Shi Jin didn't have the thick skin of Lian Jun, so he couldn't continue showing affection in front of Lu Shan's anger.

He suppressed his embarrassment and tried to calm Lu Shan down with a few words before going to the kitchen to make some hot drinks for Lu Shan and Lian Jun. After that, he went back to his room to change his clothes and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

"You're so lucky it makes me jealous. Shi Jin, this sort of good-looking and capable partner with a good background, can still choose someone like you who's full of mischief," Lu Shan stirred the hot milk tea that Shi Jin had brought over with a small spoon, scooping out some of the pearls and looking at it with a hint of nostalgia.

"Pearl milk tea, I haven't had it in years. Is Shi Jin treating me like a young girl?... I can hardly remember what I was doing when I was a teenager. Drinking? Fighting? Getting beaten by my parents? Time really flies..."

Lian Jun picked up the hot milk in front of him and took a sip, not saying anything in response. Lu Shan snapped back to reality and suddenly leaned in close to him, peering into his cup before mercilessly bursting into laughter. "Milk? Hahaha, how old are you? Still drinking milk? Are they treating you like a child?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lian Jun retorted, meeting her gaze. "Being treated like a young child, is that really so bad?"

Lu Shan stopped laughing and gave him a glance before roughly scooping a spoonful of pearls into her mouth, chewing and speaking vaguely.

"Good, really good! You're lucky enough to make people want to hit you. Alright, I won't bother with you anymore. What are you going to do about this situation? The authorities are making such a big fuss about suppressing dissent, I don't need to remind you of the deeper implications, do I?"

"What deep meaning?" Shi Jin brought the cooked noodles closer and frowned upon hearing this sentence.

Lu Shan was a little surprised that she hadn't noticed Shi Jin coming in. She quickly resumed her composure, got up and leaned over to see the small pot in his hand, asking, "You cooked the noodles? They smell amazing."

Shi Jin's attention was diverted and he shook his head, replying, "No, it was the kitchen auntie who cooked them. I woke them up when I was making my drink, and when they heard that there was a guest, they cooked these and asked me to bring them over after washing up. Auntie Lu, just make do with these and fill your stomach."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shan glanced at Lian Jun and deliberately said, "You're still so thoughtful. I'm starving to death, but this brat Lian Jun doesn't know how to be considerate to his elders."

"The noodles are a bit hot, be careful when you eat them," said Shi Jin, but Lian Jun didn't acknowledge her complaint. He arranged the small pot and utensils for her, then turned to Lian Jun and continued their previous conversation, asking, "What's the deeper meaning behind it, and what's the officials' stance on it?"

Lu Shan paused with her chopsticks in hand and looked up at Lian Jun. Lian Jun grabbed a tissue and wiped off the soup that had splashed onto his fingers.

He replied, "The government hasn't done much, but as Aunt Lu just mentioned, they were trying to help us by taking care of the Tarantula incident. Everything has two sides. From an optimistic perspective, the government is standing up for us and letting other organizations know that opposing us is opposing the government. However, from another perspective, the government's actions have clearly put Annihilation on the opposite side of all criminal organisations, completely isolating us."

Lu Shan raised an eyebrow, surprised by Lian Jun's frankness towards Shi Jin. It seemed like he would discuss anything with Shi Jin.

As if sensing her surprise, Lian Jun suddenly turned his head and glanced at her, taking Shi Jin's hand from his knee and placing it on the table, holding it tightly.

What was that look in his eyes?

Lu Shan furrowed her brows and followed his movements to the hands of the two people, noticing the ring on Shi Jin's hand. Her expression changed and she couldn't believe it. She looked up at Lian Jun and gestured towards the ring.

Lian Jun smirked and ignored her again.

Damn this guy!

Lu Shan was furious, but she became more cautious in her attitude. She carefully examined Shi Jin again and redefined his relationship with Lian Jun in her mind. Then she continued to focus on eating her noodles, no longer listening to the conversation between Lian Jun and Shi Jin.

Shi Jin was so used to being held by Lian Jun that he didn't even notice his movements, nor did he notice the eye contact between Lian Jun and Lu Shan. His attention was fully focused on Lian Jun's words.

After furrowing his brows and pondering for a while, he said unhappily, "It seems that the authorities are really afraid that you will back out at a critical moment, so they are trying their best to tie you down. They are so skilled at both standing up for you and making enemies for you, it's like they're hitting two birds with one stone."

"Don't worry, for now, the authorities are still biased towards us and dare not go too far," Lian Jun comforted him and squeezed his hand. Seeing that it was already late, he temporarily left Shi Jin and Lu Shan to entertain each other and went back to his room to change and freshen up.

After Lian Jun left, only Lu Shan and Shi Jin were left on the balcony. Shi Jin kindly refilled Lu Shan's cup with water, concerned that the milk tea might be too sweet for her. He casually asked her some common questions with a gentle and relaxed demeanor.

He was a child that made people naturally want to get closer to him, and he seemed a bit different from the last time they met.

In her mind, Lu Shan gave a positive evaluation of Shi Jin. After filling her stomach, she wiped her mouth and took a sip of the now lukewarm milk tea. She casually asked, "There's a pot of noodles, but only one set of utensils. Aren't you going to eat?"

Shi Jin shook his head and replied, "I'll eat with Lian Jun later. He needs to eat on a schedule and is picky about his food, so I have to accompany him."

Oh, those damn dog men. So this pot of noodles was all for her? Were they feeding pigs?

Lu Shan immediately regretted asking that question and quickly changed the subject, asking, "I heard you went to police academy for college? That takes a lot of courage."

"It was Lian Jun who tolerated my stubbornness," Shi Jin replied, subtly praising Lian Jun.

Lu Shan cursed him in her mind for being sly, but her expression relaxed. She lazily leaned back in her chair, feeling the morning sea breeze, and said, "Partners should be tolerant of each other. I feel relieved seeing you two getting along well. If I fail this time..."

"Aunt Lu," Shi Jin interrupted her, speaking seriously, "Lian Jun will protect both you and the Tarantula."

Lu Shan turned her head to look at him and suddenly picked up her milk tea, drinking until the cup was empty, leaving only a layer of pearls at the bottom of the cup before putting it down.

She said, "Shi Jin, don't treat Lian Jun like a god. He is not omnipotent. He gets tired, makes mistakes, and wants to escape... I hope that in your eyes, he is just an ordinary person with a slightly special profession."

Shi Jin understood why Lian Jun called Lu Shan "Aunt Lu" and smiled, replying seriously, "Aunt Lu, I have never idolized Lian Jun. I just believe in him. I believe that even if he is now just an ordinary person, he will do his best to protect his only elder and family in his heart."

Family.

Clang! The spoon in Lu Shan's hand fell into the cup, hitting the cup wall and making a crisp sound.

"...You really dare to say anything," Lu Shan said, setting down her cup and collapsing into the chair. She closed her eyes and murmured, "There's no such thing as family in our line of work...I'm a bit tired, I'll sleep for a while." And with that, she fell asleep instantly.

Shi Jin was stunned. He hadn't expected her to just fall asleep like that. He was about to get up and tell her to go to the guest room to sleep when Lian Jun, who had returned to the balcony without him noticing, held his shoulder.

"Let her rest against the chair. She's too tired," Lian Jun said, releasing his grip and gently covering Lu Shan with a blanket.

Shi Jin watched Lian Jun's back as he walked away and slowly sat back down in his chair. His gaze swept over Lu Shan's exhausted face and he let out a shallow sigh.

Lu Shan slept in until noon before finally waking up. After a quick wash and lunch, she immediately dragged Lian Jun to the study. Shi Jin had to stay behind to catch up on the company management course with Mr. Feng.

Once the study door was closed, it remained closed for the entire day. Lu Shan's frustrated screams and angry roars could be heard from inside, as if Lian Jun had said something to upset her.

"Don't lose focus, pay attention to the lesson." Mr. Feng on the video call coughed softly, reminding Shi Jin to concentrate.

Shi Jin forced himself to look away, furrowing his brow and redirecting his attention back to the course. As midnight approached, Lu Shan and Lian Jun finally emerged from the study.

Lu Shan's tired and pessimistic demeanor from earlier had completely disappeared, replaced with a face full of anticipation and determination. She patted Lian Jun's shoulder with force and said, "You always have a way with things. I'll go make arrangements now and wait for my message."

Lian Jun nodded and his gaze fell upon Shi Jin, who was sound asleep on the sofa in the living room. His expression softened and he called for Number Six to personally escort Lu Shan out of the villa. Lian Jun then made his way towards the sofa.

......

Shi Jin was awakened by someone harassing him. They were fanning the flames and trying to undo his belt.

Though he was conscious, he was too lazy to open his eyes. He groped for the person's hand that was causing trouble on his waist and said, "Don't mess around. You woke up early this morning and didn't even take a nap at noon. Your sleep time is seriously lacking. You can't do anything tonight. You need to rest well."

Lian Jun looked up at him and saw that he was still lazily closing his eyes. He turned his wrist and grabbed his hand, continuing to roam around his body. He leaned in and directly kissed his mouth, which was still preparing to protest.

......

The biological clock trained during military training was broken after only one day. Shi Jin slept until midday and woke up with a headache, sitting on the bed and recalling what had happened last night. He sighed heavily and held his forehead.

The allure of beauty truly leads to corruption. This can't. Uncle Long had said that they can only do this once a week.

......

Before Shi Jin could find an opportunity to advise Lian Jun to take care of his health and practice moderation, the first wave of conflict between the government and Tarantula began without warning.

It started with sudden inspections of Tarantula's peripheral businesses in various districts of Province G. Then, the major ports of Province G suddenly intensified their inspections of incoming and outgoing goods, resulting in the seizure of a large amount of Tarantula' merchandise. Finally, the government made a bold move and shifted their focus to the island, citing the need to strengthen their business cooperation with the island. They sent people to harass Tarantula' business on the island with a clear goal of uncovering their specific business chain.

The officials' crackdown on Tarantula can be described as fast, accurate, and ruthless, targeting the key business points of Tarantula in Province G. If it weren't for the fact that the island has some kind of political special status, the authorities wouldn't be able to blatantly interfere in all matters related to the island. At this point, Tarantula's business chain on the island may have already been exposed.

"Too ruthless." Number Two, who came to report the news, flipped through the various materials in his hand during his break and shook his head in amazement. "Young Master Jun is really too ruthless."

Shi Jin, who was being tortured to death by Mr. Feng's homework, was taken aback by the strange comment and asked, "Why is it that Young Master Jun is too ruthless? Haven't we not even started our operations to mitigate this situation yet?"

"Of course it was Young Master Jun being too ruthless. It was only with his 'kind-hearted' information that the authorities were able to successfully target the Tarantula. If they had to do it themselves, who knows what kind of mess the business in G Province would have become." Number Two explained, then lovingly patted his head and said, "Don't worry about these things, child. Be good and go do your homework."

Shi Jin's face turned black as he shook off Number Two's hand and looked at the homework in front of him with a heart full of despair.

This trip to G Province was nothing like he had imagined. He had wanted to help Lian Jun with the work.

As Number Two saw that Shi Jin was feeling down, he stopped teasing him and comforted him instead. "Don't worry too much. Young Master Jun is not letting you go out for your own good. Right now, the leaders of Snake Fang, Meridian Gate, and Thousand Leaves have all gathered in G Province. Your identity is special, so it's not suitable for you to be on the front lines.

Shi Jin understood this reasoning, but he couldn't help feeling a little useless. He thought about how everyone seemed relaxed despite being busy these past few days, and guessed that things were going smoothly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he picked up his pen and continued with his homework.

......

Time flew by quickly, and a week later, the officials' harassment of the Tarantula began to approach the inner circle of business.

At the same time, the undercover operation that Lian Jun had planted finally began to take action. On what seemed like an ordinary evening, several secret warehouses of the Tarantula in G province were suddenly broken into, and the towering flames illuminated half the sky.

"This might be too obvious," said Shi Jin, scrolling through news about "major warehouses of a certain company suddenly catching fire" on his tablet, feeling a bit worried.

Lian Jun flipped through documents and casually remarked, "If we don't make it obvious, how will the authorities understand how important you are to me? And how far I'm willing to go for you? This is necessary. We need to show our attitude so that the authorities will listen to us."

Shi Jin paused and looked at him, watching him intently flipping through the documents. Unable to resist, he threw himself at Lian Jun, hugging him tightly and giving him a passionate kiss - that last sentence was definitely sweet talk, right? It had to be!

When Lian Jun was kissed by Shi Jin, he was taken aback. He turned to look at him and saw him smiling, which made him unable to resist laughing as well. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," Shi Jin replied, then leaned down to kiss him again. "I just suddenly wanted to kiss you."

Lian Jun raised an eyebrow and licked his lips where Shi Jin had kissed him. He reached out and pulled him closer, then tilted his head back up to kiss him again.

......

The operation to strike down the Tarantula continued. After the addition of Annihilation, the Tarantula's business in G province quickly fell apart. The Tarantula had tried to fight back and even attempted to negotiate with the authorities, but none of their efforts proved effective.

Half a month later, the Tarantula's business in the outskirts of Province G was completely destroyed, and the inner circle was on the brink of collapse. The entire business chain was also affected, but due to the special nature of Treasure Island, the Tarantula's most important business chain was never uncovered.

To make matters worse, the Tarantula began to cut off its own tail and fight for survival. It suddenly abandoned all visible business and transferred all resources to the dark side, hiding in the shadows.

At the same time, due to the Tarantula's bold move of "cutting off its own tail," the overall economy of Province G was affected and began to fluctuate frequently.

This was not what the officials wanted to see, as a prolonged war was not part of their plan. In desperation, they contacted Lian Jun to discuss countermeasures.

In his villa, Lian Jun hung up the official's call and his tense expression completely relaxed. He leaned back in his wheelchair. Shi Jin saw the situation and immediately approached cautiously, asking, "Is it starting?"

Lian Jun looked at him, reached out to touch his face, and hugged him, saying, "Yes, it's starting." Whether or not they could get the Tarantula out of its current predicament depended on this conversation with the officials.

......

The person sent by the officials to negotiate with Lian Jun was none other than Zhang Zhuoyuan, the director who was responsible for the annual conference in April every year.

Shi Jin happened to have no classes on the day of the conversation, so he stayed in the study and listened to the entire process.

Zhang Zhuoyuan's expression was solemn. As soon as he sat down, he immediately said, "Lian Jun, we've known each other for a long time, so I won't beat around the bush. The Tarantula is even harder to deal with than we anticipated. It's slippery and evasive, shrinking away as soon as we strike, and it can even disappear without a trace, keeping its core business completely hidden. Relying solely on official crackdowns won't work. It may lay low for a while, but once the heat dies down, it can simply move to a new location and continue its operations. This is just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. I..."

"Director Zhang," Lian interrupted him, speaking coldly. "I have already provided all the information I should provide, and I have done everything I should do. Now Tarantula has time to hide, but I don't have time to waste with it. I promised to assist you in dealing with Tarantula, not to fight it to the death. To put it more bluntly, dealing with Tarantula was your decision alone, without consulting me beforehand. I am not obligated to take responsibility for this matter.

"And I have said before, if Tarantula is so easy to defeat, why has it been a threat for so many years? The Tarantula is a large and established organization, not like the useless Nine Eagles that we supported."

Zhang Zhuoyuan's face turned black as he listened to the conversation.

"Lian Jun, why we went to mess with the Tarantula, you and I both know the reason. I thought you were sincere about working with us." he said.

"If I wasn't sincere, why would I bother wading into this muddy water?" Lian Jun's expression turned sarcastic as he spoke.

"Director Zhang, I'm not someone who's completely devoid of human emotions. I understand the situation the government is in this time, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to deal with the Tarantula. But I don't want you all to treat me like a fool. G Province's economic lifeline is so important, and I understand that you want to take it back from the Tarantula.

"I can work with you on that, but if you insist on saying that all of this is just empty talk for my sake, don't blame me for losing face. Are you standing up for me by dealing with the Tarantula, or are you using that as an excuse to trick me into doing your dirty work? You know the answer in your hearts." Zhang Zhuoyuan's emotional card was slapped back onto his own face before he could even play it. He turned red and then white, unable to speak for a moment.

The initiative of the conversation quickly shifted to Lian Jun's hands. Shi Jin was amazed by the fierce and direct punches that Lian Jun threw. He was taken aback by Lian Jun's rare sharp and aggressive momentum, and he sat in the corner watching Lian Jun's profile, feeling a little itchy inside.

Lian Jun was so handsome like this!

"Director, it's better to stop when it's time to stop." Lian Jun suddenly slowed down his tone, personally poured a cup of hot tea for Zhang Zhuoyuan and pushed it over, saying, "I understand your intentions. If you insist on having me fight with the Tarantula, then I can only hold my nose and fight. After all, whether the people under my command can live peacefully in the future depends on your attitude."

Lian Jun offered a way out to Zhang Zhuoyuan, who immediately took it. After taking a sip of tea, Zhang's tone softened as he apologized, "I'm sorry, I was too hasty just now and didn't consider your position... So, if you're saying this, do you still have concerns? Can't we really touch the Tarantula?"

"It's not that the Tarantula can't be moved, it's that the balance in the underworld can't be disturbed." Lian Jun resumed his usual attitude, dipping his finger in some tea and drawing four circles on the table. "There are still four major organizations: Meridian Gate, Tarantula, Thousand Leaves, and Snake Fang. Meridian Gate, Thousand Leaves, and Snake Fang have all experienced turbulence and have their own weaknesses, so there is no need to be overly cautious. Only the Tarantula has been steadily developing for years, with a solid foundation and difficult to deal with.

"I didn't stop you from wanting to take down the Tarantula this time because I wanted to weaken their strength a bit and make them equal to the other three organizations, mutually restraining each other. So far, this goal has been achieved. These four organizations cannot shake each other and should maintain balance in the underworld for a while."

Zhang Zhuoyuan looked at the four circles on the table and asked, "Do you need this balance?"

"It's not that I need it, it's that you all need it." Lian Jun drew a medium-sized circle outside the four small circles, about the size of two small circles, and lightly tapped it. "This represents destruction, and the size of the circle represents the strength of the organization. If I were to fight the Tarantula now, even with your help, our strength would definitely be greatly diminished. When the Tarantula disappears and Annihilation falls from grace, given the current situation, how do you think the remaining organizations with no damage will treat Annihilation?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhuoyuan was shocked and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He shook his head and said, "They will definitely..."

"They will unite to destroy me," said Lian Jun coldly. He crossed out the small circle that belonged to the Tarantula, merged the other three circles into one, and reduced the circle representing destruction.

Then he sat up straight and said, "Three against one, no matter how you look at it, destruction means death. Once destruction is gone, what awaits you is a monster formed by the three of them. Director Zhang, let me remind you that Meridian Gate, Thousand Leaves, and Snake Fang are not like Annihilation. Each of these three families has subordinate organizations, and without suppression, their expansion will be almost instantaneous.

"At that time, all our years of effort will be in vain, and the situation will return to square one. The demons of the underworld will dance wildly, and you will be helpless."

The air conditioning was on in the room, but Zhang Zhuoyuan was sweating profusely. He quickly gulped down his tea and watched as the circles on the table slowly disappeared, his mind in a jumble.