Volume One, Chapter Four: Your Benefactor Is Merely My Dog

"Ah!"

Su Chen let out a shrill cry, clutching his throat and collapsing to his knees, gasping violently for air.

Yan Fengjia stepped forward coldly and grabbed Su Chen by the hair. "My father's ailment has been dealt with. Now, it is time to settle our accounts."

"What... what did you do to me?" Su Chen felt his breath hitching, panic rising within him.

"I have sealed your respiratory pressure points. How does it feel?"

"Yan Fengjia, have you made enough of a scene?" Gu Qinghan bit her red lips. "Your father is already in this condition, and you are still acting out like this? If you cause a death, do you really think your father would want to suffer more grief on your account?"

Over the past five years, she had visited Father Yan whenever she had the chance; she alone knew how deeply he worried about Yan Fengjia.

Yan Fengjia’s fingers trembled slightly, and his murderous intent instantly waned.

On the bed, Father Yan opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Fengjia, let it be. Money is merely an external possession; if it’s gone, let it go. You are the only son I have left now. Do not cause any more trouble."

Yan Fengjia took a deep breath. "Today, since my father has just recovered from a serious illness, I will settle this with you another day. Wait outside until Wan Sanqian arrives to explain himself to me." With that, Yan Fengjia kicked Su Chen out of the room.

Watching this, a hint of disappointment flickered in Gu Qinghan's beautiful eyes.

In five years, was this all Yan Fengjia had learned—to beat people? Was he truly this arrogant and violent?

"What have you been doing for these past five years?" Gu Qinghan asked.

"Working as a doctor for prisoners in a penitentiary," Yan Fengjia blurted out.

Gu Qinghan was stunned. Once a genius in Qinghai City who had excelled in his studies and been admitted to a top university in China, he had actually been a prison doctor?

"When you abandoned your father and deserted me, I thought you were off to achieve something world-shaking. To think you have degenerated to this point. Yan Fengjia, I am very disappointed in you."

Yan Fengjia did not care, so he offered no further explanation, merely shooting a glance at Qin Wanqiu, who stood to the side, wanting to speak up in his defense.

Just then, his phone rang. A breathless, urgent voice came from the other end.

"Mr. Yan, I... I have arrived at the hospital."

"Wan Sanqian?" Yan Fengjia’s voice dropped abruptly.

Outside the hospital, a stout, middle-aged man dripping with sweat felt his massive belly tremble upon hearing that voice.

It was indeed the powerful benefactor behind him. They had spoken before when Yan Fengjia entrusted him with looking after the Su family.

"Yes... it is me."

"Get up here to the intensive care unit, room 306 on the third floor," Yan Fengjia commanded, his tone brook no argument.

Gu Qinghan looked on, bewildered. "Wan Sanqian... Uncle Wan?"

Soon, Wan Sanqian came sprinting to the third floor, rushed to the doorway, and dropped to his knees before Yan Fengjia.

"Mr. Yan, I deserve to die! I truly do not know how I have offended you! If I have committed a crime, please let me die knowing what it is!"

"Uncle Wan, what is wrong with you?" Gu Qinghan was utterly confused. Wan Sanqian had close ties with the Gu family and frequent business dealings. In all of Qinghai City, very few people could make Wan Sanqian lose his composure like this. Why was he so terrified of Yan Fengjia? Wasn't Yan Fengjia just a prison doctor?

Yan Fengjia sat down calmly and looked at him. "Do you recognize that person behind you?"

Wan Sanqian turned in confusion and saw Su Chen kneeling on the floor, gasping for air and retching. Unable to breathe, he was in agony.

"I... I recognize him. He is the son of the Su family. You told me to assist the Su family."

Yan Fengjia sneered. "But now, this dog wants to bite the hand that fed him. He is using that gambling agreement to force my father to hand over the company's equity. Did you know this?"

"This..." Wan Sanqian was taken aback. "I didn't know. I really didn't know."

"Not knowing does not mean you are innocent. Tell me, how do you intend to resolve this?"

Cold sweat poured down Wan Sanqian’s forehead. He stood up and kicked Su Chen hard. "You dog! Who do you think helped your Su family reach where it is today? It was Mr. Yan! Mr. Yan has reach that spans the heavens. Without him, do you think I would have bothered to help your family rise?"

However, Su Chen could barely hear what Wan Sanqian was saying. His face was flushed, his eyes unfocused, filled with desperate pleas.

"Yan... Fengjia, forgive me. I was wrong. I will tear up the gambling agreement. I don't want to die."

"Fengjia, he looks like he is really dying," Qin Wanqiu said, worried about a fatality. After all, they were in the city center.

Yan Fengjia said indifferently, "Sister-in-law, go handle the discharge procedures. We are going home."

Qin Wanqiu had witnessed Yan Fengjia’s methods before. Back in prison, he had extinguished Li Ao without even blinking. It was clear that Yan Fengjia’s claim of being "just a prison doctor" was far from the whole truth.

"Alright," Qin Wanqiu nodded weakly and hurried past Su Chen to process the discharge.

"Yan Fengjia, I was wrong, please spare me, I can't breathe!" Veins bulged on Su Chen's forehead as his chest heaved violently. "Qinghan, please, beg for me! I don't want to die!"

Gu Qinghan’s mouth parted slightly, but looking at this strange, terrifying man, she could not utter a word.

Yan Fengjia picked up his father and walked toward Su Chen, delivering a kick that unleashed a burst of internal energy into his body, forcing the silver needle out.

Su Chen gasped greedily, as if reborn.

"Since my father is here today, I do not want him to worry for me. A capital offense may be spared, but a lesser punishment is inevitable."

"What are you going to do?" Su Chen asked in terror.

"Wan Sanqian, strip the Su family of everything. Do not let me see them lording their power over Qinghai City ever again."

"Understood, understood. I will handle it at once," Wan Sanqian nodded repeatedly.

As they left, Gu Qinghan chased after them. The bright, cheerful boy from years ago was gone forever. He was now so like a stranger. Gu Qinghan felt her five-year fantasy finally dissolve into bubbles.

"Let us go our separate ways from now on," Gu Qinghan said, her eyes no longer holding any softness.

"Uncle Wan, why were you so afraid of him?" she asked.

Wan Sanqian dared not reveal the reason; he only knew that Yan Fengjia seemed to have connections to that circle in the Heavenly Palace. With an awkward smile, he said, "He saved my life once. I both respect and fear Mr. Yan, so..."

Gu Qinghan frowned. "Does he think that just because he learned a few tricks, he can treat human lives like grass? Yan Fengjia, I hope you learn to live a proper life from now on."

...

"Dad, how do you feel now?" Back at the Yan residence, Yan Fengjia pushed his father’s wheelchair for a stroll.

Father Yan was now glowing with health, as if nothing had ever happened. He said with relief, "Fengjia, I never imagined your medical skills were so remarkable. I truly thought I was going to die."

"Dad," Yan Fengjia suddenly knelt on the ground.

"Fengjia, what are you doing?" Father Yan recalled that night five years ago. Yan Fengjia had knelt just like that before leaving him. "Are you leaving again?"

Yan Fengjia shook his head, eyes reddening. "I am not leaving this time. My three brothers have all left you; let me stay and care for you in your old age, will you?"

Father Yan wept, wiping away his tears, no longer showing the authority of the business tycoon he once was. "My son, I only have you left. Of course I am willing. As long as you are home, that is enough. Let us forget the past."

As he spoke, Father Yan began to cough.

Seeing this, Yan Fengjia’s brows knit tightly together. Although the source of the ailment had been removed, the gu-poison had left Father Yan’s body riddled with damage. He urgently needed high-quality tonics to recover.

"Dad, do you know who poisoned you?" Yan Fengjia asked coldly.

Father Yan waved his hand. Though he tried to conceal it, he could not hide the truth from Yan Fengjia. "There was no poison, just old ailments. Enough, do not worry about this. Come, your sister-in-law should have dinner ready. Let’s go eat."

Yan Fengjia nodded, deciding not to press him further; he would investigate it himself.

After dinner, Yan Fengjia applied needles to regulate his father’s energy until he drifted into a deep sleep. Only then did he creep out of the room.

Walking toward the bathroom, Yan Fengjia intended to take a shower before ordering an investigation into the matter. He pushed open the bathroom door abruptly, and a rush of thick, warm, and fragrant steam hit him.

The next second, a short, sharp scream startled him.

In the mist-filled bathroom, a snow-white figure stood frozen. The bath towel that had barely covered her voluptuous body had slipped to her ankles as she trembled.

"Ah!"

Qin Wanqiu’s face turned pale with shock. She instinctively covered her chest, but her foot slipped, and she lost her balance, falling backward with a heavy thud.

Her full, soft curves struck the cold, hard tiles with a dull, sickening "slap."

"Ugh, my... hip." The intense pain made her brow furrow, and she couldn't help but gasp for air. Her beauty was entirely exposed.

"Sister-in-law, are you all right?" Yan Fengjia finally reacted. He realized he had seen what he shouldn't have.

"Fe... Fengjia?" Qin Wanqiu was as panicked as a trapped deer. "You... why don't you get out?" Her eyes, brimming with mist, were filled with tears of humiliation and shame. Her cheeks burned as if they might bleed—whether from the pain or the memory of their misunderstandings back in prison, she could not tell.

Yan Fengjia quickly pulled the bathroom door shut. Images of his sister-in-law’s figure haunted his mind. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he prepared to leave.

"Fengjia... wait," Qin Wanqiu’s voice, shy and faint as a mosquito's hum, came from inside. "I... I don't think I can stand up. Can you come in and help me?"

Yan Fengjia: "Huh?"