Chapter 1 After the Funeral

Four days later, at four o'clock in the afternoon, Dragon City Paradise Cemetery.

The weather was gloomy, with dark clouds covering the sky, and a drizzle had been falling all day.

Kong ZhengHui stood in the rain, his eyes glazed, watching his grandfather's ashes being slowly placed into the burial plot.

Old Mrs. Kong stood beside him, already a weeping mess, supported by two of her children.

Yu Mingyuan, Zhou Tonghui, Su Tianbei, as well as Wawa and Wen Xiaorou, had all come. They stood around the cemetery, dressed in black formal wear, holding umbrellas, to see off the Kong family's patriarch.

"Fill the grave!" the feng shui master urged.

Kong ZhengHui snapped back to reality, gripped the shovel with one hand, and shoveled the first load of soil into the grave.

This was the local custom, a responsibility of the eldest son, and a way to ensure the deceased found peace in the afterlife.

It was difficult to shovel the soil with only one hand. Sweat beaded on Kong ZhengHui's forehead as he gritted his teeth and exerted himself.

At that moment, Kong ZhengQi stepped forward and helped his cousin hold the shovel handle, completing the ritual smoothly.

The other family members then stepped forward, took up shovels, and buried the grave.

Kong ZhengHui stood by, watching everything with a somber expression, his eyes reddening once more.

The entire ceremony lasted nearly an hour. With the patriarch of the Kong family laid to rest, the group began to walk out, returning to the Kong residence.

...

Around seven o'clock in the evening, at the Kong family compound.

Kong ZhengHui, with his family, thanked the relatives who had come from afar once more, and finally saw them off in their cars.

These relatives did not live in Dragon City. Many lived in other places, or were doing business elsewhere, and had traveled a long distance to attend the funeral.

After seeing them all off, Kong ZhengHui loosened his tie and walked over to Yu Mingyuan and the others.

At this time, Yu Mingyuan and his group were sitting in a corner chatting. Seeing Kong ZhengHui, everyone stood up and greeted him.

"Thank you all for your hard work these past few days." Since these were all familiar faces of his age, Kong ZhengHui's attitude relaxed somewhat, but he still expressed his gratitude. "Now that the funeral is over, I'll treat you all tonight. Let's call Da Bai too, and grab a bite to eat."

Because there were so many people at the funeral, and it was chaotic, Da Bai had not come.

"Sure." Yu Mingyuan thought for a moment and suggested, "Let's go to the Huarong Hotel. We have a private room booked there, and the security is good. After all, Da Bai's status is special, and it's not so convenient to go to other places."

Hearing this, Kong ZhengHui smiled and said, "Heh, yes, things are different now, you've all risen in the world."

No one responded. Yu Mingyuan simply patted him on the shoulder and changed the subject. "Let's go, bring an umbrella, it's been raining all day."

"Okay, I'll call ZhengQi too."

Under the protection of the guards, the group drove towards the Huarong Hotel.

...

Around nine o'clock at night, the motorcade arrived at the Huarong Hotel.

Yu Mingyuan led everyone to a private room on the third floor. The room was not large, with only one table inside and sofa seats on both sides, very elegant.

After all, they were getting married, and many friends from other places would be coming. In order to entertain some friends, Yu Mingyuan and Tan Mingchao had booked private rooms early, just in case.

After ordering some food, everyone sat here, drinking and chatting, while waiting for Da Bai.

At the banquet, Kong ZhengHui's mood was still somewhat low, and he tried to cheer himself up to talk to everyone.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the dishes were all served, and Da Bai arrived.

He pushed open the door of the private room and said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry, guys, I'm a little late. I was discussing things with some people from the administrative side."

"A low-key boast, eh? We know you're the Minister of Foreign Affairs!" Yu Mingyuan said with a smile. "Alright, sit down, we're just waiting for you to start."

"Look at you guys, always bringing this up, making me seem like I'm showing off. Stop saying that in the future…!" Da Bai plopped down in a seat.

Wawa, who was sitting next to him, asked with a smile, "Oh, you're late, so you just sit down like that?"

"Alright, then I'll punish myself with three cups!" Da Bai was also generous, picking up his wine glass and downing three cups in a row.

If it were a normal occasion, Da Bai's personality would have led him to joke with Wawa. But after all, given the occasion, some things were inappropriate to say.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone, he picked up his wine glass again and said to Kong ZhengHui, "Old Kong, I couldn't make it to the funeral today, so I'll offer my apologies. I'll toast you with this cup."

Kong ZhengHui had already drunk quite a bit at this point, his face slightly flushed. He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I should be toasting you."

The two men clinked glasses and drained them.

"Try to look on the bright side, the old man wasn't suffering any less." Seeing Kong ZhengHui's low spirits, Da Bai couldn't help but offer a word of comfort.

"Ah, I'm just thinking… I'm carelessly over thirty, and I've gotten to where I am today… a nobody." Kong ZhengHui's mood was very low, and he had been toasting everyone, the alcohol rising to his head, and he became more talkative. "Back then, the five of us started our business together. Now some have become wealthy layabouts, some have become diplomats, and some are second only to one person, above tens of thousands… Only me… I'm nothing, haha, and I've even lost a hand."

"Ah, don't say that."

"Actually, when you were arrested by Jiang Zheng last time, Xiao Yu was very worried. That night, a military clash almost broke out…!" Yu Mingyuan also offered a word of comfort.

"Heh, I don't mean anything by it, I just drank a little too much, and I'm feeling stuffy." Kong ZhengHui glanced at everyone, picked up the wine bottle, and continued to pour wine for himself. "Forget it, let's not talk about it, let's talk about something happy…!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong ZhengQi, who was next to him, also drank a lot. His face flushed, he turned to Yu Mingyuan and said, "Brother Mingyuan, let me say something from the bottom of my heart, we were all following you back then. Now that you've stopped playing, we don't know if there's any point in continuing."

Yu Mingyuan's expression stiffened slightly, and Wen Xiaorou frowned slightly.

Everyone's expression was not very good. Kong ZhengHui also waved his hand and said, "ZhengQi, you've had too much to drink, you're talking nonsense!"

"I've been holding some words in my stomach for a long time." Kong ZhengQi waved his hand, taking advantage of the alcohol, pouring out the complaints in his stomach. "Brother, I feel wronged for you! Has it been easy for you these years? You've been working diligently, planning strategies for the association, working hard without complaint, but what about the results? You're not valued in the association, and you've even ended up… crippled. Brother, you're not even married yet!!"

As he spoke, Kong ZhengQi couldn't help but shed tears. No one knew if it was the alcohol rising to his head, a genuine expression of emotion, or if he was complaining to Yu Mingyuan and the others about his grievances.

In his opinion, his cousin was just following Yu Mingyuan. Now that Yu Mingyuan had withdrawn, Kong ZhengHui actually had no room for development.

To put it bluntly, when the Tongji Association split up, whether it was the upper-level arrangements or the final act, Kong ZhengHui had a real conflict with Su Tianyu.

With this kind of relationship? Would they value him? Marginalization was inevitable.

Thinking like this, Kong ZhengQi wiped the corner of his eye again, "Brother, I…"

"Alright!" Kong ZhengHui interrupted him again. "Stop talking, you've had too much to drink."

Kong ZhengQi originally wanted to continue pouring out his bitterness, but seeing his cousin's expression, he had no choice but to stand up. "If I can't talk, can I at least go pee?"

After speaking, he staggered and turned to leave the private room.

The people left in the room did not look very happy.

...

After leaving the room, Kong ZhengQi staggered to the bathroom next door, unbuttoned his pants, and relieved the pressure on his bladder. Da Feng Novel Network

He stood in front of the toilet, his eyes staring straight ahead, his mouth slightly open, his mind a little dazed. Just then, the phone suddenly rang.

"Ring ring ring!"

Kong ZhengQi pulled up his pants, took out his phone, and saw that it was an unfamiliar number. He answered the phone with a drunken slur, "Hello? Who is this?"

A polite voice rang out on the phone, "Hello, Mr. Kong, this is someone from the All-Systems Bureau's Discipline Inspection Team. Your funeral should be over by now, right? Please come to the All-Systems Bureau tomorrow morning."