Chapter 217: Saving the Ruthless Crime Boss 05

Boss.

The other two also shouted, though they were equally puzzled, but they didn't question like Du Ruosong did, after all, the boss's love life wasn't something they should worry about.

Meng Fuchi nodded, bringing Jin Chen to sit down, but for a moment didn't know how to introduce him to them, finally saying lightly, "The child of an old friend."

Jin Chen pretended not to hear anything, just smiling as he looked at the people in the living room, meeting the faces of the characters from the original plot.

The refined, slender man was called Zu Kun, the person who, in the original plot, remained steadfastly loyal to Du Ruosong until the end, and the first person Du Ruosong eliminated after rising to power was also him.

The muscular man with flower‑arm tattoos was called Chu Cang, a hot‑blooded guy; after the Dujin incident he was framed by Du Ruosong, even believing it was his own mistake, and atoned with his death.

He lingered a few more seconds on Du Ruosong's face, caught his angry expression, and secretly raised an eyebrow.

Du Ruosong had already hooked up with Liang Shu, yet he still seemed unable to forget his wife, even calling her Fuchi, while everyone else called him boss, making him stand out.

Jin Chen withdrew his gaze, lowered his head to play with his phone.

"He's wearing earplugs, can't hear."

Meng Fuchi tapped the arm of the soft chair with his finger, "Anything to report?"

"Actually there's nothing important; since that casino was taken by Long Zhen Tian, we've followed your orders and tightened control over all areas considerably."

Zu Kun scratched his head, "Du Ge suddenly summoned us both, saying we need to discuss things with you."

"I've got nothing going on either," Chu Cang said, chewing like a cow on a peony, he lifted his head and finished the fine tea in the porcelain cup, then turned to look at Du Ruosong.

"Old Du, what's up?"

Du Ruosong suppressed his displeasure, forced a smile, and said:

"The East District Casino of A City changed hands; I heard Fuchi went to negotiate tonight but failed to get it back. I want to hold a meeting to find the cause of this failure, so we can clean out the idle people below."

As soon as he said that, the living room fell silent.

Only Meng Fuchi's steady tapping continued, each tap seeming to strike the heart of everyone present.

Zu Kun and Chu Cang stared at each other, their hearts leaping to their throats.

Who doesn't know that the casino was lost because the boss received false information, leading to the whole decision going wrong?

It's normal in this line of work to have wins and losses; why is Du Ruosong bringing this up today?

Are we supposed to let them judge the boss's mistake?!

Chu Cang's face darkened; he put the porcelain cup down on the nanmu table with a thunk, speaking gruffly, "What do you mean? It's gone, it's gone—ELF isn't just this one profitable casino; why cling to it?"

"Yeah, Du Ge, reasons aside, we at least haven't lost money—just have our underlings take on a few more jobs and the money will come back!"

Zu Kun kept his smiling, murmuring demeanor, but his tightly furrowed brows showed his disagreement with Du Ruosong's action.

Du Ruosong completely disregarded the other two's opinions, continually looking at Meng Fuchi with a smile; seeing him silent, he provoked him again.

"What does the boss think? This time our loss, if we only count the casino's house take, amounts to ten billion a year—truly a pity."

The tapping stopped, and the living room fell silent again.

Meng Fuchi lifted his eyes, glanced at Du Ruosong, slightly raised his chin; his phoenix eyes held an obscure, hard‑to‑read emotion, exuding authority without anger.

"Then what do you think should be done?"

He stared at Du Ruosong, his gaze growing colder.

His earlier suspicion now became increasingly clear.

Du Ruosong……he seems to harbor considerable disloyalty.

"My meaning is, rather than punish those previously in charge of the casino, let's kill the chicken to scare the monkeys." Du Ruosong said with a smile.

What a perfect "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."

Jin Chen licked his canine tooth, the gaze on the screen turning cold; killing those who only obey orders—what monkey worthy of respect could there be, if not Meng Fuchi?

Everyone present was sharp‑tongued; they caught his meaning, and Meng Fuchi used his gaze to stop Chu Cang, who was about to flare up and stand, curling his lip in a cold tone.

"It's just a casino, and you call it a pity?"

He leaned back slightly, lowered his eyes to look at Du Ruosong, "When did your vision sink so low? It's actually a bit like how you were when you first joined ELF."

Du Ruosong's smile instantly vanished, his lips pressed tight, his eyes withdrawing with a hint of panic and regret.

"……Yes, yes, I overthought it. Then, boss, do you think we're just letting Long Zhen Tian take advantage for nothing? If we say it out, where would the face of ELF's top organization go?"

"I have my own way; you don't need to worry."

Seeing Meng Fuchi deflated, he suddenly felt bored and took a sip of tea.

It was actually warm.

He was somewhat surprised, glancing at the teapot.

Since they arrived, quite a while has passed, the living room's air‑conditioning is strong, so how is the water in the tea cup……

Meng Fuchi turned his head to look at Jin Chen, only to see that he had put down his phone at some point and was sitting obediently, waiting for him.

"Did you add the tea?" he asked.

Jin Chen immediately frowned, pointed to his own ears, indicating he couldn't hear.

He then remembered, had Jin Chen remove the earplugs, and repeated the question.

This time Jin Chen nodded and replied, "It was me; you've been chatting a while, the air‑conditioning here is too strong, drinking cold tea later would make sleeping uncomfortable."

Meng Fuchi stared for a few seconds, feeling the warm, moist porcelain cup in his palm, looking at Jin Chen's eyes that seemed to hold starlight, suddenly feeling something deep inside being touched.

His household had many servants and assistants, yet none were as meticulous and unafraid of him as Jin Chen.

"Fuchi Ge doesn't like warm water…?"

Jin Chen suddenly grabbed his arm, his tone softening a bit, "I didn't know anything when I first came here."

"No, you did well."

Meng Fuchi finished the remaining tea, praised him with a sentence, and his mood improved considerably.

"Everyone go back; the casino matter is settled, I'll find a way to make up the shortfall."

"Okay, boss, you've been running nonstop these past few days and are tired; get proper rest."

Zuo Kun watched their interaction, stifled his surprise, got up, and left together with Chu Cang.

Du Ruosong, however, didn't want to just leave like that; he stared at Jin Chen, his tone unfriendly.

"I wanted to ask earlier, the boss said he's the son of an old friend, but I don't know which old friend? Could he be the young master of some great aristocratic family?"

Jin Chen still wore the bartender's outfit; aside from his appearance and demeanor, his clothing bore no trace of an aristocratic family. Du Ruosong obviously asked that on purpose.

"I... I'm not an aristocratic young master."

Jin Chen lowered his head, voice trembling; the hand gripping Meng Fuchi's arm suddenly tightened, as if clutching the sole piece of driftwood that could give him peace.

Strangely, Meng Fuchi greatly enjoyed this feeling.

Enjoying the feeling that this person could only rely on himself to live well.

He patted Jin Chen's hand, signaling him to relax.

"Du Ruosong, you've overstepped; my private life is none of your business."

Meng Fuchi pulled the person up, and before leaving he threw out another sentence.

"Don't worry about things that aren't your concern, or else someday everything will fall apart."