When Lu Yunque and the other three heard Yun Zijin’s suggestion, meaningful smiles spread across their faces.

"That’s right. If Sheng Yang hadn’t mentioned it, we’d have never known you had such skills.

As it happens, Miss Yun’s bodyguards are right outside. No time like the present, so how about right now?

Come on, everyone! Let’s clear some space and let them have a friendly spar."

Fu Ze loved to stir the pot, and Yun Zijin’s suggestion was an excellent opportunity to test Huang Yourui.

If Huang Yourui’s skills weren’t as great as he claimed, then the story of him single-handedly saving Sheng Yang would be called into question.

"No problem," Yun Zijin said. "I’ll call them in right now."

Huang Yourui desperately wanted to refuse, but with four influential figures presiding over the room—not to mention a girl whose identity he couldn’t place—he didn’t dare utter a single word of protest.

The people who were in on Huang Yourui’s secret shot him worried glances. One against many was no joke.

Besides, he didn’t have any real skills to speak of; it had all been nothing more than a long-premeditated plot.

Only someone as naive and gullible as Sheng Yang would have fallen for it. With anyone else, Huang Yourui’s clumsy act would have been exposed long ago.

As dense as Sheng Yang could be, even he could tell something was wrong.

From what he knew of Yun Zijin, she wasn’t the type to deliberately target someone. Yet, today’s display was clearly directed at Huang Yourui.

’Could Huang Yourui have offended Sister Yun at some point without me knowing?’

Sheng Yang’s gaze shifted between Yun Zijin and Huang Yourui as his imagination ran wild with countless melodramatic scenarios.

Yun Zijin opened the door to the private room and called all six of her men inside.

"Sheng Yang, last time, how many people was Mr. Huang up against again?"

Yun Zijin asked with such sincerity that if Sheng Yang hadn’t suspected she was doing it on purpose, he would have actually believed she was serious.

"Last time... I think it was seven or eight guys? But they were all just street thugs, not very skilled. They’re definitely no match for your bodyguards, Sister Yun."

"Then isn’t this perfect? That’s just one person shy of the last group, so it’s practically the same.

Mr. Huang wouldn’t refuse, would he?"

Yun Zijin had a smile in her eyes as she spoke that last sentence, but it only sent an icy chill down Huang Yourui’s spine.

"Of course not. It’s just a friendly spar, right? No problem at all."

With Sheng Hao and the others all staring at him, Huang Yourui knew he had no choice but to agree. His mind raced, desperately searching for a way out of this.

Zero One and his men glanced at Huang Yourui. Then, all but one of them took a step back, leaving only Ling Qi standing at the front.

’To even fight a man whose body has been hollowed out by vice and drink is an insult, let alone have all six of us attack at once.’

But they couldn’t disobey Yun Zijin’s orders. Thus, Ling Qi, the one with the lowest Combat Power, was pushed forward.

Yun Zijin more or less understood what Zero One and his men were thinking, so she said nothing about their actions. If Huang Yourui couldn’t even win a one-on-one fight, his lie would seem all the more ridiculous.

Oblivious to their reasoning, Huang Yourui’s eyes lit up when he saw them step back, leaving only a single opponent.

’If it’s just one person, then I have a decent chance of winning.’

Everyone automatically moved aside, leaving an open space in the middle for the two to spar.

The two men stood facing each other. Ling Qi, filled with disdain, made no move to attack first, simply standing his ground and waiting for Huang Yourui to begin.

After a moment, Huang Yourui lost his patience and lunged at Ling Qi with what he considered his strongest move. But Ling Qi casually and swiftly dismantled the attack, subduing him in an instant.

Afraid he might not be able to control his strength and end up injuring the man, Ling Qi simply subdued him and then let go.

But the moment Ling Qi released him, Huang Yourui suddenly launched a sneak attack. A cold glint flashed in Ling Qi’s eyes as he instantly flipped the man to the floor.

"You—!"

Huang Yourui couldn’t believe it. This bodyguard Yun Zijin had brought was actually this skilled.

While his skills weren’t as great as he’d boasted, he wasn’t a complete amateur either. He had at least learned a thing or two.

’But this guy... I’m sure I just felt a hint of killing intent from him.’

’What kind of person radiates killing intent?’

"Oh, my! Taken down by Ling Qi in two moves? I thought Mr. Huang was supposed to be highly skilled. From the looks of it, though, it seems..."

Yun Zijin left her sentence unfinished, but everyone in the room knew exactly what she meant.

Huang Yourui’s expression turned grim, a stark contrast to the cheerful and righteous persona he always maintained in front of Sheng Yang.

"Xiao Yang, did you see that clearly?"

Sheng Hao, who had at some point moved to sit beside Sheng Yang, spoke up abruptly.

Huang Yourui shot a look at Sheng Yang, trying to gauge his reaction, but Sheng Yang’s eyes were downcast, making his thoughts impossible to read.

Sheng Yang was still struggling to accept what had just happened. He couldn’t believe that someone he had admired for so long had been putting on an act for his benefit the entire time.

He glanced at the others in the room, but they all guiltily avoided his gaze, none of them daring to meet his eyes.

Only now did Sheng Yang realize that the friends he had so carefully cultivated had all been wearing masks around him.

’Why?’

’I’m not my brother. I don’t even have the authority to approve a single project.’

’If they wanted to curry favor, wouldn’t it be better to go to my brother? Why come to me?’

"Brother, I want to go home."

Unable to make sense of it all, Sheng Yang no longer wanted to stay. He needed to go home, calm down, and process everything.

"Alright. Let’s go home."

Sheng Hao looked at Sheng Yang’s devastated expression. While his heart ached for him, he felt a greater sense of relief.

It was better to see these people’s true colors now than to be deceived more deeply later on.

If his brother was ever led astray when he wasn’t looking, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Sheng Yang! Don’t you forget who saved you!"

Huang Yourui didn’t want to lose this cash cow. Seeing that Sheng Yang was about to leave the room, he yelled out in desperation.

"Are you sure *you’re* the one who saved my brother?"

Sheng Hao stopped Sheng Yang from speaking and turned to face Huang Yourui himself.

Unlike Sheng Yang, Sheng Hao was not so easily fooled.

"Yes! Who else could it have been? If it weren’t for me, who knows what kind of beating your brother would have taken!"

"Here. Take a look at the ’proof’ of you saving my brother."

Sheng Hao took out his phone, pulled something up on the screen, and held it in front of Huang Yourui.

When Huang Yourui saw what was on the screen, his pupils contracted. ’I was so careful! How could anyone have found out?!’

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

Sheng Yang was only upset that he had misjudged someone’s character, but until this very moment, he had never doubted that Huang Yourui had saved him.

But after witnessing the exchange between his brother and Huang Yourui, Sheng Yang wasn’t so sure anymore.

"You foolish kid, how have you still not figured it out? If he was really skilled enough to take on several opponents and come out undefeated, he wouldn’t have failed to last even a single move against Miss Yun’s bodyguard just now."

’He can’t even win a one-on-one fight, and you expect him to win against a group? Dream on.’

Yun Zijin simply smiled, saying nothing. ’How could I possibly tell them,’ she thought, ’that even if he really could handle multiple opponents, he still probably wouldn’t last a single move against Ling Qi?’