Ye Xia's first move was to send a message. Not an email or a letter, but a statement. Using Yun family resources, she launched a hostile takeover bid for a small, but strategically vital, shipping logistics company. The company was a minor cog in Jin Long's empire, but it was one he used for his most sensitive, discreet shipments.
She didn't expect to win. The bid was a shot across the bows. It was her way of saying: I know who you are. I am not afraid of you. And I am playing your game now.
The response was swift. Within twenty-four hours, she received a request for a meeting. Not from Jin Long, but from his son, Jin Lei. The message was terse and arrogant, delivered via a sneering assistant: "The Young Dragon will grant you an audience. Do not be late."
Ye Xia agreed. The meeting was set for a neutral location: a private tea house known for its discretion.
She arrived first, centering herself with a brief meditation. Her Qi Condensation stage energy swirled calmly in her Dantian, a dense, potent core of power. She was ready.
Jin Lei arrived exactly on time, flanked by two bodyguards whose auras marked them as skilled cultivators. He dismissed them with a wave and sat opposite her, his amber eyes boring into her with undisguised hostility.
"Let's skip the pleasantries," he said, not bothering with tea. "Why are you attacking our interests?"
" I'm not attacking," Ye Xia replied calmly. "I'm investing. It's a free market."
"Don't play stupid," Jin Lei snapped. "This is a provocation. My father is amused. I am not. I don't know what game you think you're playing, orphan, but you are out of your depth."
"Am I?" Ye Xia asked, meeting his gaze. "Or are you afraid that the depth is not what you thought it was? That there might be another swimmer in the pool who has a better right to be there?"
Jin Lei's face went very still. The accusation hung in the air, unspoken but understood. He knew. He might not have proof, but he suspected.
"Be very careful," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "My father's empire is mine. I have earned it. I will not let some stray bitch with a lucky break steal it from me."
He stood up, knocking the table and spilling the untouched tea. "Withdraw your bid. Or the next message I send will not be an invitation to talk."
He stormed out, leaving Ye Xia alone. The meeting had gone exactly as she had hoped. She had provoked the Young Dragon. Now, she had to wait for the Old Dragon to respond.