Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Being ambitious and waiting to rise up in position was typical of men. Almost nine and a half out of ten would have such ideas. But one had to have his own limits as to when to do such things. Anyone who accepted a subordinate like Li Dawei, who would add fuel to the fire, had to be bold and daring.

  Li Dawei was adamant. He felt that it was because of this post that things had once again spiraled out of his control. In the past, Li Dawei had treated Xu Xinming as his best friend. Now, Li Dawei hated Xu Xinming from the bottom of his heart.

  Unable to tolerate it any longer, Li Dawei ran directly to the ‘isolated’ warehouse to find Xu Xinming. “Xu Xinming, you’ve gone overboard! I’m not holding you back from taking Qiao Nan down, but it’s enough to talk about your own matters. Why did you implicate me as well? Do you still think of me as a friend?”

  Xu Xinming leaned back with his legs crossed like a gangster. He did not give off a serious or strict air typical of a government employee. Rather, he resembled a hooligan. “Hey, you’re here. Do you want to see the latest posts on this forum? They’re so interesting! Look at this, and this, and this! They’re all scolding Qiao Nan! Brother, don’t be angry. I did that to get revenge for the both of us!”

  Unlike Li Dawei who was in a rage, Xu Xinming was elated. He browsed the forum in a relaxed manner, just like watching a movie in the cinema. From time to time, he popped a snack into his mouth.

  “To get revenge for me? You said it wrongly, didn’t you? Your main aim was to get revenge for yourself, and you smeared my name in the process. Don’t call me your ‘brother’. Do you think that’s what a brother should do?” Thinking about how the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs looked at him, and looking once again at Xu Xinming’s relaxed appearance, Li Dawei punched Xu Xinming in the face angrily.

  \r \r \r

  Xu Xinming had not seen that coming and Li Dawei’s punch sent him straight down from the chair to the floor with a loud thud. He clenched his jaw in pain. “Li Dawei, are you crazy? You’re hitting me for helping you? Don’t push your limits! You’ll get your retribution for kicking me away now that I’ve outlived my usefulness!”

  “Retribution? I’ll let you get your retribution! Your retribution!” Men in their thirties were no less impulsive than seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenagers. Li Dawei typically never fought with anyone, but today, he had used all his might to punch his ‘brother’, Xu Xinming. “I’ll let you hurt me! I’ll let you hurt me right now!”

  Did he really take him for a fool? Was he going to believe the words that he said?

  He wanted to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but so did Xu Xinming. When the both of them had first entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they had joined forces because Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang were their common enemies. As such, they banded together in an attempt to defeat Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang so as to achieve their own goals.

  Afterward, Xu Xinming had been transferred to the warehouse, and Xu Xinming hated the guts of Qiao Nan and He Yi. He had always been suppressed by Qiao Nan and had never had any opportunities to prove his capabilities. Not only that, but he had also been scolded by Qiao Nan, who said that he could not even compare to the newbies who had entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even later than he did. An enemy’s enemy naturally became his friend.

  Without Qiao Nan as a common enemy, he would have fallen out with Xu Xinming sooner rather than later. When Xu Xinming was transferred to the warehouse, it was as though he had been exiled. Even if more than ten ministers of foreign affairs had left their positions due to various reasons, Xu Xinming would never get a chance to rise to that position.

  But he was different. There would come a day when that position would be his!

  As long as he gained the favor of Qiao Nan at such a critical time, he would definitely have a chance of getting into that position. But now that Xu Xinming had kicked up a huge fuss, whatever chances he had were now all gone. It would be good if Qiao Nan did not kick him out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before she left her the ministry. That alone would be being kind and softhearted, rewarding his evil deeds with kindness.

  But having interacted with Qiao Nan over the years, he had never felt that Qiao Nan would be softhearted just because she was a woman.

  Thinking of the prospect of being kicked out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just like Xu Xinming, Li Dawei was ready to kill Xu Xinming.

  Xu Xinming groaned before immediately rebutting. “Li Dawei, I’m respecting you by calling you my brother. Do you really think you’re my brother? Who are you to punch me? Aren’t you the one who always comforts me by saying that people who are talented will always be noticed no matter where they are? Since our relationship is so good, won’t it be good for us to work together? Then, we can really be best buddies!”

  This time, Xu Xinming and Li Dawei were really fighting each other head to head.

  Li Dawei always comforted Xu Xinming with an air of superiority, and there was always a hint of ridicule in his comfort. Xu Xinming was not so foolish as to not know about that. Xu Xinming had laid low up until now and took this chance to kill two birds with one stone, taking down both Qiao Nan and Li Dawei at the same time.

  These two people proclaimed that they were each other’s bosom buddies, but in fact, they held bad blood against each other. Other than when they came together to scold Qiao Nan, these two people never had a sincere word for each other. They were truly birds of the same feather.

  Xu Xinming’s injury on his face was a little serious, and Li Dawei could not help but rejoice a little. Li Dawei wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and smirked. “Xu Xinming, I really underestimated you. Now that you’ve done this to me, just wait and see what’ll happen to you! If I don’t get my revenge, I’m not a Li!” This time, the stakes were higher than ever.

  “Bring it on!” Xu Xinming’s lips twitched in pain. “Do you think I’m afraid of you? I’m no coward! I’ll wait for you to settle this once and for all!” Ha, who did he think he was? Did Li Dawei really think that he would be afraid of him? Bring it on! The one who backed down was a coward!

  The two of them, who had once been ‘best brothers’, now turned against each other. This was a fight between life and death.

  Although Xu Xinming had taken a hit, he was still in a very good mood. He wanted to see how Li Dawei could maintain his air of superiority and continue looking down on him once Li Dawei himself was kicked out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and banished to a corner, like the warehouse.

  “Nan Nan, is there anything wrong?” It was noisy outside, but it was still considered quiet in the Zhai family’s house which was situated in the quad of the military zone. Those who lived in the quad were not the kind of people who blindly followed others, unless they had the same ideas as the Peng family.

  Everyone was clear that someone had their eyes on Qiao Nan and was looking to bring her down. As such, sensible people would naturally not join in on this fuss, and the quad was quiet. But the Zhai family did not let their guards down, especially Miao Jing, who treated Qiao Nan as her own daughter. She was just shy of calling Qiao Nan every minute to report the situation at her station. “If there’s any trouble, don’t just swallow it. Zhai Sheng and Old Zhai should be the ones fighting for you! You’re part of our family, and I’ll not let anyone bully you!”