HDRDTH -Chapter 35 A High-Level Hunter Often Appears as the Prey

The Rolls-Royce Phantom smoothly drove away from the Xingmang Entertainment building.

In the back seat, Su Wanyi tightly twisted the corner of her clothes in her hands.

Meanwhile, beside her, Yu Xian had his legs carelessly propped up against the front seatback. Eyes closed, he swayed his head along with the cheerful tune of Good Days playing through the car stereo.

“Xiao Yu, what you did just now… was way too impulsive!” Su Wanyi finally broke down, her voice choked with tears. “Do you know what kind of person Zhao Gang is? You insulted and threatened him to his face—he’ll definitely retaliate!”

Yu Xian didn’t even open his eyes. He shifted into an even more comfortable slouch.

“Impulsive?” Yu Xian mumbled lazily. “When dealing with these arrogant capitalists, the softer you are, the more aggressive they get. But if you act even tougher than them, they can’t figure out your cards, and they start getting nervous instead.”

“But he has the copyright bureau’s official seal! The law recognizes that!” Su Wanyi cried anxiously.

“The law protects legal rights—not robbers.” Yu Xian finally opened his eyes. “I taught Qianqian that song myself. I know damn well who the copyright belongs to better than he does.”

Before Su Wanyi could argue further, Yu Xian kicked the back of the driver’s seat.

“Dafu.”

“Y-Yes! Dad, your orders!” Wang Dafu sharply turned the steering wheel. That “Dad” came out more naturally than if he were a real son.

“Go to the market. Pick the fattest snakehead fish you can find, plus some pickled mustard greens and pickled chili peppers. At noon I’m personally making pickled fish stew.” Yu Xian disgustedly dusted off his clothes. “That trash office reeked of poverty. Need some good food to wash the smell off.”

Su Wanyi completely collapsed.

“Yu Xian! The knife’s already at our throat and you’re still thinking about food?!”

She slapped the walnuts from Yu Xian’s hand as tears burst forth again.

“Our family’s falling apart! Qianqian’s life is being ruined! Do you even have a heart?!”

Facing her hysterical outburst, Yu Xian didn’t get angry.

Having lived fifty-five years in his previous life, he understood human panic in desperate situations all too well.

Su Wanyi was just an ordinary single mother. Without his knowledge of the future, naturally she couldn’t understand why he seemed so calm and composed.

Yu Xian sat upright and grabbed her ice-cold trembling hands tightly in his palms.

“I only want to live like a lazy salted fish. But I’m extremely protective of my own people.”

“Anyone who dares touch my family…”

“I guarantee I’ll leave not even bone fragments behind.”

The ruthlessness in Yu Xian’s eyes somehow gave Su Wanyi an inexplicable sense of security.

Jinshui Bay Villa. Kitchen.

Yu Xian wore a SpongeBob SquarePants apron, creating an absurd contrast.

In his hand was the same boning knife that had displayed terrifying skill back in the Maldives.

In Xingmang’s office, he had been an arrogant madman.

But standing before a cutting board, he was a grandmaster controlling life and death.

SWISH—!

A flash of blade light.

The five-kilogram snakehead fish seemed not to even feel pain.

Scaling, gutting, deboning, slicing—

Every movement flowed like clouds and water.

The fish slices were cut paper-thin, translucent like crystal, as though precision machinery had carved them.

“A high-level hunter…”

“Often appears in the form of prey.”

As Yu Xian mixed egg white and starch into the fish slices, memories surged wildly through his mind.

The entertainment industry in the early 2000s had been absolute chaos.

Xingmang Entertainment hadn’t risen through star-making talent at all. What truly built their empire was the dirty “gray industry chain” hidden in Zhao Gang’s hands.

Dual contracts.

Tax evasion.

Sex-for-power deals.

Even money laundering.

In his previous life, Xingmang Entertainment collapsed three years later.

Only after a female artist was driven to suicide—leaving behind a blood-written letter—were these beasts finally uprooted entirely.

But now?

“Since you bastards insist on flipping over my dinner table…”

“Then don’t blame me for stripping off even your underwear.”

Yu Xian sneered coldly.

He had decided to move Zhao Gang’s death sentence forward by three years.

SSSSZZZ—!

Hot oil hit the wok!

Scallions, ginger, garlic, old pickled mustard greens, and pickled chili peppers exploded together in a wave of spicy fragrance throughout the kitchen!

Rich broth entered the pot and boiled fiercely. Fish slices slid in, turned white in ten seconds, and the fire was shut off.

Finally came green Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili segments.

Then a final ladle of smoking hot oil was poured directly over the top!

ZZZZLAAA—BOOM!

An overwhelmingly sharp, spicy, sour, and fragrant aroma blasted straight toward the heavens, violently bursting through the kitchen doors and sweeping across the entire villa!

In the living room, little Su Qian—who had been silently crying over the internet bullying—suddenly twitched her nose.

Then her stomach released a thunderous growl.

“So fragrant…”

The little girl swallowed hard, the tears in her eyes instantly replaced by drool.

“Dinner’s ready!”

Yu Xian walked out carrying a giant blue-and-white porcelain bowl bigger than a washbasin and slammed it onto the dining table.

“Eat! Only when you’re full will you have the strength to enjoy the show!”

Wang Dafu charged forward first, grabbing a fish slice and stuffing it directly into his mouth.

“Holy shit!”

His eyes nearly exploded out of his head as his entire body shook like he’d been struck by lightning.

The fish melted instantly in his mouth!

The mellow sourness of the pickled vegetables, the fiery heat of the peppers, and the numbing spice of Sichuan peppercorns danced wildly across his taste buds!

This wasn’t cooking.

This was soul purification!

“Dad! Your cooking is straight-up god tier!” Wang Dafu gasped from the heat while furiously shoveling food into his mouth. “With cooking like this, Zhao Gang’s nothing! You could buy Xingmang Entertainment just by opening a restaurant!”

Su Wanyi and Su Qian also hurriedly picked up their chopsticks.

After a single bite, the mother and daughter’s eyes turned red again.

But this time, it was because they were moved by this ridiculously delicious meal.

Watching his family eat heartily, Yu Xian curled his lips into a satisfied smile.

He removed his apron, slowly walked onto the balcony, and lit a cigarette.

“Hey, Dafu,” Yu Xian called toward the dining room.

“Yes! Dad, what is it?” Wang Dafu replied with his mouth stuffed full of fish.

“After you finish eating, go handle something for me.”

Yu Xian exhaled a ring of smoke, his voice carrying bone-chilling coldness.

“Find an intern reporter named Li Wei. He’s currently at Southern Weekly.”

“When you find him, give him the anonymous USB drive from my study drawer.”