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Chapter 23: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
"Mr. Amos, please have some tea..."
With a flattering smile, Zhao Haotian approached holding the teapot.
The blonde-haired teenager sat lazily, his head lowered as he fiddled with his phone.
Zhao Haotian sneaked a glance, but the phone was fitted with a privacy screen. He couldn’t make out anything.
Being so close, he couldn’t help but notice how flawless the teenager’s skin was—smooth, porcelain-white, like the finest mutton-fat jade.
Lost in this thought, Zhao Haotian accidentally spilled tea from the cup, the liquid flowing down the edge of the table onto the teenager’s lap.
His face turned pale in an instant. He hurriedly set down the teapot and grabbed a tissue, trying to wipe off the spill.
"I’m sorry, I... I didn’t do it on purpose."
A flustered Zhao Haotian stammered out his apology.
The teenager flicked his fingers lightly, and Zhao Haotian suddenly felt a sharp numbing sensation at his wrist. Instinctively, he staggered backwards.
Clutching his wrist, the numbness followed him relentlessly.
He looked up in alarm.
The teenager furrowed his straight brows slightly, seeming displeased.
Zhao Haotian felt his chest tighten; inwardly, he cursed his misstep.
The teenager slowly lifted his gaze, casting him a detached glance.
"Stick to your duties. Don’t overstep your bounds."
"Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right," Zhao Haotian replied, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he couldn’t help wiping his brow with his sleeve.
The teenager wasn’t old, but the oppressive sense of intimidation was overwhelming.
"What—do I look scary to you?" The teenager raised an eyebrow, his tone indifferent.
Zhao Haotian shook his head quickly. "Maybe the air conditioning in the private room is broken. I’ll find someone to fix it."
With that, he hurriedly slipped away.
Breathing in the fresh outdoor air, Zhao Haotian felt like he’d come back to life.
He rubbed his still-numb wrist, and the image of those deep, strikingly beautiful blue eyes surged in his mind.
Enchanting, yet steeped in mystery.
Like his enigmatic identity—capable of lifting someone to heaven, just as easily as dragging them to hell.
"Ah, if it isn’t our esteemed Young Master Zhao! What wind brought you here?"
A sarcastic voice rang out nearby.
Zhao Haotian clenched his fists. Remembering Amos’s warning, he decided it would be better to stay low-key.
Seeing him about to leave, the man quickly stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Don’t leave in a hurry. It’s been a while since we’ve crossed paths. As brothers, can’t you spare me a little dignity? Am I right, gentlemen?"
The young men standing behind the speaker chimed in agreement.
Zhao Haotian controlled himself, replying, "I have urgent matters to attend to. Step aside."
The man sneered, "Don’t act high and mighty, Zhao Haotian."
Fury flashed in Zhao Haotian’s eyes as he lifted his gaze sharply and retorted, "Xu Cong, your cousin’s already fallen from grace. You still dare loiter around instead of hunkering down at home? With Xu Lang gone, what arrogance do you think you still possess in Spring City?"
If the other side had no shame, then there was no reason for Zhao Haotian to show restraint.
Hit where it hurt, Xu Cong’s face darkened, his glare fixed on Zhao Haotian.
"You’re looking for death!"
Zhao Haotian shoved him away, "Get lost. Don’t mess with my meal."
Xu Cong’s back slammed against the railing, and his cohort hurried toward him. "Brother Cong... are you okay?"
Xu Cong glared at Zhao Haotian’s retreating figure, his eyes bloodshot, almost ready to charge forward.
A young man beside him quickly stopped him. "Brother Cong, look at the news. Zhao Haotian just replaced Mr. Xie as the new chairman at the board meeting."
His voice trailed off into a whisper.
The crowd’s expressions shifted dramatically upon hearing this.
Xu Cong grabbed the phone. Seeing the financial headline, his veins bulged on the back of his hand clutching the device.
"Impossible. This can’t be true..."
"Brother Cong, this doesn’t make sense. Zhao Haotian doesn’t deserve something like this..."
A bespectacled young man scrutinized the screen and added coldly, "I probed into it. Apparently, a mysterious person named Amos helped Zhao Haotian secure the chairman position."
He paused before continuing, "And Mr. Xie, due to involvement in Feng Chi’s murder case, was taken away by the police during the board meeting. Reports of the incident are swarming the internet now."
Everyone understood that the Xu family’s arrogance was fueled by the Xie family’s assets.
Now that the Xie family was facing collapse, the person they used to look down upon—Zhao Haotian—was somehow the new chairman of the Xie Group, leaving them all struggling to comprehend.
"Amos?" Xu Cong murmured.
His expression grew sinister. "So he’s the one pulling strings behind the scenes."
Suddenly, he looked up, his gaze directed toward the direction Zhao Haotian had disappeared.
At this moment, Zhao Haotian must be celebrating his victory with that Amos.
*
After the meal, Zhao Haotian escorted Amos out of the restaurant.
Descending the staircase, Amos’s gaze lightly swept over the left-hand corridor, as if casually admiring the scenery.
At the entrance, as they waited for the driver to pull up, Amos remarked, "Let’s walk off the meal."
With that, he leisurely strolled along the restaurant’s pathway.
Zhao Haotian sent a text to the driver, instructing him to follow them discreetly from a distance.
Nearby the restaurant was a park. The scenery was pleasant, albeit somewhat desolate.
Occasionally, a passing car stirred the fallen leaves on the ground.
Pondering for a moment, Zhao Haotian cautiously asked, "Mr. Amos, how long will you be staying in Spring City? It’s a historic city. If there’s a chance, I would be honored to show you the history and sights of Hua Country."
"Is that so? I’d like that," the blond-haired teenager said, his blue eyes glittering with apparent interest.
"That’s wonderful! Let’s arrange a time—I’d love to show you around."
Reaching a fork in the path, Amos abruptly halted.
Zhao Haotian looked puzzled. "Mr. Amos, is something wrong?"
Amos casually plucked a willow branch extending toward the park path. His slender, alabaster fingers offset the fresh green of the branch—a harmony of the purest, cleanest colors of the world.
Zhao Haotian found himself momentarily entranced.
His hands were so exquisite and beautiful, even surpassing those of a woman—truly like works of art.
Just then, two burly men wielding clubs rushed out from the fork in the road ahead, blocking their path.
At the same time, two others approached from behind, boxing them in.
Instinctively, Zhao Haotian stepped in front of Amos, lowering his voice. "Don’t worry, I’ve practiced judo—I’ll protect you."
As he spoke, however, his unease was obvious.
Though he’d practiced judo for a few days, facing these hulking, hostile men seemed like a losing battle.
Moreover, their muscular builds and steady footing betrayed their experience; they were clearly fighters. Fear crawled into Zhao Haotian’s heart.
Nonetheless, even if it meant sacrificing his life, he wouldn’t let Amos come to harm.
"Is that so?" Amos leaned casually against the park’s low fence, his demeanor relaxed and languid.
"Then I’ll leave it to you."
Zhao Haotian tightened his fists and steeled himself, shouting resolutely, "Is this Xu Cong’s doing? Did he send you?"
Having just run into Xu Cong at the restaurant and now encountering these ambushers, the timing was far from coincidental.
The scar-faced man leading the group remained silent, merely waving his hand to signal his accomplices to move in.
Zhao Haotian was thin like a reed, while his attackers, mercenaries by trade, could dispatch him with ease.
Watching from the shadows, Xu Cong rubbed his hands together fervently, excitement lighting up his face.
Zhao Haotian hadn’t even launched a strike when his legs were swept out from under him, sending him crashing into the dirt.
Scrambling upright, he spat a mouthful of blood and growled, "Again!"
Gaining some experience from the first fall, he managed to trade a few moves this time. But as the opponent’s fierce hands closed in, their violent gust threatened even his skull—it would be crushed like a flattened persimmon...
At that moment, a calm voice pierced the air, dropping into his ear.
"Curve your elbows, pivot, and strike..."
Moving purely by instinct, Zhao Haotian realized that his right elbow had landed squarely on the opponent’s chin, forcing the man to stumble backward. Before he could rejoice, he seized the opening to press his attack.
Finally, the scar-faced man shifted his focus to the blond-haired teenager behind Zhao Haotian. Though appearing frail and slight, he realized, for the first time, that appearances could indeed be deceiving.
