Chapter 107 Do You Have No Regrets?

Seeing that Maituo was still seated on the sofa without moving, Zhou Xuan felt a trace of disappointment. However, that fleeting disappointment instantly vanished from his mind, replaced by his steadfast resolve.

Zhou Xuan had given Maituo a chance, but Maituo had chosen to give it up.

Pushing the door open, Zhou Xuan stepped out lightly, taking one resolute stride after another.

Walking out of the room like this, Zhou Xuan did not know what kind of reaction the furious Sister Yu might have toward him later. Yet, no matter what decision Sister Yu made, Zhou Xuan simply did not care.

Watching Zhou Xuan walk out of the private room with unwavering determination, Maituo suddenly felt as though his chest had been struck a heavy blow. An unprecedented wave of dissatisfaction and anger welled up within him, erupting like a volcano.

Recalling the beatings and scoldings from his father since childhood, remembering his brother's brilliance, and thinking of how he was never understood, Maituo suddenly realized that Zhou Xuan was right. Without change, he would forever remain nothing more than the good-for-nothing prodigal son in his father's eyes.

Yet, with a father like his, Maituo couldn't even manage to be a proper prodigal son.

If that was how things were, what meaning was there left in life?

At that exact moment, Maituo felt the urge to live for himself for once.

"Zhou Xuan, wait for me!"

Maituo suddenly leaped up from the sofa, ignoring the ashen-faced Sister Yu entirely, and sprinted out of the private room in a flash.

"Crack! Crash..."

A flurry of shattering sounds rang out as the teacups on the table were swept to the floor, foreshadowing just how furious Sister Yu was at that moment.

Shangguan Zhier said indignantly, "That Zhou Xuan actually dared to reject your kindness, Sister Yu. He simply doesn't know what's good for him. Let's dig up his background; we'll have plenty of ways to punish him when the time comes."

"Sister Yu, Zhou Xuan is only seventeen or eighteen years old—he's right in the middle of puberty and his rebellious phase. It's completely normal for him to have a bit of a temper. Surely we shouldn't lower ourselves to the level of a child, right?" Nie Qixue gently advised, as she actually held a favorable impression of Zhou Xuan.

In truth, Nie Qixue did not entirely agree with some of Sister Yu's actions either. For instance, regarding the incident last time where Sister Yu had kicked a man's lower regions and crippled him, Nie Qixue felt the person had merely been making casual remarks, and Sister Yu had been entirely unjustified in resorting to such heavy-handed violence.

Of course, as Sister Yu's close confidante, Nie Qixue also knew that Zhou Xuan's words today had indeed been a bit too much. Sister Yu naturally detested anyone bringing up her past, and for Zhou Xuan to mention it knowingly was practically courting death.

Sister Yu raised her head to look at them and slowly said, "Heh, I'm fine. You two go on back first; I'm going to stay here for a little while longer. As for Zhou Xuan, I haven't reached the point of arguing with a little boy. Still, teaching him a lesson later on is inevitable, otherwise he might really think that Sister Yu of the Imperial Capital is someone to be trifled with."

Since Sister Yu had put it that way, the two women said nothing more and turned to leave. Having spent so much time with Sister Yu, they knew her temperament well—once she made a decision, no amount of persuasion from others would be of any use.

Even so, both of them knew that Sister Yu was genuinely angry.

As soon as Zhou Xuan stepped out of the private room and walked a couple of steps, he heard Maituo's voice calling out behind him.

Seeing Maituo approach with a resolute expression, Zhou Xuan asked in surprise, "Don't you regret it?"

Maituo shrugged and spread his hands. "What's already done—is regret ever useful?"

"I thought you wouldn't come out," Zhou Xuan said.

"When I saw you walk out of that room with such determination at the very last moment, I suddenly felt that I've always lacked that kind of courage. I felt that for the sake of my future dignity, I had to take a gamble. Besides, Brother Jiang entrusted you to me, so I need to stand on the same side as you," Maituo explained.

Zhou Xuan smiled. "Weren't you showing plenty of courage when you refused to go to the military camp back then?"

Maituo chuckled as well. "That's completely different! Even if I didn't go, my old man wouldn't actually do anything to me—at worst, I'd just get a beating."

"Congratulations! You've made the right choice! From this moment on, you are officially my business partner!" Zhou Xuan extended his hand with a smile. "Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you! I hope my choice turns out to be the correct one!" Maituo gripped Zhou Xuan's hand tightly.

"By choosing me, you have chosen the future!" Zhou Xuan said with a smile.

Maituo gave a dry chuckle. "Why do you sound like some kind of charlatan right now?"

"Sometimes successful people share a trait of paranoia, and those who manage to become legends are all paranoid," Zhou Xuan replied calmly, his smile brimming with unshakeable conviction.

Life offers countless choices, and sometimes an inadvertent decision can alter the course of one's entire future. Decades later, when Maituo looked back on the first time he met Zhou Xuan, he initially mistook Zhou Xuan for merely a lackey of the formidable boss lady, Sister Yu.

Little did he know that on that very night, this very lackey would flatly reject Sister Yu's invitation, making her lose all face. When that lackey strode out of the door with such unwavering resolve, he had somehow followed him out as if possessed by some divine spirit.

Perhaps, given the chance to do it all over again, Maituo would still take that exact same step. Everything had unfolded so naturally.

"Even so, you still need to be careful of Sister Yu. She is bound to be furious about what happened today. I honestly don't know what got into you—bringing up Sister Yu's sensitive spots under those circumstances. I really don't know what to say; you were far too daring. You have to remember, she was the one who crippled a man's vital parts back then." Remembering Sister Yu, Maituo still felt the need to warn Zhou Xuan to watch out for retaliation.

"It doesn't matter. As you know, with my skills, it's impossible for Sister Yu to ever lay a hand on me." Zhou Xuan did not seem worried about Sister Yu in the least.

Maituo nodded. "I have zero doubts about your martial arts skills. I'm just worried that if you plan to continue doing business in the Imperial Capital, Sister Yu will likely try to obstruct you. You must understand, Sister Yu's influence in the Imperial Capital is immense. Even Brother Jiang won't be able to help you all that much."

Zhou Xuan was well aware of Sister Yu's influence, but since his future developments would all be based in Rongcheng, he had nothing to fear from her. In just a few short years, whenever Sister Yu wanted to move against him, she would first have to carefully weigh her own strength.

Thinking of Sister Yu's jewelry company, a cold smile tugged at the corners of Zhou Xuan's mouth. He happened to know several future methods for manufacturing synthetic gemstones—methods that current technology utterly lacked the capability to detect. If Sister Yu really decided to make things difficult for him, the worst-case scenario would be producing a few batches of jewelry and intentionally leaving subtle flaws in them to pass along to Sister Yu.

When the scandal broke out that Sister Yu's company was producing counterfeit jewelry, he wondered how she would keep her business running. By then, she certainly wouldn't have the spare energy to pick fights with him.

"Rest assured. Since I've made this decision, I won't regret it. As for the pressure from Sister Yu's side, I've naturally taken it into consideration. All my business ventures are in Rongcheng, and Sister Yu's reach isn't that long. You should sell your factory as soon as possible, recruit a few talented individuals right away, and pour your resources into the development of MP3 players. Besides, you can use this opportunity of leaving the Imperial Capital to cast Sister Yu as the villain who forced you out," Zhou Xuan said with a cold smile.