The Necklace

More than ten years ago, Yu Fu was not yet fifty years old and was in the stage where his career was taking off rapidly. With the support of the Shen family’s resources, he was practically unstoppable in Jade Capital—slaying any god or demon that stood in his way—enjoying unparalleled prestige for a time.

Then, just when everyone thought he would lead the Shen family to become the true hegemons of Jade Capital, a piece of bad news broke and quickly spread through the entire business world of that era.

Yu Fu had been diagnosed with cancer. And it was nearly at the terminal stage!

The news hit the Jade Capital of that time like a thunderbolt. Many found it inconceivable; with the power of the Shen family and the wealth of Yuansheng, arranging several physical checkups a year was a simple matter. Furthermore, wealthy people never skimped when it came to their physical health. After all, no matter how much money you have, you have to have a life to spend it, don’t you?

Therefore, even if there truly was some disease, it could usually be detected in the early stages; this was the reason they generally lived long lives. Neither the Shen family nor the Yuansheng Group could possibly lack money, so Yu Fu’s situation appeared very eerie.

Initially, it was treated as a joke, but people soon discovered that the once-radiant Yu Fu began to live in seclusion. Subsequently, he frequently missed board meetings and was photographed appearing at hospitals multiple times, looking extremely unhealthy. This forced others to believe it, whether they wanted to or not.

Yuansheng Group, which originally had strong momentum, suffered setbacks because of this, as Yu Fu’s children were not very old at the time and had not shown any business talent. Both investors and partners feared that this seemingly brilliant enterprise would collapse in an instant due to Yu Fu’s passing.

This was no mere alarmism. Many people had been eyeing Yuansheng and the Shen family for more than just a day or two, waiting for them to show a weakness so they could deliver a fatal blow and drink their fill of their blood. It was no exaggeration to say that Yuansheng Group was standing on the eye of the storm, just waiting for the final news to be confirmed by the public.

Under these circumstances, Yu Fu disappeared for a full half-year. Then, just when others thought he had already passed away and the news was merely being suppressed, Yu Fu made a powerful return one day and fiercely slapped everyone in the face.

He produced physical examination reports from professional institutions and participated in various activities with an incredibly healthy posture. He was full of spirit, physically robust, and his vitality even surpassed that of many young people, causing all rumors to collapse on their own. Under his leadership, Yuansheng Group began to soar once again.

“It reads just like a story out of a novel.”

Squinting as he rapidly flipped through the materials regarding Yuansheng Group and its patriarch, Yu Fu, the man’s expression was subtle. “Whether it’s this Shen family or this Yu Fu, both seem a bit off no matter how you look at it.”

The Shen family, who seemed cursed, and Yu Fu, who seemed like a child of destiny—to ordinary people, this was a legend, but Jiang Xun smelled an abnormal scent within it. However, he also knew very well that when facing such a local titan, mere suspicion was of no use. If it were just the Yuansheng Group, it would be fine, but the Shen family stood behind them. The Shen family had operated in Jade Capital for hundreds of years; their energy was exaggeratedly high.

Even if the Shen family could now be renamed the Yu family, in high society, it didn’t really matter whether they were called Shen or Yu. Those things were never important; interest-alignment was the key.

In short… “This is a bit troublesome.”

The van slowed to a stop in front of a tall building. Jiang Xun looked at the skyscraper before him, expressionless.

Ten minutes later.

The group took the elevator all the way to the 16th floor and was led into the manager’s office of a gaming company. Starsea Games, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yuansheng Group. External rumors suggested that Yuansheng Group’s move into the gaming industry in recent years was due to the establishment of this company.

However, in Jiang Xun’s view, this company was less a business and more a toy. This was because the General Manager of this company was Yu Fu’s second son, twenty-seven-year-old Yu Yuan. Regarding this Second Young Master Yu, upon investigation, one would find that you couldn’t say he had achieved nothing—you could only say he was “rotten wood that cannot be carved.”

Speaking of which, although Yu Fu’s children were all physically strong, basically none had inherited his insight or decision-making ability in business. The eldest son, having been kept by his side since childhood, was at least marginally functional. But after the second son was born, he was basically left to his own devices because Yu Fu was too busy. As a result, by the time Yu Fu remembered him, he had already grown crooked!

Alcoholism, fighting, street racing, changing women like clothes, getting people pregnant and then forcing them to have abortions—it got to the point where he was advised to withdraw from school before finishing high school. Later, relying on his family’s influence, he was finally sent abroad to be cultivated for two years. As a result, he learned nothing good, but he mastered all the messy things from the outside world completely.

After returning to the country in recent years, he even caused a major incident. Whether his brain had malfunctioned or he felt he didn’t have enough money to spend, he actually collaborated with outsiders to stage a “self-kidnapping.” The commotion was quite large, and when the truth was eventually revealed, it nearly caused Yu Fu to drop dead of rage on the spot.

Afterward, Boss Yu probably truly couldn’t stand him anymore. He forced him to cut ties with those fair-weather friends and then registered this gaming company to throw at him. Because, aside from being proficient in all sorts of messy things, Yu Yuan was an out-and-out “internet addict” youth who especially loved playing various web games and enjoyed the feeling of being a “big boss” after topping up money.

Of course, Yu Fu throwing the company to him certainly wasn’t because he believed the boy could make it big and strong. It was simply to find something for him to do; otherwise, wandering around aimlessly every day, it wouldn’t be surprising if he eventually landed himself in prison.

Jiang Xun had originally wanted to see this Second Young Master Yu today, but unfortunately, the other party was not present. He hadn’t run off to a bar or hotel to sleep with women again; reportedly, he had been mysteriously grounded by his father.

Fortunately, they successfully met another target.

“Hello, officers. I am the Marketing Manager of Starsea Games. My surname is Yang.”

Manager Yang appeared to be around forty years old, with a plump face and squinting eyes that didn’t look offensive. After the group sat down, he first had his assistant pour them a cup of water before asking with feigned confusion: “I don’t want to waste your time, officers, so let’s speak directly. What specific situation brings you here today that requires information from me?”

Jiang Xun took a sip of water and didn’t speak. Thus, Old He spoke up with a smile: “Manager Yang, we primarily want to understand whether you had contact with Professor Zhou Liangcai a few days ago?”

“Professor Zhou?” Manager Yang thought for a while before nodding. “I did have contact, about five days ago. Why?”

“May I ask the reason you went to see Professor Zhou?”

“I wanted to buy a necklace from the professor.” Manager Yang drank some water, his expression calm.

Old He’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he followed up immediately: “Why did you think to find Professor Zhou to buy a necklace? And how did you learn about that necklace?”

“This…” As if feeling the question was a bit strange, the middle-aged man looked at them with doubt, then organized his words for a moment before answering honestly: “Because I am an enthusiast of antiquities, and I particularly like collecting the necklace type. I happened to see that necklace by chance while I was at Jade Capital University on business. Because it suited my heart perfectly and I fell for it at first sight, I wanted to find the professor to attempt a purchase.”

This was a lie.

Setting aside the fact that antiquities aren’t something ordinary people can afford to play with, that necklace was a memento of the professor’s late wife. He cherished it exceptionally, usually keeping it in a collection box in a drawer at home; it was absolutely impossible to see it at the university!

But even knowing it was a lie was useless, because Jiang Xun and the others similarly had no evidence to prove that the professor had never taken the necklace to school.

The young man’s eyelid flickered, but he still said nothing. Thus, Old He asked again: “Then, did Professor Zhou sell it to you?”

“No.” Manager Yang shook his head decisively. “The professor said it was his wife’s memento and it was forever impossible for him to sell it. He even became a bit angry because I mentioned buying and selling. Since the professor was very resolute at the time, I had no choice but to give up. Thinking about it now, it’s still quite a pity!”

“Is that so…”