the house, his polished shoes clicking against the floor. Li Mu, meanwhile, stood frozen in place.

After a while, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his pajamas.

"Young Master Li, we're on our way to deal with Ye Chen right now. Don't worry, we'll handle it cleanly. He'll never know it was you who sent us after him!"

As soon as the call connected, a gruff, fawning voice came through.

"Turn back!" Li Mu said.

"Sorry, what?" The man on the other end sounded stunned.

"I said turn back! Don't mess with him for now!" Li Mu repeated.

"Huh? Why? The boys are already on their way!" the man replied.

"Are you deaf? I said turn back and leave him alone for now!" Li Mu roared.

"Alright, alright! I'll have them turn back right away!"

Hanging up, Li Mu's face turned dark and brooding. He gritted his teeth. "Ye Chen, consider yourself lucky. But this isn't over!"

No, this wasn't over.

Li Mu could take being antagonized and mocked by Zhang Jingshan. After all, their enmity wasn't new, and he didn't want to escalate things further. But Ye Chen? Some low-life gambler?

Even if Ye Chen had struck it lucky at the gambling yard and made over 20 million, so what? In Li Mu's eyes, Ye Chen was still just a lowly nobody. The fact that this nobody dared to work with Zhang Jingshan to humiliate him was utterly unacceptable.

More than that, Li Mu wanted to teach Ye Chen a lesson to slap Zhang Jingshan in the face and see what he would do about it. However, his father's words forced him to temporarily put his plans on hold.

Li Mu might have been a rich second-generation heir, but he wasn't the reckless type who acted without thought. Otherwise, Zhang Jingshan would have crushed him long ago.

On the other side, unaware that he had narrowly escaped disaster, Ye Chen returned to his rented apartment, turned on the TV out of boredom, and randomly flipped to a channel. Crossing his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes.

Unlike most people, who needed silence to think, Ye Chen preferred the background noise of the TV. This habit had accompanied him for decades in his past life, even when making major corporate decisions.

When the media later learned of this peculiar habit, reporters once asked him why. His answer was simple: "External noise accelerates my creativity."

Now, after his rebirth, that habit hadn't changed. He began sifting through memories of his past life, searching for opportunities to make money.

While he knew that "Flawless Balm" was a cornerstone of his business empire, it wasn't urgent. He needed to wait for his former trusted assistant to emerge—a man who was currently working as a CEO for a cosmetics company specializing in scar-removal products.

If his memory was correct, within a week, that man would be fired for his wild ideas, face rejection everywhere, and end up jobless for years until Ye Chen recruited him, bringing the balm to life.

In his past life, this assistant had remained fiercely loyal, rejecting offers as high as 50 million yuan in annual salary or a billion yuan for the formula. He famously said, "Chairman Ye recognized my worth when no one else did. Money has a price, but a mentor's guidance is priceless."

This time, Ye Chen planned to meet him earlier—but not before the man faced his struggles.

Shaking off those thoughts, Ye Chen focused on filtering through his memories. Just then, the TV, tuned to Jiangzhou Sports Channel, aired a discussion among football commentators.

"According to rumors, Henda Group is scouting locations to build a professional football stadium. They're planning a 10-billion-yuan investment, not just for the stadium but for accompanying hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and even a residential complex under the Henda brand. If true, this would not only thrill football fans but also give Jiangzhou a new landmark!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes snapped open. Memories of this project swiftly pieced themselves together in his mind.