After the Restricted-Genre Side Character Plays the Villainous Boss - Chapter 1

Thud!

His knees slammed against the hard floor, letting out a heavy, echoing crack.

Flanked by two bodyguards, Yue Mingcang was forced down so hard he could not straighten his back. He could only pant, kneeling like a dog.

It was the maiden voyage of the mega-liner “Pure White.” Countless powerful elites had fought tooth and nail just to snag a single ticket. A small fry like Yue Mingcang had no business being here at all.

Yet, not only had he snuck aboard, but he had also been caught red-handed cheating in the VIP-only casino. Now, the ship had already sailed into the vastness of the high seas. His life no longer belonged to him. The man with the power to decide his fate was the owner of the Pure White, the absolute hegemon of the seas: Lord Long.

A pair of polished leather shoes slowly entered Yue Mingcang’s narrow field of vision. They were white patent leather with golden soles, looking so clean they appeared as if they had never touched the dust of the mortal world. Descending along with them was the White Dragon cane, the symbol of the Long family.

A sneer tugged at the corners of Yue Mingcang’s bruised and battered mouth.

Old fossil. No matter how flashy you dress, you cannot hide the stench of decaying rot.

“Cheating in broad daylight and then causing a scene demanding to see me once you are caught. Tell me, what is your goal?”

A clear, translucent voice rang out, like fresh spring water flowing into a muddy swamp. This was not Lord Long’s voice at all.

Yue Mingcang froze for a moment, then began to struggle violently. He did not do this to escape the restraint, but simply to see the person who had spoken. After several failed attempts, he gave up. But the moment he stopped, the mountain-like pressure on his shoulders suddenly vanished.

The bodyguards stepped aside, bowing respectfully. Panting heavily, Yue Mingcang hesitated for a second before slowly straightening his back. What met his eyes was a sea of snowy white: white shoes, a white suit, and the White Dragon cane. He saw cold, porcelain skin and hair as pale as fine snow.

The person standing before him was not the decrepit Lord Long, but a tall, strikingly handsome young man. The youth was exceptionally favored by nature; his features were like a painting and his skin was translucent. His white hair was tied into a small tuft at the back of his head, and his eyes were a rare liquid gold, as clear and bright as gemstones.

Beyond his looks, he stood a head taller than the surrounding guards. He was slender yet did not appear frail; he possessed a perfect model’s physique. Even in the arms of the wealthiest tycoons, Yue Mingcang had never seen someone this beautiful.

After a brief lapse in concentration, Yue Mingcang realized something. His face instantly chilled, and he spoke with sudden fury. “What kind of thing are you, using someone else’s authority to act big? Tell your master to come out and see me!”

Yue Mingcang’s tone was thick with hatred. This was not directed at the youth, but at Lord Long, the man who “owned” him. These powerful animals could effortlessly pluck the most beautiful white roses in the world, which were things commoners could never reach in a lifetime, only to trample on them without a second thought.

The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point. A dangerous aura spread through the space. Yue Mingcang could almost envision the White Dragon cane smashing into him. Yet, compared to the pain in his heart, physical agony did not frighten him in the least.

Facing the inevitable, he felt a twisted sense of anticipation. He hoped hot blood would pour from his body and splash onto those snowy white shoes, staining them with his hate and resentment and leaving filth that could never be wiped clean.

“On this ship, no one can be my master.”

Long Yin watched Yue Mingcang, who was bristling like a hedgehog, with leisure. His pale, thin lips parted slightly. “My name is Long Yin. The person you wanted to see is me.”

“What?”

Yue Mingcang’s brows furrowed, his eyes filled with suspicion. He had an excellent memory and was used to observing every seemingly insignificant person. Everyone present, from the butler behind Long Yin to the guards holding him down, was a familiar face.

Except for Long Yin. This was a face that, once seen, was impossible to forget. He had never seen it before.

Yue Mingcang steadied himself and said in a low voice, “Where is Lord Long?”

“My father passed away last night at the age of eighty-six.” Long Yin’s tone was indifferent, as if he were recounting a piece of trivia that had nothing to do with him. “It was sudden, so there has not been time to notify friends and family yet. You, however, managed to find out early.”

Yue Mingcang froze, his aggressive aura instantly dissolving into bewilderment.

Father? Lord Long was in his eighties, but Long Yin looked twenty at most!

Yue Mingcang scanned his surroundings. Whether it was the White Dragon cane in Long Yin’s hand or the deferential attitudes of the butler and guards, everything confirmed Long Yin’s identity. No one would joke in this setting, and no one was brave enough to make such a joke. The most absurd possibility turned out to be the truth.

The maiden voyage of the Pure White had nothing to do with Lord Long. The transition of power had quietly occurred. The Crown Prince of the Long Group was young, handsome, and more dazzling than the sun.

Lord Long was a piece of work; countless people hoped for his downfall, and Yue Mingcang was among them. But at this moment, the news of the old man’s death sent Yue Mingcang’s heart sinking to the bottom of the abyss.

Lord Long was dead. Since Yue Mingcang had appeared in this manner before Long Yin, a man with whom he had no personal grudge, how was this any different from picking a fight on purpose? Forging an identity to sneak on as a crew member, cheating at the tables, and causing a scene in the casino; with all these offenses combined, even if Long Yin killed him right now, no one could say a word against it.

Yue Mingcang’s heart hammered against his ribs. He used every ounce of strength to keep the fear from showing in his eyes. “I am sorry, Crown Prince. I was ungrateful. I was blind.”

“Save the pleasantries. My time is precious.” Long Yin raised a hand to stop Yue Mingcang’s self-deprecation. He spoke quickly, though without any hint of impatience. “You wanted to see me. I am here. Now, tell me, what is your goal?”

Yue Mingcang forced himself to speak. “The Shengzhou Security System used by the casino has a massive loophole. If I had not revealed myself, they never would have caught me. Someone in my team used to be an outsourced worker for Shengzhou; we can optimize the system for you.”

“A system that requires an outsider to optimize it has no reason to exist. Out with the old, in with the new. My father is gone; Shengzhou should follow him.”

Long Yin’s casual remark turned Yue Mingcang’s face deathly pale. On the surface, Shengzhou Intelligence was a legitimate company, but secretly, it acted as Lord Long’s personal pimp. To ensure a steady stream of young men and women, Lord Long would never have abandoned Shengzhou, no matter what happened.

But what the father needed, the son did not. With a face like Long Yin’s and at his age, why would he need a pimp to provide him with partners? When “merchandise” met Long Yin, it was a toss-up as to who was actually playing whom.

“Though your warning did not hold much value, you did not come all this way just to give me a free favor. Be direct. What do you want?” Long Yin’s eyes were full of smiles, but his words carried a pressing, predatory edge, like a cat playing with its prey. He was poking here and clawing there until the target was played to death.

Yue Mingcang said with near-suicidal resignation, “I only ask for a way to survive. White Dragon Shipping rerouted to New Port, and the storage chain at Longmen Port has been wiped out. Those of us who rely on Longmen Port for a living are facing bankruptcy.”

“If the ‘Route Optimization Strategy’ of White Dragon Shipping indirectly affected you, I am deeply sorry.” Long Yin’s tone was flippant, but his stance was incredibly firm. “New Port needs storage providers too. Why not just give up on Longmen Port and move house along with our route? What do you think?”

Yue Mingcang’s teeth ground together. Move house? He made it sound so simple. Who did not want to follow them to New Port? But how? With what? Where would the money come from?

Helplessly, Yue Mingcang cast his gaze to the floor, trying to find a crack to crawl into. But there were no cracks, no way to negotiate, and no way out. He would die here, sinking into the boundless sea. His company would go bankrupt, his team would disband, and his sister would not even make it through the night.

Just as despair swallowed him, the White Dragon cane suddenly slammed into the floor between his legs like a blade, letting out a dull thud. Yue Mingcang looked up abruptly, meeting Long Yin’s smiling golden eyes.

“I know who you are. You are quite the celebrity. My father was thinking about you even on his deathbed. I heard your team once made him suffer a setback and even snatched important cargo from his hands. Is that true?”

In a moment like this, hearing such a lethal question, Yue Mingcang could not say “yes” and could not say “no.” The only thing he could do was beg. “I beg you, for the sake of my father, who spent his whole life working for the Long family, lend us a sum of money to tide us over. Let us survive this.”

This time, with no bodyguards forcing him, Yue Mingcang prostrated himself voluntarily. His body pressed against the floor, and his forehead rested on the backs of his hands. His spine trembled uncontrollably, like an eagle whose pride had been snapped.

“Oh? After all that talk, it turns out you just want to borrow money?” Long Yin chuckled. He raised the White Dragon cane, lightly tapping it against the back of Yue Mingcang’s neck, just above the collar. “Well, that depends on how much sincerity you have.”

The base of the cane was decorated with a sharp dragon claw. The icy, dangerous sensation made Yue Mingcang shudder violently. Suppressing the urge to resist, he pressed his head even lower, like a sacrificial lamb.

Long Yin lowered his voice, putting on an act. “What I want is not something just anyone can give.”

The cane slid slowly down Yue Mingcang’s spine, gliding over the thin shirt clinging to his skin, finally coming to rest on the area arched high due to his kneeling position. It took Yue Mingcang a full five seconds to recognize this incredibly suggestive hint.

In all his years of business, his employees and his sister had been harassed by business partners many times. But he himself had never experienced such a thing. The reason was simple: he was a sturdy man who did not inspire a shred of “delicate” sentiment. He was 185 cm tall with wheat-colored skin tanned by the sun and muscles that could rival a dockworker’s. Anyone who tried to make him submit would have to be prepared to take a punch to the temple.

Wealthy people valued their lives; there was no need to risk a broken bone just to chew on a tough piece of meat like him. Even the old Lord Long, who played with anyone regardless of gender, had never shown interest in him that way. Every time they met, Lord Long brought at least ten bodyguards. Neither of them thought that was strange.

He never expected that the son would outdo the father; the boy was even less discriminating than the old man. Yue Mingcang looked up, staring at Long Yin’s face for a long time. Facing Long Yin’s “hint,” there was not a trace of resistance in his heart. Instead, there was only disbelief, confusion, and a strange sense of being flattered.

Compared to Long Yin’s skin, which was beautiful enough for a magazine cover and precious enough to be kept in a golden palace, he was a stinking, hard rock by the side of the road. He was not even fit for Long Yin to hold in his hand. Logically, if the two of them were together, he would be the one “sponsoring” Long Yin. But since Long Yin was so confused that he wanted to imitate the eighty-six-year-old Lord Long, Yue Mingcang was more than happy to accept it.

The moment the White Dragon cane pulled away from his tailbone, Yue Mingcang did not hesitate. He lunged upward like lightning, grabbing the cane with both hands, and spoke at breakneck speed.

“I am willing! I will do anything! Please, be the bigger man and let them go. I am at your disposal. You can do whatever you want with me!”

Long Yin: “?”

The White Dragon cane, which had just “insulted” Yue Mingcang, was now being held in a death grip by the victim himself. Long Yin tried to pull it back several times, but it would not budge. In a panic, Long Yin began screaming at the system in his mind.

[Xiao Bai! Xiao Bai! Why is the protagonist reacting like this? Usually, at a time like this, is he not supposed to say, “Take your filthy hands off me! Do not think your money can tarnish my noble soul!”]

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