An Undefeatable Rival, My Childhood Friend Who Still Believes in That These Days

The Tang family residence.

A black luxury car slowly came to a halt.

"Click."

The rear door opened, and Tang Yuyao stepped out, heading straight for the compound. Tang Shouye emerged right after her but didn't follow. Instead, he stood by the door, standing on his tiptoes to peek inside.

"Whatever happens next has nothing to do with me..." Tang Shouye muttered to himself. Afraid that his sister would come looking for him to settle scores later, he made a preemptive disclaimer here, though who knew if it would actually work.

Anyway, if he heard the slightest rustle or sign of trouble later, he would be the first to run!

Otherwise, he'd be in for a world of pain.

"Boss, the things you asked for."

The driver beside him handed over the information gathered by their subordinates. Normally, this kind of work should belong to a secretary, but Tang Shouye's secretary was currently serving as free labor for Ye Cheng, hauling bottles of iced tea. So, delivering documents had to be delegated to someone else.

Fortunately, this didn't require highly specialized skills. Since there were dedicated people gathering the intel, the driver only needed to act as a courier to hand the files over to Tang Shouye.

"Mm, good. You can head back first," Tang Shouye patted the driver's shoulder. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, placed one in his mouth, and handed the rest of the pack to the driver. Taking the tablet offered to him, he squatted by the door and began reading with great interest.

The management system in Tang Shouye's company was a typical wolf-pack culture, albeit not as ruthless as others. Yet, their production efficiency was no less than any other company, and the profits they generated were highly competitive.

They ranked among the top fifty enterprises in Dahai City every year.

Although it was based on the principle of more work, more pay, the humanized aspect of his company was much better than others. The welfare and benefits were among the best. Most importantly, Tang Shouye was a very down-to-earth person.

Even toward a mere driver under his command, he put on no airs, keeping just one cigarette for himself and giving the rest of the pack away.

The people around him had all, more or less, received favors from Tang Shouye, so they worked incredibly hard for him. In less than half an hour, the information was already in his hands.

This kind of speed matched or even surpassed that of the Dongfang family.

In the truest sense, Tang Shouye managed to make his subordinates treat his affairs as their own, resulting in extremely high motivation.

"Ye Cheng, male. Malicious personality, looks like a pretty boy, bizarre behavior, suspected to have mental issues..."

Tang Shouye read for a while, feeling the information was accurate, yet simultaneously feeling something was off.

Was it his illusion? Why did all this information feel... so negative?

Reading through the whole document, he couldn't find a single praiseworthy point. It was full of flaws. Gathering so many shortcomings in one person was no easy feat.

Malicious personality?

Impossible, right?

Tang Shouye knew a little about face reading. It was true that Ye Cheng looked like a pretty boy, but he couldn't see any evil intentions in the kid.

How could he be malicious?

Or was his judgment of character too superficial?

Pondering for a moment, Tang Shouye continued reading. The first part covered Ye Cheng's life resume, and the latter part detailed Ye Cheng's recent actions at school, along with his college entrance examination score attached.

"Huh?"

Tang Shouye froze as he looked at the score starting with a 7. His mung-bean-sized eyes blinked, doubting if he had read it right, and he even rubbed his eyes.

"74... Holy shit!!!"

Tang Shouye's eyes instantly cleared up, and the prejudice in his gaze vanished completely.

Is this damn guy even human?!!!

Although he wasn't highly educated, he was still a man who had gone to school. How could he not know the weight of the college entrance exam? There was absolutely no possibility of cheating. It was the fairest thing you could encounter in your life so far.

If someone even wanted to criticize this, then all he could say was that if you lack the skill, you just need to practice more.

Tang Shouye had many such top students in his company. Scoring over 600 was already considered a dragon among men. Even those so-called returned overseas students didn't hold that much weight; if they were truly talented, they wouldn't need to go abroad just to plate themselves in gold.

It was undeniable that foreign talent and technology were indeed leading in certain majors, and going there to learn was perfectly fine. But most were just slackers who couldn't survive domestically and forcibly activated their "money power" to go abroad and pad their resumes.

The college entrance exam was a grand stage; if you have the skills, bring it on!

If you had the skills, you could still go abroad to study after the exam, only...

It wasn't that there were no 700-point scorers, but this was the first time Tang Shouye had seen a 700-point scorer as capable as Ye Cheng... Wasn't this guy a guaranteed top scholar?

"Wait, that's not right. With a score like this, how did he end up at this school? Shouldn't he have been picked up by the top universities?" Tang Shouye frowned.

Others might not know, but Tang Shouye was part of the Tang family after all. He was relatively clear on the allocation of "talents." A rare gem like Ye Cheng logically shouldn't have flowed into the open market.

Was this... tampered with by someone?

"This kid actually offended someone?" Tang Shouye raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested. He began to get excited.

He originally thought the guy was just a slightly lucky pretty boy living off a woman, but as it turned out... he was a total badass!

The contrast was simply too huge. It was no exaggeration to say that Tang Shouye previously thought Ye Cheng had some screws loose in his head; otherwise, how could he explain the iced tea incident?

Looking at it now... he did have a problem, but it had shifted from being mentally challenged to being a genius.

What's wrong with a genius having a mindset different from ordinary people?

If they just blended in with the crowd, could they still be called geniuses?

"Lin Baizhi... isn't this the daughter of the Lin family?" Tang Shouye's eyebrow twitched as he exhaled a puff of smoke. He seemed to know where the problem lay.

Tang Shouye had some understanding of the situation in Lin Tianxiong's family.

Tang Shouye had dealt with Lin Tianxiong a few times when doing business in the past. At that time, Lin Tianxiong wasn't the president of the Lin Group yet, just one of the less conspicuous sons of the Lin family's old boss.

But Tang Shouye had an impression of Lin Tianxiong back then. Lin Tianxiong's gaze was too ruthless. He looked gentle and weak, but his style of doing things was quite unique, and he was somewhat "crafty."

But there's no business without a little craftiness. Tang Shouye himself was quite "crafty" too, so he didn't take it to heart, just treating it as Lin Tianxiong being a bit more ruthless.

Many people in the circle knew what Lin Tianxiong did later on. He wiped out his entire family in one fell swoop, bringing about a massive blood exchange. It was extremely ruthless. Tang Shouye had gasped in shock at the time; this guy was terrifying.

The Lin family, which had been completely purged, actually became increasingly formidable under Lin Tianxiong's operations, to the point where even Tang Shouye had to frown at them.

The two families had some conflicts in certain industries, specifically in the medical field. After some negotiations, Lin Tianxiong stopped his encroachment on Tang Shouye's share of the industry. Naturally, he was wary of the colossal Tang family standing behind Tang Shouye.

It was essentially conceding some profits to make a friend.

It really was about making a friend. Tang Shouye still remembered Lin Tianxiong now... It had only been about ten years, yet a person's transformation could be so drastic.

Tang Shouye knew a little about what happened later. Lin Tianxiong brought back an illegitimate daughter?

The illegitimate daughter was just what the outside world called her. Later, the Lin family clarified that this illegitimate daughter was actually the eldest daughter...

Many people knew about the subsequent events. It was another satisfying story of a female protagonist turning the tables, presenting a harmonious picture of a powerful father and daughter joining forces.

It was just... Tang Shouye never expected that this story actually had hidden, unlocked chapters?

And it involved this kid?

Briefly looking over the story of Ye Cheng and Lin Baizhi, Tang Shouye gasped. He didn't even notice when the cigarette in his mouth burned down until a searing pain brought him back to his senses, making him hurriedly spit out the butt.

Holy crap, aren't they childhood sweethearts?

What the hell is going on here!

Tang Shouye was dumbfounded. He originally thought he only needed to elbow the Dongfang family out of the way so his little sister could pick up the slack, but he didn't expect an even more ruthless obstacle hiding in the background.

He wouldn't dare say much else, but Lin Tianxiong was definitely an acquaintance of Ye Cheng.

Tang Shouye immediately saw through the clues. He didn't believe Lin Tianxiong would just watch the only person who played well with his daughter remain in the orphanage without doing anything. Even if he didn't adopt him, he should have at least provided some financial support.

The truth was, Ye Cheng received no financial assistance whatsoever. He stayed in the orphanage, attended the same school, and... everything remained exactly the same.

It was like a dream. A person disappeared, yet Ye Cheng showed no abnormalities, just living his life as usual.

This was obviously very suspicious!

These two definitely made some sort of secret deal!

A deal they wouldn't let outsiders know about. There had to be more to it, but his subordinates just hadn't dug it up!

In Tang Shouye's eyes, Lin Tianxiong was the most sinister guy in Ocean City, a real scheming old fox. Tang Shouye absolutely refused to believe that such a cunning old man didn't have a backup plan.

Tang Shouye couldn't bear to read the rest of the file. Reading further would just be asking for trouble. What he needed to do now was go over and tell his mother the truth. It was better to rip the band-aid off and cut ties directly, so his sister wouldn't end up making a scene about living or dying over this later.

Damn it, this is too ridiculous! Tang Shouye cursed, hurriedly standing up and walking toward the house.

Mom, Mom!!!

Tang Shouye wailed like he was being beaten with a stick, howling so loudly he could be heard all the way from the courtyard.

Inside the house.

Hearing the pig-slaughtering squeals coming from outside, the mother and daughter stopped their conversation.

Both looked out the door in confusion, only to see the plump and round Tang Shouye rolling in like a ball, panting heavily, looking rather comical.

Mom, this is bad! Tang Shouye continued to yell at the top of his lungs.

Tang's Mother: ...

Fat Boy, can't you say something nice? I haven't lived long enough yet. Tang's Mother rolled her eyes at her silly son.

Tang Shouye stopped, resting his hands on his knees, gasping for air. After catching his breath for a moment, he shot Tang's Mother a look from an angle Tang Yuyao couldn't see.

Tang's Mother understood immediately.

Sweetie, go buy some yarn for Mom. We seem to have run out, Tang's Mother said.

Tang Yuyao frowned. She wasn't stupid; it was obvious they wanted to talk privately and were sending her away.

Tang Yuyao pouted, looking a bit unhappy. Tang's Mother naturally saw through her daughter's thoughts and smilingly whispered something in Tang Yuyao's ear. Tang Yuyao's expression changed instantly.

Oh, alright. Tang Yuyao finally left, somewhat reluctantly, to buy yarn outside.

After she left.

Tang Shouye looked at the door where his little sister had disappeared. Mom, what did you just tell her?

I said I'd secretly tell her later, Tang's Mother raised an eyebrow, looking quite sly.

Tang Shouye: ???

Ginger really gets spicier as it gets older!

Mom, I advise you not to tell my little sister about this, otherwise... Tang Shouye stopped mid-sentence and shook his head.

What's wrong? Tang's Mother asked patiently, somewhat curious.

Sigh... Tang Shouye sighed, still looking like something was heavily weighing on his mind.

Son, if you keep talking in riddles with your mother, I'm going to call your father over, Tang's Mother said calmly.

Tang Shouye: ...

Mom, am I your biological son... Tang Shouye was speechless.

I wish you were picked up from the streets too. Sigh, you ate the most when you were little, it was so worrying... Tang's Mother shook her head, starting to reminisce about the past.

Tang Shouye: ???

Alright, it would be impolite to ask any further.

Mom, this thing with my little sister isn't going to work out, Tang Shouye said.

Tang's Mother fell silent for a moment. She naturally knew what her son was talking about. Narrowing her eyes, she said, She's your sister.

It's not about whether she's my sister or not. Someone else made a move long ago; we can't win. Tang Shouye earnestly tried to persuade her, handing the tablet to Tang's Mother.

Tang's Mother took the tablet and looked at it for a few minutes.

I can't read. Tang's Mother blinked, putting on the act of a kind old mother.

Tang Shouye: ???

Mom, are you kidding me? You were the one who taught us how to read when we were little!

Forget it, if you can't read, I'll read it. Is that okay?

Alright, I'll read it to you. Ye Cheng... Tang Shouye held the tablet, ready to start his reading session.

Oh, my head hurts so much. I don't want to hear this, Tang's Mother interrupted.

Tang Shouye: ???

Tang Shouye wasn't stupid either. He realized that his mother wasn't unable to read; she just didn't want to listen and didn't want to face reality.

Mom, it's impossible. Even if you...

Fourth Brother, she is your sister.

Mom, listen to me, this...

She is your only sister.

They are childhood sweethearts, and she has been thinking about him for years. Do you think this...

If it hasn't worked out after all these years, doesn't that explain the problem? They aren't suitable. Fat Boy, this is your only sister we are talking about.

Tang Shouye: ???

Mom, can you change the subject? Tang Shouye really couldn't hold it in anymore.

I am your mother, Tang's Mother said calmly.

Tang Shouye: ...

I do not approve of this! Tang Shouye was resolute. The odds of winning were simply too small; they couldn't win at all.

Then I don't have you as a son. Tang's Mother closed her eyes and stopped listening.

???

Mom, are you serious?

Mom, why are you ignoring me?

Mom...

Tang Shouye: ...

I'll give it a try, Tang Shouye gritted his teeth.

Tang's Mother opened her eyes. Fat Boy, Mom knew you were a dutiful, good brother!

Tang Shouye: ???

...

Ocean City Elite Academy.

A large group of bodyguards and secretaries carrying iced black tea moved toward the boys' dormitories.

"Hurry up! Put some back into it!" Ye Cheng walked at the very front of the group.

"You all look like you haven't eaten a thing! Are you really struggling with just this little bit of stuff? Panting after just two steps. Look at me! Not only can I walk, I can run, I can even do a massive leap, I can even..."

Crash!

A massive pile of iced tea, as tall as a small mountain, came tumbling down.

Everyone: ...

The boss has perished.

The head maid was struck dead-on by Ye Cheng's massive leap, smashed into the ground, and knocked out cold.

Ye Cheng: ...